Mss diary by George W. Baum

About 3 o clock in the afternoon the rebels attacked, so we saddled up and started an [at] the gallop for the scene of action a run of half a miel and we were there first as the order came front into line the rebs charged an [at] us with their pistols we fired away untill [sic] one of I company got into line and then Col Lagrange ordered us to draw our sabers and go for them
at this time some of them were in 20 steps of us i never did hear bullets sing so
at the sight of sabers they fell back across a field and into a piece of thick timber before we could chop many of them here we dismounted and then we had it nip and tuck untill [sic] 10 oclock at night when orders came to fall back to New Market (about 12 miles) we marched all night and got to New Market just at daylight
it was a sory old night to us we were verry [sic] cold and hungry in the morning before the fight i wrote a letter to Miss L. J.B. R. [?]"