Sheridan's Great Battle

“The war in Virginia- Sheridan’s Great Battle with J. E. B. Stuart at Yellow Tavern, May 11th, 1864- the Confederate raider’s last fight. We give a sketch, which our readers cannot fail to admire, of the battle of Yellow Tavern, May 11th, 1864, where General J. E. B. Stuart, whose fame began by a successful raid around McClellan, fell mortally wounded. Our correspondent wrote: ‘We found the enemy very strongly entrenched behind fortifications composing the outer line of the Richmond defenses. The position was a strong one, being situated upon a hill, commanding our whole corps, and our preservation depended on our driving them out. General Sheridan was equal to the emergency. The enemy was already pursuing us closely in the rear. The general ordered Custer to take his gallant brigade and carry the position. General Custer placed himself at the head of his command, and with drawn sabres and deafening cheers charged directly in the face of a withering fire, captured two pieces of artillery, upward of one hundred prisoners, together with caissons, ammunition and horses, which he brought off in safety. It was, without exception, the most gallant charge of the raid, and when it became known among the corps cheer after cheer rent the air. The Confederates retreated behind the Chickahominy, destroying in their flight Meadow Bridge. In the rear, Colonel Gregg’s brigade of the Second Division, under General Wilson, was hotly engaged with Stuart. General Wilson sent word to General Sheridan that the enemy were driving him slowly back. General Sheridan replied that he must hold the position at all hazards- that he could and must whip the enemy. Colonel Gregg’s brigade being re-enforced by a regiment from the First Brigade, charged the enemy and drove them nearly a mile. The day was now ours. The enemy had disappeared from our front, and we succeeded in rebuilding the Meadow Bridge, and the First and Third Divisions crossed, covered by the Second Division which in turn withdrew and also crossed, without being annoyed by the enemy.’ In a desperate charge at the head of a column the Confederate general Stuart fell mortally wounded."— Frank Leslie, 1896

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