At daylight in the morning, Colonel Johnson crossed his small force over the river, and came up with Kilpatrick’s rear guard, near Old Church, which was immediately attacked, and several prisoners captured. Still taking every precaution not to expose to the enemy the smallness of his force, he continued to harrass him, and drove his rear guard through Old Church in confusion. Here, thinking himself seriously menaced, Kilpatrick formed line of battle. It seemed really ridiculous—three thousand men and four pieces of artillery in battle array to fight sixty men. Moving a regiment to the rear, he compelled Colonel Johnson to fall back half a mile, but as soon as this returned to the main body, he again renewed his attacks upon the unhappy rear guard. In this way they moved down the Peninsula some distance, when a scout informed Colonel Johnson that a column of the enemy was moving down the road, immediately in his rear. He was thus between two forces. Dismounting his men as rapidly as possible, and deploying them in the woods, on each side of the road, he awaited their approach. Upon perceiving him, they made a charge, and went through his line, not, however, without losing forty-five men and horses. This proved to be a remnant of Dahlgren’s marauders, four hundred strong, ladened with plunder. Among the many articles of value recaptured from them was a silver dish cover, belonging to Mrs. Morson, of Goochland. From their statement, it appeared that Dahlgren, not receiving an answer to the dispatch sent to Kilpatrick, and which was fortunately intercepted by Colonel Johnson, as already seen, started with a hundred men to find him, but failed to get across the Pamunky at Dabney’s ferry, owing to the destruction of the boats, as has been stated, and in his endeavors to escape through King and Queen county, was ambuscaded in the night, and he himself killed by a mere boy, and his whole command captured by the home guard. Kilpatrick finding the expedition a failure, and believing himself pressed by a superior force, although but sixty sabres were at his heels, made for the lower ferries of the Pamunky, but failed to cross, for the same reason Dahlgren had, and finally reached Tunstall’s Station, and joined the forces under Butler, having been followed the whole way by the Maryland Battalion. For this gallant exploit, General Elzey, in command of the defences of Richmond, issued a general order complimenting the command, and General Wade Hampton, in his report to General Lee, distinctly gave the credit of saving Richmond to the little battalion; for, by destroying the combination between Dahlgren and Kilpatrick, they prevented the joint attack on the city, and by the vigorous and incessant harrassing of the latter’s rear, conveyed the impression that he was attacked in force, at once changing his movements into a retreat, (deserting his subordinate Dahlgren,) and converting the attacks of Johnson into a pursuit.