was not yet dark when we crossed the North Anna
river at Anderson's bridge and the First division prepared to bivouac
on the south side. Gregg and Wilson went into camp for the night north
of the river.

After crossing the river, Custer was ordered to proceed with his brigade
to Beaver Dam station. Here the First Michigan was given the advance,
Major Melvin Brewer with one battalion as advance guard. The Sixth
followed the First. Otherwise the order of march was the same as during
the day. A mile or so before reaching Beaver Dam, Brewer came upon
several hundred union prisoners who were being hurried under the escort
of confederate infantry to the station, where trains were waiting to
convey them to Richmond. His appearance, of course, resulted in the
release of the prisoners, those of their guards who did not succeed in
escaping by running away in the woods being captured. The engineers
began to sound their locomotive whistles, as a signal for the
confederate escort to hurry up with their prisoners, and Brewer followed
by the First and Sixth dashed into the station before the presence of
the Michiganders was suspected, taking them by surprise and capturing
the two locomotives with their trains. In a few minutes Custer with the
entire brigade was on the ground and it was found that, besides the
trains, he had captured an immense quantity of commissary, medical, and
other stores belonging to Lee's supply departments and which included
nearly all his medical supplies. Everything that could not be carried
away was destroyed. While this destruction was going on some
confederates made their appearance in the adjacent woods and opened
fire but they were driven away without much trouble. This must have been
a very severe loss to the confederates.

The brigade then marched away and rejoined the division, every trooper
having his horse loaded to the limit with such supplies as he thought he
could use. General Merritt in his official report refers to this
destruction of property as a mistake and characterizes the action as
"gaucherie." It is, however, quite certain that the only way to have
saved the supplies for issue to the corps would have been to move the
division to Beaver Dam that night, for Stuart was concentrating his
force at that point and might have been able to reclaim a portion of
them if they had not been destroyed. At all events, Custer was on the
ground and Merritt was not. Custer's action must have been approved