y, the same gallant
adversaries who hustled us over into Maryland in such lively fashion
during the previous month, stood in the way and made vigorous efforts to
stop our progress. It was a case of hunted turned hunter and the
Wolverines more than balanced the account charged up against
Breckinridge for the affair at Shepherdstown, August 25. To borrow an
illustration from the Rugby game, the cavalry kept working around the
end for gains until a touchdown and goal were scored at five o'clock in
the afternoon.

The battle was fought along the Martinsburg pike, the enemy being
flanked or driven from one position to another until all the brigades of
Merritt's and Averell's[36] divisions, which had been converging toward
a common point, came together about a mile out of Winchester.

As that place was approached, the signs and sounds of a great battle
became startlingly distinct. The roar of artillery and the rattle of
small arms saluted the ear. Within sight of the fortifications, around
that historic town, a duel was raging between the infantry of the two
armies. The lines of blue and gray were in plain sight off to the left.
Puffs of smoke and an angry roar told where the opposing batteries were
planted. Dense masses of smoke enveloped the lines. From the heights to
the front and right, cannon belched fire and destruction.

The Union cavalrymen were now all mounted. The Michigan brigade was on
the left of the turnpike; to its left, the brigades of Devin and Lowell;
on the right, Averell's division of two brigades--five brigades in
all--each brigade in line of squadron columns, double ranks. This made a
front of more than half a mile, three lines deep, of mounted men. That
is to say, it was more than half a mile from Averell's right to
Merritt's left. At almost the same moment of time, the entire line
emerged from the woods into the sunlight. A more enlivening and imposing
spectacle never was seen. Guidons fluttered and sabers glistened.
Officers vied with their men in gallantry and in zeal. Even the horses
seemed to catch the inspiration of the scene and emulated the martial
ardor of their riders. Then a left half wheel began the grand flanking
movement which broke Early's left flank and won the battle.

When the Michigan brigade came out of the woods, it found a line of
confederate horse behind a stone fence. This was the last stand that
Fitzhugh Lee, who commanded Early's cavalry, attempted to make. Indeed,
it was h