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Almost with the close of the fight, an order came from
General Garnett for
Scott to fall back to
Huttonsville, twelve miles from
Beverley, and he would join us there, concentrate, and give
McClellan battle.
We had nearly reached
Huttonsville, when there came another order from
Garnett for us to return to
Beverley, where he would join us, and fight there next day. Midnight of the 11th of July found us, after marching and countermarching all day, drawn up in the streets of
Beverley, waiting
Garnett, our last march made amid a thunder-storm and downpour of rain seldom witnessed.
As we stood in rank, wet to the skin, there came a last order from
Garnett ‘to take the prisoners from the jail and fall rapidly back to
Monterey, where he would join us by way of
Hardy and the
South Branch of the
Potomac.’
This was done,
Colonel Scott ordering your correspondent to remain at the log cabin, just out of
Beverly, to direct stragglers from the fight on
Rich mountain on the line of retreat.
This he did, remaining until the
Yankee cavalry appeared, approaching
Beverley from the direction of
Laurel Hill, on the morning of the 12th of July, then rejoining the regiment late in the evening of that charge at
Cheat mountain.
It is evident that, as the turnpike road was open for the
Yankee cavalry, it was equally open for
Garnett to have joined
Scott at
Beverley, and retreat that way to
Cheat mountain and entrench there, as the enemy did afterwards.
At ‘Travellers' Rest,’ on
Greenbrier river, near dark of the 12th, we met the 12th Georgia, under
Colonel Edward Johnson, who fell in line after us, and continued retreat over the
Alleghany.
About midnight, 'mid inky darkness, at a long angle in the road, our prisoners, held in the front, broke away, and the fire of the guard striking our rear, led us to think we were being attacked by ‘bushwhackers,’ and the fire was promptly returned, leading the front to the same idea.
Then for some minutes the front and rear continued fiercely firing, the flash of our
Springfield muskets illuminating the visible darkness, the men, almost to a man, remaining resolutely firm and cool, as comrades fell around and the shrieks of the wounded pierced the darkness 'round.
Had
Mrs. Susan Pendleton Lee been an eye-witness of this scene, she would hardly have written, ‘These men were totally demoralized.’
On the evening of the 13th we rested for the night, and on the 14th of July reached
Monterey and encamped, awaiting
Garnett's forces to join us.
Pegram, cut off by
