658 "COLE'S CAVALRY," FIRST REGIMENT POTOMAC HOME BRIGADE CAVALRY.

The following order was accordingly issued :

HEADQUARTERS, HARPER'S FERRY, VA.,

14th September, 1862.
SPECIAL ORDER No. 120.

1.—The cavalry torce at this post, except detached orderlies, will make imme-
diate preparations to leave here at 8 o'clock to-night without baggage, wagons, am-
bulances or lead horses, crossing the pontoon and taking the Sharpsburg road.

2.—The senior officer, Colonel Voss, will assume command of the whole, which will
form in the following order: the right at the Quartermaster's Office; the left up Shen-
andoah Street, without noise or loud command, viz., "Cole's Cavalry,"12th Illinois Cavalry,
8th New York Cavalry, Rhode Island Cavalry, 1st Maryland Cavalry. No other instruc-
tions can be given to the commander for his guidance than to force his way through
the enemy's lines to our army.

(Signed) H. C. REYNOLDS,

Lieut. and A. A. Gen'l.
By order of Colonel Miles.

"Cole's Cavalry" did head the cavalry force, which, at the appointed hour, promptly
penetrated the enemy's lines, and, before the enemy could comprehend the nature of the
movement, had passed beyond the lines of the besieging armies, but only to enter that
part of General Lee's Army then at Sharpsburg. The Cavalry, however, pushed on
through this force, and upon reaching the turnpike leading from Hagerstown to Wil-
liamsport, the column discovered the ammunition train of General Longstreet's Corps
of Lee's Confederate Army moving southward, immediately captured a large part
thereof and successfully defended it against all efforts at recapture.

Subsequent to the battle of Antietam, the Confederate Cavalry, under the command
of General Jeb Stuart, made a raid around the Army of the Potomac, and boasted "that
they did not lose a man" in their gallant exploit. "Cole's Cavalry," who, however, took
up the pursuit, harrassed them whenever practicable, and not only captured seven of
their number, but promptly advised General Stoneman, commanding the Federal Cavalry
Division, of the movements of the raiding party and the topography of the country and
where they could be intercepted, whose cautious and deliberate movements alone pre-
vented the capture or dispersal of the entire raiding party.

In November, 1862, "Cole's Cavalry" was assigned to the 12th Army Corps, under the
immediate command of General Slocum, its corps commander, and as they were the only
Cavalry with this corps, they were kept constantly in the saddle scouting and skirmishing.

On the 2d day of December, 1862, with General Geary's Division of the 12th Army
Corps, "Cole's Cavalry" started out as the advance guard on a reconnoissance up the Shen-
andoah Valley of Virginia. The battalion being the only cavalry with the Division,
were constantly engaged during the movement in skirmishing with the enemy, more
especially at Charlestown, Va., December 2, 1862; at Berryville, Va., December 3,
1862; at Winchester, Va., December 5, 1862.

When the 12th Army Corps marched into eastern Virginia, "Cole's Cavalry" was left
in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. On the 20th day of December, 1862, a portion of
the 12th Virginia Confederate Cavalry, under a certain Captain Baylor (who had
achieved an unenviable notoriety by firing upon a flag of truce amongst his other ex-