September 14th. Weather dull and wet. At 8 A. M. fell in and marched to the Rappahannock, crossed the river on pontoon boats at 9 A. M. and marched directly for Culpeper, where the cavalry had been fighting all day long a sort of running fight. We passed over the principal battle ground, but saw only a few dead horses and no men. Broom, with his usual appreciation of comfort, selected a fine mansion as headquarters, and while the rest of us put the troops in position for the night, he devoted himself to getting dinner ready, taking care to plant the division flag by the gate post, to let us know where to find him. Tents were pitched in the yard under some fine old trees, and the large drawing rooms appropriated as the general rendezvous; the house belongs to a Mr. Wallach, said to be the editor of a Washington paper, and is in charge of his daughter and a half dozen female former slaves; the daughter is a bright, handsome young woman of eighteen or twenty years, and carries herself superbly, serene and undisturbed. In the parlor everything indicates wealth and culture, while the large hall is lined with books, very miscellaneous indeed, but a genuine treasure to a hungry book lover. This young lady has an eye to business, as well as the fascinations of social life, and soon induced the accommodating general to order guards over her barns, fences, and various properties, her retinue of female servants in the meantime exercising such potent fascinations over our cooks and servants that they secured the complete stocking of their larder for weeks to come from the abundance of Uncle Sam’s commissary. In the evening, after a good dinner in the front yard, we all went into the parlors, where the young lady was on hand to receive us, and spent a delightful evening. She is very fascinating, perfectly at ease, and brilliant as a dewdrop on a summer morn. She sat down to the piano and sang several songs, most of them very rebellious, with considerable skill, receiving, of course, immense flattery, but maintained her dignity and gracious behavior throughout, and an observer would have taken us for intimate friends, on a perfect footing of equality. We sang many war and college songs, and did our best to entertain her. At twelve o’clock she retired and left us to our own resources.
The cavalry fight was between General Pleasanton, commanding Bufort, Gregg and Kilpatrick’s divisions, and the rebel General Stuart; our cavalry met them near Brandy Station, and in a succession of brilliant charges drove them through the town, capturing three guns and one hundred men. Pleasanton followed them over Cedar Mountain, near the Rapidan, and then went into bivouac. Our corps was ordered here in support, in case of a reverse to the cavalry force.
