Captain John Singleton Mosby and sixty-nine of his Confederate ranger troop were surprised at dawn while sleeping in the Miskel farmhouse and hay barn by one hundred fifty Union cavalry. Though greatly outnumbered, Mosby led his rangers on foot with revolvers and sabers to complete victory over the entire Union force. Mosby and his troop escaped the trap, inflicted twenty-three Union casualties, and took eighty-two prisoners, while losing only six men themselves. For this feat, Mosby was promoted to Major by General Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis of the Confederacy.