Horace Greeley, The American Conflict: A History of the Great Rebellion in the United States of America, 1860-65: its Causes, Incidents, and Results: Intended to exhibit especially its moral and political phases with the drift and progress of American opinion respecting human slavery from 1776 to the close of the War for the Union. Volume II.

[599] moving from New creek to Petersburg, Hardy county; and, after a brief struggle, captured 270 prisoners, 93 six-mule wagons, heavily laden, and brought away 1,200 cattle and 500 sheep, in addition. Of many raids from “ Dixie” into West Virginia, hardly another was so cheaply successful as this.

Rosser next surprised¹ the Baltimore and Ohio railroad station at Patterson creek bridge, 8 miles west of Cumberland, capturing a company which held it; but was struck, on his return, at Springfield, near Romney, by Gen. Averill, with a far superior Union force, and chased out of the new State; losing his Patterson creek prisoners and a considerable portion of his own men and horses.

Col. Gallup, commanding on the border of eastern Kentucky, surprised² Col. Ferguson, a Rebel guerrilla, at the Rock House, Wayne co., West Virginia, killing 15 and taking 50 prisoners, including Ferguson.

Gen. Scammon, commanding at Charlestown, had been surprised and captured, with the steamboat Levi, on the Kanawha, by Lt. Verdigan, one of Ferguson's subordinates, a few days before. Verdigan, with but 10 men, captured a General, 4 other officers, and 25 privates, beside the steamboat and her crew; throwing overboard the captured arms so fast as lie could seize them, so as to preclude the danger of a rescue. Scammon and his two aids were sent prisoners to Richmond; the residue paroled.

Gen. Grant's comprehensive plan of campaign embraced a cooperative movement up the Shenandoah under Gen. Sigel, and up the Kanawha by Gen. Crook, aiming at the Rebel resources in the vicinity of Staunton and Lynchburg. Sigel, with some 10,000 men, moved³ up the Valley accordingly, and was met, near Newmarket, by a Rebel army of at least equal force under Breckinridge; to strengthen whom, the region west of him had very properly been stripped and left nearly defenseless. After some manoeuvering and skirmishing, Breckinridge, at 3 P. M.,⁴ ordered a determined charge, by which Sigel's badly handled army was routed, and driven back to Cedar creek, near Strasburg, with a loss of 700 men, 6 guns, 1,000 small arms, his hospitals, and part of his train. Breckinridge seems not to have followed up his victory, because his forces were needed to repel the advance of Crook from the west.

Crook had moved from Charlestown simultaneously with Sigel's advance from Winchester; and — as if to preclude the last chance of ultimate success — had divided his command; sending Averill, with 2,000 cavalry, to destroy the lead-mines near Wytheville, while he advanced farther to the left. But when Averill reached⁵ Wytheville, he found there John Morgan, with a formidable cavalry force dispatched by Gen. W. E. Jones from Saltville; and a stubborn fight came off, wherein Averill was clearly worsted. He tries in his ‘General Order’ to make the result a drawn fight against “overwhelming numbers ;” but, as he does not claim to have destroyed the leadworks, nor taken the town, nor achieved anything in particular, save that “the purposes of the enemy were foiled by the engagement,” there is