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for support, and there we staid as long as we had a round, although, soon after we got into position, they opened on us with thirty-two pounders from across the Rappahannock.
The nearest shot from these struck about thirty yards from our left.
I omit portions of this letter, which seem to reflect unnecessarily upon the Horse Artillery, and which might provoke an angry retort from a member of that organization.
But I desire to place in close juxtaposition some extracts from a letter written (not twenty years after the battle, but four days after it), by
Lieutenant Channing Price, at that time aid-de-camp to
General Stuart.
Lieutenant Price was, before his promotion to
General Stuart's staff, a member of the
Richmond Howitzer Battalion.
This letter was addressed to his mother, by whose kindness such of her son's letters, as might aid me in writing the story of
General Stuart's campaigns, have been placed in my hands.
Lieutenant Price writes thus in describing the events of the 13th December, 1862:
I then galloped out to where General Stuart was [at the junction of the Bowling Green and Hamilton's Crossing roads, and there Major Pelham had come up with one gun of Harvey's Horse Artillery.
The enemy were in dense masses, advancing straight towards our line of battle, and Pelham was exactly on their left flank with his gun, with no support whatever.
He opened on them with solid shot, and though most of them went amongst the infantry, one blew up a caisson for the Yankees.
They now opened about fifteen or twenty guns on Pelham; but he had splendid shelter for his gun, and only had one man wounded, I think.
He kept up his fire until he was ordered to cease, so that they might come up closer to our line.
Not a gun on our long line, from Fredericksburg to Hamilton's Crossing, had yet fired, only Pelham with his Napoleon, and soon afterwards a Blakley, nearer the railroad.
General Lee expressed his warm admiration for Major Pelham's distinguished gallantry, but said that the young Major-General (alluding to Stuart) had opened on them too soon.
After describing the repulse of the enemy by
Jackson's troops, and the renewal of the attack by the
Federal troops,
Lieutenant Price continues:
A Parrott Gun of the Second Howitzers and one of the Powhatan battery, now crossed the Bowling Green road and opened a very destructive fire on their flank, under the direction of Colonel Rosser, Major Pelham commanding the others * * * * * * * * Galloping to the General I
