e of deceiving the
enemy. This was done when, on approaching Ashland Station, Major Hall
was despatched with a force of about five hundred men to drive in the
pickets in front of that place and make a feint of attacking, leading
the enemy to suppose that this was the main body, while Kilpatrick with
most of his force proceeded without opposition on the road leading to
Richmond. But care was taken that he could reunite at any moment.

It would have been better had Dahlgren continued as the advance guard,
going directly to Richmond by way of one of the bridges of the South
Anna river and the Brook, the main column closely following. In that
way, the general commanding might have had all the parts of his
expeditionary force well in hand, under his own eye, and there need have
been no halting, hesitation, or waiting one for the other. Dahlgren
utterly failed to carry out to fulfilment the part of the plan
prearranged for him to accomplish, and lost his life into the bargain.
And the pity of it is that his life was wasted. Had he died leading a
charge through the streets of Richmond, compensation might have been
found in the glory of his achievement. But he died in an ambush, laid
for him by a small force of home guards and furloughed confederate
soldiers, who managed to throw themselves across his way when, after
admitted defeat, he was trying to make his escape with only a small
portion of his command. He deserved a better fate.

The main body crossed the Po river in the morning of Monday, February
29, and made a halt of fifteen minutes to feed. Thence it pushed on,
Davies's brigade still leading, by way of Newmarket, Chilesburg and
Anderson's bridge across the South Anna river to Beaverdam Station on
the Virginia Central railroad. This point was reached late in the
afternoon, the rear guard not arriving until after dark. Here some
buildings and stores were burned. A train coming into the station,
warned by the reflection of the flames in the cloudy sky, backed out and
escaped capture. A small force of confederates made its appearance but
was easily brushed away. The brushing and burning, however, were done by
Davies's men. The Michigan cavalrymen coming too late for the fair, were
privileged to hover in the background and watch the interesting
performance from a safe distance, leaving it for the imagination to
picture what they would have done if they had had the chance.

This night was cold, raw and rainy, the atmosphe