After Merritt’s division passed the river, Custer’s brigade proceeded on to Beaver Dam Station to cut the Virginia Central railroad.  Before reaching the station he met a small force of the enemy, but this he speedily drove off, recapturing from it about four hundred Union prisoners, who had been taken recently in the Wilderness and were being conducted to Richmond.  Custer also destroyed the station, two locomotives, three trains of cars, ninety wagons, from eight to ten miles of railroad and telegraph lines, some two hundred thousand pounds of bacon and other supplies, amounting in all to about a million and a half of rations, and nearly all they medical stores of General Lee’s army, which had been moved from Orange Court House either because Lee wished to have them directly in his rear or because he contemplated falling back to the North Anna.

On the morning of the 10th Gregg and Wilson, while crossing the North Anna, were again attacked, but were covered by the division on the south side of the stream; the passage was effected without much loss, notwithstanding the approach of Stuart on the south bank from the direction of Davenport’s bridge.  The possession of Beaver Dam gave us an important point, as it opened a way toward Richmond by the Negro-foot road.  It also enabled us to obtain forage for our well-nigh famished animals, and to prepare for fighting the enemy, who, I felt sure, would endeavor to interpose between my column and Richmond.

Stuart had hardly united his troops near Beaver Dam when he realized that concentrating there was a mistake, so he began making dispositions for remedying his error, and while we leisurely took the Negro-foot toad toward Richmond, he changed his tactics and hauled off from my rear, urging his horses to the death in order to get in between Richmond and my column.  This he effected about 10 o’clock on the morning of the 11th, concentrating at Yellow Tavern, six miles from the city, on the Brook turnpike.  His change of tactics left my march on the 10th practically unmolested, and we quietly encamped that night on the south bank of the South Anna, near Ground Squirrel Bridge.  Here we procured an abundance of forage, and as the distance traveled that day had been only fifteen to eighteen miles, men and horses were able to obtain a good rest during the night.

At 2 o’clock in the morning, May 11, Davies’s brigade of Gregg’s division marched for Ashland to cut the Fredericksburg railroad.  Arriving there before the head of the enemy’s column, which had to pass through this same place to reach Yellow Tavern, Davies drove out a small force occupying the town, burnt a train of cars and a locomotive, destroyed the railroad for some distance, and rejoined the main column at Allen’s Station on the Fredericksburg and Richmond railroad.  From Allen’s Station the whole command moved on Yellow Tavern, Merritt in the lead, Wilson following, and Gregg in the rear.