818 BALTIMORE BATTERY, LIGHT ARTILLERY, "ALEXANDER'S."

June had been light. Arriving at a point near Stevenson's Station, on the Winchester
and Potomac Railway, about five miles from Winchester, the retreating forces were met
by Johnson's Division, EwelPs Corps, consisting of the Stonewall Brigade and the
brigades of Steuart and Nicholis, with the division batteries.

Johnson had marched on the night of the 14th to Stevenson's Station, in antici-
pation of Milroy's retreat by the Martinsburg pike.

The action was brief but sharp, resulting in the dispersal and capture of a large
part of the division. The battery lost about forty-eight men captured. All who escaped
went out by the Harper's Ferry road and cross country towards Berkley Springs, the
latter crossing the Potomac at Sir John's Run.

Captain Alexander and Lieutenants Evans and Hall arrived at Harper's Ferry with
the remnant which escaped in that direction, and Lieutenants Alexander and Leary
with that which went out by way of Sir John's Run.

The battery, except the men who were captured, was assembled at Baltimore, the
headquarters of the corps, and was remounted and re-equipped with three-inch rifled
guns as soon as possible after the battle of Gettysburg. It remained as part of the gar-
rison of Baltimore until the summer of 1864, when the Maryland campaign of that year
began with the advance down the valley of the Confederate forces, under the command
of Lieutenant General Early.

Under specific instructions from General Grant, Major General Hunter had advanced
to Lynchburg, but had retreated before Early without a battle, and was effectually put
out of the campaign until nearly the middle of July, his forces, short of ammunition
and rations, retreating by way of Gauley Bridge into the mountains of West Virginia.

Early reached the Potomac July 4th. By the 7th his cavalry was at Urbana, Md.,
and his army, having passed the Potomac and the mountains by Boonsboro and Fox's
and Crampton's Gaps, was advancing on Frederick. His force consisted of the divisions
of Gordon, Edward S. Johnson, Rhodes and Breckenridge, two brigades of cavalry, com-
manded by Brigadier Generals McCausland and Bradley T. Johnson, and four batteries
of artillery, of four guns each. The divisions of Gordon and Breckenridge were formed
into one corps, commanded by Breckenridge.

To meet this force of confederate veterans, Major General Lewis Wallace had only
the following troops: The First and Third Regiments Infantry, Maryland Potomac Home
Brigade, Eleventh Maryland Infantry, seven companies of the One Hundred and Forty-
ninth and three companies of the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Ohio National Guard,
consolidated; Alexander's battery of six three inch rifles ; one hundred men of the One
Hundred and Fifty-ninth Ohio National Guard, mounted as cavalry, and two hundred
and fifty men of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry. Of this force the Ohio troops and the
Eleventh Maryland were one hundred days' men; the only three year's troops being the
two regiments of the Potomac Home Brigade, the Eighth Illinois Cavalry and the
battery.

On the night of July 8, the force was increased by the arrival at Monocacy Junc-
tion, by rail, of the Third Division, Sixth Corps, commanded by Brigadier General
Ricketts, 3350 strong, making in all 5850 men and six field guns.

With this small force General Wallace confronted Early's 16,000 veterans, and by