. Battles and leaders of the Civil War : being for the most part contributions by Union and Confederate officers, based upon "The Century war series." . tle was left to cheer andto invigorate those in the rear. The main bodyarriving, forward was the order — straightdown through New Kent to Sycamore Ford onthe Chickahominy. A beautiful full moon lighted our way andcast weird shadows across our path. Expectingeach moment to meet the enemy, every bush inthe distance looked like a sentinel, and every jag-ged tree bending over the road like a all night, we arrived at the ford betwe
. Battles and leaders of the Civil War : being for the most part contributions by Union and Confederate officers, based upon "The Century war series." . tle was left to cheer andto invigorate those in the rear. The main bodyarriving, forward was the order — straightdown through New Kent to Sycamore Ford onthe Chickahominy. A beautiful full moon lighted our way andcast weird shadows across our path. Expectingeach moment to meet the enemy, every bush inthe distance looked like a sentinel, and every jag-ged tree bending over the road like a all night, we arrived at the ford betweendaybreak and sunrise ; and here our real troublesbegan. To our chagrin, we found the streamswollen by recent rains almost out of its banks,and running like a torrent. No man or horsecould get over without swimming, and it hap-pened that the entrance to the ford on our sidewas below the point at which we had to come out onthe other side. Therefore, we had to swim againstthe current. Owing to the mud and mire, it wasnot practicable for any number of horses to ap-proach the river at any point except by the road 274 STUARTS RIDE AROUND DUEL leading to the ford. We therefore tried it therefor two long hours. The 9th Cavalry made thetrial. After repeated eiforts to swim the horsesover we gave up, for we had crossed over onlyseventy-five men and horses in two hours. Whilewe were trying to reach the opposite bank Stuartcame up, and, finding crossing at this point imprac-ticable, rode off to find another farther down theriver. J At a point about one mile below, known asForge Bridge, he succeeded in throwing across onebranch of the river a bridge strong enough to bearthe artillery, aiui upon wliich the men, havingbeen dismounted, could walk. Here the approachon our side was higher up stream than the pointat which we would come out on the other the horses were formed into a column offours, pushed into the water, and, swimming downstream, they easily landed o
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