(from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated History of the Civil War…, edited by Louis Shepheard Moat, Published by Mrs. Frank Leslie,New York, 1895)
“On June 1st, 1861, there was a smart skirmish between B Company, U. S. Dragoons, under Lieutenant Tompkins, and a body of 1,500 Confederates, at Fairfax Courthouse, Va. The Federal cavalry charged into the town,. meeting with a brisk fire from houses on both sides of the street and from all quarters of the town. Lieutenant Tompkins’s horse was shot under him, and falling beneath the animal, he sprained his ankle. After being completely inclosed by the Confederates for a short time Lieutenant Tompkins and his men fought their way out, taking with them seventeen prisoners.”