(Signed)

G. A. CUSTER,

Brig. Com. Second Brigade Third Division Cavalry Corps.
E. A. PAUL'S NARRATIVE.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
Wednesday, October 21, 1863.

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The advance of this army - Lieutenant Whittaker and twenty of General Kilpatrick's cavalry division-entered Warrenton last evening, the enemy's cavalry, under Stuart, at the same time retiring toward Sulphur Springs.

mand have discharged their duty during the long Mills, where Hampton's and Jones's brigades, and arduous marches as well as the hard-fought under the immediate command of Stuart, with engagements of the past few days. Too much two batteries, occupied a very strong position praise cannot be given to the officers and men of west of the run. The banks of Broad Run in battery M, Second artillery, for the gallantry this vicinity are very steep, and, therefore, are displayed on more than one occasion. For the fordable only at a few places. Pennington's and untiring zeal and energy, added to the unflinching Elder's batteries were opened with effect, combravery displayed in transmitting and executing pelling the enemy to move their batteries several my orders upon the field, my acknowledgments are times. After an artillery duel and skirmishing due to the following members of my staff: Cap- for nearly two hours, and the Commanding Gentain R. F. Judson, A. D. C., Lieutenant R. Bay-eral having received word that there was no enelis, A. A. D. C., Lieutenant William Colerick, A. my near at hand on his right or left, under a D. C., and to Lieutenant E. G. Granger, A. A. concentrated fire of the artillery a crossing was A. G. Lieutenant Granger, while leading a effected in force by the pike bridge. The skircharge at Brandy Station, had his horse shot in mishers, not to be left behind, boldly waded the two places. Surgeon Wooster, of my staff, in river, and notwithstanding all the obstacles to addition to his professional duties, rendered me such a movement, kept up an excellent line, the valuable assistance by aiding in transmitting my whole command pushing forward under a very orders. Respectfully submitted, heavy fire. The conflict, though comparatively brief here, was sharp, the enemy contending manfully for every foot of ground, but when they did give way, General Davies's brigade, which had before been held in hand while Custer's had the advance, moved rapidly forward, pressing the enemy above New-Baltimore. While General Custer's command was taking a nooning, a messenger came in out of breath to General Kilpatrick, with the information that a column of the enemy was threatening his left. Suitable dispoThe recent gallant cavalry fight of General Kil-sition of the force was at once made to resist this patrick's division at Buckland's Mills and vicini- unexpected danger by Major Cook, Chief of Staff, ty is still the subject of conversation throughout and Adjutant-General Estes. No sooner had the army. Now that all the command is in, I am this been done than a portion of the Seventh able to furnish a more reliable account of that Michigan which had been stationed on their affair than the first despatches, which were ne- flank was forced back by a line of rebel infantry, cessarily incomplete, owing to the absence of a acting as skirmishers, with a strong reserve, beportion of the command. The commander of the lieved to have been at least one full division, division received orders on Sunday last to move with a brigade or more of cavalry. The extreme as far as possible toward Warrenton, under the danger of the command as situated was seen at a supposition that nothing but cavalry would op-glance by General Kilpatrick, and he despatched pose his progress; and knowing that Kilpatrick had whipped Stuart alone on several well-contested fields, it was not thought worth while to advance infantry within immediate supporting distance. Notwithstanding this division has been constantly on active duty, and the men and horses were considerably the worse for wear, the order to march was obeyed with alacrity, and the command was moving by three o'clock P.M. on Sunday. But little progress had been made from Bull Run before the enemy's pickets were encountered and driven back upon their supports at Gainesville, where two regiments were found drawn up in line of battle. Night coming on, the command encamped. Early Monday morning the advance was sounded, and the enemy retired from Gainesville, fighting as they went, taking the Warrenton pike. From Gainesville General Kilpatrick took the precaution to send the First Virginia regiment, Major Farrable, to Haymarket and vicinity to guard the right flank, and the Seventh Michigan, Colonel Mann, to Greenwich and vicinity to guard the left flank, while the remainder of the division moved up the Warrenton pike. The enemy fled precipitately until they had crossed Broad Run, at Buckland's

Lieutenant Hickey with orders to General Davies to fall back at once, as he was in danger of being cut off. General Davies had in part anticipated the order, for upon hearing firing at his rear, had fallen back to within one mile and a half of General Custer's brigade, and was there awaiting orders when the messenger arrived. While this was transpiring, the Fifth Michigan, Colonel Alger, was deployed as skirmishers to so far as possible fill up the gap between the two brigades and keep back a threatened movement of the enemy to divide the command. A severe struggle now took place for possession of the pike-our forces trying to hold it so as to enable Davies to pass and take up a new position, while the enemy were determined that the movement should not be made. Having both infantry and cavalry, in this they were successful - General Custer, however, succeeding in getting his command in safety across Broad Run after the most desperate fighting, in which Pennington's battery, (company M, Second artillery,) as usual, took a most important part, firing with great rapidity, and making their guns a terror to all massed forces with which the enemy threatened the retiring troops, though at one time they boldly came

within a very short distance of the guns, intent upon capturing them.

Once across the river, the bridge was held, though some of the men were entirely out of carbine ammunition, and resort was had to Colt's revolvers, in which the officers took a conspicuous part. The enemy, however, succeeded in effecting a crossing some distance to the left, and the brigade fell back fighting to the vicinity of Gainesville, where the troops disappeared in a belt of timber, passing through a line of Sixth corps infantry skirmishers there concealed, whom the enemy, not seeing, made bold to charge, and were repulsed with great loss, the officer leading the charge being among the killed.

our own troops, in the excitement of the moment it was not easy to distinguish one from the other. As an instance of this, I may state that a rebel urged Lieutenant Whittaker, of General Kilpatrick's staff, to press forward. Whittaker, supposing it was some of our own men, upbraided him for wishing, as he supposed, to press past and abandon the wagons. By half-past seven o'clock in the evening both brigades were in camp at Gainesville, having been engaged nearly all day fighting a combination of infantry and cavalry, with a loss, all told, as now appears including killed, wounded, and missing- not to exceed one hundred men, instead of three hundred or four hundred, as was at first reported by stragglers. And instead of losing eight or nine wagons, the actual loss is only two, and one of these got mired, and the other broke down. No horses or mules were lost. In this retreat Elder's battery took a conspicuous part, and was handled with consummate skill.

Generals Kilpatrick, Custer, Davies, Colonels Alger, Mann, Sawyer, and in fact a large majori ty of the officers and men, deserve particular mention for preserving intact, almost by superhuman exertions, the hard-earned reputation of the cavalry corps.

When General Kilpatrick saw that Custer's brigade was safe across Broad Run, he directed him to fall back slowly, and fighting if pursued, and then started, accompanied by an orderly only, to join General Davies, whom he had notified previously by an aid that he was cut off, and must make his way to the pike leading from General Kilpatrick, upon bringing his Second Thoroughfare Gap to Gainesville. To many not brigade into camp, reported personally at headacquainted with the circumstances this might quarters, and received the thanks of both Geneseem a foolhardy errand, having to recross Broad rals Meade and Pleasanton for the able manner Run, which he did at the bridge, and to run the in which he had discharged the important duty gauntlet of skirmishers for more than a mile; that had been intrusted to him, and the skill he but General Kilpatrick would rather have lost displayed in extricating his command from the his own life on that field than to lose a brigade, most trying positions in which a command can the fate of which then hung in the balance; and be placed. It is just such emergencies that test while having the utmost confidence in the ability the capacity of a commanding officer, and Geneand coolness of General Davies, he at the same ral Kilpatrick, all through the trying scenes of time realized the fact that his own presence Monday, showed that he was fully equal to the would do something toward encouraging the occasion, for nothing but cool judgment and distroops, particularly as some of them had been criminate action, with hard fighting, saved the associated with him for years. Providence per-division from the trap the enemy had laid for it. mitting, he succeeded in reaching the command with ten or a dozen gallant spirits, both officers and men, who, seeing the noble conduct of their General, resolved to accompany him without orders. Fortunately, as the sequel will show, Dr. Capehart, Chief Surgeon of the brigade, was familiar with that section of country, and avoiding the main road leading to Thoroughfare Gap, reached the pike a short distance above the village of Haymarket. The difficulty of this movement will be understood when it is stated that this reduced brigade was attacked in the rear by both Hampton's and Jones's brigades, and that Fitz Lee was ready to confront it on the Thoroughfare Gap road, which they expected Davies would take when cut off. When General Kilpatrick reached the command, he at once ordered the Harris Light (Second New-York) to act as rear-guard. So hard pressed were they in rear and flank, that the choicest spirits-because the bravest, both officers and men-of the command joined the rear-guard, and nobly did they withstand the onsets of the enemy, and even mocked them while exulting at the idea of even driving a moiety of Kilpatrick's command-in their beast-like yelp, and hurled them back on more than one occasion by the sword alone. At one time the rear-guard and the advance of the enemy were all mixed together. The enemy's advance wearing a uniform similar to that worn by

General Merritt reports that the enemy have so completely destroyed the Orange and Alexandria Railroad between Warrenton Junction and the Rappahannock River, that it will take two months to reconstruct it; and in the opinion of engineers, it will be much easier and save time to construct almost an entire new road than to attempt to repair the old one. They have filled the cuts-of which there are several-with trees and earth; burnt the culverts and bridges, blown up the abutments, destroyed the ties, and miles of rails, by heating and twisting them.

Doc. 198.

BATTLE NEAR BLOUNTSVILLE, TENN.

CINCINNATI "COMMERCIAL" ACCOUNT.

BRISTOL, TENN., October 16, 1863. I WROTE you a few days ago from Brabson's Hill, giving an account of the battle of Blue Springs, on the tenth instant, and the chase after them to that point. General Shackleford, after recruiting his nearly worn-out horses for twenty

four hours, moved his command forward toward here, our vigilant "citizen scout" reported at Blountsville, on the evening of the thirteenth. A headquarters information in reference to the reconnoitring party of the Seventh Ohio volunteer movements and whereabouts of Major Gillmore's cavalry,, under Captain Copeland, drove the rebel predatory rebel band, "to villainy and to vanpickets in, and had a brisk skirmish for half an dalism consecrate." hour, losing one man, private James Barnes, company E, who was shot in the head and in; stantly expired.

It appears this eminent and worthy bushwhacker had conceived a plan to destroy, on a moonless night, October fifteenth, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad bridge across Back Creek, and also to tear up generally the bridges and culverts above that point. With this intention Gillmore left his temporary encampments near a distillery, in the vicinity of Strasburgh, with his adventurous "knights of the order of rum-punch," consisting of about forty men, including two Captains and one Lieutenant. He followed in his line of march the narrow valley west of the North Mountain range, through which peacefully meanders the clear waters of Back Creek.

Early on the morning of the fourteenth, the ball opened four miles from Blountsville, and the firing continued all day, the rebels making stands on all the hills, but they were driven from their positions and retreated through Blountsville at dark, toward Zollicoffer, on the East-Tennessee and Virginia railroad. Night coming on, we encamped near Blountsville for the night. The rebels becoming alarmed, evacuated their stronghold, Zollicoffer, during the night, and retreated toward Saltville, evidently thinking we were making for the Salt Works at that place. Our Now, Harry Gillmore is a thorough lady's man. troops followed them up to within six miles of That potent influence said to rule court and camp Abington, Va., when they returned to Bristol. and grove controlled his movements in the presWe captured here three locomotives and thirty-ent instance. En route to the point at which he four cars, all of which we destroyed, as well as five railroad bridges above Bristol. We also captured a large amount of salt, sugar, etc.

The rebels had thrown down the fences in the vicinity of Blountsville, and thrown up breastworks, and boasted that they intended to give the Yanks a good thrashing, and drive them from East-Tennessee; but, as usual, instead of their doing it, they did the tallest kind of running. Our loss in this engagement was small, consisting as follows:

Second Lieutenant Charles McBee, company G, Second East-Tennessee mounted infantry, wounded seriously in the head; private William G. Francis, company G, Second East-Tennessee mounted infantry, in the foot; Corporal John Little, company K, Fourteenth Illinois cavalry, in the foot; private Andrew Bishop, company HI, Second Ohio volunteer cavalry, in the leg; Sergeant R. M. Bail, company C, Second Ohio volunteer cavalry, in the hip.

The rebels admit a loss of eight killed and twenty-six wounded. We also took ten pris

oners.

Our boys, in the recent battles and skirmishes, have behaved most gallantly. They (General Shackleford's division) have been constantly on the move, and, in fact, have done all the work that has been done in East-Tennessee. Two brigades are in the neighborhood of Loudon, keeping the rebels, under Pegram, out of that section, while Colonels Foster's and Carter's brigades have been in the front here. The General is a working man, and will have none but that kind about him.

intended to rendezvous until night set in, he halted to see a rebel maiden, "fair and all his fancy painted her," and she persuaded him to linger behind in her delightful society, and to intrust the business of bridge-burning to his senior Captain-Blackford. But for this circumstance Gillmore would not now be at large, as the reader will observe presently.

Leaving the Major with his Delilah, the Captain marched his men beyond the diminutive village of Tomahawk, within five miles of the railroad. He encamped-very secretly, he thoughtin an almost inaccessible ravine in North Mountain. It was a capital hiding-place, covered with a thick growth of timber, and, like an African jungle, easier to get into than out of. Here the party awaited the approach of nightfall.

In this lair our citizen scout discovered the gang and reported the fact at headquarters. The post commandant immediately ordered out two small detachments of cavalry from the Twelfth Pennsylvania and First New-York regimentsone commanded by Captain Henry, the other by Captain R. S. Prendergast. To Captain Prendergast, by virtue of his seniority, was intrusted the management and command of the enterprise to capture the guerrillas. A small party of infantry was also directed to march to Tomahawk, to act in conjunction with the cavalry.

Captain Prendergast, accompanied by the scout, reconnoitred, unseen, the position of the rebels, and judiciously posted his cavalry force where they would entirely cut off every avenue of escape. He directed Captain Henry, with the men of the Twelfth, to occupy the road running by what is known as the "Old Stone Church," and himself and men held the main road through Tomahawk-infantry, in the mean time, by his CAPTURE OF GILLMORE'S GUERRILLAS. the direction of Hedgesville, with orders to disdirections, moving upon the bushwhackers from

Doc. 199.

MARTINSBURGH, October 17, 1863. AFTER the excitement incident to the anticipated Imbodenish raid had partially subsided

lodge them from the mountain ravine.

The infantry acted promptly. It was a complete surprise-a coup d'état; the graybacks

We DESTRUCTION OF BLOCKADE RUNNERS.