ould attack them in flank; when their rout would
probably ensue. This plan was carried out to the letter. General
Kilpatrick, who seems to have been confident of his ability to drive
Stuart before him, pressed forward on the Warrenton road, closely
following up his adversary, when the sudden boom of artillery from
General Fitz Lee gave the signal. Stuart wheeled at the signal, and
made a headlong charge upon his pursuers. Fitz Lee came in at the same
moment and attacked them in flank; and the result was that General
Kilpatrick's entire command was routed, and retreated in confusion,
Stuart pursuing, as he wrote, "from within three miles of Warrenton to
Buckland, the horses at full speed the whole distance." So terminated
an incident afterward known among the troopers of Stuart by the jocose
title of "The Buckland Races," and the Southern cavalry retired
without further molestation behind the Rappahannock.

The cooeperation of General Imboden in the campaign should not be
passed over. That officer, whose special duty had been to guard the
gaps in the Blue Ridge, advanced from Berryville to Charlestown,
attacked the Federal garrison at the latter place, drove them in
disorder toward Harper's Ferry, and carried back with him four or five
hundred prisoners. The enemy followed him closely, and he was forced
to fight them off at every step. He succeeded, however, in returning
in safety, having performed more than the duty expected of him.

Lee was now behind the Rappahannock, and it remained to be seen what
course General Meade would pursue--whether he would remain near
Centreville, or strive to regain his lost ground.

All doubt was soon terminated by the approach of the Federal army,
which, marching from Centreville on October 19th, and repairing the
railroad as it advanced, reached the Rappahannock on the 7th of
November. Lee's army at this time was in camp toward Culpepper
Court-House, with advanced forces in front of Kelly's Ford and the
railroad bridge. General Meade acted with vigor. On his arrival he
promptly sent a force across at Kelly's Ford; the Southern troops
occupying the rifle-pits there were driven off, with the loss of many
prisoners; and an attack near the railroad bridge had still more
unfortunate results for General Lee. A portion of Early's division had
been posted in the abandoned Federal works, on the north bank at this
point, and these were now attacked, and, after a fierce resistance,
completely r