Image provided by: Washington County Cooperative Library Service; Hillsboro, OR
About Forest Grove press. (Forest Grove, Or.) 1909-1914 | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1913)
FOREST GROVE PRESS, FORESTIGROVE. OREGON, THURSDAY. MARCH 20, 1913. Forest Grove Steam Laundry The War Fifty Years Ago Battle on Horseback at Kelly’s Ford, Va.— Federal General W. W. Averell Leads an Attack Upon Gen eral Fitzhugh Lee's Confederates— Rapid Charges and Countercharges— Sabers Crossed and Pistols Used In Fighting Around a Stone Fence— After a Third Repulse, Regiment by Regiment, Lee Orders a Grand Charge— This Is Also Repulsed, but the Fed- erals R etreat From the Field at Nightfall. Wood, Coal, Cold Storage and Ice. MERTZ & LATTA By Cit>ta!n C EO . I.. K I I . M E R . Lute U. S. V . A i Cor. 5th Ave. and 2nd S t., Forest G rove, Ore. I Jf W. F. HARTRAMPH Feed Mill will run every day in the week. W h olesale and Retail Bran,Shorts, Rolled Oats, Ground Oats, Ground Wheat, Cracked Wheat, Cracked Corn, Whole Wheat and Corn, Middlings and several kinds of Hard Wheat Flour, Sack Twine and Sacks, Hay and Vetch Seed. Give us a call when in need. Ind Phone 50x 7 o'clock on tin* morning of March 17. 1NI!3, the bugler of th e Third Virginia cavalry sounded "boots nnd saddles” In th e bivouac of th e regim ent a t Cul peper Court House as the first call for th a t famous brigade of Virginia troopers led b.v (¡eneral F itzhugh l.ee to a pitched encounter. A lthough It was the second y ear of the war. there had been no real lighting on horseback in th e east up to th a t d a te except be tween mere handfuls of men in o u t post skirmish. I.ee's commander, (gen eral J e b Stuart, had often ridden on daring raids in 1802, bu t never yet crossed sabers with n foe w orthy of his steel in a sab er against sab er con test. The arm ies of (¡eneral R obert E. I.ee and (¡eneral Joe Hooker lay on oppo site banks of the ItuppahauDock. Hook er getting his ran k s in trim to cross over and if possible pass th e flank of l.ee on the way to Richmond. Hut the F o rest Grove, Ore In n u m t ie r - tl .e First, T hird nnd F ifth Virginia —turned hack uud m ade th eir way to ttie hill from which th e y started. With Saber and Pistol. On th e other Hank the desperate charge of the Second an d F ourth Vir ginia met with stu b b o rn resistance to the last. A fter passing th e fence these troopers dashed for A cerell's guns. T he gun ners left, th e ir pieces, but opportunely the F irst Rhode Island nnd Sixth Ohio of Colonel Duffle's bri gade rushed to th e point of danger, an d in a sh a r p hand to hand fight with s ab er and pistol drove off the Virgin ians. T he d efeat of th e Second and F ourth Virginia w as not a rout, how ever. They rode back to the old ground 1 to reform w ithout molestation. Even the gallant Rhode Islanders, who m ade { th e hardest fight In Averell's column, were satisfied to h ave rescued th e b a t tery. which the gu n n ers had deserted at th e close approach of the Cohfed- , erntes. With the re tre a t o f the Second and Fourth regim ents cam e Averell’s chance to destroy Fitz Lee's brigade. Lee’s men had been beate n in fair fighting. They w ere fe w e r In n u m b er th an the Federal tr oopers by alm ost 3 to 1 and had suffered most in the fighting. Hut Averell excused him self from fu r th e r atta c k on th e ground th a t he had heard the d ru m b e a t of in f a n try In the C onfederate lines the night before, th a t Fitz Lee's position was protected by rifle pits and th e guns protected by earth w orks. He could not attack by the flank nnd believed th a t a direct attack would end in disaster. In fact, he th ought t h a t w ith d raw al in th e face of the enem y would he e x tremely hazardous; hence he inarched j back across the Rappahannock. Fitz Lee lost 100 men nnd 150 horses killed or wounded. Averell's loss of troopers aggregated eighty. T he gen- j eral praised his troopers for th eir valor, j saying. “Sabers were frequen tly cross ed and fences charged, the leading men pulling them down u n d er a fire of canister, g rape an d carbine balls.” | Colonel Rosser w a s severely w ounded I in the first charge, b u t stayed on the | firing line to the end. S tu a r t and 1 ‘el- ha m had been sittin g in a court mar- | tlal a t Culpeper when th e a larm came, and the court took a "recess" to rush to the field. F or I’elhnni nnd one oth er officer of the court it w as a ru sh to I death. r c n t w etting th e artillery amm unition In crossing it w as carried In the nose bags of th e horses. T h e troopers went Into line of buttle ns soon as they reached th e shore, but, seeing no ene my. m arched ou t on the different roads leading from the ford. With bis right resting upon th e river, Averell a d vanced Ills left to n good position for battle an d halted w ith his sh arpshoot ers behind u stone farm fence. It was th en a b o u t noon, for th e crossing had been difficult a n d slow ow ing to high w a te r an d a rapid current. F itzhugh Lee held back in order to m ake sure t h a t Averell w as crossing his m ain force nt K elly’s in stead of some ford higher up. When his scouts cam e Into c a m p n t Culpeper and told of Averell's actual s tre n g th an d posi tion he quickly rode dow n, preceded by mounted sharpshooters, an d formed th e T h ird Virginia cav alry fo r the charge. T h e Virginians sw ep t down th e stone fence, using pistols In the very faces of th e Federáis. Finding no gap through th e wall, they rode back into a Held, reform ed th eir ranks an d re tu rn ed to th e a tta c k through a fa r m y a rd held by th e Federáis. The Federáis a t th e fa rm w ere t ’ennsylva- nliins, som e of them lielonging to Averell's ow n regiment, th e Third, nnd th e fighting waged fiercely fo r a time, the Federáis holding on by th e aid of th eir artillery. In th e charge of the Virginians Stu a r t lost his gallant boy artillerist. Colo nel Jo h n I’elhnin. P elham 's guns were not in th e tight, b ut he had chanceed to hear of th e affair and rode to the field at the head of the column along with S tu art, who also w a s there by ac Comment on Averell’s Retreat. cident. When th e Virginians charged Averell's failure to a tta c k Fitz Lee's j on th e farm ho use P e lh a m rushed to the front, w aving Ills sw ord an d u rg line a ft e r its reform ation is explained ing on the troopers w ith a wild battle in his official report a s follows: "T he shout. l i e was struck dead by a shell enemy opened three pieces from the from Averell's guns, and the fiery cav alcade sw ep t on over Ills body. By chance, however, th e corpse w as recov ered by a Virginian trooper and given due honors in the C onfederate camps, where Pelham w as held In high esteem. Lee's Attacks Repulsed. @ Review of Reviews company. G EN ER A L W. W. AVKIIELL, tT. S. A.. P E D E S A I, CO MMA NDE R AT K E L L Y 'S F O R D . river was patrolled on the southern bank by S tu a rt's a lert Virginia horse men. T h ese troopers were a t home there and m ust be cleared a w a y be- fore Hooker's ad van ce columns set face so u th w ard or the m ovem ent would lie discovered at the s t a r t and tin' Intended surprise forestalled. Fitz I.ee's main cam p was at Culpeper, some miles hack from the river. Ills strongest guard a mere handful for an emergency -s tood watch at Kelly’s ford, the best crossing of the region above Fredericksburg. Federnls Attempt a Surprise. A fter its repulse a t the farmhouse the T h ird Virginia w as joined by Colo- j riel T. L. Itosser's F ifth Virginia, but in a second effort to force the Federáis from th e farm both were driven back by th e rapid carbine fire of the Feder- j al troopers an d Averell's field guns. | } Meanwhile Fitzhugh I.ee's squadrons j on his right had charged into Aver ell's left flank and ridden almost up to his battery, which w as now silent. This ch arg e w as nlso repulsed, the | Federal troopers, now Including Duf- I tie's brigade, m akin g a gallant counter- j charge. ! F inding his force outnum bered three { to one. Fitzhugh I.ee decided to meet the foe on ground of his own choosing. He drew buck nnd formed tils line at J th e edge of an open Held 000 yards j wide. F ou r cannon crowned a knoll ! which overlooked the roadway. Aver- | ell's column followed the retiring Con- ¡ federates rapidly and. marching through a wood, suddenly came upon I.ee's battery and troopers in their new position. On looking the ground 1 over Averell divided not to push the attack. Hooker ordered General William W. Averell to ride out with his own bri gade and Hint of Colonel A. N. I »little, to gether nu m bering nearly ¡(.(Hill troop- pcis, and sm ash Fitz I.ee’s brigade, Tinning and Plum bing, Sheet lin t they had clever scouts in the ru m p s of the arm y of northern Vir M etal W ork and R e ginia. Averell had barely left Ills te n ts <m th e north bank when General pair Shop. A Grand Cavalry Charge. l!ol>ert E. l.ee sent a telegram from I head<|uar1ers at F redericksburg to his 1 Seeing th a t his antagonist would not : nephew at Culpeper pu tting him oil Ills take the Initiative. Fitzhugh Lee or guard, and by nightfall of th e ’tilth dered a grand cavalry charge. It w as N o rth First Avenue, betw een Main and Fitz I.ee's own scouts brought word a rash venture and one lie would not " A ” S tr e e ts ; phone HtRl. th a t th e riders In blue were only six have undertaken a fte r the blue and miles from Kelly's ford and aim ing for gray had crossed sabers a few times, th a t crossing. as they did frequently thereafter in l.ee kept tw en ty mounted sh a r p IStSI. l i e put every squadron in, leav- i @ b y t h e P a t r i o t P u b l i s h i n g q o m p a n y . shooters at th e fo nt regularly a n d Im lug no reserve and having nothing for mediately sent down forty more a t a Ids troopers to rally on in case of d e G E N E R A L J . E. B. S TV ART AND G EN ER A L E t T Z H t ' l lI L E E, C O N F E D E R A T E CAVALRY gallop. T h e sharpshooters had Imllt feat except th e four gnus of his bnt- L E A D E R S AT K E L L Y S FO RD . A #* pits for cover a ltd lay aw ak e all night ery. to meet th e enemy. T he ford w as ob- Averell's battery had 150 rounds of side of the hill directly in front of my *l atructed with fallen trees nnd th e o|>- serviceable ammunition, held In re left. No horses could be discovered Í posite approach barricaded with a n e t serve In anticipation of a charge. abo ut those guns, and from the m a n work of stout limbs and saplings When Lee's troopers rode forward the ner in which th ey were served it w as ■ hewtsI to a sh arp point. battery o[>eiied with shell nt 1,500 evident th ey w ere covered by e a r t h Averell's advance guard tw ice tried yards. changing to spherical case nt works. It w as also obvious t h a t our th e ford alsm t 8 a n*. on th e 17th ami 1.000 yards nnd to double shotted can artillery could not hurt them . O ur a m From the preparing of m unition wns of miserable quality and was driven back by the Virginia sh arp ulster at 400 yards. the food to the serving, nearly exhausted. Theirs, on the con shooters, comm anded by Captain Lee's Fourth Virginia regiment e n J a m e s llrts'klnrldge of the Second reg countered a rail fence when halfway trary, w a s exceedingly annoying. F ir absolut e cleanliness and linciit. An effort w as m ade to And ncross th e field, mid the troopers tore ing nt a single company or squadron painstaking care is observ an o th e r crossing place, but th e swol It down under a galling fire from the In line, they would knock a m an out of th e ran k s very frequently. len stre a m w as Im passable elsewhere. ed by the Federal carbine* This regiment, with "T h e sk irm ishers again th reatened Finally Averell's chief of staff picked the Second Virginia, constituted L ee* my left, an d it w as reported to me th a t tw en ty m en from Ills brigade nnd, right wing. Together they alined for In fa n try had been seen a t a distance calling upon f.lcutermnt S. A. Brown \verell'* battery. Meanwhtlel.ee'* left of Troop (!. First Rhode Island c a v to my right, moving tow ard my rear, wing entne to n deep stream, which Everything to Eat alry told him to cross th a t fo nt and and the car* could be heard running checked the line, nnd It was forced to on the road in the rear of the enemy, not return. \\ lien Brown reached the O ysters and Shellfish a change from line formation to a col pro bably bringing re-enforcement*. It middle of th e cu rren t he had but six umn of four* under fire, file across and te r n followers and. m aking a rush, wns 5:30 p. in . mi l It w a s necessary Specialty. reached th e enemy's pits with Put tw o then deploy Into line of battle Aver to ad vance my cavalry u|x>n tb eir In ell's cavalry met this charge by firing tren ch ed positions to m a k e a desperate men at Ills back. Hut the daring fcl a tta c k or to w ith d raw across the river. lows had made such n good tight with at long range from the woods screen Oj>en Day and Night Ing th a t flank E ith e r operation would be attended tliolr carbines th at tile sharpshooter* The Confederates tried to sw eep ED. BOOS, Proprietor retreated, and llrowii cap tu red tw e n around and reach the Federal gnns w ith Im minent hazard. My horses w ere exhausted. We had lx*en su c ty five belated ones, whose horse hold ers stam peded and left them without which lay directly In front of the cessful thus far. an d I deem ed It prop mounts. C aptain It reek In ridge escaped. F ou rth nnd Second Virginia. Between e r to w ith d ra w .” this column and the battery w ere two S tu a r t's historian w rote th a t there Battle Around a Stone Wall. strong fence* Inclosing the main rosd w as no in fa n try In the vicinity; nlso Averell crossed Ills brigade as quick of th e region By the time the troop there were no e a rth w o r k s and no ears ly ns posslide foi#f. ,r of attack while ers reached the road they were broken o ringing tip r e e n f o r c e menta. Averell. a stra d d le of th e stream . The cu rren t np Into small squads and the Impact of be declared, should have pressed the charge lost. Tb* regiments, three th rou gh to Cul| eper Court House. bu s very swift, and lu order to pre- 1 WM. WEITZEL Absolutely Safe and Reliable The Bankers & Merchants Mutual Fire Association O f Forest Grove, O regon Conducted on Economic and business Principles. The Home Company That Has Made Good. Insure Your Business or Dwelling in The Bankers & Merchants G ILTNER’S ROCERY Phone Main 701 South Main Street, Forest Grove, Ore. Fresh Vegetables Every Day Log Cabin Bread Amber and Fresh Each Morning Golden Gate COFFEE Neat Printing is something every business man desires when he orders station ery. Neat appearing business letter Heads, envelopes, state ments, bill heads, cards, etc., are what can be had from the Press Publishing Co. Neat printing Is Our Motto and we endeavor to five up to it at all times. When we fail to deliver a job of printed work which entirely satisfies, we are prepared to make it right. A job turned out of this office must be correct in every par ticular. Bring your work to the Press Publishing Co. and be assured of securing some thing which is typographically correct, tasty in construction and neat in appearance. ELECTRIC POWER Cheapest and Best Forest Grove Oyster House — Air y — F W ashington-Oregon Corporation.