On morning of 7th again attacked near Rude's Hill. Having detained them for a day and night at the river, he caused them to retire in haste, abandoning the only piece of artillery they had and their ambulances. He annoyed them a great deal, and enabled good many of our men to escape.

R. E. LEE.

General JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE,

Secretary of War.

MARCH 3-8, 1865.-Operations about Warrention, Bealeton Station, Sulphur Springs, Salem, and Centerville, Va.

Report of Captain Joseph Schneider, Sixteenth New York Cavalry.

CAMP SIXTEENTH NEW YORK CAVALRY,

Vienna, Va., March 8, 1865.

Pursuant to orders from regiment headquarters, I left Vienna, Va., with 200 men, at 4 a. m. March 3, 1865, to report to brigade headquarters, where i received instructions to proceed on the road to Centreville, to encamp in a convenient place, and await the arrival of detachment of the Eigghth Illinois Cavalry. About 8 a. m. this detachment arrived, under command of Captain Russell, who ordered me to take the rear with my detachment. We marched on the Warrenton pike to within one mile of Warrenton, where we encamped for the night. March 4, we marched through Warrenton, Lieutenant Goulding, with his platoon, having the rear guard. In this town the Eighth Illinois Cavalry left the column in scores, spreading themselves all over the place, dismounting, an entering the houses. I had a great deal of work to make them rejoin the column. After getting outside of Warrenton I found one corporal and four men having the extreme of the rear guard; they seemed to be vigilant and had their pistols drawn. They were instructed to allow no stragglers behind them. I then rode to the head of my command, ordering the chiefs of platoons to see that nobody would leave the ranks without orders. Not more than one-half hour had elapsed since my leaving the rear when one of the rear guard reported that about a dozen guerrillas had captured one corporal and three men of Company I, Sixteenth New York Cavalry; one man of Company L had been in advance of the extreme rear and consequently escaped. The guerrillas were dressed in our uniform, and the men mistook them for members of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry. There was not a shot fired; they had got into the mountains when I arrived near the rear guard, therefore pursuit would have been useless. We passed Bealeton Station toward the Rappahannock, through Sulphur Springs, three miles beyond which we bivouacked that night. Sunday, March 5, we went through Warrenton, took the pike toward Salem, crossed the Bull Run Mountains, got in the Warrenton pike near New Baltimore, followed it to Centreville, thence to camp.

On this day the Eighth Illinois Cavalry were continually leaving their column, riding as far as one mile from it. I have counted thirty horses dismounted near one house. The Eighth Illinois going apparently permitted by their officers to enter farms, it acted as a bad example on our men, and to stop their following it I threatened my platoon commanders with arrest, telling them I should put sergeants