By forced marches General Stuart succeeded in reaching Yellow Tavern ahead of me on May 11; and the presence of, his troops, on the Ashland and Richmond road becoming known to Merritt as he was approaching the Brook turnpike, this general pressed forward at once to the attack.  Pushing his division to the front, he soon got possession of the turnpike and drove the enemy back several hundred yards to the east of it.  This success had the effect of throwing the head of my column to the east of the pike, and I quickly brought up Wilson and one of Gregg’s brigades to take advantage of the situation by forming a line of battle on that side or the road.  Meanwhile the enemy, desperate but still confident, poured in a heavy fire from his line and from a battery which enfiladed the Brook road, and made Yellow Tavern an uncomfortably hot place.  Gibbs’s and Devin’s brigades, however, held fast there, while Custer, supported by Chapman’s brigade, attacked the enemy’s left and battery in a mounted charge.

Custer’s charge, with Chapman on his flank and the rest of Wilson’s division sustaining him, was brilliantly executed.  Beginning at a walk, he increased his gait to a trot, and then at full speed rushed at the enemy.  At the same moment the dismounted troops along my whole front moved forward, and as Custer went through the battery, capturing two of the guns with their cannoneers and breaking up the enemy’s left, Gibbs and Devin drove his centre and right from the field.  Gregg meanwhile, with equal success, charged the force in his rear-Gordon’s brigadeand the engagement ended by giving us complete control of the road to Richmond.  We captured a number of prisoners, and the casualties on both sides were quite severe, General Stuart himself falling mortally wounded, and General James B. Gordon, one of his brigade commanders, being killed.

After Custer’s charge, the Confederate cavalry was badly broken up, the main portion of it being driven in a rout toward Ashland and a small part in the direction of Richmond, which latter force finally rejoined Fitzhugh Lee near Mechanicsville.  A reconnoitring party being now sent up the Brook turnpike toward the city, dashed across the South Fork of the Chickahominy, drove a small force from the enemy’s exterior intrenchments and went within them.  I followed this party, and after a little exploration found between the two lines of works a country road that led across to the pike which runs from Mechanicsville to Richmond.  I thought we could go around within the outer line of works by this country road across to the Mechanicsville pike on the south side of the Chickahominy, and encamp the next night at Fair Oaks; so I determined to make the movement after dark, being influenced in this to some extent by reports received during the afternoon from colored people, to the effect that General B. F. Butler’s army had reached a small stream on the south side of the James, about four miles south of Richmond.  If I could succeed