iscovering what this might mean; but when, on the 12th,
Torbert once more fell upon the unfortunate cavalry of Rosser, on
both flanks of the Confederate position, and completely routed it,
while Dudley, advancing with his brigade (1) in support of the
cavalry, showed that Sheridan was ready to give battle, the
Confederate commander became satisfied that Sheridan had sent no
troops to Petersburg. Sheridan made all his arrangements to attack
Early on the morning of the 13th, but Early did not wait for this,
and when the sun rose he was again far on the way to New Market.
It was during Dudley's movement that the Nineteenth Corps suffered
its last loss in battle, the 29th Maine having one man wounded, by
name Barton H. Ross.

When the approach of winter made active operations in the valley
impossible, Lee, who had already detached Kershaw, called back to
the defence of Richmond and Petersburg the whole of Early's corps,
and at the same time, almost to the very day, Grant called on
Sheridan for the Sixth Corps. Thus in the second week of December
Wright rejoined the Army of the Potomac. Soon afterward Crook's
command was divided and detached to Petersburg and West Virginia,
leaving only Torbert and Emory with Sheridan in the valley. Early,
his force reduced to Wharton and Rosser, went into winter quarters
at Staunton, with his outposts at New Market and a signal party on
watch at the station on Massanutten.

These reductions of force, together with the increasing severity
of the winter, made it desirable to occupy a line nearer the base
of supplies at Harper's Ferry, and, accordingly, on the 30th of
December, after living for six weeks in improvised huts or "shebangs,"
as they were called, roughly put together of rails, stones, and
any other material to be found, the Nineteenth Corps broke up its
cantonment before Kernstown, called Camp Russell, and marching over
the frozen ground, took up a position to cover the railway and the
roads near Stephenson's. Here, at Camp Sheridan, it was intended
to build regular huts, but on the last day of the year, when the
men were as yet without shelter of any kind, a heavy snow storm
set in, during which they suffered severely. As soon as this was
over, the men fell to work in earnest, and with lumber from the
quartermaster's department and timber from the forest, soon had
the whole command comfortably housed.

Meanwhile Currie's brigade, which had been so long detached, engaged