The Maine bugle ... campaign; 1-5 Jan. 1894-Oct. 1898 - Maine.gov

WITH GENERAL SHERIDAN. 299
passed out beyond the old lines, sent out our advance-guard,
and got into the undiscovered country.
At Rovvanty Creek, or Run, as Virginians commonly call
their little streams, we found the bridge down, and it was
necessary to rebuild it. Experience teaches, and our command
had had much experience in bridge-building. The First Maine
Cavalry, lumbermen and rail-splitters, could knock up a bridge
over an ordinary stream while the horses were being watered,
and plenty of other regiments could swing an awful axe, and
we soon had this bridge up and were crossing the Rowanty by
fours. The field-report of effective strength was verified here
by actual count, and the command was found to number
General Merritt's command 5700; Crook's 3300; total—9000
effective men and horses.
On the other side of the Rowanty our advance caught sight
of a small picket-force of the enemy's cavalry, and, giving
chase rapidly, captured a few of them ; and meanwhile our
scout were out after information in all directions, and we were
constantly getting news of the enemy's movements.
These scouts were a fine body of some sixty men selected
from the whole cavalry corps, and commanded by Major H. H.
Young, of the Second Rhode Island Infantry, an excellent
officer, fond of adventure, brave, and a good disciplinarian ; he
had attracted the attention of General Sheridan by his gallantry
in the Shenandoah Valley, and was assigned to duty on his
staff, and ordered to organize his present command. As a
general thing, scouts are perfectly worthless. They are usually
plausible fellows who go out to the picket-line and lie on the
ground all night under a tree, and come back to headquarters
in the morning and lie there, giving wonderful reports about
the enemy, fearing no contradiction. They swagger frightfully
when small towns are occupied and there are any natives to
astonish; then they turn out in the full uniform of the enemy,
being surrounded by friends, and, with two pistols in the belt
and one in each boot, these walking arsenals walk into every-
thing that does not belong to them and help themselves.