A real fight has occcurred near Williamsport, but on the
Virginia side of the Potomac. General Cadwallader crossed the river with, it is
said, 14,000 men, to attack our force of 4,000 stationed there under Colonel Jackson.
Colonel J. thought it folly to meet such an army with so small a force, and
therefore ordered a retreat; but quite a body of artillery remained to keep the
enemy at bay. They retained with them but one gun, a six-pounder. The Rev. Dr.
Pendleton, now captain of artillery, commanded this gun, and whenever he
ordered its discharge, he was heard to say, reverently, “The Lord have mercy
upon their souls — fire!” The result was almost miraculous; but four of our men
were missing, two of whom were killed; twenty were wounded, and have been
brought to the Winchester hospitals; sixty-five prisoners were taken, and are
now in Winchester. Many of their men were seen to fall. Our men, who did this
deadly firing, retreated in perfect order. I heard this from one who was on the
field at the time. It is said that in Dr. Pendleton the soldier and the
chaplain are blended most harmoniously. A gentleman who went to the camp to visit
his sons, who belong to the “Rockbridge Battery,” told me that he arose before
daylight, and was walking about the encampment, and when near a dense wood his
attention was arrested by the voice of prayer; he found it was the sonorous
voice of Dr. P., who was surrounded by his company, invoking for them, and for
the country, the blessing of Heaven. What a blessing it is for those young men,
away from the influences of home, and exposed to the baneful associations of
the camp, to have such a guide! It has almost reconciled me to the clergy going
upon the field as soldiers. The Bishop of Louisiana has been to Mountain View,
to consult Bishop Meade on the subject of his taking the field. I do not know
what advice was given. These reverend gentlemen, who were educated at West
Point, are perfectly conscientious, and think it their duty to give their military
knowledge to their country, and their presence may do much for the spiritual
good of the army.
Brave Richard Ashby is dead; how I grieve for his family and
for his country, for we cannot afford to lose such men!
SOURCE: Judith W. McGuire, Diary of a Southern
Refugee, During the War, p. 33-4
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