The Maryland Line in the Confederate States Army.Goldsborough, W. W. (William Worthington)
History
The Maryland Line in the Confederate States Army.
Goldsborough, W. W. (William Worthington)
Confederate States of America. Army; Maryland -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
A short time after his return the Second Maryland and the Baltimore
Light Artillery and First Maryland Cavalry were ordered to Fisher’s
Hill, to relieve the gallant Major Sam Myers, who was stationed there
with a small force of cavalry. Soon after our arrival we were joined by
the lamented General Albert G. Jenkins, with a splendid brigade of
Virginia cavalry.
Whilst at Fisher’s Hill it was determined by the officers of the
Maryland Line to select a commander, it being then temporarily under the
command of Lieutenant-Colonel James R. Herbert. By their unanimous voice
Colonel Bradley T. Johnson was chosen, and Lieutenant Bussey dispatched
to Richmond to notify that officer of the fact. Colonel Johnson was then
a member of a military court, much against his will, with the rank of
Colonel of cavalry, and he at once accepted the command, and started for
it next day, but did not reach it until after the battle of Gettysburg
(though he was in the latter part of that engagement, acting as
aid-de-camp to General Ewell,) and upon looking into the matter, and
finding the battalion of infantry cut to pieces, advised that the
consolidation should be postponed for the present, whilst he himself was
assigned to the temporary command of the Third Virginia Brigade, the
same he commanded with so much distinction at the second battle of
Manassas, and first invasion of Maryland, and to which General Jackson,
before his death, had so long tried in vain to have him permanently
appointed.
During our short stay here nothing of moment occurred with the exception
of a slight skirmish in the streets of Strasburg, in which Captain John
W. Torsch with three companies was engaged with a regiment of the
Federal cavalry. The enemy was driven off with loss, and pursued beyond
Middletown by a portion of the First Maryland cavalry, who were,
however, unable to come up with them, so precipitate was their flight.
On the 10th of June the whole command moved down and went into temporary
camp at Cedar Creek. Whilst here a company of the First Maryland
cavalry, with a few of Jenkins’ men, all under the command of Captain W.
I. Raisin, had the misfortune to run into a Federal ambuscade, in which
he sustained a loss of four men killed, and thirty wounded and captured,
the gallant Raisin being of the number, with a desperate wound in the
head.
On the afternoon of the 12th a dispatch arrived announcing that General
Ewell was at Front Royal with his whole corps. Great was our surprise,
for we had little dreamed he was nearer than Fredericksburg. What it
meant we could not conjecture, but that a movement was to be made on
Winchester was apparent to all.
Late that night a second dispatch arrived directing Colonel Herbert with
his infantry and the Baltimore Light Artillery, (General Jenkins with
the cavalry had left that afternoon to join General Ewell,) to move in
the direction of Middletown immediately and protect Ewell’s wagon train,
which had been ordered to that point.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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