General Gordon's brigade and Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert's Maryland battalion, with two batteries were left by General Early at Bower's Hill, and pushed their skirmishers into Winchester, who were recalled for fear of drawing the enemy's fire on the town. By 4 p. m. General Early had attained, undiscovered, a wooded hill (on of the range know as Little North Mountain)near the Pughtown road, on the south side of which an orchard and on the north a corn-field afforded excellent positions for artillery in easy range of the work to be attacked-a bastion, front open forward the town. Hay's brigade was designated for the assault, and Smith's for its support, and about 6 o'clock Colonel Jones ran his piece and those of the First Virginia Artillery, under Captain Dance, forward by hand into position, and opened simultaneously from twenty guns, completely surprising the enemy, whose entire attention at this point was engrossed by Gordon. In half an hour their battery was silenced. Jones' artillery firing excellently. General Hays moved quietly to within 200 yards of their work, when our guns ceased firing, and he charged through an abatis of brushwood, and captured the work, taking six rifled pieces, two of which were at once turned upon and dispersed the columns that the enemy were endeavoring to form to recapture it. Two their defenders retreating to the main fort. It was by this time too late to do more than prepare to improve this important advantage promptly in the morning. This result established the correctness of General Early's views as to the point of attack, and rendered the main fort untenable. Accordingly, anticipating the possibility of the enemy's attempting to retreat during the night, I ordered General Johnson, with the Stonewall, Nicholls, and three regiments of Stuarts, brigades, and[W. F.]Dement's battery with sections of [Charles I.]Raine's and [J. C.]Carpenter's (the whole under Lieutenant-Colonel Andrews), to proceed to a point on the Martinsburg pike about 2. 1/2 miles form Winchester, so as to intercept any attempt to retreat, or to be ready to attack at daylight if the enemy held their ground Finding the road to this point very rough, General Johnson concluded to march, via Jordan Springs, to Stephenson's Depot, where the nature of the ground would give him a strong position. Just as the head of his column reached the railroad, 200 yards from the Martinsburg road, the enemy were heard retreating down the pike toward Martinsburg. Forming line parallel with the pike behind a stone wall, Steuart on the right and the Louisiana brigade on the left (1, 200 men in all), and posting the artillery favorably, he was immediately attacked by Milroy with all his force of infantry and cavalry, his artillery having been abandoned at the town, the enemy making repeated and desperate efforts to cut their, way through. Here was the hardest fighting which took place during the attack, the odds being greatly in favor of the enemy, who were successfully repulsed and scattered by the gallantry of General Johnson and his brave command. After several front attacks had been steadily met and repulsed, they attempted to turn both flanks simultaneously, but were met on the right by General Walker and his brigade, which had just arrived on the field (having been left behind by a mistake), and on the left by two regiments of Nicholl's brigade, which had been held in reserve. In a few minutes the greater part of them surrendered, 2, 300