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under General Crook's personal supervision, amid a terribly severe fire of shells Colonel White moved up, opened the fight just at the moment the order was given for the First and Second brigades to charge, the General himself leading the men. I wish I could describe the action at this moment.
The crash of the musketry was terrific, the roar of the artillery deafening.
The charge itself was never surpassed in gallantry, and though moving up under a fearful fire, hardly a man flinched.
The enemy fought desperately, but not for,a single moment was the result doubtful.
The enemy gave way utterly routed.
The Twelfth Ohio and the Ninth Virginia, of Colonel White's brigade, and the Twenty-third Ohio, of Colonel Hays' command, lost fearfully.
The Ninth Virginia, Colonel Duval, took two pieces of artillery, charging over the intrenchments, fighting the rebels hand-to-hand till they fled.
The regiment left one hundred and eighty-seven, out of four hundred and fifty, on the battle-field dead or wounded.
The Twenty-third Ohio lost one hundred and eight men, and the Twelfth Ohio eighty-seven men. We pursued the enemy about two miles, when we were met by a body of fresh troops from Morgan, but they were routed in a short time and fled in confusion.
We remained over night at Dublin Depot, and the next day fought with artillery across the New River at the railroad bridge.
We again drove the enemy from the field, burned the bridge, and also the bridge at Central Station.
We destroyed a large amount of quartermaster and ordnance stores.
The battle, which is called the battle of Cloyd's Net, was fought on the ninth of May.
I escaped without a scratch, though under the heaviest fire.
Captain Hunter, Lieutenant Seaman, of the Twenty-third Ohio, Captain Channel, of the Twelfth Ohio, Captain Clark, of the Ninety-first Ohio, Captain Wetzel and Lieutenant Jenkins, of the Ninth Virginia, and Colonel Wolworth, of the Fourth Pennsylvania, are among the killed.
Captain Williams, of the Twelfth Ohio, was severely wounded, and I fear will not recover.
We captured three hundred prisoners.
General Jenkins, Lieutenant-Colonels Smith (son of Extra Billy) and Lynches are among the number.
After burning the New River bridge, we crossed the river to Blacksburg, and marching through the counties of Pulaski, Montgomery, Monroe, and Greenbriar, reached Meadow Bluff on the nineteenth of May.
In crossing Peter's Rill we captured a train of thirty wagons and a piece of artillery from Jackson, and had he not been very good on the run, would have caught his entire command.
Our loss in the battle at Cloyd Net was at least five hundred, and the enemy must have lost at least a third more, in addition to prisoners.
We captured six pieces of artillery on the trip, three of which we brought away with us.
Very respectfully,
R.
Another account.
This division of the army having returned from its recent expedition and encamped at this place, I was enabled to join it last evening, and to learn, through the kindness of General Crook and the officers of his command, all the particulars of their recent journey into Dixie, and of the success they met there.
First, as to the present condition of the army.
It is encamped--one brigade being in Lewisburg, on Meadow Bluffs, fifteen miles north-west of the former place, while the men and horses are resting from the exhausting work of the past three or four weeks.
The whole command bear the marks of their long march through a mountainous country, with but little supplies.
Indeed, at one time the rations were exhausted, and for several days they were forced to live upon the country.
As soon as thoroughly rested and supplied, we are promised another expedition whose results I hope to report from my own knowledge.
You will better appreciate the importance of the expedition, when told that its object is the destruction of the Newbern bridge, which has been attempted several times each campaign of the war, and every time has failed, To General George Crook was left the honor of succeeding where all others before him had failed.
On the second of May, the General and command left the Kanawha valley, to destroy the line of communication over the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad.
The column moved towards the railroad by way of Fayette and Princeton — White, to protect its right; General Averill, with a strong mounted force, marched by Logan Court House, intending to strike at Saltville, a branch railroad, and to destroy it and the main line to Dublin depot; this latter is the railroad station for the town of Newbern.
To deceive the enemy as to the route, General Crook sent the Fifth Virginia infantry, Colonel A. A. Tomlinson, with Lieutenant Blazer's scouts, on the Lewisburg road; so effectually was this done, that all rebel forces were withdrawn from the Princeton road, and no opposition was met until in the vicinity of Princeton, a small company of cavalry, after a skirmish with our advance, fled precipitately toward Rocky Gap.
We entered Princeton May sixth.
So completely were the rebels deceived as to our line of march, that on the evening of the fifth McCausland's brigade had left Princeton for Lewisburg, leaving their tents standing, and the tools with which they had erected a strong fortification.
These we destroyed and marched during the next two days to Shannon's bridge, on the north-western slope of Walker's or Cloyd's Mountain, where Colonel J. Holey, Seventh Virginia cavalry, with four hundred mounted men, joined the force.
During these
