Along the stage road, the Laurel brigade drove the mounted Federal federal pickets back through the woods to a cornfield. The dismounted. Virginians could see a line of breastworks occupied by infantry about 500 yards across the field, which gently sloped downward from the laurel brigade. The seventh and 11th Virginia Cavalry lay down behind a dilapidated rail fence on the crest of the edge of the woods.
After the passage of what seemed half an hour to the Virginians, a body of federals that looked as big as a brigade advanced. The apparent brigade actually consisted of two companies of the fourth New York heavies. One, company M, menaced the left flank of the 11th Virginia. The other, company G, charged the rail fence. Spear had ordered this advance, promising that he would support to have these with his whole brigade, though he counseled Captain Morrison not to get too to ambitious– – the Cavalry brigade, armed with 16 shooters, had run low on ammunition.
“A charge up a hill through a field of tall corn made a very lively experience, the Johnny’s bullets whistling through the stalks at a great rate, and in the most discouraging manner,” recalled first Lieutenant William B knower of company G of the fourth New York heavy. The bullets whistled faster as the federal neared the fence. “A withering fire met them, but they fell flat on the ground and partly concealed by the grass poured volley after volley into the thin lines of dismounted men,” remembered Captain William N. McDonald, ordinance (Page 215 ends) officer of the Laurel brigade. The Virginians fell back through the trees to where they had initially deployed. The New Yorkers followed and continued the firefight with the Virginians. They became apprehensive as they (page 326 ends) waited for support from spear. The company size regiments of Virginia Cavalry looked bigger and bigger to the regiment size companies of New Yorkers as time passed.
Unoticed by the heavies, spear deployed his brigade on the depot road to their left. Donovan’s‘s brigade advanced along the depot road through the open field in which the South Carolinas had deployed. The brigade entered the woods on the other side of the field without first throwing out a skirmish line. In the timber, the dismounted in South Carolina met with a heavy fire from the concealed troopers of spears brigade. Donovan‘s soldiers received orders to lie down, but a prone position did not make the fire less galling.
Speat suddenly seized the initiative and sent forward several mounted squadrons to charge Dunovant’s line. “Their cavalry came rushing on us as if just risen from the Earth,” recalled private Charles M Calhoun of company C in the sixth South Carolina cavalry, the Dixie Rangers. Dunovant’s brigade fled before the Horseman of the aggressive spear
the federal smote the routed South Carolinians with pistol and Saber. The panic spread to the Laurel brigade. Some Virginia Field officers began counseling retreat. The hard fighting spear could have driven the Virginians and South Carolinians back across Rowany Creek, but for the steadiness of Matthew Butler. Though rncircled by unionists at one point, the one legged division Commander kept his head with hand to hand fighting going on all around him. He rallied his troops after they had retreated about 100 yards. Then committing his reserves, he led a counter charge. Spear, who had received no support from David Greg or Barlow, other than the two companies of heavy, reluctantly retreated. Butler reestablished the southern picket line and quickly removed the dead and wounded from the battlefield.
While Spear struggled with Butler, Greg arrived at Reams station about an hour after Butler’s troops had driven off spear and reestablished the rebel picket line. Greg sent the second and 16th Pennsylvania Calvary out on the depot road to investigate the reports of an engagement about a mile and a half to the west. The two Keystoner regiments soon encountered the Confederate picket and wrote them in on Butler’s main body. Butler intern pushed the federals over a hill and back towards reams station. Greg reinforced his advance force, and until he had committed eight of his night available regiments, he kept in reserve (page 217 ends.) His nice regiment to guard his flank and plug any gap that developed. The unionists brought the rebels to a halt about a mile west of the railroad. Along that line, the federal would rise up in fire, and drop down as quickly as possible. “Shooting was brisk and bullets did everlastingly hum there” remembered Sergeant Tobie. David Gregg had no difficulty in supplying his troopers with all the ammunition they wanted.
By this time, the rest of Barlow‘s division had joined Miles‘s brigade at Reams Station. Barlow‘s soldiers had wrecked the railway all the way there, despite the rain, which repeatedly put out the fires of destruction. The southern Cavalry continued to press David Gregg’s line, vigorously and long after dark, when the fight by moonlight acquired its name. John Horn, procedure Petersburg: the battles for the Weldon railroad,Pages 215-218
