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diff --git a/41036-8.txt b/41036-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 18ff031..0000000 --- a/41036-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7202 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Brave Deeds of Union Soldiers, by Samuel Scoville - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Brave Deeds of Union Soldiers - -Author: Samuel Scoville - -Release Date: October 12, 2012 [EBook #41036] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAVE DEEDS OF UNION SOLDIERS *** - - - - -Produced by sp1nd and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: Sergeant Hunter Charging the Confederates] - - -Brave Deeds of Union Soldiers - - -By -SAMUEL SCOVILLE, JR. - - -PHILADELPHIA -GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY -PUBLISHERS - - -COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY -GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY -_Published November, 1915_ - -_All rights reserved_ -Printed in U.S.A. - - - - -_To Theodore Roosevelt_ - -_Commissioner, Governor, Colonel and President, who believes in peace -with honor, but never in peace at the price of righteousness and whose -own life has been full of deeds of physical and moral courage, this -book of brave deeds is dedicated._ - - - - -Foreword - - -In these days when even our skies are shadowed by wars and rumors of -wars, it is fitting to remember what men and women and children of our -blood have done in the past. In this chronicle have been included not -alone the great deeds of great men, but also the brave deeds of -commonplace people. May the tale of their every-day heroism be an -inspiration to each one of us to do our best endeavor when we find -ourselves in the crisis-times of life. - - - - -Contents - - - I. THE BARE BRIGADE 11 - - II. THE ESCAPE FROM LIBBY PRISON 19 - - III. TWO AGAINST A CITY 39 - - IV. BOY HEROES 51 - - V. THE CHARGE OF ZAGONYI 79 - - VI. THE LOCOMOTIVE CHASE 95 - - VII. SHERIDAN'S RIDE 121 - -VIII. THE BLOODY ANGLE 141 - - IX. HEROES OF GETTYSBURG 163 - - X. THE LONE SCOUT 185 - - XI. RUNNING THE GAUNTLET 213 - - XII. FORGOTTEN HEROES 229 - -XIII. THE THREE HUNDRED WHO SAVED AN ARMY 253 - - XIV. THE RESCUE OF THE SCOUTS 273 - - XV. THE BOY-GENERAL 311 - - XVI. MEDAL-OF-HONOR MEN 325 - - - - -Illustrations - - -Sergeant Hunter Charging the Confederates _Frontispiece_ - -Libby Prison _Facing page_ 24 - -Captain Bailey and Midshipman Read -Facing the New Orleans Mob " " 46 - -Sheridan Hurrying to Rally his Men " " 136 - -The Battle of Gettysburg " " 174 - -Corporal Pike " " 190 - -In the Woods Near Chancellorsville " " 264 - -Attacking the Inner Traverses of Fort Fisher " " 320 - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE BARE BRIGADE - - -Kipling wrote one of his best stories on how Mulvaney and his captain -with an undressed company swam the Irriwaddy River in India and -captured Lungtungpen. It was a brave deed. The average man can't be -brave without his clothes. - -In the Civil War there was one unchronicled fight where a few naked, -shoeless men swam a roaring river, marched through a thorny forest and -captured a superior and entrenched force of the enemy together with -their guns. This American Lungtungpen happened on the great march of -General Sherman to the sea. He had fought the deadly and lost battle of -Kenesaw Mountain, and failing to drive out the crafty Confederate -General Johnson by direct assault outflanked him and forced him to fall -back. Then the Union Army celebrated the Fourth of July, 1864, by the -battle of Ruffs Station and drove Johnson back and across the -Chattahoochee River. The heavy rains had so swollen this river that all -the fords were impassable, while the Confederates had destroyed all -boats for miles up and down the river to prevent them from being used -by the Union Army and had settled down for a rest from their relentless -pursuers. General McCook was commanding the part of the Union line -fronting directly on the river. Orders came from General Sherman to -cross at Cochran's Ford and Colonel Brownlow of the First Tennessee -Regiment was ordered to carry out this command. He was the son of -Fighting Parson Brownlow and had the reputation of not knowing what -fear was. The attempt was made at three o'clock in the morning. It was -raining in torrents and the men at the word of command dashed into the -river. The water kept getting deeper and deeper and the bottom proved -to be covered with great boulders over which the horses stumbled and -round which the cross torrents foamed and rushed. When the men had -finally reached the middle of the river and were swimming for dear -life, suddenly a company of Confederates on the other side opened up on -them at close range. As the bullets zipped and pattered through the -water, the floundering, swimming men turned around and made the best of -their way back, feeling that this was an impossible crossing to make. -Once safely back they deployed on the bank and kept up a scattering -fire all that morning against the enemy. - -As the day wore on, Colonel Dorr, who commanded the brigade, made his -appearance and inquired angrily why the First Tennessee was not on the -other side and in possession of the opposite bank. Colonel Brownlow -explained that he had made the attempt, that there was no ford and that -to attempt to make a swimming charge through the rough water and in the -face of an entrenched enemy would be to sacrifice his whole regiment -uselessly. Colonel Dorr would listen to no explanations. - -"If you and your men are afraid to do what you're told, say so and I'll -report to General Sherman and see if he can't find some one else," he -shouted and rode off, leaving Colonel Brownlow and his command in a -fighting frame of mind. The former called nine of his best men to the -rear and it was some time before he was calm enough to speak. - -"Boys," he said at last, "we've _got_ to cross that river. It's plain -it can't be forded. We've no pontoons and I am not going to have my men -slaughtered while they swim, but you fellows come with me and we'll -drive those Rebs out of there before dark." - -He then gave directions for the rest of his men to keep up a tremendous -fire to divert the attention of the enemy. In the meanwhile he and his -little squad marched through the brush to a point about a mile up the -river behind a bend. There they stripped to the skin and made a little -raft of two logs. On this they placed their carbines, cartridge boxes -and belts and swam out into the rough water, pushing the little raft in -front of them. It was hard going. The water was high, and every once in -a while the fierce current would dash and bruise some of the men -against the boulders which were scattered everywhere along the bed of -the river. The best swimmers, however, helped the weaker ones and they -all worked together to keep the precious raft right side up and their -ammunition and rifles dry. After a tremendous struggle they finally -reached the opposite bank without having seen any Confederates. There -they lined up, strapped on their cartridge belts, shouldered their -carbines and started to march through the brush. Every step they took -over the sharp stones and twigs and thorns was agony and the men -relieved themselves by using extremely strong language. - -"No swearing, men!" said Colonel Brownlow, sternly. - -At that moment he stepped on a long thorn and instantly disobeyed his -own order. He halted the column, extracted the thorn and amended his -order. - -"No swearing, men,--unless it's absolutely necessary," he commanded. - -They limped along through the brush until they reached a road that led -to the ford some four hundred yards in the rear of the enemy whom they -could see firing away for dear life at the Union soldiers on the other -side. The Confederate forces consisted of about fifty men. Colonel -Brownlow and his nine crept through the brush as silently as possible -until they were within a few yards of the unconscious enemy. Then they -straightened up, cocked their carbines, poured in a volley and with a -tremendous yell charged down upon them. The Confederates upon receiving -this unexpected attack from the rear sprang to their feet, but when -they saw the ten white ghostly figures charge down upon them, yelling -like madmen, it was too much for their nerves and they scattered on -every side. Twelve of them were captured. The last one was a -freckle-faced rebel who tried to hide behind a tree. When seen, -however, he came forward and threw down his gun. - -"Well, Yanks, I surrender," he said, "but it ain't fair. You ought to -be ashamed to go charging around the country this way. If you'd been -captured, we'd have hung you for spies because you ain't got any -uniforms on." - -Colonel Brownlow hustled his prisoners up the river to the raft and -made them swim across in front of them and then reported to General -McCook that he had driven the enemy out of the rifle-pits, captured -twelve men, one officer and two boats. Shortly afterward the -Confederates withdrew from their position for, as some of the prisoners -explained, they felt that if the Yanks could fight like that undressed, -there was no telling what they'd do if they came over with their -clothes on. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE ESCAPE FROM LIBBY PRISON - - -It takes a brave man to face danger alone. It takes a braver man to -face danger in the dark. This is the story of a man who was brave -enough to do both. It is the story of one who by his dogged courage -broke out of a foul grave when it seemed as if all hopes for life were -gone and who rescued himself and one hundred and eight other Union -soldiers from the prison where they lay fretting away their lives. - -Libby Prison, the Castle Despair of captured Union officers, stood upon -a hilltop in Richmond, the capital and center of the Confederacy. It -was divided into three sections by solid walls, also ringed around by a -circle of guards and there seemed to be no hopes for any of the -hundreds of prisoners to break out and escape. - -In September, 1863, Colonel Thomas Rose, of the 77th Pennsylvania -Volunteers, was taken prisoner at the terrible battle of Chickamauga. -From the minute he was captured he thought of nothing else but of -escape, although he had a broken foot which would have been enough to -keep most men quiet. On the way to Richmond, he managed to crawl -through the guards and escape into the pine-forests through which they -were passing. There he wandered for twenty-four hours without food or -water and suffering terribly from his wound. At the end of that time he -was recaptured by a troop of Confederate cavalry and this time was -carefully guarded and brought to Libby Prison. This prison was a -three-story brick building which had formerly been occupied by Libby & -Company as a ship-chandlery establishment. There were several hundred -Union officers imprisoned there when Colonel Rose arrived. First he was -taken into the office of the commandant. Back of his desk was a United -States flag fastened "Union down," an insult for every loyal Union man -that had to pass through this office. - -"We'll teach you to take better care of the old flag," remarked Colonel -Rose as he stood before the commandant's desk for examination. - -The commandant scowled at this prisoner, but Rose looked him in the eye -without flinching. - -"You won't have a chance to do much teaching for some years," said the -commandant at last, grimly, "and you'll learn a lot of things that you -don't know now." - -As Colonel Rose went up the ladder which led to the upper rooms and his -head showed above the floor, a great cry went up from the rest of the -prisoners of "Fresh fish! fresh fish! fresh fish!" This was the way -that each newcomer was received and sometimes he was hazed a little -like any other freshman. - -Although not as bad as some of the prisons, Libby Prison was no health -resort. At times there were nearly a thousand prisoners crowded in -there with hardly standing room. At night they all lined up in rows and -laid down at the word of command, so closely packed that the floor was -literally covered with them. Each one had to go to bed and get up at -the same time. These crowded conditions made for disease and dirt, and -the place was alive with vermin. - -"Skirmish for gray-backs," was the morning call in Libby Prison before -the men got up. Each prisoner then would sit up in his place, strip off -his outer garments and cleanse himself as much as possible from the -crawling gray-backs, as they had nicknamed the vermin which attacked -all alike. The food was as bad as the quarters. Soon after Rose arrived -one man found a whole rat baked in a loaf of corn-cake which had been -furnished as a part of his rations. The rat had probably jumped into -the dough-trough while the corn-cake was being made and had been -knocked in the head by the cook and worked into the cake. Another -officer made himself one night a bowl of soup by boiling a lot of beans -together with a fresh ham-bone. He set it aside to wait until morning -so as to enjoy his treat by daylight. Afterward he was glad he did, for -he found his soup full of boiled maggots. At times the men were -compelled to eat mule-meat and sometimes were not even given that but -had to sell their clothing to keep from starving. In each room was a -single water faucet without basin or tub. This was all that perhaps a -couple of hundred men had to use both for washing and drinking -purposes. The death-rate from disease in these crowded quarters was, of -course, terribly high. - -[Illustration: Libby Prison] - -From the day Rose entered the prison he made up his mind that he would -not die there like a sick dog if there was any way of escape and there -was not a moment of his waking hours in which he was not planning some -way to get out. Although the prisoners were not supposed to have -communication with each other or from outside, there was a complete -system under which each one had news from all over the prison as well -as from the outside world. This was done by a series of raps -constituting the prison telegraph. As the guards usually visited the -prison only at intervals in the daytime, the prisoners managed to pass -back and forth down through the chimney throughout the whole prison in -spite of locked doors and supposedly solid walls. Messages and money -were frequently sent in from outside. A favorite trick was to wind -greenbacks around a spool and then have the thread wound by machinery -over this money. Gold pieces were sealed up in cans of condensed milk. -Maps, compasses and other helps for escaping prisoners were sent in a -box. In order to prevent suspicion of the fact that the box had a -double bottom, two double bottoms were placed on the box side by side -with a space between them. When the contents were turned out, the -prison inspectors could see the light shining through the bottom of the -box and were thus convinced that there could be no double bottom there. -Letters were sent in containing apparently harmless home-news. Between -the lines, information as to routes and guards was written in lemon -juice. This was invisible until exposed to heat, when the writing would -show. - -Colonel Rose was placed in the topmost room of the eastern wing. This -was named Upper Gettysburg. From there he saw workmen entering a sewer -in the middle of a street which led to the canal lying at the foot of -the hill on which the prison stood. He at once decided to tunnel into -this sewer and crawl through that into the canal which was beyond the -line of the guards. With this plan in view, he began to explore the -prison. One dark afternoon he managed to make his way down through the -rooms to one of the dungeons underneath, which was known as Rat Hell. -This had been used as a dead-house and was fairly swarming with rats. -As he was fumbling around there he suddenly heard a noise and in a -minute another man came in. Each thought the other was a guard, but -finally it turned out that the intruder was a fellow-prisoner, a -Kentucky major named Hamilton. This Major and Rose at once became fast -friends and immediately planned a tunnel from a corner of Rat Hell -after securing a broken shovel and two kitchen knives. They had no more -than begun this, however, before alterations were made in the prison -which cut them off from this dungeon. By this time the other prisoners -had noticed the midnight visits of Rose and Hamilton as well as their -constant conferences together and it was buzzed around everywhere that -there was a plot on hand to break out of Libby. For fear of spies or -traitors, Rose decided to organize a company of the most reliable men -and plan a dash out through one of the walls and the overpowering of -the guards. Seventy-two men were sworn in and everything was arranged -for the dash for freedom one cloudy night. The little band had all -gathered in Rat Hell and sentries had been placed at the floor opening -into the kitchen above. Suddenly footsteps were heard and the signal -was given that the guards were making a tour of inspection of the -prison. In perfect silence and with the utmost swiftness, each man went -up the rope-ladder to the floor above and stole into his bed. Rose was -the last man up. He managed to reach the kitchen and hide his -rope-ladder about ten seconds before the officer of the guard thrust -his lantern into the door of the lowest sleeping chamber. Rose had no -time to lie down, but with great presence of mind sat at a table and -stuck an old pipe into his mouth and nodded his head as if he had gone -to sleep while sitting up and smoking. The guard stared at him for a -moment and passed on. - -The next day the leaders decided that some news of the attempt must -have reached the authorities outside to account for this sudden and -unusual visit. It was decided to raise the numbers and make an -immediate attempt. The band was increased from seventy-two to four -hundred and twenty. With the increase in numbers, however, there seemed -to be a decrease of courage. Many of the officers feared that it was a -hopeless plan for a crowd of unarmed men to break through a ring of -armed guards and that such an attempt would merely arouse the town and -they would be hemmed in, driven back and shot down in crowds inside the -prison walls. Finally a vote was taken and it was decided to abandon -this plan. - -Once more Rose and Hamilton found themselves the only two left who were -absolutely resolved on an escape. After talking the matter over, they -decided to begin another tunnel. This time they had only an old -jack-knife and a chisel to work with and they could only work between -ten at night and four in the morning. They started back of the kitchen -fireplace and there removed twelve bricks and dug a tunnel down to Rat -Hell so that they could reach this base without disturbing any other -prisoners and without being exposed to detection by the guard. One -would work and the other would watch. At dawn each day the bricks were -replaced and the cracks filled in with soot. They had no idea of -direction and this tunnel was nearly the death of Rose. The digging was -done by him while Major Hamilton would fan air to him with his hat, but -so foul was the air below ground that bits of candle which they had -stolen from the hospital would go out at a distance of only four feet -from the cellar wall. In spite of this terrible atmosphere, Rose dug -his tunnel clear down to the canal, but unfortunately went under the -canal and the water rushed in and he had a narrow escape from being -drowned. By this time both men were so nearly exhausted that they -decided to take in helpers again. Thirteen men were chosen to work with -them and were all sworn to secrecy. The flooded passage was plugged and -a fresh one started in the direction of a small sewer which ran from a -corner of the prison down to the main sewer beyond. Night after night -in the mud and stench and reek underground they dug their tunnel. At -last they reached the small sewer only to find that it was lined with -wood. The only cutting tools they had were a few small pen-knives. With -these they slowly whittled a hole through the wooden lining and the -fourteen men were all in high hopes of an escape. The night came when -only a few hours of work would be necessary to make a hole large enough -to enter the small sewer. It was then hoped they could all crawl from -this into the larger one and down into the canal safe past the guards. -Once again they were all grouped shivering at the entrance to the -tunnel, waiting for the man who was working inside to pass the word -back that the opening was made. Suddenly the news came back that the -entrance into the large sewer was barred by planks of solid, seasoned -oak six inches thick. The chisel and the penknives were worn down to -the handles. For thirty-nine nights these men had worked at the highest -possible pitch under indescribable conditions. There was not an inch of -steel left to cut with or an ounce of reserved strength to go on -farther. Despairingly, the party broke up, put away the kits which they -had prepared for the march and once again Rose and Hamilton were left -alone by their discouraged comrades. - -After a day's rest, these two decided to start another tunnel in the -north corner of the cellar away from the canal. This tunnel would come -out close to the sentry beat of the guards, but Rose had noticed that -this beat was nearly twenty yards long and it was decided that in the -dark there would be a fair chance of slipping through unseen. Once -again Rose and Hamilton started on this new task alone. They had -finally obtained another chisel and this was the only tool which they -had. Once more Rose did the digging. Hamilton would fan with all his -strength and Rose would work until he felt his senses going, then he -would crawl back into the cellar and rest and get his breath. The earth -was dragged out in an old wooden cuspidor which they had smuggled down -from their room and Hamilton would hide this under a pile of straw in -the cellar. The tunnel became longer and longer, but Rose was nearly at -the end of his strength. It was absolutely impossible to breathe the -fetid air in the farther end of the tunnel, nor could Hamilton alone -fan any fresh air to him. Once again, and with great difficulty, a new -party of ten was organized. These worked in shifts--one man dug and two -or three fanned the air through the tunnel with their hats, another man -dragged the earth into the cellar and a fifth kept watch. The first -five would work until exhausted and then their places would be taken by -the second shift. They finally decided to work also by day and now the -digging went on without interruption every minute of the twenty-four -hours. Finally, the little band of exhausted workers had gone nearly -fifty feet underground. They were on the point of breaking down from -absolute exhaustion. The night-shift would come out into Rat Hell and -be too tired and dazed to find their way out and would have to be -looked after in the dark and led back to the rooms above like little -children. - -Rose, in spite of all that he had been through, was the strongest of -the lot and could work after every other man had fallen out. It was -still necessary for the tunnel to be carried five feet further to clear -the wall. Once again a sickening series of accidents and surprises -occurred. The day-shift always ran the risk of being missed at -roll-call, which was held every morning and afternoon. Usually this was -got around by repeating--one man running from the end of the line -behind the backs of his comrades and answering the name of the missing -man. On one occasion, however, there were two missing and a search was -at once begun which might have resulted in finding the entrance to the -tunnel. There was just time to pull these two up out of the dark and -brush off the telltale dirt from their hands and clothes and tell them -to lie down and play sick. Neither one of them needed to do much -pretending and they both showed such signs of breakdown that the prison -inspector came near sending them to the hospital, which would also have -delayed operations. The next day, while one man was inside the tunnel, -a party of guards entered Rat Hell and remained there so long that it -was evident they must have suspected that something was going on. -Colonel Rose called his band together for a conference. He believed -that two days of solid work would finish the tunnel. The rest of the -men, however, pleaded for time. They were half sick, wholly exhausted -and discouraged. Rose decided that he would risk no further delay and -that the last two days' work should be entrusted to no one except -himself. The next day was Sunday and the cellar was usually not -inspected on that day. He posted his fanners and sentries and at early -dawn crawled into the tunnel and worked all day long and far into the -night lying full length in a stifling hole hardly two feet in diameter. -When he dragged himself out that night, he could not stand but had to -be carried across the cellar and up the rope ladder and fanned and -sponged with cold water and fed what soup they could obtain until he -was able to talk. He then told the band that he believed that twelve -hours more of work would carry the tunnel beyond the danger line. He -slept for a few hours and then, in spite of the protests of the others, -crawled down into the reeking hole again, followed by the strongest of -the band who were to act as fanners. - -For seventeen days they had been working and the tunnel was now -fifty-three feet long. In order to save time, Rose had made the last -few feet so narrow that it was impossible for him to even turn over or -shift his position. All day long he worked. Night came and he still -toiled on, although his strokes were so feeble that he only advanced by -inches each hour. Finally it was nearly midnight of the last day and -Rose had reached the limit of his strength. The fanners were so -exhausted that they could no longer push the air to the end of the -tunnel. Rose felt himself dying of suffocation. He was too weak to -crawl backward, nor had he strength to take another stroke. The air -became fouler and thicker and he felt his senses leaving him and he -gasped again and again in a struggle for one breath of pure air. In -what he felt was his death agony, he finally forced himself over on his -back and struck the earth above him with his fists as he unconsciously -clutched at his throat in the throes of suffocation. Thrusting out his -arms in one last convulsive struggle, he suddenly felt both fists go -through the earth and a draught of pure, life-giving air came in. For a -moment Rose had the terrible feeling that it was too late and that he -was too sick to rally. Once again, however, his indomitable courage -drove back death. For some minutes he lay slowly breathing the air of -out-of-doors. It was like the elixir of life to him after long months -of breathing the foul atmosphere of the prison and tunnel. Little by -little his strength came back and he slowly enlarged the hole and -finally thrust his head and shoulders cautiously out into the yard. The -first thing that caught his eye was a star and he felt as if he had -broken out of the grave and come back again to hope and life. He found -that he was still on the prison side of the wall, but directly in front -of him was a gate which was fastened only by a swinging bar. Rose spent -some moments practicing raising this bar until he felt sure he could do -it quietly and swiftly. Just outside was the sentry beat. Rose waited -until the sentry's back was turned, opened the gate and peered out, -convincing himself that there was plenty of time to pass out of the -gate and into the darkness beyond before the sentry turned to come -back. He then lowered himself again into the stifling tunnel, drew a -plank which he found in the yard over the opening, after first -carefully concealing the fresh earth, and crept back again into Rat -Hell. - -It was three o'clock in the morning when Rose gathered together his -little band and told them that at last Libby Prison was open. Rose and -Hamilton, the leaders, were anxious to start at once. They had seen so -many accidents and so many strokes of misfortune that they urged an -instant escape. The others, however, begged them to wait and to leave -early the next evening so that they could gain a whole night's start -before their absence was found at the morning roll-call. With many -misgivings, Rose at last consented to do this. The next day was the -most nerve-racking day of his life. Every noise or whisper of the guard -seemed to him to be a sign that the tunnel had been discovered. The -time finally dragged along and nothing happened and once again the -party met in Rat Hell at seven o'clock in the evening of February 9th -and Rose and the faithful Hamilton led the way through the tunnel to -freedom. Every move was carefully planned. The plank was raised -noiselessly and Rose had taken the precaution to leave the gate -half-open so that the sentry on duty that night would see nothing -unusual. He found it just as he had left it. All that was necessary now -to do was for each man to wait until the sentry had passed a few yards -beyond the gate and then to start noiselessly through and out to -freedom. All thirteen escaped easily. The last man left a message that -the prison was open to any one who dared try the tunnel. By nine -o'clock that night the message flashed through each ward that the -colonel and a party had escaped. There was a rush for the hole at the -fireplace and one hundred and nine other prisoners slipped through and -got safely past the guard. After days and weeks of hiding, starving and -freezing, the original party and many of the others got safely through -to the Union lines. - -Castle Despair had again been broken by Mr. Great Heart. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -TWO AGAINST A CITY - - -It takes brave men to fight battles. It takes braver men to face death -without fighting. - -In the spring of 1862 New Orleans, the Queen City of the South, was -blockaded by the Union fleet. No one could come in or go out. The grass -grew in her empty streets. The wharves were deserted and cobwebs lay on -the shut and barred warehouses. The river itself, which had been -thronged with the masts and funnels of a thousand crowded craft, flowed -yellow and empty as the Amazon. - -As business stopped and wages grew scarce and scarcer, the fierce, -dangerous part of the population which comes to the surface in times of -siege began to gain more and more control of the city. For years there -had been a secret society of criminals in New Orleans which had often -controlled her city government. It was known as the "Thugs." Heretofore -they had always worked in secret and underground. Now criminals who -formerly would only come out at night and secretly, were seen on the -streets in open day. As the Union lines closed around the city by sea -and land, the crowds of men and women without money and without work -became as fierce and bitter and dangerous as rats in a trap. For a -while they told each other that the city could never be taken. Nothing -afloat, they said again and again, can pass by the great chain and the -sunken ships that block the river. If they could they would sink under -the withering fire of Fort Jackson, a great star-shaped fort of stone -and mortar, or Fort St. Phillip with its fifty-two guns which could be -brought to bear on any vessel going up or down the river. Beyond the -forts was a fleet of rams and gunboats and in a shipyard over at -Jefferson, one of the suburbs of New Orleans, was building the great -iron-clad _Mississippi_, which alone they felt would be equal to -the whole blockading fleet. So thought and said the swarming unemployed -thousands of New Orleans. Finally came a dreadful day when the tops of -the naked masts of the hated Yankee fleet showed against the evening -sky across one of the bends of the river. Then came the roar of distant -guns for a day and a night as the Union vessels attacked the forts and -concealed batteries. Still the people believed in their defenses -although the firing came nearer and nearer. Not until they saw the city -troops carry the cotton out of the cotton-presses down to the wharves -to be burned in miles of twisting flame to save it from the Union Army -did they realize how close was the day of the surrender of the city. -Then all the empty ships which had been moored out in the river were -fired and the warehouses of provisions still left were broken open. -Mobs of desperate men and women surged back and forth fighting for the -sugar and rice and molasses with which the wharves were covered. -Suddenly around Slaughter House Point, silent, grim and terrible, came -the black fleet which had safely run the gauntlet of forts, gunboats, -batteries and torpedoes. For the first time since the war had begun, -the Stars and Stripes floated again in sight of New Orleans. As the -fleet came nearer and nearer, the crowds which blackened the wharves -and levees of New Orleans shouted for the _Mississippi_. - -"Where is the _Mississippi_? Ram the Yanks! Mississippi! Mississippi! -Mississippi!" thousands of voices roared across the water and through -the forsaken streets of the doomed city. And then, as if called by the -shout of her city, around a bend suddenly floated the great iron-clad -_Mississippi_ which was to save New Orleans,--a helpless, drifting -mass of flames. There was a moment of utter silence and then a scream -of rage and despair went up that drowned the crackling of the flames. - -"Betrayed! Betrayed! We have been betrayed!" was the cry which went up -everywhere. No stranger's life was worth a moment's purchase. One man -whose only crime was that he was unknown to the mob was seized at one -of the wharves and in an instant was swinging, twisting and choking, -from the end of a rope at a lamp-post. Through the crowds flitted the -Thugs and began a reign of terror against all whom they hated or -feared. Men were hung and shot and stabbed to death that day at a word. -The mob was as dangerous, desperate and as unreasoning as a mad dog. -Through this roaring, frothing, cursing crowd it was necessary for -Admiral Farragut to send messengers to the mayor at the City Hall to -demand the surrender of the city. It seemed to the men in the ships -like going into a den of trapped wild beasts, yet instantly Captain -Theodorus Bailey, the second in command, demanded from the admiral the -right to undertake this dangerous mission. With a little guard of -twenty men he was landed on the levee in front of a howling mob which -crowded the river-front as far as the eye could reach. They offered an -impenetrable line through which no man could pass. Captain Bailey drew -his marines up in line and tried to reason with the mob, but could not -even be heard. He then ordered his men to level their muskets and take -aim. In an instant the mob had pushed forward to the front crowds of -women and children and dared the Yanks to shoot. Captain Bailey -realized that nothing could be done by force without a useless -slaughter of men and women and children. In order to save this he -decided to try what could be done by two unarmed men. If this plan -failed, it would be time enough to try what could be done by grape and -canister. Taking a flag of truce and choosing as his companion a young -midshipman named Read, whom he knew to be a man of singular coolness, -Captain Bailey started up the street to the City Hall. It was a -desperate chance. The mob had already tasted blood and it was almost -certain that some one would shoot or stab these two representatives of -the hated Yanks as soon as they were out of sight of the ships. The -slightest sign of fear or hesitation would mean the death of both of -them. Captain Bailey and Midshipman Read, however, were men who would -take just such a chance. Slowly, unconcernedly, they walked along the -streets through a roar of shouts, and curses, and cheers for Jeff -Davis. As they reached the middle of the city, the crowd became more -and more threatening. They were pushed and jostled while men, many of -them members of the dreaded Thugs, thrust cocked revolvers into their -faces and waved bowie-knives close to their throats. Others rushed up -with coils of rope which had already done dreadful service. Captain -Bailey never even glanced at the men around him, but looking straight -ahead walked on as unconcernedly as if he were treading his own -quarter-deck. Young Read acted as if he were bored with the whole -proceeding. He examined carefully the brandished revolvers and knives -and smiled pleasantly into the distorted, scowling, gnashing faces -which were thrust up against his. Occasionally he would half pause to -examine some building which seemed to impress him as particularly -interesting and would then saunter unconcernedly along after his -captain. - -[Illustration: Captain Bailey and Midshipman Read Facing the New -Orleans Mob] - -Right on through the gauntlet of death passed the two men with never a -quiver of the eye or a motion of the face to show that they even knew -the mob was there. Little by little, men who had retained something of -their self-control began to persuade the more lawless part of the -rabble to fall back. It was whispered around that Farragut, that old -man of iron and fire, had said that he would level the city as flat as -the river if a hand were even laid on his envoys. Finally through the -surging streets appeared the City Hall and the end of that desperate -march was in sight. At the very steps of the City Hall the mob took a -last stand. Half-a-dozen howling young ruffians, with cocked revolvers -in either hand, stood on the lower step and dared the Union messengers -to go an inch farther. Midshipman Read stepped smilingly ahead of his -captain and gently pushed with either hand two of the cursing young -desperadoes far enough to one side to allow for a passageway between -them. Both of them actually placed the muzzles of their cocked -revolvers against his neck as a last threat, but even the touch of cold -steel did not drive away Read's amused smile. The mob gave up. -Evidently these men had resources about which they knew nothing. - -"They were so sure that we wouldn't kill them that we couldn't," said -one of the Thugs afterward in explaining why the hated messengers had -been allowed to march up the steps. - -They sauntered into the mayor's room where they met a group of -white-faced, trembling men who were the mayor and his council. Captain -Bailey delivered the admiral's summons for the surrender of the city to -the mayor. The mob, which at first had stayed back, at this point -surged up to the windows and shouted curses and threats into the very -mayor's room, threatening him and the council if they dared to -surrender the city. Captain Bailey and his companion gave the trembling -city officials a few minutes in which to make up their minds. Suddenly -there was heard a roar outside louder than any which had come before. -The mob had torn down the Union flag which had been hoisted over the -custom house and rushing to the mayor's office, tore it to pieces -outside the open windows and threw the fragments in at the seated -envoys. This insult to their flag aroused Captain Bailey and young Read -as no threats against them personally had been able to do. Turning to -the mayor and the shrinking council, Bailey said, "As there is a God in -heaven, the man who tore down that Union flag shall hang for it." Later -on this promise was carried out by the inflexible General Butler when -he took over the city from Admiral Farragut and hanged Mumford, the man -who tore down the flag in the city square, before the very mob which -had so violently applauded his action. This incident was the last straw -for the mayor and his associates. They neither dared to refuse to -surrender the city lest it should be bombarded by Farragut nor did they -dare to surrender it for fear of the mob which had gathered around them -with significant coils of rope over their arms. In a half-whisper they -hurriedly notified Captain Bailey that they could not surrender the -city, but that they would make no resistance if the Union forces -occupied it. Looking at them contemptuously, Captain Bailey turned -away, picked up the fragments of the torn flag and faced the mob -outside threateningly. The man who had torn the flag slunk back and his -example was contagious. One by one men commenced to sneak away and in a -minute the City Hall was deserted and Captain Bailey and Midshipman -Read were able to leave the building and drive back to the vessels in a -carriage obtained for them by the mayor's secretary. - -So ended what one of the mob, who afterward became a valued citizen of -his state, described as the bravest deed he had ever seen--two unarmed -men facing and defeating a mob of murderers and madmen. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -BOY HEROES - - -One doesn't have to be big, or old, or strong to be brave. But one does -have to believe in something so much and so hard that nothing else -counts, even death. An idea that is so big that everything else seems -small is called an ideal. It is easy for a boy with an ideal to be -brave. Cassabianca, the boy who stayed on the burning ship because he -had been ordered to wait there by his dead father, had made obedience -his ideal. The boy of Holland who found a leak in the dyke which could -only be stopped by his hand, and who stayed through the long night and -saved his village but lost his right hand had learned this great ideal -of self-sacrifice. The shepherd boy who saved his sheep from a lion and -a bear and who afterward was the only one who dared enter the fatal -valley and meet the fierce giant-warrior had as his ideal faith. He -believed so strongly that he was doing God's will that he shared God's -strength. - -In the great war between slavery and freedom which swept like fire over -the country, boys learned the ideals for which their fathers fought. -They learned to believe so entirely in freedom that there was no room -left for fear. Many of them went to the war as drummer boys, the only -way in which boys could enlist. One of these was Johnny McLaughlin of -the Tenth Indiana. Johnny lived at a place called Lafayette and was not -quite eleven years old. From the minute that the war broke out he -thought of nothing but what he could do for his country and for -freedom. Other boys played at drilling and marching, but this was not -enough for him. He made inquiries and found that if he could learn to -drum, there was a chance that he might be allowed to enlist. He said -nothing at first to his father and mother about his plans, but saved -all his spending-money and worked every holiday in order to get enough -to buy a drum. Times were hard, however. There was little money for -men, much less for boys, and after Johnny had worked for over two -months, he had saved exactly two dollars. In the village was a drummer -who had been sent home to recover from his wounds and to him Johnny -went one day to ask how much more he would have to save before he could -buy a drum. The man told him that a good drum would cost him at least -ten dollars. Johnny sighed and turned away very much discouraged. - -"Why don't you play something else?" said the man. "You can get more -fun out of ten dollars than buying a drum with it." - -"I don't want it to play with," said Johnny. "I want to learn to drum -so that I can enlist." - -At first the man laughed at the boy--he seemed so little, but when he -found that Johnny had made up his mind to do his share for his country -in the great fight, Donaldson, as he was named, became serious. - -"I tell you what I'll do," he said at last. "If you are really in -earnest about learning to drum, I'll give you lessons myself, for," -said he modestly, "I was the best drummer in my regiment. If you can -learn and they will take you, I'll give you the old drum. I'll send it -to the front even if I can't go myself." - -This was enough for Johnny. Morning, noon and night he was with his -friend Donaldson and it was a wonder that the drum-head was not worn -out long before he learned. Learn he did, however, and in a few months -there was not a roll or a call which he could not play. One morning as -the school-bell was ringing, Johnny presented himself to his parents -with the big drum around his neck looking nearly as large as he was. - -"I'm going to enlist," he said simply. - -At first his father and mother, like Donaldson, were inclined to laugh -at him, he was such a little boy, but Johnny was in earnest and a boy -who is in earnest always gets what he wants. A few days later found him -a drummer for the Tenth Indiana and as he led the regiment, beating the -long roll, Johnny was the proudest boy that had ever come out of -Indiana. He had his first taste of fire at Fort Donelson and afterward -at the bloody battle of Shiloh. Johnny drummed until the terrible -drumming of the muskets drowned out even his loud notes. Then he laid -down his sticks, carefully hid his drum, took a musket and cartridge -box from off one of the dead soldiers and ran on with his regiment and -fought in the front with the bravest of them all. He had a quick eye -and it was not long before he could shoot as accurately as any man -there. - -It was just after Shiloh that Johnny had a narrow escape from being -captured. Wanting to try everything, he obtained permission to do -picket duty at night although this work was not required of drummer -boys. As he had shown himself such a cool and ready fighter, his -colonel felt that he was entirely able to do this duty and one dark -night put him on picket. His post was some distance away from the camp. -Just at dawn he was suddenly rushed by a party of rebel cavalry. As -they burst out of the bushes Johnny fired his carbine at the first one, -dropping him, and ran across an open field about fifty yards wide. At -the other side was an old, rotten, log fence and beyond that a mass of -briers and underbrush where he was sure the horses could not follow. -Fortunately for him the rains had made the field a mass of mud. There -his lightness gave him the advantage, for the horses slumped through at -every step. The rebels fired constantly at him as they rode with their -pistols. One ball went through his hat, another clear through his -cartridge box and lodged in his coat, fortunately without exploding any -of the cartridges. Beyond the middle of the field the ground was drier -and the horsemen commenced to gain on him, but he reached the fence -well ahead and with one jump landed on the top. The rotten rails gave -way underneath him and he plunged headlong over into the brush, right -on the back of a big sleeping wild pig who had rooted out a lair at -this place. The pig jumped up grunting and crashed through the -underbrush and Johnny heard his pursuers smashing through the broken -fence not a rod away. He curled up into the round hole which the pig -had left, drew down the bushes over his head and lay perfectly quiet. -The horsemen, hearing the rustling of leaves and the smashing of -branches as the pig dashed off down a pathway, followed after at full -gallop and were out of sight in a minute. As soon as the sound of their -galloping had died away, Johnny crawled cautiously out of his hole and -made the best of his way back to camp. The next day some of the rebel -cavalry were taken prisoners and Johnny recognized one of them as the -leader of the squad which had so nearly caught him. The prisoner -recognized the boy at the same time and they both grinned cheerfully at -each other. - -"Did you catch that pig yesterday?" finally said Johnny. - -"We did that," retorted the prisoner, "but it wasn't the one we were -after." - -Johnny had always been able to ride the most spirited horses on the -farm and after Shiloh he asked to be transferred from the infantry to -Colonel Jacob's Kentucky Cavalry. There he attracted the attention of -the colonel so that the latter gave him one of the best horses in the -regiment and a place in the Fighting First, as the best-mounted company -was called, which the colonel always led personally in every charge. In -this company Johnny was taught how to handle a sabre. The regular sabre -was too heavy for him, but Colonel Jacob had one light, short one -specially made which Johnny learned to handle like a flash. A German -sergeant, who had been a great fencer on the Continent, taught him all -that he knew and before long Johnny was an expert in tricks of fence -which stood him in good stead later on. One in special he so perfected -that it was never parried. Instead of striking down with the sabre as -is generally done, Johnny learned a whirling, flashing upper-cut which -came so rapidly that generally an opponent could not even see much less -parry it. He was also armed with the regulation revolver and a light -carbine instead of the heavy revolving rifle used by the rest of the -troop. At Perryville he fought his first battle with his new regiment. -In the charge he stuck close to Colonel Jacob and received a ball -through his left leg above the knee. Fortunately it did not break any -bone and Johnny tore a strip off his shirt, bandaged the hole and went -on with the fight. While he was doing this, the greater part of the -regiment passed on and when Johnny started to join his colonel, he -could not find him. He rode like the wind over the field and soon -behind a little patch of woods saw Colonel Jacobs with only six or -seven men, the rest having been scattered in the fight. Johnny spurred -his horse over to him and the colonel was delighted to be joined by his -little body-guard. As they were riding along to rejoin the rest of the -regiment, from out a clump of bushes a squad of fifty men led by a -Confederate major dashed out calling on them to surrender. Colonel -Jacob hesitated, for some of his men were wounded and the odds seemed -too great for a fight. Before he had time to answer, Johnny slipped in -front of him, drew out his revolver and fired directly into the -Confederate officer's face, killing him instantly and then drawing his -sabre dashed into the ranks of the enemy. The first man he met was a -big fellow whose bare, brawny arm and blood-stained sabre proved him a -master with his weapon. Johnny never gave him a chance to strike. At -the whirl of his light sabre his opponent instinctively raised his -weapon in the ordinary parry of a down-blow and the point of Johnny's -sabre caught him under the chin and toppled him off his horse. The -Union men gave a cheer, followed their little leader, breaking clear -through the demoralized Confederates and joined their command at the -other side of the field. - -A few weeks later they had a skirmish with the troop of John Morgan, -the most dreaded cavalry leader and fighter in all the South. Johnny, -as usual, was in the front of the charge and had just cut at one man -when another aimed a tremendous blow at his head in passing. There was -just time for Johnny to raise the pommel of his sabre to save his head, -but the deflected blow caught him on the leg and he fell from the horse -with blood spurting out of his other leg this time. He lay perfectly -quiet, but another rebel had seen him fall and spurring forward, caught -him by the collar, saying: - -"We'll keep this little Yankee in a cage to show the children." - -Johnny did not approve of this cage-idea and although there was no room -to use the sabre, managed to work his left hand back into his belt, -draw his revolver and shoot his captor dead. In another minute his -company came riding back and he was whirled up behind his colonel and -rode back of him to safety. This last wound proved to be a serious one -and he was sent back to Indiana on a furlough to give it time to heal. -On the way back he was stopped by a provost guard and asked for his -pass. - -"My colonel forgot to give me any passes," said Johnny, "but here are -two that the rebels gave me," showing his bandaged legs, and the guard -agreed with him that this was pass enough for any one. As his wound -refused to heal, against his wishes he was discharged and once more -returned home. He then tried to enlist again, but each time he was -turned down because of the unhealed wound. Finally, Johnny traveled -clear to Washington and had a personal talk with President Lincoln and -explained to him that his wound would never heal except in active -service. His arguments had such force with the President that a special -order was made for his enlistment and he fought through the whole war -and afterward joined the regular army. - - -The littlest hero of the war was Eddie Lee. Shortly before the battle -of Wilson's Creek, one of the Iowa regiments was ordered to join -General Lyon in his march to the creek. The drummer of one of the -companies was taken sick and had to go to the hospital. The day before -the regiment was to march a negro came to the camp and told the captain -that he knew of a drummer who would like to enlist. The captain told -him to bring the boy in the next morning and if he could drum well he -would give him a chance. The next day during the beating of the -reveille, a woman in deep mourning came in leading by the hand a little -chap about as big as a penny and apparently not more than five or six -years old. She inquired for the captain and when the latter came out, -told him that she had brought him a drummer boy. - -"Drummer boy," said the captain; "why, madam, we don't take them as -small as this. That boy hasn't been out of the cradle many months." - -"He has been out long enough," spoke up the boy, "to play any tune you -want." - -His mother then told the captain that she was from East Tennessee where -her husband had been killed by the rebels and all her property -destroyed and she must find a place for the boy. - -"Well, well," said the captain, impatiently, "Sergeant, bring the drum -and order our fifer to come forward." - -In a few moments the drum was produced and the fifer, a tall, -good-natured fellow over six feet in height, made his appearance. - -"Here's your new side-partner, Bill," said the captain. - -Bill stooped down, and down and down until his hands rested on his -ankles and peered into the boy's face carefully. - -"Why, captain," said he, "he ain't much taller than the drum." - -"Little man, can you really drum?" he asked. - -"Yes, sir," said the boy. "I used to drum for Captain Hill in -Tennessee. I am nearly ten years old and I want the place." - -The fifer straightened himself up slowly, placed his fife at his mouth -and commenced to play "The Flowers of the Forest," one of the most -difficult pieces to follow on the drum. The little chap accompanied him -without a mistake and when he had finished began a perfect fusillade of -rolls and calls and rallies which came so fast that they sounded like a -volley of musketry. When the noise had finally died out, the captain -turned to his mother and said: - -"Madam, I'll take that boy. He isn't much bigger than a minute but he -certainly can drum." - -The woman kissed the boy and nearly broke down. - -"You'll surely bring him back to me, captain," she said. - -"Sure," said the captain; "we'll all be discharged in about six weeks." - -An hour later Eddie was marching at the head of the Iowa First playing -"The Girl I Left Behind Me" as it had never been played before. He and -Bill, the fifer, became great chums and Eddie was the favorite of the -whole regiment. Whenever anything especially nice was brought back by -the foraging parties, Eddie always had his share and the captain said -that he was in far more danger from watermelons than he was from -bullets. On heavy marches the fifer would carry him on his back, drum -and all, and this was always Eddie's position in fording the numerous -streams. - -At the Battle of Wilson's Creek the Iowa regiment and a part of an -Illinois regiment were ordered to clear out a flanking party concealed -in a ravine upon the left of the Union forces. The ravine was a deep, -long one with high trees and heavy underbrush and dark even at -noontime. The Union regiments marched down and there was a dreadful -hand-to-hand fight in the brush in the semi-twilight. Men became -separated from each other and as in the great battle between David and -Absalom, the wood devoured more people that day than the sword -devoured. The fight was going against the Union men when suddenly a -Union battery wheeled into line on a near-by hill and poured a rain of -grape and canister into the Confederates which drove them out in short -order. Later on the word was passed through the Union Army that General -Lyon had been killed and soon after came the order to fall back upon -Springfield. The Iowa regiment and two companies of a Missouri regiment -were ordered to camp on the battle-field and act as a rear guard to -cover a retreat. When the men came together that night there was no -drummer boy. In the hurry and rush of hand-to-hand fighting, Eddie had -become separated from Bill and although the latter raged back and forth -through the brush like an angry bull, never a trace of his little -comrade could he find. That night the sentries stood guard over the -abandoned field and along the edge of the dark ravine now filled with -the dead of both sides. It was a wild, desolate country and as the men -passed back and forth over the stricken field, they could hear the -long, mournful, wailing howl of the wolves which were brought by the -smell of blood from the wilderness to the battle-field from miles -around. That night poor Bill was unable to sleep and moaned and tossed -on his blanket and said for the thousandth time: - -"If only I had kept closer to the little chap." - -Suddenly he sprang to his feet and roused the sleeping men all around -him. - -"Don't you hear a drum?" said he. - -They all listened sadly, but could hear nothing. - -"Lie down, Bill," said one of them. "Eddie's gone. We all did the best -we could." - -"He's down there in the dark," cried poor Bill, "drumming for help, and -I must go to him." - -The others tried to hold him back for it was impossible to see a foot -through the tangled ravine at night and moreover the orders were strict -against any one leaving camp. Bill went to the sentry who guarded the -captain's tent and finally persuaded the man to wake up the captain. -The latter lay exhausted with fatigue and sorrow, but came out and -listened as did all the rest for the drum, but nothing could be heard. - -"You imagined it, my poor fellow," he said. "There's nothing you could -do to-night anyway. Wait until morning." - -Bill paced restlessly up and down all through that dark night and just -as the dawn-light came in the sky, he heard again faint and far away a -drum beating the morning call from out of the silence of the deep -ravine. Again he went to the captain. - -"Of course you can go," said the latter, kindly, "but you must be back -as soon as possible for we march at daybreak. Look out for yourself as -the place is full of bushwhackers and rebel scouts." - -Bill started down the hill through the thick underbrush and wandered -around for a time trying to locate the drum-beats which were thrown -back by the trees so that it was difficult to determine from what point -they came. As he crept along through the underbrush, they sounded -louder and louder and finally in the darkest, deepest part of the -ravine, he came out from behind a great pin-oak and saw his little -comrade sitting on the ground leaning against the trunk of a fallen -tree and beating his drum which was hung on a bush in front of him. - -"Eddie, Eddie, dear old Eddie," shouted Bill, bursting through the -thicket. At the sound the little chap dropped his drumsticks and -exclaimed: - -"Oh, Bill, I am so glad to see you. I knew you would come. Do get me a -drink." - -Bill started to take his canteen down to a little near-by brook when -Eddie called him back. - -"You'll come back, Bill, won't you," he said, "for I can't walk." - -Bill looked down and saw that both of his feet had been shot away by a -cannon-ball and that the little fellow was sitting in a pool of his own -blood. Choking back his sobs, the big fifer crawled down to the brook -and soon came back with his canteen full of cold water which Eddie -emptied again and again. - -"You don't think I am going to die, do you, Bill?" said the little boy -at last. "I do so want to finish out my time and go back to mother. -This man said I would not and that the surgeon would be able to cure -me." - -For the first time Bill noticed that just at Eddie's feet lay a dead -Confederate. He had been shot through the stomach and had fallen near -where Eddie lay. Realizing that he could not live and seeing the -condition of the boy, he had crawled up to him and taking off his -buckskin suspenders had bandaged with them the little fellow's legs so -that he would not bleed to death and on tying the last knot had fallen -back dead himself. Eddie had just finished telling Bill all about it in -a whisper, for his strength was going fast, when there was a trampling -of horses through the ravine and in a minute a Confederate scouting -party broke through the brush, calling upon Bill to surrender. - -"I'll do anything you want," said Bill, "if you will only take my -little pal here safe back to camp and get him into the hands of a -surgeon." - -The Confederate captain stooped down and spoke gently to the boy and in -a minute took him up and mounted him in front of him on his own horse -and they rode carefully back to the Confederate camp, but when they -reached the tents of the nearest Confederate company they found that -little Eddie had served out his time and had given his life for his -country. - - -On June 30, 1862, was fought the stubborn battle of Glendale, one of -the Seven Days' Battles between McClellan, the general of the Union -forces, and Lee, the Confederate commander. This battle was part of -McClellan's campaign against Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy -which he had within his grasp when he was out-generaled by Lee, who -that month for the first time had been placed in supreme command of the -Confederate Army. With him were his two great generals, Stonewall -Jackson and Longstreet. McClellan was within sight of the promised -land. The spires of Richmond showed against the sky. Instead of -fighting he hesitated and procrastinated away every chance of victory. -Lee was even then planning that wonderful strategy which was to halt a -victorious army, turn it away from the beleaguered capital of the -Confederacy and send it stumbling back North in a series of defeats. It -was necessary for him to have a conference with Stonewall Jackson, his -great fighting right-hand in military matters. Jackson rode almost -alone fifty miles and attended a conference with Lee, Longstreet and -Generals D. H. and A. P. Hill. To each of them General Lee assigned the -part that he was to play. In the meantime, knowing that McClellan -always read and pondered the Richmond papers, he arranged that -simultaneously every paper should publish as news the pretended facts -that strong reinforcements had been sent to the Shenandoah Valley. -McClellan fell into the trap and instead of pressing forward to attack -Richmond, which was now only guarded by a small force, he, as usual, -waited for reinforcements and allowed his antagonists to march around -him and start flanking battles which threatened to cut off his line of -communications. The battle of Gaines Mill was fought in which battle -General Fitz John Porter with thirty-one thousand men stubbornly faced -Lee and Jackson's forces of fifty-five thousand and with sullen -obstinacy only retreated when it was absolutely impossible longer to -hold his ground. This defeat, which occurred simply because McClellan -could not bring himself to send Porter the necessary reinforcements, -made General McClellan resolve to withdraw, although even then, with a -superior army, he could have fought his way to Richmond. From June 25th -to July 1, 1862, occurred the Seven Days' Battles fought by the -retreating Union Army. By one of the few mistakes which General Lee -made in that campaign, the Union Army was allowed a respite of -twenty-four hours to organize its retreat and were well on their way -before pursuit was given. On June 29th there was a battle between the -rear guard of the Union force and the Confederate's under General -Magruder in which the Confederates were defeated. The next day came the -battle of Glendale. Generals Longstreet and A. P. Hill commanded the -Confederate Army while the rear guard of the retreating Union forces -was made up of General McCall's division and that of General -Heintzelman and a part of the corps under General Sumner which had done -such gallant fighting the day before. It was a stern and stubborn -battle. If the Confederates could cut through the rear guard, they -would have the retreating army at their mercy. On the other hand, if -they could be held back, the main army would have time to occupy a -favorable position and entrench and could be saved. For a time it -seemed as if the Confederate attack could not be checked. Every -available man was called into action. Back at the rear were posted the -hospital corps where the sick and wounded lay. With them were stationed -the band and the drum-corps made up of drummer boys who were supposed -to keep out of actual fighting as much as possible. Among them was a -little Jewish boy named Benjamin Levy, who was only sixteen years old -and small for his age. Benjamin stayed back with the hospital while the -roar of the battle grew louder and louder. Finally there was a -tremendous chorus of yells and groans and shouts mingled with the -rattle of rifle-shots and the heavy thudding sounds which sabres and -bayonets make as they slash and pierce living flesh. Little groups of -wounded men came straggling back or were carried back to the hospital -and each one told a fresh story of the fierce fight which was going on -at the near-by front. Benjamin could stand it no longer. The last -wounded man that came in hobbled along with a broken leg, using his -rifle for a crutch. The boy helped him to a near-by cot and made him as -comfortable as he could. - -"Now you lie quiet," he said, "until the doctor comes and I'll just -borrow this rifle of yours and do a little fighting in your place," and -Benjamin picked up the gun and slipped on the other's cartridge belt. - -"Hi there, you come back with my gun," yelled the wounded man after -him. "That front's no place for kids like you." - -Benjamin, however, was well on his way before the man had finished -speaking and slipping past an indignant doctor who was trying to stop -him, he ran forward, keeping as much as possible in the shelter of the -trees among which the bullets and grape-shot were whining and humming. -He passed many wounded limping to the rear and rows of prostrate men, -some still, some writhing in the agony of their wounds. These were the -men who had fallen on their way back to the hospital. A minute later -Benjamin found himself in the thick of the fight. There had been a -Confederate charge which the Union soldiers had just barely been able -to drive back. The men were still panting and shouting and firing -volleys at the gray forces who were reluctantly withdrawing to rally -for another attack. The boy lay down with the rest and loaded and fired -his borrowed rifle as rapidly as he could. No one seemed to notice him -except the color-bearer who happened to be the man next to him. He had -stopped firing to wipe his face and saw the little fellow close by his -arm. - -"Why don't you get back to the rear where you belong?" he said, -pretending to talk very fiercely. "This is no place for little boys. -When those gray-backs come back, you'll scamper quick enough, so you -had better be on your way now." - -"No I won't," said Benjamin positively. "I guess boys have got as much -right to fight in this war as men have. Anyway, you won't see me do -much running." - -Benjamin was mistaken in that last statement, for a minute later the -colonel of this particular regiment decided that instead of waiting for -a Confederate attack, he would do a little charging on his own account. -The signal came. The men sprang over the earthworks and Benjamin found -himself running neck and neck with the color-bearer at the head of them -all. It was a glorious charge. The ground ahead was smooth, the fierce -flag of the regiment streamed just in front and all around were men -panting and cheering as they ran. It was almost like a race on the old -school-green at home. They came nearer and nearer to the masses of -gray-clothed men who were hurriedly arranging themselves in regular -ranks out of the hurry and confusion of their retreat. When they were -only a short hundred yards distant, suddenly a wavering line of fire -and smoke ran all up and down the straggling line in front of them. Men -plunged headlong here and there and Benjamin noticed that he and the -color-bearer seemed to have drawn away from the rest and were racing -almost alone. Suddenly his friend with the colors stopped in full -stride, swung the flag over his head once with a shout and dropped -backward with a bullet through his heart. As he fell the colors slowly -dropped down through the air and were about to settle on the -blood-stained grass when the boy, hardly knowing what he did, shifted -his rifle to his left hand, caught the staff of the flag and once more -the colors of the regiment were leading the men on. Right up to the -gray line he carried them, followed by the whole regiment. Firing, -cutting and stabbing with their bayonets they broke straight through -the Confederates and after a hand-to-hand fight, drove them out of -their position. They carried the boy, still clinging to the colors, on -their shoulders to their colonel and to the end of his life Benjamin -remembered the moment when the colonel shook hands with him before the -cheering regiment as the climax of the greatest day of his life. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE CHARGE OF ZAGONYI - - -In battle the charge is the climax. In other kinds of fighting men have -a certain amount of shelter and respite and at long range it makes -little difference whether the fighter is strong or weak. In a charge, -however, the fighting is hand to hand. As in the days of old, men fight -at close grips with their enemy and each one must depend upon his own -strength and skill and bravery. - -There have been three charges in modern battles which have been -celebrated over and over again. The first of these was the last -desperate charge of the Old Guard at Waterloo. A thin red line of -English held a hill which Napoleon, the greatest of modern generals, -saw was the keystone of the battle. If that could be taken, the whole -arch of the English and Belgium forces would crumble away into defeat. -Again and again the French stormed at this hill and each time were -driven back by the coolly-waiting deadly ranks of the English. Toward -nightfall Napoleon made one last desperate effort. The Old Guard was to -him what the great Tenth Legion had been to Julius Cæsar, the best and -bravest veterans of his army who boasted that they had never yet been -defeated. Calling them up with every last one of his reserves, he -ordered a final desperate charge to break the battle center. To the -grim drumming of what guns the little general had left, they rushed -again up that blood-stained slope in desperate dark masses of unbeaten -men. With a storm of cheers, the columns surged up in a vast blue -battle-wave which seemed as if it must dash off by its weight the -little group of silent, grim defenders. The Englishmen waited and -waited and waited until the rushing ranks were almost on them. Then -they poured in a volley at such close range that every bullet did the -work of two and with a deep English cheer sprang on the broken ranks -with their favorite weapon, the bayonet. That great battle-wave broke -in a foam of shattered, dying and defeated men and the sunset of that -day was the sunset of Napoleon's glory. - -Fifty years later in the great war which England with her allies was -waging to keep the vast, fierce hordes of Russia from ruling Europe, -happened another glorious, useless charge. Owing to a misunderstanding -of orders, a little squad of six hundred cavalrymen charged down a -mile-long valley flanked on all sides by Russian artillery against a -battery of guns whose fire faced them all the way. Every schoolboy who -has ever spoken a piece on Friday afternoon knows what comes next. How -the gallant Six Hundred, stormed at with shot and shell, made the -charge to the wonder and admiration of three watching armies and how -they forced their way into the jaws of death and into the mouth of hell -and sabred the gunners and then rode back--all that was left of them. - -In our own Civil War occurred the most famous charge of modern days, -Pickett's charge at the battle of Gettysburg. For three days raged the -first battle which the Confederates had been able to fight on Northern -soil. If their great General Lee, with his seventy thousand veterans, -won this battle, Washington, Philadelphia and even New York were at his -mercy. On the afternoon of the third day he made one last desperate -effort to break the center of the Union forces. Pickett's division of -the Virginia infantry was the center of the attacking forces and the -column numbered altogether over fifteen thousand men. For two hours Lee -cannonaded the Union center with one hundred and fifteen guns. He was -answered by the Union artillery although they could only muster eighty -guns. Finally the Union fire was stopped in order that the guns might -cool for Hunt, the Union chief of artillery, realized that the -cannonade was started to mask some last great attack. Suddenly three -lines, each over a mile long, of Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, -Georgia and Tennessee regiments started to cover the mile and a half -which separated them from the Union center. The Union crest was held by -the Pennsylvania regiments who were posted back of the stone wall on -the very summit. As the gray lines rushed over the distance with a -score of fierce battle flags flaming and fluttering over their ranks, -the eighty guns which had cooled so that they could now be used with -good effect opened up on them first with solid shot and then with the -tremendous explosive shells. As they charged, the Virginia regiments -moved away to the left leaving a gap between them and the men from -Alabama on the right. The Union leaders took advantage of this gap and -forced in there the Vermont brigade and a half brigade of New York men. -By suddenly changing front these men were enabled to attack the -charging thousands on their flank. The Union guns did terrible -execution, opening up great gaps through the running, leaping, shouting -men. As the charge came nearer and nearer the batteries changed to the -more terrible grape and canister which cut the men down like grass -before a reaper. Still they came on until they were face to face with -the waiting Union soldiers who poured in a volley at short range. For a -moment the battle flags of the foremost Confederate regiments stood on -the crest. The effort had been too much. Over half of the men had been -killed or wounded and many others had turned to meet the flank attack -of the Vermont and New York regiments so that when the Pennsylvania -troops met them at last with the bayonet, the gray line wavered, broke, -and the North was saved. - -All three of these great charges were brave, glorious failures. This is -the story of a charge, an almost forgotten charge, just as brave, just -as glorious, which succeeded, a charge in which one hundred and sixty -men and boys broke and routed a force of over two thousand entrenched -infantry and cavalry. - -At the breaking out of the war, one of the most popular of the Union -commanders was John C. Fremont, the Pathfinder. He had opened up the -far West and had made known to the people the true greatness of the -country beyond the Mississippi. At the birth of the Republican or -Free-Soil Party, he was the first candidate. The country rang with a -campaign song sung to the tune of the Marseillaise, the chorus of which -was: - - "March on, march on, ye braves, - And let your war cry be, - Free soil, free press, free votes, free men, - Fremont and victory." - -He was one of the first generals appointed. Among those whom the -fascination of his romantic and adventurous life had attracted to his -side was a Hungarian refugee named Zagonyi. In his boyhood he had -fought in the desperate but unsuccessful war which Hungary made to free -herself from the Austrian yoke. He served in the Hungarian cavalry; and -in a desperate charge upon the Austrians, in which half the force were -killed, Zagonyi was wounded and captured and for two years was a -prisoner. He was finally released on condition that he leave his -country forever. As an experienced soldier, he was welcomed by General -Fremont and was authorized to raise a company to be known as Fremont's -Body-Guard. In a few days two full companies, composed mostly of very -young men, had been enrolled. A little later another company composed -entirely of Kentucky boys was included in the guards. They were all -magnificently mounted on picked horses and very handsomely uniformed. -Because of their outfit and name they soon excited the envy of the -other parts of the army who used to call them the "kid-glove brigade." -Although well-trained and enthusiastic, they had no active service -until October, 1861, when Zagonyi, who had been appointed their major, -was ordered to take one hundred and sixty of his men and explore the -country around Springfield, Missouri, through which the main army was -intending to advance. There were rumors that a Confederate force was -approaching to take possession of the city of Springfield and the -body-guard marched seventeen hours without stopping in order to occupy -this town before the enemy should arrive. As they came within two miles -of Springfield, however, they were met by a farmer who informed them -that the Confederates had beaten them in the race to Springfield and -were already in camp on a hill about half a mile west of the town. -Their rear was protected by a grove of trees and there was a deep brook -at the foot of the hill. The only way to approach them was through a -blind lane which ran into fences and ploughed fields. This was covered -by sharpshooters and infantry while four hundred Confederate horsemen -were posted on the flank of the main body of infantry which guarded the -top of the hill. Altogether the force numbered over two thousand men. -It seemed an absolutely hopeless undertaking for a little body of tired -boys to attack twenty times their own number. Zagonyi, however, had -been used to fighting against odds in his battles with the Austrians. -He hurriedly called his men together and announced to them that he did -not intend to go back without a fight after riding so far. - -"If any of you men," he said, "are too tired or too weak, or too -afraid, go back now before it is too late. There is one thing about -it," he added grimly, "if there are any of us left when we are through -we won't hear much more about kid gloves." - -Not a man stirred to go back. Zagonyi gathered them into open order and -drawing his sabre gave the word to start up the fatal lane. At first -there was no sight or sound of any enemy, but as the horses broke into -a run, there was a volley from the woods and a number of men swayed in -their saddles and sank to the ground. Down the steep, stony lane they -rushed in a solid column in spite of volley after volley which poured -into their ranks. Some leaped, others crashed through fences and across -the ploughed fields and jumped the brook and finally gained the shelter -of the foot of the hill. There was a constant whistle of bullets and -scream of minie balls over their heads. They stopped for a minute to -re-form, for nearly half the squad was down. Zagonyi detached thirty of -his best horsemen and instructed them to charge up the hill at the -Confederate cavalry which, four hundred strong, were posted along the -edge of the wood, and to hold them engaged so that the rest of the -force could make a front attack on the infantry. The rest of the troop -watched the little band gallop up the hillside and they were fully -half-way up before it dawned upon the Confederates that these thirty -men were really intending to attack a force over ten times their -number. As they swept up the last slope, the Confederate cavalry poured -a volley from their revolvers instead of getting the jump on them by a -down-hill charge. - -Lieutenant Mathenyi, another Hungarian and an accomplished swordsman, -led the attack and cut his way through the first line of the -Confederate horsemen, closely followed by the score of men who had -managed to get up the hill. With their sabres flashing over their -heads, they disappeared in the gray cloud of Confederates which awaited -them. At that moment Zagonyi gave the word for the main charge and his -column opened out and rushed up the hill from all sides like a -whirlwind. Even as they breasted the slope they saw the solid mass of -Confederate cavalry open out and scatter in every direction while a -blue wedge of men cut clear through and turned back to sabre the -scattering Confederates. With a tremendous cheer, Zagonyi and the rest -of the band rushed on to the massed infantry. - -They had time for only one volley when the young horsemen were among -them, cutting, thrusting, hacking and shooting with their revolvers. In -a minute the main body followed the example of the cavalry and broke -and scattered everywhere. Some of them, however, were real fighters; -they retreated into the woods and kept up a murderous fire from behind -trees. One young Union soldier dashed in after them to drive them out, -but was caught under the shoulders by a grape-vine and swept off his -horse and hung struggling in the air until rescued by his comrades. -Down into the village swarmed the fugitives with the guards close at -their heels. At a great barn just outside of the village a number of -them rallied and drove back the Kentucky squad which had been pursuing -them. This time Zagonyi himself dashed up, and shouting, "Come on, old -Kentuck, I'm with you," rushed at the group which stood in the doorway. -As he came on, a man sprang out from behind the door and leveled his -rifle at Zagonyi's head. The latter spurred his horse until he reared, -and swinging him around on his hind legs, cut his opponent clear -through the neck and shoulders with such tremendous force that the -blood spurted clear up to the top of the door. - -Another hero of the fight was Sergeant Hunter, the drill-master of the -squad. It had always been an open question with the men as to whether -he or Major Zagonyi was the better swordsman. In this fight Hunter -killed five men with his sabre, one after the other, showing off fatal -tricks of fence against bayonet and sabre as coolly as if giving a -lesson, while several men fell before his revolver. His last encounter -was with a Southern lieutenant who had been flying by, but suddenly -turned and fought desperately. The sergeant had lost three horses and -was now mounted on his fourth, a riderless, unmanageable horse which he -had caught, and was somewhat at a disadvantage. In spite of this he -proceeded to give those of his squad who were near him a lecture on the -fine points of the sabre. - -"Always parry in secant," said he, suiting his action to the word, -"because," he went on, slashing his opponent across the thigh, "a -regular fencer like this Confed is liable to leave himself open. It is -easy then to ride on two paces and catch him with a back-hand sweep," -and at the words he dealt his opponent a last fatal blow across the -side of the head which toppled him out of his saddle. - -A young Southern officer magnificently mounted refused to follow the -fugitives, but charged alone at the line of the guards. He passed clear -through without being touched, killing one man as he went. Instantly he -wheeled, charged back and again broke through, leaving another Union -cavalryman dead. A third time he cut his way clear up to Zagonyi's side -and suddenly dropping his sabre, placed a revolver against the major's -breast and fired. Zagonyi, however, was like lightning in his -movements. The instant he felt the pressure of the revolver he swerved -so that the bullet passed through his tunic, and shortening his sabre -he ran his opponent through the throat killing him before he had time -to shoot again. - -Holding his dripping sabre in his hand, the major shouted an order to -his men to come together in the middle of the town. One of the first to -come back was his bugler, whom Zagonyi had ordered to sound a signal in -the fiercest part of the fight. The bugler had apparently paid no -attention to him, but darted off with Lieutenant Mathenyi's squad and -was seen pursuing the flying horsemen vigorously. When his men were -gathered together, Major Zagonyi ordered him to step out and said: - -"In the middle of the battle you disobeyed my order to sound the -recall. It might have meant the loss of our whole company. You are not -worthy to be a member of this guard and I dismiss you." - -The bugler was a little Frenchman and he nearly exploded with -indignation. - -"No," he said, "me, you shall not dismiss," and he showed his bugle to -his major with the mouthpiece carried away by a stray bullet. "The -mouth was shoot off," he said. "I could not bugle wiz my bugle and so I -bugle wiz my pistol and sabre." - -The major recalled the order of dismissal. - -So ended one of the most desperate charges of the Civil War. One -hundred and forty-eight men had defeated twenty-two hundred, with the -loss of fifty-three killed and more than thirty wounded. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE LOCOMOTIVE CHASE - - -Courage does not depend upon success. Sometimes it takes a braver man -to lose than to win. A man may meet defeat and even death in doing his -duty, but if he has not flinched or given up, he has not failed. A -brave deed is never wasted whether men live or die. - -In the spring of 1862, James J. Andrews and a little band of nineteen -other men staked their lives and liberty for the freedom of Tennessee -and although they lost, the story of their courage helped other men to -be brave. - -At the beginning of the Civil War, the eastern part of Tennessee was -held by the Confederates although the mountaineers were for the most -part Union men. The city of Chattanooga was the key to that part of the -state and was held by the Confederates. A railroad line into that city -ran through Georgia and was occupied by the Southern army. If that -could be destroyed, Chattanooga could be cut off from reënforcements -and captured by the small body of Union troops which could be risked -for that purpose. This road was guarded by detachments of Confederate -troops and extended for two hundred miles through Confederate territory -and it seemed as if it could not be destroyed by any force less than an -army. There was no army that could be spared. - -One April evening a stranger came to the tent of General O. M. Mitchel, -commander of the Union forces in middle Tennessee, and asked to see the -general. The sentry refused to admit him unless he stated his name and -errand. - -"Tell the general," said the man quietly, "that James J. Andrews wants -to speak to him on a matter of great importance." - -The sentry stared at him for there were few in the army who had not -heard of Andrews, the scout, but fewer still who had ever seen him. No -man had passed through the enemy's lines so many times, knew the -country better or had been sent more often on dangerous errands. In a -minute he was ushered in to where General Mitchel sat writing in the -inner tent. With his deep-set gray eyes and waving hair brushed back -from his broad, smooth forehead, he looked more like a poet than a -fighter. The general noticed, however, that his eyes never flickered -and that although he spoke in a very low voice, there was something -about him that at once commanded attention. Andrews wasted no time. - -"General Mitchel," he said, "if you will let me have twenty-four men, I -will capture a train, burn the bridges on the Georgia railroad and cut -off Chattanooga." - -"It can't be done," returned General Mitchel. - -"Well, general," answered Andrews slowly, "don't you think it's worth -trying? You know I generally make good on what I set out to do. In this -matter if we lose, we lose only twenty-five men. If we win, we take -Chattanooga and all Tennessee without a battle." - -There was a long pause while the general studied the scout. - -"You shall have the men," he said finally. - -Andrews saluted and left the tent. That night twenty-four men from -three regiments were told that they were to have the first chance to -volunteer for secret and dangerous service. Not a man chosen refused to -serve. The next evening they were told to meet at a great boulder at -sunset about a mile below the camp and wait until joined by their -captain. Each man was furnished with the camp countersign as well as a -special watchword by which they could know each other. One by one the -men gathered at dusk, recognized each other by the watchword and sat -down in the brush back of the boulder to wait. Just at dark there was a -rustling in the underbrush at the other side of the road and the scout -stepped out, joined them and gave the countersign. Without a word, he -moved to the thick bushes at one corner of the boulder and pushing them -aside showed a tiny hidden path which wound through the brush. Into -this he stepped and beckoned them to follow. The path twisted back and -forth among the great stones and trees and through patches of -underbrush and the men in single file followed Andrews. Finally nearly -a mile from the road, he led them down into a dense thicket in a little -ravine. There the brush had been cut out so as to make a kind of room -in the thicket about ten feet square. When they were all inside, the -scout motioned them to sit down and then circled around through the -underbrush and doubled back on his track so as to make sure that they -had not been followed by any spy. Then he returned and lighted a small -lantern which hung to one of the saplings and for the first time his -men had a good look at their captain. As usual, Andrews wasted no time. - -"Boys," he said simply, "I have chosen you to come with me and capture -a train from an army and then run it two hundred miles through the -enemy's country. We will have to pass every train we meet and while we -are doing this we must tear up a lot of track and burn down two -bridges. There is every chance of being wrecked or shot and if we are -captured, we will be hung for spies. It is a desperate chance and I -picked you fellows out as the best men in the whole army to take such a -chance. If any of you think it is too dangerous, now is the time to -stand up and draw out." - -There was a long pause. Each man tried to see what his companions were -thinking of in the dim light. - -"Well, captain," at last drawled a long, lank chap with a comical face, -who had the reputation of being the worst daredevil in his regiment, "I -would like to stand up for you've got me kind of scared, but my foot's -asleep and I guess I'll have to go with you." - -"That's the way I feel," said the man next to him, as every one -laughed, and the same answer went all around the circle. - -In a whisper the scout then outlined his plan. The men were to change -their uniforms and put on the butternut-colored clothes of the South -and to carry no arms except a revolver and bowie-knife. Then they were -to cross the country on foot until they got to Chattanooga and were -then to go back on their tracks by train and meet at a little town -called Marietta in the middle of Georgia. No one would, of course, -suspect men coming out of a Confederate city to be Union soldiers. If -questioned they were to say that they were Kentuckians on their way to -join the Southern army. At Marietta they were to take rooms at the -Marietta Hotel and meet at the scout's room on the following Saturday -morning at two o'clock. - -Disguised as a quinine seller, Andrews reached Marietta ahead of the -others. At the time appointed, he sat fully dressed in the silent hotel -waiting for the arrival of his little company and wondering how many -would appear. Just as the town clock struck the hour from the -old-fashioned court house, there came a light tapping at the door and -one by one nineteen of the twenty-four glided in and reported for duty. -All had gone through various adventures and several had only escaped -capture by quick thinking and cool action. One of the missing ones had -been delayed by a wreck and did not reach Marietta in time, two others -were forced to enlist in the Southern army, and two more reached -Marietta but by some mistake did not join the others. The twenty who -were left, however, were the kind of men whose courage flares highest -when things seem most desperate and they were not at all discouraged by -the loss of a fifth of their force, and they all agreed with Brown, the -man whose foot had been asleep, when he drawled out in his comical way, -"The fewer fellows the more fun for those who are left." - -After reporting, they went back to their rooms and got what sleep they -could. At daylight they were all at the ticket office in time for the -north-bound mail train. In order to prevent any suspicion, each man -bought a ticket for a different station along the line in the direction -of Chattanooga. Eight miles out of Marietta was a little station called -Big Shanty where the train was scheduled to stop twenty minutes for -breakfast. It was a lonely place at the foot of Kenesaw Mountain and -there were only the station, a freight-house, a restaurant and one or -two dwelling houses. Andrews had planned to capture the train there, -believing that there would be few, if any, bystanders at so small a -place early in the morning. As the train came around the curve of the -mountain, however, the scout and his men, who were scattered through -the train, were horrified to see scores of tents showing white through -the morning mist. A detachment of Confederate soldiers was in camp -there and it was now necessary for the little squad of Union soldiers -to capture the train not only from its crew and passengers, but under -the very eyes of a regiment. There was no flinching. The minute the -train stopped there was the usual wild scramble by the passengers for -breakfast in which the engineer, fireman and conductor joined. In a -minute the engine was left entirely unguarded. In those days engines -were named like steamboats, and this one had been christened "General." -Andrews and his men loitered behind. In his squad were two engineers -and a fireman. These at once hurried forward and began to uncouple the -engine with its tender and three baggage-cars. The rest of the party -grouped around, playing the part of bystanders, but with their hands on -their revolvers, for within a dozen feet of the engine stood a sentry -with his loaded musket in his hand watching the whole thing, while -other sentries and a large group of soldiers were only a few yards -farther off. The men worked desperately at the coupling and finally -succeeded in freeing the cars. Then the engineers and fireman sprang -into the cab of the engine while Andrews stood with his hand on the -rail and foot on the step, and the rest of the band tumbled into the -baggage-cars. This was the most critical moment of all, for although -the watching soldiers might think it natural to change the crew, yet -their suspicions would certainly be aroused at the sight of fifteen men -climbing into baggage-cars. The nearest sentry cocked his musket and -stepped forward to investigate. At this moment Brown climbed into the -engine along with one of the engineers, coolly smoking a cigar. Poking -his head out of the window he called back as if to one of the crew, -"Tell those fellows not to eat up all the breakfast. We'll be back just -as soon as we can take those other cars on at the siding." All this -time Andrews was standing with his foot on the step watching the men -enter the baggage-cars. The track was on a high bank and it was -necessary for the first man to be raised up on the shoulders of two -others in order to open the door. Once inside, the other men were -tossed up to him and he pulled them in like bags of meal. Finally there -were only two left and these jumped, caught the outstretched hands of -two inside and were hauled up into the car. Not until then did Andrews -step aboard under the very nose of the suspicious sentry. The engineer -was so anxious to start that he pulled the throttle wide open and for a -few seconds the wheels spun round and round without catching on the -rails. He finally slowed up enough to allow the wheels to bite and the -engine started off with a jerk which took all the soldiers in the -baggage-cars off their feet. Just at this moment the fat engineer -waddled out of the eating-house shouting at the top of his voice, -"Stop, thief! Stop, thief!" He was followed by the fireman who bellowed -to the sentry, "Shoot 'em, shoot 'em! They're Yanks!" It was too late. -The General was taking the first curve on two wheels, leaving the quiet -little station swarming and buzzing like a hornet's nest struck by a -stone. The train had been captured without losing a man. - -Now came the even more difficult part of the undertaking, to run the -engine for two hundred miles through an enemy's country and to force it -past all the other trains between Big Shanty and Chattanooga. The first -thing to do was to prevent any message of the capture being sent on -ahead. There was no telegraph station at Big Shanty, but there was no -telling how soon word would be sent back to the nearest telegraph -operator. Accordingly, four miles out the engine was stopped and a man -named Scott, who had been a great coon-hunter before entering the army, -shinned up a telegraph pole and sawed through the wires. While he was -doing this, the rest of the party took up one of the rails and loaded -it into a baggage-car. Others piled in a lot of dry railroad ties to be -used in burning the bridges. The General was an old-style engine the -like of which is never seen nowadays. It had one of the round, funny -smoke-stacks which we still see on old postage stamps and it burned -cord-wood instead of coal, but it was a good goer for those times and -was soon whirling through the enemy's country at what seemed to the -raiders a tremendous rate of speed. Before long they were compelled to -stop at one of the stations to take in wood and water. Andrews -explained to the station-agent that they were agents of General -Beauregard running a powder-train down to the Confederate headquarters -at Corinth. At one station named Etowah, they found an old locomotive -belonging to a local iron company standing there with steam up. It -carried the name of Jonah and so far as the raiders were concerned, it -certainly lived up to its name. Brown, who was acting as engineer, -wanted to stop and put Jonah out of business, but Andrews decided to -push on. It was a fatal mistake. At Kingston, thirty miles from their -starting place, they learned that the local freight coming from -Chattanooga was about due, so Andrews put his engine over on the siding -and waited. After a long delay, the freight arrived, but it carried on -its caboose a red flag showing that another train was behind. Andrews -stepped up to the conductor and indignantly inquired how any train -dared delay General Beauregard's special powder-cars. - -"Well, you see," said the freight's conductor, "the Yanks have captured -Huntsville thirty miles from Chattanooga and special trains are being -run to get everything out." - -Andrews realized that General Mitchel had started against Chattanooga -and that if he could burn even one bridge, the capture of the city was -certain. Another long wait and the special freight came in, but it -carried another fatal red flag. It turned out that it was so large that -it was being run in two sections. There was nothing to do but wait. By -this time crowds of passengers and train-hands had gathered around the -so-called powder-train, all curious to look it over. The four men in -the engine sat there smoking, seemingly unconcerned. As a matter of -fact, however, they were ready any moment to fight for their lives. If -any of the crowd opened the baggage-cars and saw the other men hidden -there, no amount of explanation could persuade them that there was not -something wrong. If the waiting was hard on the men in the engine, it -was still worse for the men crouched back in the cars, not knowing what -was wrong and expecting to hear the alarm given any moment. For an hour -and five minutes the Union train was kept at Kingston. At last a -whistle was heard and the long-expected freight passed by and the -General was again on its way. A mile out from Kingston the coon-hunter -was sent up another telegraph pole and the wires again cut. The rest of -the party were leisurely trying to loosen another rail with the poor -tools which they had, when from far in the rear a sound was heard which -brought the man at the wires down with a run. It was the whistle of an -engine coming their direction and meant that in some mysterious way the -enemy was on their track. - -"Pull, you men!" shouted Andrews. "They've got word somehow and they're -after us." - -Again the whistle sounded, this time much nearer, and with a last -frantic pull the rail broke and eight men tumbled head over heels down -an embankment. They were up in a minute and scrambled into the -baggage-car and the old General was off once more at top speed. At -Adairsville, the next station, a freight and passenger train were -waiting and there Andrews heard that another express was due from -Chattanooga which had not yet arrived. There was no time to wait now -that the pursuit had begun and the old General was pushed at full speed -in order to reach the next siding before meeting the express. The nine -miles between stations were covered in as many minutes, Brown and the -fireman heaping on the cord-wood and soaking it with kerosene-oil until -the fire-plate was red hot. They reached the station just in time, for -the express was about to pull out when the whistle of Andrews' train -was heard, and it backed down so as to allow the "powder-train" to take -the side track. It stopped, however, in such a manner as to completely -close up the other end of the switch. The engineer and conductor of the -express were plainly suspicious and refused to move their train until -Andrews had answered their questions. With the pursuing engine on his -track, any more delay would be fatal. Cocking his revolver, Andrews -poked it into the stomach of the engineer. - -"My instructions from General Beauregard," he said, "are to rush this -train through and to shoot any one that tries to delay it and I am -going to begin on you." - -The engineer lost all further desire to ask questions, climbed into his -cab and pulled out. The way was now clear to Chattanooga. Beyond the -next station Andrews stopped once more to cut the wires and to try to -take up a section of the track, when right behind suddenly sounded the -whistle of an engine like the scream of some relentless bird of prey -that could not be turned from its pursuit. Far down the track rushed a -locomotive crowded with soldiers armed with rifles. Two minutes more -would have saved the day for Andrews. The rail bent, but did not break, -although the men tugged at it frantically until the bullets began -pattering around them. There was only just time to jump aboard and the -General was off again with the Confederate engine thundering close -behind. - -The story of this pursuer is the story of two men who refused to give -up and who won out by accepting the one chance in a thousand which -ordinary men would let go by. When the stolen train whirled off at Big -Shanty there were two men who didn't waste any time in shouting or -swearing. They were Fuller, the conductor of the stolen train, and -Murphy, the foreman of the Atlanta railway machine shops. There was no -telegraph station nor any locomotive at hand in which to follow the -runaways. Apparently it was hopeless, yet out of all the crowd of -civilians and soldiers who rushed around and asked questions and -shouted answers, Fuller and Murphy were the only two who took the long -chance and ran after the flying train. The rest of the crew could not -help laughing to see two men chase a locomotive on foot. But Murphy and -the other let them laugh and ran on. Before they had gone a half mile -they found a hand-car on a siding. This they lifted over to the main -track, manned the pump-bars and were soon flying along at the rate of -some fifteen miles an hour. As they came near Etowah the hand-car -suddenly flew off the track and went rolling down the embankment. It -had met the first of the broken rails. The two men were much bruised -and shaken up, but no bones were broken and they managed to hoist the -hand-car back on to the rails again and were soon on their way, this -time keeping a lookout for any traps ahead. At Etowah they found old -"Jonah" puffing on the siding, the engine that Brown had advised -blowing up. It was at once pressed into service, loaded with soldiers -and in a minute was flying toward Kingston, where Andrews had his -life-shortening wait of over an hour. Fuller knew of the tangle of -trains at that point and told his escort to get their muskets ready and -be prepared for a fight, but Andrews had been away just four minutes -when the pursuers reached the station, and Fuller there found himself -stopped by three heavy trains. It was hopeless to wait for them to -move, and besides old Jonah was not much on speed. Fuller and his men -jumped out, ran through to the farthest train, uncoupled the engine and -one car, in spite of the protests of its crew, filled it with forty -armed men and once more started after the flying General. - -It was their whistle which so startled Andrews and his men when they -were breaking the second rail. Fuller and Murphy saw what they had done -and managed to reverse the engine in time to prevent a wreck. Again at -this point ordinary men would have given up the chase for it was -impossible to go farther in that engine or to get it over the broken -rail, but these Confederates were not ordinary men. Leaving their -escort they started down the track again on foot alone, doggedly and -relentlessly after their stolen General. Before they had gone far they -met the mixed train that had told Andrews of the express. They signaled -so frantically that it stopped and when the crew learned that the -so-called "powder-train" was on its way to destroy the great bridges -which formed the backbone of their railway, they consented to turn -back. So uncoupling the locomotive and the tender and filling them with -armed soldiers and civilians from among the passengers, Fuller and -Murphy made their sixth start. On foot, by hand-car, in two -locomotives, on foot again and now once more in a locomotive, they -began what was to be the last lap of this race on which a city and a -state depended. - -Beyond Adairsville the Confederates could see far ahead in the distance -Andrews and his men making desperate efforts to raise the rail. With -long screams from her whistle, the Confederate engine fairly leaped -over the tracks. The rail bent slowly, but the spikes still held. Two -minutes, or even a minute more would break the track and the road and -bridges would be defenseless before the Union raiders. But it was not -to be. Andrews and his men tugged at the stubborn rail until the -pursuing engine was so close that the bullets were dropping all around -them and then sprang into the engine and thundered off again. If only a -little time could be gained the Union men could burn the Oostinaula -Bridge. So while the engine was running at a speed of nearly a mile a -minute, the men in the last car crowded into the next and the last car -was dropped off in the hope that it would block the road for the -pursuer. But the engine behind pushed it ahead until the next station -was reached where it could be switched off the main track. This slowed -the chaser's speed, however, so that the General was able to take on -wood and water and also to cut the wires beyond the station so that the -news of their coming would not be telegraphed ahead and give the -station-master a chance to either side-track them or block the track. -The pursuing engine began to gain again and the little band of Union -soldiers moved into the first car and the end of the second car was -smashed and it was cut loose. Railroad ties were also dropped across -the track and time enough was gained once more for the General to take -on wood and water at two more stations and to cut the wires beyond -each. Twice they stopped and tried in vain to raise a rail, but the -pursuers came within rifle range each time before they could finish. -The rain prevented the burning of the bridges and now slowly and surely -the pursuing engine began to gain. The raiders tried every way to block -the track. At one point they spied a spare rail near a sharp curve. -Stopping the engine they fitted it into the track in such a way that it -seemed certain to derail the Confederate engine. The latter came -thundering on at full speed, struck the hidden rail, and leaped at -least six inches from the rail, but came down safely and went whirling -along as if nothing had happened. Not once in a hundred times could an -engine have kept the track after such a collision. This was the time. -Now they were too close to the General to allow of any more stoppages -even for wood and water. Andrews decided to risk everything on one last -stroke. A mile or so ahead was a wooden-covered bridge. At his orders -out of the last car his men swarmed into the engine filling every inch -of space, even the tender and the cow-catcher being covered with men. -All of the fuel left was piled into the one remaining car, smeared with -oil and set afire. Both the doors were opened and the draught as it was -whirled along soon fanned the fire into furious flames. They dashed -into the dark of the covered bridge with the car spurting flame from -both sides. Right in the middle of the bridge it was uncoupled and left -burning fast and furiously. It did not seem possible that any engine -could pass through such a barrier. There was just enough pressure left -in the boiler to reach the next wood-yard and the Union scouts looked -back anxiously at the bridge. In a minute they heard around a far-away -curve the whistle which sounded to them like the screech of a demon. -The Confederates had dashed into the bridge and pushed the flaming car -ahead of them to the next switch. The Union scouts had played their -last card. There would be no chance of taking in wood before they were -overtaken. One thing only was left. They stopped the engine, sprang -out, reversed the locomotive and sent it dashing back to collide with -their pursuer and then separated to try to make their way back some -three hundred miles through the enemy's country to the Union lines. The -Confederates, when they saw the engine coming, reversed their own and -kept just ahead of this last attack of the old General until its fires -died down and it came to a stop. - -Mitchel, the Union general, but thirty miles west of Chattanooga, -waited in vain for the engine which never came. Chattanooga was saved -and the most daring railroad raid in history had failed. - -The story of the fate of the brave men who volunteered for the forlorn -hope is a sad one. Several were captured that same day and all but two -within a week. These two were overtaken and brought back when they were -just on the point of reaching the Union outposts and had supposed -themselves safe. Even the two who reached Marietta but did not take the -train with the others were identified and added to the band of -prisoners. Being in civilian clothes within an enemy's lines, they were -all held as spies and the heroic Andrews and seven others were tried -and executed. Of the others, eight, headed by Brown, overpowered the -guards in broad daylight and made their escape from Atlanta, Georgia, -and finally reached the North. The other six started with them, but -were recaptured and held as prisoners until exchanged in the early part -of 1863. - -So ends the story of an expedition that failed in its immediate object, -but that succeeded in the example which these brave men set their -fellows. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -SHERIDAN'S RIDE - - -There are as many different kinds of courage as there are different -kinds of men. Some men are brave because they were born so. They are no -more to be praised for their bravery than a bulldog deserves credit -because it is a natural born fighter or a hare deserves blame because -it specializes in running away. Some men belong to the bulldog class. -They are brave because it is natural for them to be brave. Others -belong to the hare-family and they show far more real courage in -overcoming their natural instincts than does the other for whom it is -natural to do brave deeds. Much also depends on the circumstances. We -all know from our own experience of athletes who can play a good -winning game, and who perform well against inferior competitors. The -rarer type, however, is the boy or man who can play a good up-hill game -and who with all the odds against him, is able to fight it out and -never to let up or give up until the last point is scored or the last -yard is run and who often is able to win against better, but less -dogged, less courageous competitors. It is so in battles. It is easy -for any commander to be courageous and to take unusual chances when he -is winning. The thrill of approaching victory is a stimulant which -makes even a coward act like a brave man. Even General Gates, the weak, -vacillating, clerkly, self-seeking, cowardly general of the -Revolutionary War, whose selfishness and timidity were in such contrast -to Washington's self-sacrifice and courage, was energetic and decisive -at the battle of Saratoga after Benedict Arnold, who was there only as -a volunteer, had made his brave, successful charge on the British -column in spite of Gates' orders. After attacking and dispersing the -reserved line of the British army, Arnold called his men together again -and attacked the Canadians who covered the British left wing. Just as -he had cut through their ranks, a wounded German soldier lying on the -ground took deliberate aim at Arnold and killed his horse and shattered -his leg with the same bullet. As he went down, one of his men tried to -bayonet the wounded soldier who had fired, but even while disentangling -himself from his dead horse and suffering under the pain of his broken -leg, Arnold called out, "For God's sake, don't hurt him, he's a fine -fellow," and saved the life of the man who had done his best to take -his. That was the hour when Benedict Arnold should have died, at the -moment of a magnificent victory while saving the life of a man who had -injured him. Gates went on with the battle, closed in on the British -and in spite of their stubborn defense, attacked them fiercely for -almost the only time in his career as a general and completely routed -them. There is no doubt that on that occasion after Arnold's charge -Gates displayed a considerable amount of bravery, yet such bravery -cannot really be termed courage of the high order which was so often -displayed by Washington, by William of Orange and later by his -grandson, William of England, by Fabius the conqueror of Hannibal and -by many other generals who were greatest in defeat. - -Napoleon once said that the highest kind of courage was the -two-o'clock-in-the-morning courage. He meant that at that gray hour, -when the tide of life is at its ebb before the dawn, a man who is brave -is brave indeed. The best test of this kind of courage is in defeat. -Fabius showed that in the long, wasting campaign which he fought -against Hannibal, one of the greatest generals of his or any other age. -Following, retreating, harassing, Fabius always refused a pitched -battle until his enemies at Rome forced the appointment of Minucius as -joint dictator with him. In spite of the protests of Fabius, the army -was divided and the younger and rasher Minucius offered battle with his -army. He was like a child before the crafty Hannibal who concealed a -great force of men in ravines around an apparently bare hill and then -inveigled Minucius into attacking a small force which he sent up to the -top of this hill as a bait to draw him on. Once there the ambuscade of -Hannibal attacked the Roman army on all sides and almost in a moment it -was in disorder and a retreat was commenced which was about to become a -rout when Fabius hurried up and by his exhortations and steadfast -courage rallied the men, re-formed them, drove through Hannibal's -lighter-armed troops and finally occupied the hill in safety. The -grateful Minucius refused to act as commander any further, but at once -insisted upon thereafter serving under Fabius. - -At the Battle of Boyne, that great battle between William of England -and his uncle, James II, which was to decide whether England should be -a free or a slave nation, William showed the same kind of courage. In -spite of chronic asthma, approaching age and a frail body, King William -was a great general. He never appeared to such advantage as at the head -of his troops. Usually of reserved and saturnine disposition, danger -changed him into another man. On this day, while breakfasting before -the battle, two field-pieces were trained on him and a six-pound ball -tore his coat and grazed his shoulder drawing blood, and dashing him -from his horse. He was up in an instant, however, and on that day in -spite of his feeble health and wounded shoulder, was nineteen hours in -the saddle. The crisis came when the English soldiers charged across -the ford of the Boyne River. General Schomberg, William's right-hand -and personal friend, was killed while rallying his troops. Bishop -Walker, the hero of the siege of Londonderry, had been struck by a -chance shot and the English, who had hardly obtained a firm foothold on -the opposite bank, commenced to waver. At this moment King William -forced his horse to swim across, carrying his sword in his left hand, -for his right arm was stiff with his wound, and dashed up to rally the -troops. As he rode up, the disorganized regiment recognized their king. - -"What will you do for me?" he cried, and almost in an instant he had -rallied the men and persuaded them to stand firm against the attacks of -the ferocious Irish horsemen. - -"Gentlemen," he said, "I have heard much of you. Let me see something -of you," and charging at their head, this middle-aged, wounded invalid -by sheer courage shattered the Irish and French troops and saved his -kingdom. - -Our own Washington was never greater than in defeat and not once but -many times rallied a defeated and disheartened army and saved the day. -At the Battle of Monmouth, the traitorous Charles Lee had turned what -should have been a great victory into a disorderly retreat. After -outflanking Cornwallis, instead of pressing his advantage, he ordered -his men to retreat into a near-by ravine. Lafayette's suspicions were -aroused and he sent in hot haste to Washington who arrived on the field -of battle just as the whole army in tremendous disorder was pouring out -of the marsh and back over the neighboring ravine before the British -advance. At that moment Washington rode up pale with anger and for once -lost control of a temper which cowed all men when once aroused. - -"What is the meaning of all this?" he shouted to Lee and when he -received no answer, repeated the question with a tremendous oath. Then -immediately realizing the situation, he sent Lee back to the rear and -wheeled about to stop the retreat and form a new front. Riding down the -whole line of retreating soldiers, the very sight of him steadied and -rallied them and in less than half an hour the line was reformed and -Washington drove back the British across the marsh and the ravine until -night put an end to the battle. Before morning the whole British force -had retreated, leaving their wounded behind and the Battle of Monmouth -had been changed by the courage and fortitude of one man from defeat -into a victory for the American forces. - -The most striking instance in the Civil War of what the courage of one -brave, enduring, unfaltering man can do was at the Battle of Cedar -Creek. In the year 1864, General Sheridan, the great cavalry leader, -took command of the Army of the Shenandoah. Sheridan was an ideal -cavalry leader. Brave, dashing, brilliant, he had commanded more -horsemen than had any general since the days of the Tartar hordes of -Tamerlane and Genghis Khan. There was no watchful waiting with -Sheridan. This he had shown at the great mountain battle of -Chattanooga. At that battle, Missionary Ridge was the keystone of the -Confederate position. It was occupied by Confederate batteries and -swarming with Confederate troops. A storming party was sent from the -main body of the Union forces to drive out the Confederates who held -the woods on the flanks of the Ridge. The orders were to attack the -Confederates and hold the captured positions until the main body could -come up. Grant was watching the battle through his field-glasses and -saw the attacking party gain possession of the slopes of the Ridge. -Suddenly, to his surprise and horror, the whole regiment charged -directly up the Ridge. It was a mad thing to do for the top was held by -a tremendous force of Confederates and guarded by massed batteries. -General Grant called General Granger up to him and said angrily: - -"Did you order those men up, Granger?" - -"No," said the general, "they started up without orders. When those -fellows get started, all hell can't stop 'em." - -General Grant then sent word to General Sheridan to either stop the men -or take the Ridge. - -"I guess it will be easier to take the Ridge than it will be to stop -them," said Sheridan. - -Before starting, he borrowed a flask and waved it toward the group of -Confederate officers who were standing on top of the Ridge in front of -the headquarters of Bragg, the Confederate general. - -"Here's at you," he shouted, drinking to them. They could plainly see -his action through their field-glasses and immediately two field-guns, -which were known as Lady Breckenridge and Lady Buckner, were trained at -Sheridan and his group of officers and fired. One shell struck so near -Sheridan as to splash dirt all over him. - -"I'll take those guns just for that," was all he said and, followed by -his officers, he dashed up the Ridge after the climbing, -attacking-party. The way was so steep that the men had to climb up on -their hands and knees while the solid shot and shell tore great furrows -in their ranks. Sheridan was off his horse as soon as the slope became -steep, and, although he had started after the charge, was soon at the -front of the men. They recognized him with a tremendous cheer. - -"I'm not much used to this charging on foot, boys," he said, "but I'll -do the best I can," and he set a pace which soon brought his men so far -up that the guns above could not be depressed enough to hit them. -Behind him came the whole storming party clambering up on their hands -and knees with their regimental flags flying everywhere, sometimes -dropping as the bearers were shot, but never reaching the ground -because they would be caught up again and again by others. At last they -were so near that the Confederate artillerymen, in order to save time, -lighted the fuses of their shells and bowled them down by hand against -the storming party. Just before they reached the summit, Sheridan -formed them into a battle-line and then with a tremendous cheer, they -dashed forward and attacked the Ridge at six different points. The -Confederates had watched their approach with amazement and amusement. -When they found, however, that nothing seemed to stop them, they were -seized with a panic and as the six desperate storming parties dashed -upon them from different angles, after a few minutes' fast fighting, -they broke and retreated in a hopeless rout down the other side of the -Ridge. Sheridan stopped long enough to claim Lady Breckenridge and Lady -Buckner as his personal spoils of war and forming his men again, led -them on to a splendid victory. - -As soon as he took command of the Army of the Shenandoah, aggressive -fighting at once began. Twice he defeated Jubal Early, once at -Winchester and again at Fisher's Hill, while one of his generals routed -the Rebels so completely in a brilliant engagement at Woodstock that -the battle was always known as the Woodstock Races, the Confederate -soldiers being well in front in this competition. Finally, General -Sheridan had massed his whole army at Cedar Creek. From there he rode -back to Washington to have a conference with General Halleck and the -Secretary of War. When that was finished with his escort he rode back -to Winchester, some twelve miles from Cedar Creek, two days later. -There he received word that all was well at his headquarters and he -turned in and went to bed intending to join the army the next day. Six -o'clock the next morning an aide aroused him with the news that -artillery firing could be heard in the direction of Cedar Creek. -Sheridan was out of bed in a moment and though it was reported that it -sounded more like a skirmish than a battle, he at once ordered -breakfast and started for Cedar Creek. As he came to the edge of -Winchester he could hear the unceasing roar of the artillery and was -convinced at once that a battle was in progress and from the increase -of the sound judged that the Union Army must be falling back. The -delighted faces of the Confederate citizens of Winchester, who showed -themselves at the windows, also convinced him that they had secret -information from the battlefield and were in raptures over some good -news. With twenty men he started to cover the twelve miles to Cedar -Creek as fast as their horses could gallop. Sheridan was riding that -day a magnificent black, thoroughbred horse, Rienzi, which had been -presented to him by some of his admirers. Like Lee's gray horse -"Traveler" and the horse Wellington rode at Waterloo, "Copenhagen," -Rienzi was to become famous. Before Sheridan had gone far and just -after crossing Mill Creek outside of Winchester, he commenced to meet -hundreds of men, some wounded, all demoralized, who with their baggage -were all rushing to the rear in hopeless confusion. Just north of -Newtown he met an army chaplain digging his heels into the sides of his -jaded horse and making for the rear with all possible speed. Sheridan -stopped him and inquired how things were going at the front. - -"Everything is lost," replied the chaplain, "but it will be all right -when you get there." - -The parson, however, in spite of this expression of confidence, kept on -going. Sheridan sent back word to Colonel Edwards, who commanded a -brigade at Winchester, to stretch his troops across the valley and stop -all fugitives. To most men this would have been the only plan of action -possible, to stop the fugitives and rally at Winchester. Sheridan, -however, was not accustomed to defensive fighting and instantly made up -his mind that he would rally his men at the front and if possible, turn -this defeat into a victory. The roads were too crowded to be used and -so he jumped the fence into the fields and rode straight across country -toward the drumming guns at Cedar Creek, which showed where the main -battle was raging. From the fugitives, as he rode, Sheridan obtained a -clear idea of what had happened. His great rival, Early, had taken -advantage of his absence to obtain revenge for his previous defeats. -Just after dawn he had made an attack in two different directions on -the Union forces and had started a panic which had seized all the -soldiers except one division under Getty and the cavalry under Lowell. -The army which Sheridan met was a defeated army in full rout. As he -dashed along, the men everywhere recognized him, stopped running, threw -up their hats with a cheer and shouldering their muskets, turned around -and followed him as fast as they could. He directed his escort to ride -in all directions and announce that General Sheridan was coming. From -all through the fields and roads could be heard the sound of faint -cheering and everywhere men were seen turning, rallying and marching -forward instead of back. Even the wounded who had fallen by the -roadside waved their hands and hats to him as he passed. As he rode, -Sheridan took off his hat so as to be more easily recognized and -thundered along sometimes in the road and sometimes across country. As -he met the retreating troops, he said: - -"Boys, if I had been with you this morning this wouldn't have happened. -The thing to do now is to face about and win this battle after all. -Come on after me as fast as you can." - -[Illustration: Sheridan Hurrying to Rally His Men] - -So he galloped the whole twelve miles with the men everywhere rallying -behind him and following him at full speed. At last he came to the -forefront of the battle where Getty's division and the cavalry were -holding their own and resisting the rapid approach of the whole -Confederate Army. Sheridan called upon his horse for a last effort and -jumped the rail fence at the crest of the hill. By this time the black -horse was white with foam, but he carried his master bravely up and -down in front of the line and the whole brigade of men rose to their -feet with a tremendous cheer and poured in a fierce fire upon the -approaching Confederate troops. Sheridan rode along the whole front of -the line and aroused a wild enthusiasm which showed itself in the way -that the first Rebel charge was driven back. Telling Getty's and -Lowell's men to hold on, he rode back to meet the approaching troops. -By half-past three in the afternoon, Sheridan had brought back all the -routed troops, reformed his whole battle line and waving his hat, led a -charge riding his same gallant black horse. As they attacked the -Confederate front, Generals Merritt and Custer made a fresh attack and -the whole Confederate Army fell back routed and broken and was driven -up the valley in the same way that earlier in the day they had driven -the Union soldiers. Once again the presence of one brave man had turned -a defeat into a victory. - -Sheridan took no credit to himself in his report to Lincoln, simply -telegraphing, "By the gallantry of our brave officers and men, disaster -has been converted into a splendid victory." - -"My personal admiration and gratitude for your splendid work of October -19th," Lincoln telegraphed back and the whole country rang with praises -of Phil Sheridan and his wonderful ride. The day after the news of the -battle reached the North, Thomas Buchanan Read wrote a poem entitled -"Sheridan's Ride," with a stirring chorus. - -The last verse sang the praise both of the rider and the horse: - - "What was done? what to do? A glance told him both, - Then striking his spurs with a terrible oath, - He dashed down the line, mid a storm of huzzas, - And the wave of retreat checked its course there because, - The sight of the master compelled it to pause. - With foam and with dust the black charger was gray; - By the flash of his eye, and the red nostrils' play, - He seemed to the whole great army to say, - 'I have brought you Sheridan all the way - From Winchester, down to save the day.'" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE BLOODY ANGLE - - -It takes courage to charge, to rush over a space swept by shot and -shell and attack a body of men grimly waiting to beat back the onset -with murderous volleys and cold steel. Sometimes, though, it takes more -courage to stand than to charge, to endure than to attack. The six -hundred gallant horsemen of that Light Brigade who charged an army at -Balaclava were brave men. The six hundred Knights of St. John who at -the siege of Malta by Solyman the Magnificent defended the tiny -fortress of St. Elmo against thirty thousand Turks until every man lay -dead back of the broken ramparts and the power and might of the Turkish -Empire had been wasted and shattered against their indomitable defense -were braver. The burghers of Leyden who lived through the siege of -their city on shoe-leather, rats and bark, who baked their last loaves -and threw them down to the besiegers in magnificent defiance, who -shouted down to the Spaniards that they would eat their left arms and -fight with their right, and who slept on the ramparts night and day -until they drove back the greatest army in all Europe were braver. - -"It's dogged that does it," said the grim Duke of Wellington when his -thin red line of English fighters endured through that long summer day -against attack after attack until at twilight the Old Guard were -repulsed for the last time and the great battle of Waterloo won. - -Many men are brave in flashes. They are good for a dash. Few are those -who can go the distance. - -This is the story of a Union general who could endure and whose courage -flared highest when defeat and death seemed certain. It is the story of -a little band of men who were brave enough to stand against an army and -whose endurance won a seven-day battle and opened the way for the -capture of the Confederate capital. - -It was the fourth year of the War of the Rebellion, and the end was not -yet in sight. The Confederate cause had fewer men, but better officers. -Robert E. Lee was undoubtedly the most able general in the world at -that time. Stonewall Jackson had been his right arm, while Longstreet, -Johnston, Early and a host of other fighting leaders helped him to -defeat one Union army after another. The trouble with the Union leaders -was that they didn't know how to attack. There had been McClellan, a -wonderful organizer, but who preferred to dig entrenchments rather than -fight and who never believed that he had enough men to risk a battle. - -Then came Meade who won the great battle of Gettysburg and beat back -the only invasion of the North, but who failed to follow up his -advantage and had settled down to the old policy that the North knew so -well of watchful waiting. At last came the Man. He had been fighting in -the West and he had won,--not important battles, but more important, -the confidence of the people and of Abraham Lincoln, the people's -president. For this new man had a new system of generalship. His -tactics were simple enough. He believed that armies were made to use, -not to save. He believed in finding the enemy and hammering and -hammering and hammering away until something broke--and that something -was usually the enemy. His name was Ulysses S. Grant. - -"He fights," was all that President Lincoln said about him when a party -of politicians came to ask that he be removed. That was enough. What -the North wanted was a fighter. Other generals would fight when they -had to and were satisfied to stop if they defeated the enemy or broke -even, but Grant was like old Charles Martel, Charles the Hammerer, who -won his name when he saved all Europe from the Saracens on the plains -of Tours by a seven-day battle. The great host of horsemen which had -swept victorious through Asia, Africa and half the circle of the -Mediterranean whirled down on the solid mass of grim Northmen. For six -long days Charles Martel hammered away at that flashing horde of wild -warriors. On the seventh his hammer strokes shattered the might of the -Moslems and they broke and fled, never to cross the Pyrenees again. Now -like Charles, the Hammerer of the Union Army was facing his great test, -the terrible Seven Days in the Wilderness. Between him and the -Confederate capital lay Lee's veteran army entrenched in that wild -stretch of Virginia territory which was well named the Wilderness. -Every foot of the puzzling woods, ravines, thickets and trails were -known to the Confederates and well they ought to know it since they had -already won a great battle on nearly the same field. In this tangled -waste an army that knew the ground had a tremendous advantage. Lee -chose his battle-field, but did not believe that Grant would join -battle. He was to learn to know his great opponent better. Grant would -always fight. - -On May 4, 1864, the head of Grant's army met Lee's forces on one of the -few roads of the Wilderness, known as the Orange Plank Road. The battle -was joined. At first the Union forces drove the Confederates back into -the thick woods. There they were reinforced and the knowledge of the -field began to tell. Everywhere Confederate soldiers were sent by short -cuts to attack the entangled Union forces and before long the Union -line was shattered and driven back only to form again and fight once -more for six long days. And what a battle that was! As in the fierce -forest-fight between David and Absalom the wood devoured more people -that day than the sword devoured. The men fought at close quarters and -in the tangled thickets of stunted Virginia pine and scrub-oak they -could scarcely see ten yards ahead. Every thicket was alive with men -and flashed with musketry while the roar and rattle of guns on all -sides frightened the deer and rabbits and wildcats that before that day -had been the only dwellers in those masses of underbrush. The men -fought blindly and desperately in both armies. Artillery could not be -used to much advantage in the brush. It was largely a battle of musket -and bayonet and wild hand-to-hand fights in the tangle of trees. The -second day the Confederate lines were rolled back to the spot where Lee -himself stood. Just as they were breaking, down the plank road at a -steady trot came a double column of splendid troops paying no attention -to the rabble and rout around them. Straight to the front they moved. -It was the brigade of Longstreet, Lee's great "left hand." At once the -Union advance was stopped and the Confederates began to reform their -lines. At this moment from the pines streamed another Federal brigade -with apparently resistless force down upon the still confused line. -Then it was that a little force of Texans did a brave deed. They saw -that if the Union advance was not checked, their men would not have -time to form. Although only eight hundred strong, they never hesitated, -but with a wild Rebel yell and without any supports or reinforcements, -charged directly into the flank of the marching Union column of many -times their number. There was a crash, and a tumult of shouts and yells -which settled down into a steady roar of musketry. In less than ten -minutes half of the devoted band lay dead or wounded. But they had -broken the force of the Federal advance and had given the Confederate -line time to rally. - -Back and forth, day after day the human tide ebbed and flowed until the -lonely Wilderness was crowded with men, echoing with the roar and -rattle of guns and stained red with brave blood. At times in the -confusion scattered troops fired upon their own men, and Longstreet was -wounded by such an accident. - -At one place the Federal forces had erected log breastworks. These -caught fire during the battle and both forces fought each other over a -line of fire through which neither could pass. From every thicket -different flags waved. The forces were so mixed that men going back for -water would find themselves in the hands of the enemy. In places the -woods caught fire and men fought through the rolling smoke until driven -back by the flames that spared neither the Blue nor the Gray. Both -sides would then crawl out to rescue the wounded lying in the path of -the fire. In some places where the men had fought through the brush, -bushes, saplings and even large trees were cut off by bullets four or -five feet from the ground as clean and regularly as if by machinery. -For the first few days the Confederates had the advantage. They knew -the paths and the Union men were driven back and forth among the woods -in a way that would have made any ordinary general retreat. But Grant -was not an ordinary general. The more he was beaten the harder he -fought. The more men he lost the more he called into action from the -reserves. - -"It's no use fighting that fellow," said one old Confederate veteran; -"the fool never knows when he's beaten. And it's no use shooting at -those Yanks," he went on; "half-a-dozen more come to take the place of -every one we hit." - -At last the Union soldiers got the lay of the land. They couldn't be -surprised or ambushed any more. Then they began to throw up breastworks -and to cut down trees to hold every foot that they had taken. The -Confederates did the same and the two long, irregular lines of -earthworks and log fortifications faced each other all the way through -the Wilderness. Yet still the lines of gray lay between Richmond and -the men in blue. For six days the men had fought locked together in -hand-to-hand fights over miles and miles of wilderness, marsh and -thicket. The Union losses had been terrific. All along the line the -Confederates had won and again and again had dashed back the attempts -of the Union forces to pass through or around their lines. The Union -Army had lost eleven officers and twenty thousand men and had fought -for six days without accomplishing anything. Yet on that day Grant sent -to Washington a dispatch in which he wrote: "I propose to fight it out -on this line if it takes all summer." - -Through all this tumult of defeats and losses he sat under a tree -whittling and directing every movement as coolly as if safe at home. -Finally the great Hammerer chose a spot at which to batter and smash -with those tremendous strokes of his. The Confederates had built a long -irregular line of earthworks and timber breastworks running for miles -through the tangled woods. At one point near the center of the lines a -half-moon of defenses jutted out high above the rest of the works. At -the chord of this half-circle was an angle of breastworks back of which -the Confederates could retreat if driven out of the semicircle. Grant -saw that this half-moon was the key of the Confederate position. If it -could be captured and held, their whole battle line could be broken and -crumpled back and the Union Army pass on to Richmond. If taken at all, -it must be by some sudden irresistible attack. He chose General -Hancock, a daring, dashing fighter, to make the attempt for the morning -of May 12th. It rained hard on the night of May 11th and came off -bitter cold. The men gathered for the attack about ten o'clock and -huddled together in little groups wet and half-frozen. All that long -night they waited. Just at dawn the word was passed around. Crouching -in the darkness, a division pressed forward and rushed like tigers at -the half-circle and began to climb the breastworks from two sides. The -sleepy sentries saw the rush too late. The first man over was a young -sergeant named Brown. With a tremendous jump he caught a projecting -bough, swung himself over like a cat and landed right in the midst of a -crowd of startled soldiers. Finding himself entirely alone with a score -of guns pointed at him, he lost his nerve for a minute. - -"I surrender, don't shoot," he bellowed like a bull. At that moment -from all sides other soldiers dropped over the rampart. - -"I take it all back," shouted Brown, now brave again, and to make up -for the break in his courage he rushed into the very midst of the -defenders and, single-handed, captured the colors. The Confederates -were taken entirely by surprise. In the dim light they fought -desperately, but they were attacked from two sides with bullets, -bayonets and smashing blows from the butt-ends of muskets used like -clubs. Almost in a moment the entrenchments were in the hands of the -Union soldiers and over three thousand prisoners, two generals and -twenty cannon were captured. Those who were left took refuge back of -the angle-breastworks which guarded the approach to the half-moon. -There they fought back the charging troops until Lee, who had heard of -the disaster, could pour in reinforcements. He knew full well that this -center must be retaken at any cost. Every man and gun that could be -spared was hurried to the spot. Lee started then to take command in -person. Only when the soldiers refused to fight unless he took a safe -place did he consent to stay back. - -With all his available forces Grant lapped the half-circle on every -side and began to hammer away at this break in the Confederate line. -The Confederate reinforcements came up first and Hancock's men were -driven back from the angle until they met the reinforcements pouring in -from the troops outside. For a moment they could not face the -concentrated fire that came from the rear breastworks. Flat on their -faces officers and men lay in a little marsh while the canister swished -against the tall marsh-grass and the minie balls moaned horribly as -they picked out exposed men here and there. Soon another regiment came -up and with a yell the men sprang to their feet and dashed at the -breastworks which loomed up through the little patch of woods through -which they had retreated. In a minute they had rushed through the trees -with men dropping on every side under the murderous fire. Before them -was the grim angle of works to be known forever as the Bloody Angle. - -As they came nearer they found themselves in front of a deep ditch. -Scrambling through this they became entangled in an abattis, a kind of -latticework of limbs and branches. As they plunged into this many a man -was caught in the footlocks formed by the interwoven branches and held -until he was shot down by the fire back of the breastworks. These were -made of heavy timber banked with earth to a height of about four feet. -Above this was what was called a "head-log" raised just high enough to -allow a musket to be inserted between it and the lower work. Inside -were shelves covered with piles of buck and ball and minie cartridges. -Through the ditch and the snares, up and over the breastworks charged a -Pennsylvania regiment, losing nearly one hundred men as they went. - -Once again there was the same confused hand-to-hand fighting as had -taken place at the outer fortifications. This time the result was -different. The crafty Lee had hurried a dense mass of troops through -the mist. These men crawled forward in the smoke, reserving their fire -until they got to the very inside edge of the Angle. Then with the -terrible long-drawn Rebel yell, they sprang to their feet and dashed -into the breastworks with a volley that killed every Union soldier who -had crossed over. Down too went the men in front, still tangled in the -abattis. Every artillery horse was shot and Colonel Upton of the 95th -Pennsylvania Volunteers was the only mounted officer in sight. - -"Stick to it, boys," he shouted, riding back and forth and waving his -hat. "We've got to hold this point!" - -In a dense mass the Confederates poured into the breastworks and for a -moment it seemed as if they would sweep the Union forces back and -retake the half-moon salient. At this moment the Pennsylvanians were -reinforced by the 5th Maine and the 121st New York, but the -Confederates had the advantage of the breastworks and the Union men -began to waver. Then a little two-gun battery of the Second Corps did a -very brave thing. They were located at the foot of a hill back of a -pine-grove. As the news came that the Union men were giving way, they -limbered the guns, the drivers and cannoneers mounted the horses and up -the hill at full gallop they charged through the Union infantry and -right up to the breastworks, the only case of a charge by a battery in -history. Then in a second they unlimbered their guns and poured in a -fire of the tin cans filled with bullets called canister which was -deadly on the close-packed ranks of the Confederates hurrying up to the -Angle. The Union gunners were exposed to the full fire of the men back -of the breastworks, but they never flinched. The left gun fired nine -rounds and the right fourteen double charges. These cannonades simply -mowed the men down in groups. Captain Fish of General Upton's staff -left his men and rushed to help this little battery. Back and forth he -rode before the guns and the caissons carrying stands of canister under -his rubber coat. - -"Give it to 'em, boys," he shouted. "I'll bring you canister if you'll -only use it." - -Again and again he rode until, just as he turned to cheer the gunners -once more, he fell mortally wounded. The guns were fired until all of -the horses were killed, the guns, carriages and buckets cut to pieces -by the bullets and only two of the twenty-three men of the battery were -left on their feet. Leaving their two brass pieces which had done such -terrible execution still on the breastworks cut and hacked by the -bullets from both sides, the lone two marched back through the cheering -infantry. - -"That's the way to do it," shouted Colonel Upton. "Hold 'em, men! Hold -'em!" And his men held. - -The soft mud came up half-way to their knees. Under the continued -tramping back and forth, the dead and wounded were almost buried at -their feet. The shattered ranks backed off a few yards, then closed up -and started to hold their place out in the open against the constantly -increasing masses of the enemy back of the breastworks of the Angle. -The space was so narrow that only a certain number of men on each side -could get into action at once. A New Jersey and Vermont brigade hurried -in to help while on the other side General Lee sent all the men that -could find a place to fight back of the breastworks. Into the mêlée -came an orderly who shouted in Colonel Upton's ear so as to be heard -over the rattle of musketry and the roar of yells and cheers: - -"General Grant says, 'Hold on!'" - -"Tell General Grant we are holding on," shouted back Colonel Upton. - -The men in the mud now directed all their fire at the top of the -breastworks and picked off every head and hand that showed above. The -Confederates then fired through the loopholes, or placed their rifles -on the top log and holding by the trigger and the small of the stock -lifted the breach high enough to fire at the attacking forces. The -losses on both sides were frightful. A gun and a mortar battery took -position half a mile back of the Union forces and began to gracefully -curve shells and bombs just over the heads of their comrades so as to -drop within the ramparts. Sometimes the enemy's fire would slacken. -Then some reckless Union soldier would seize a fence-rail or a piece of -the abattis and creep close to the breastworks and thrust it over as if -he was stirring up a hornet's nest, dropping on the ground to avoid the -volley that was sure to follow. One daring lieutenant leaped upon the -breastworks and took a rifle that was handed up to him and fired it -into the masses of the Confederate soldiers behind. Another one was -handed up and he fired that and was about aiming with a third when he -was riddled with a volley and pitched headlong among the enemy. - -A little later a party of discouraged Confederates raised a piece of a -white shelter tent above the works as a flag of truce and offered to -surrender. The Union soldiers called on them to jump over. They sprang -on the breastworks and hesitated a moment at the sight of so many -leveled guns. That moment was fatal to them for their comrades in the -rear poured a volley into them, killing nearly every one. - -All day long the battle raged. Different breastworks in the same -fortifications flaunted different flags. Gradually, however, all along -the line the firing and the fighting concentrated at the Angle. The -head logs there were so cut and torn that they looked like brooms. So -heavy was the fire that several large oak trees twenty-two inches in -diameter back of the works were gnawed down by the bullets and fell, -injuring some of the South Carolina troops. Toward dusk the Union -troops were nearly exhausted. Each man had fired between three and four -hundred rounds. Their lips were black and bleeding from biting -cartridge. Their shoulders and hands were coated and black with grime -and powder-dust. As soon as it became dark they dropped in the -knee-deep mud from utter exhaustion. But they held. Grimly, sternly -they held. All the long night through they fired away at the -breastworks. The trenches on the right of the Angle ran red with Union -blood and had to be cleared many a time of the piles of dead bodies -which choked them. At last, a little after midnight, sullenly and -slowly the Confederate forces drew back and the half-moon and the -Bloody Angle were left in possession of the Union forces. The seven -days' hammering and the twenty hours of holding had won the fierce and -bloody Battle of the Wilderness. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -HEROES OF GETTYSBURG - - -Heroes are not made of different stuff from ordinary men. God made us -all heroes at heart. Satan lied when he said "all that a man hath will -he give for his life." The call comes and commonplace men and workaday -women give their lives as a very little thing for a cause, for an -ideal, or for others. When the great moment comes, the love and courage -and unselfishness that lie deep in the souls of all of us can flash -forth into beacon-lights of brave deeds which will stand throughout the -years pointing the path of high endeavor for those who come after. - -Women the world over will never forget how Mrs. Strauss came back from -the life-boat and went down on the _Titanic_ with her husband rather -than have him die alone. - -Boys have been braver and tenderer their lives long because of the -unknown hero at Niagara. With his mother he was trapped on a floe when -the ice-jam broke. Slowly and sternly it moved toward the roaring edge -of the cataract. From the Suspension Bridge a rope was let down to -them. Twice he tried to fix it around his mother, but she was too old -and weak to hold on. The floe was passing beyond the bridge and there -was just time for him to knot the rope around himself. Young, active -and strong, he would be safe in a moment, but his mother would go to -death deserted and alone. He tossed the rope away, put his arm around -his old mother and they went over the Falls together. - -Every American sailor has been braver and gentler from the memory of -Captain Craven who commanded the monitor _Tecumseh_ when Fighting -Farragut destroyed the forts and captured the Rebel fleet at Mobile -Bay. The _Tennessee_ was about to grapple with the _Tennessee_, the -great Rebel ram, when she struck a torpedo, turned over and went down -bow foremost. Captain Craven was in the pilot-house with the pilot. As -the vessel sank they both rushed for the narrow door. Craven reached it -first, but stood aside saying, "After you, pilot." The latter leaped -through as the water rushed in and was saved. Craven went down with his -ship. - -The great moments which are given to men in which to decide whether -they are to be heroes or cowards may come at any time, but they always -flash through every battle. Danger, suffering and death are the stern -tests by which men's real selves are discovered. A man can't do much -pretending when he is under fire, and he can't make believe he is brave -or unselfish, or chivalric when he is sick, or wounded, or dying. We -can be proud that the man who went before us made good and that we can -remember all the great battles of the greatest of our wars by the brave -deeds of brave men. - -The battle of Gettysburg was the most important of the Civil War. Lee -with seventy thousand men was pouring into the North. If he defeated -Meade and the Union Army, Washington, the capital, would fall. Even -Philadelphia and New York would be threatened. In three days of -terrible fighting, thirty thousand men were killed. In one of the -charges one regiment, the 1st Minnesota, lost eighty-two per cent. of -its men--more than twice as many as the famous Light Brigade lost at -Balaclava. Pickett's charge of fifteen thousand men over nearly a mile -and a half against the hill which marked the center of the Union lines -was one of the greatest charges in history. When the Confederates were -driven back, two-thirds of the charging party had been killed or -wounded. It was the crisis of the war. If that charge went home -Gettysburg was lost, the Union Army would become a rabble and the whole -strength of the Confederate forces would pass on into the North. On the -Union batteries depended the whole fate of the army. If they could keep -up a fire to the last moment, the charge must fail. Otherwise the -picked thousands of the Confederate Army would break the center of the -Union forces and the battle would be lost. Lee gathered together one -hundred and fifteen guns and directed a storm of shot and shell against -the Union batteries as his regiments charged up the hill. On the very -crest was a battery commanded by young Cushing, a brother of Lieutenant -W. B. Cushing, who drove a tiny torpedo launch over a boom of logs -under the fire of forts, troops and iron-clads and destroyed the great -Confederate iron-clad _Albemarle_. This Cushing was of the same -fighting breed. During the battle he was shot through both thighs but -would not leave his post though suffering agonies from the wounds. When -the charge began he fought his battery as fast as the guns could be -loaded and fired and his grape-shot and canister mowed down the -charging Confederates by the hundred. In spite of tremendous losses the -Rebels rushed up the hill firing as they came and so fierce was their -fire and that of the Confederate batteries that of the Union officers -in command of the batteries just in front of the charge, all but two -were struck. But the men kept up the fire to the very last. As what was -left of the Confederates topped the hill, a shell struck the wounded -Cushing tearing him almost in two. He held together his mangled body -with one hand and with the other fired his last gun and fell dead just -as the Confederates reached the stone wall on the crest. They were so -shattered by his fire that they were unable to hold the hill and were -driven back and the battle won for the Union. - -Old John Burns was another one of the many heroes of Gettysburg. John -was over seventy years old when the battle was fought and lived in a -little house in the town of Gettysburg with his wife who was nearly as -old as he. Burns had fought in the war of 1812 and began to get more -and more uneasy every day as the battle was joined at different points -near where he was living. The night before the last day of the battle -the old man went out to get his cow and found that a foraging band of -Confederates had driven her off. This was the last straw. The next day -regiment after regiment of the Confederate forces marched past his -house and the old man took down his flintlock musket which had done -good service against the British in 1812 and began to melt lead and run -bullets through his little old bullet mould. Mrs. Burns had been -watching him uneasily for some time. - -"John, what in the world are you doing there?" she finally asked. - -"Oh," he said, "I thought I would fix up the old gun and get some -bullets ready in case any of the boys might want to use it. There's -goin' to be some fightin' and it's just as well to get ready. There -ain't a piece in the army that will shoot straighter than Betsy here," -and the old man patted the long stock of the musket affectionately. - -"Well," said his wife, "you see that you keep out of it. You know if -the Rebs catch you fightin' in citizens' clothes, they'll hang you -sure." - -"Don't you worry about me," said John. "I helped to lick the British -and I ain't afraid of a lot of Rebels." - -Finally the long procession of Confederate forces passed and for an -hour or so the road was empty and silent. At last in the distance -sounded the roll and rattle of drums and through a great cloud of dust -flamed the stars and stripes and in a moment the road was filled with -solid masses of blue-clad troops hurrying to their positions on what -was to be one of the great battle-fields of the world. As regiment -after regiment filed past, old John could stand it no longer. He -grabbed his musket and started out the door. - -"John! John! Where are you going?" screamed his wife, running after -him. "Ain't you old enough to know better?" - -"I'm just goin' out to get a little fresh air," said John, pulling away -from her and hurrying down the street. "I'll be back before night -sure." - -It was the afternoon of the last day when the men of a Wisconsin -regiment near the front saw a little old man approaching, dressed in a -blue swallow-tail coat with brass buttons and carrying a long flintlock -rifle with a big powder-horn strapped about him. - -"Hi, there!" he piped, when he saw the men. "I want to jine in. -Where'll I go?" - -The men laughed at the sight. - -"Anywhere," shouted back one of them; "there's good fightin' all along -the line." - -"Well," said John, "I guess I'll stop here," and in spite of their -attempts to keep him back, he crept up until he was at the very front -of the skirmish line. There was a lull in the fighting just then and -there was a good deal of joking up and down the line between the men -and John. - -"Say, grandpa," called out one, "did you fight in the Revolution?" - -"Have you ever hit anything with that old gun of yours?" said another. - -But John was able to hold his own. - -"Sure I fought in the Revolution," he piped loudly, "and as for hittin' -anything, say, boys, do you know that at the Battle of Bunker Hill I -had sixty-two bullets in my pocket. I had been loadin' and firin' fifty -times and I had shot forty-nine British officers when suddenly I heard -some one yellin' to me from behind our lines and he says to me, 'Hi, -there, old dead-shot, don't you know that this is a battle and not a -massacre?' I turns around and right behind me was General George -Washington, so I saluted and I says, 'What is it, General?' and he -says, 'You stop firin' right away.' 'Well,' I said, 'General, I have -only got twelve more bullets; can't I shoot those?' 'No,' he says to -me, 'you go home. You've done enough,' and he says, 'don't call me -General, call me George.'" - -This truthful anecdote was repeated along the whole line and instantly -made John's reputation as a raconteur. He was allowed to establish -himself at the front of the line and in a minute, as the firing -commenced, he was fighting with the best of them. They tried to -persuade him to take a musket from one of the many dead men who were -lying around, but like David, John would not use any weapon which he -had not proved. He stuck to old Betsy and although he did not make -quite so good a record as at the Battle of Bunker Hill, according to -his comrades he accounted for no less than three Confederates, one of -whom was an officer. Before the day was over he received three wounds. -Toward evening there was an overwhelming rush of the Confederates which -drove back the Union soldiers and the Wisconsin regiment fell back -leaving poor old John lying there among the other wounded. He was in a -dilemma. Although his cuts were only flesh-wounds, yet he would bleed -to death unless they were properly dressed. On the other hand if he was -found by the Rebels in civilian clothes with his rifle, he would -undoubtedly be shot according to military law. The old man could not, -however, bear the thought of parting with old Betsy, so he crawled -groaningly toward a hollow tree where he managed to hide the old -flint-lock and the powder-horn and soon afterward attracted the -attention of the Confederate patrol which was going about the field -attending to the wounded. At first they were suspicious of him. - -"What are you doing, old man, wounded on a battle-field in citizens' -clothes?" one of the officers asked. - -"Well," said John, "I was out lookin' for a cow which some of you -fellows carried off and first thing I knew I was hit in three places. -So long as you got my cow, the least you can do is to carry me home." - -[Illustration: The Battle of Gettysburg] - -This seemed fair to the officer and a stretcher was brought and the old -man was carried back to the house. His next fear was that his wife -would unconsciously betray him to the patrol that were bringing him -into the house. Sure enough as they reached the door, old Mrs. Burns -came rushing out. - -"John," she screamed, "I told you not to go out." - -"Shut up, Molly," bellowed John at the top of his voice. "I didn't find -the old cow, but I did the best I could and I want you to tell these -gentlemen that I am as peaceable an old chap that ever lived, for they -found me out there wounded with a lot of soldiers and think I may have -been doin' some fightin'." - -Mrs. Burns was no fool. - -"Gentlemen," she cried out, "I can't thank you enough for bringing back -this poor silly husband of mine. I told him that if he went hunting -to-day for cows or anything else, he would most likely find nothing but -trouble, and I guess he has. He's old enough to know better, but you -leave him here and I'll nurse him and try to get some sense into his -head." - -So the patrol left Burns at his own house, not without some suspicions, -for the next day an officer came around and put him through a severe -cross-examination which John for the most part escaped by pretending to -be too weak to answer any particularly searching question. Mrs. Burns -nursed the old man back to health again and never let a day go by -without a number of impressive remarks about his foolhardiness. The old -man hadn't much to say, but the first day after he got well he -disappeared and came back an hour or so later with old Betsy and the -powder-horn which he found safe and sound in the tree where he left -them. These he hung again over the mantelpiece in readiness for the -next war, "for," said John, "a man's never too old to fight for his -country." - -Another hero in that battle was Lieutenant Bayard Wilkeson. Only -nineteen years old he commanded a battery in an exposed position on the -Union right. His two guns did so much damage that Gordon, the -Confederate general, could not advance his troops in the face of their -deadly fire. Wilkeson could be seen on the far-away hilltop riding back -and forth encouraging and directing his gunners. - -General Gordon sent for the captains of two of his largest batteries. - -"Train every gun you've got," he said, "on that man and horse. He's -doing more damage than a whole Yankee regiment." - -Quietly the guns of the two far-apart positions were swung around until -they all pointed directly at that horseman against the sky. A white -handkerchief was waved from the farthest battery and with a crash every -gun went off. When the smoke cleared away, man and horse were down, the -guns dismounted and the gunners killed. The Confederate forces swept on -their way unchecked across the field that had been swept and winnowed -by Wilkeson's deadly guns. As they went over the crest, they found him -under his dead horse and surrounded by his dead gunners still alive but -desperately wounded. He was carried in to the Allen House along with -their own wounded and given what attention was possible, which was -little enough. It was plain to be seen that he was dying. Suffering -from that choking, desperate thirst which attacks every wounded man who -has lost much blood he faintly asked for water. There was no water to -be had, but finally one of the Confederate officers in charge managed -to get a full canteen off a passing soldier. Wilkeson stretched out his -hands for what meant more to him than anything else in the world. Just -then a wounded Confederate soldier next to him cried out, "For God's -sake give me some." - -Wilkeson stopped with the canteen half to his mouth and then by sheer -force of will passed it over to the other. In his agonizing thirst the -wounded Confederate drank every drop before he could stop himself. -Horror-stricken he turned to apologize. The young lieutenant smiled at -him, turned slightly--and was gone. It took more courage to give up -that flask of cold water than to fight his battery against the whole -Confederate Army. - -The hero-folk on that great day were not all men and boys. Among the -many, many monuments that crowd the field of Gettysburg there is one of -a young girl carved from pure translucent Italian marble. It is the -statue of Jennie Wade, the water-carrier for many a wounded and dying -soldier during two of those days of doom. Although she knew it not, -Jennie was following in the footsteps of another woman, that unknown -wife of a British soldier at the Battle of Saratoga in the far-away -Revolutionary days. When Burgoyne's army was surrounded at Saratoga, -some of the women and wounded men were sent for safety to a large house -in the neighborhood where they took refuge in the cellar. There they -crouched for six long days and nights while the cannon-balls crashed -through the house overhead. The cellar became crowded with wounded and -dying men who were suffering agonies from thirst. It was only a few -steps to the river, but the house was surrounded by Morgan's -sharp-shooters and every man who ventured out with a bucket was shot -dead. At last the wife of one of the soldiers offered to go and in -spite of the protests of the men ventured out. The American riflemen -would not fire upon a woman and again and again she went down to the -river and brought back water to the wounded in safety. - -Jennie Wade was a girl of twenty who lived in a red-brick house right -in the path of the battle. They could not move to a safer place, for -her married sister was there with a day-old baby, so the imprisoned -family was in the thick of the battle. Recently when the old roof was -taken off to be repaired, over two quarts of bullets were taken from -it. During the first day, Jennie's mother moved her daughter and her -baby so that her head rested against the foot of the bed. She had no -more been moved than a bullet crashed through the window and struck the -pillow where her head had lain an instant before. While her mother -watched her daughter and the baby, Jennie carried water to the soldiers -on the firing-line. At the end of the first day fifteen soldiers lay -dead in the little front yard and all through that weary day and late -into the night Jennie was going back and forth filling the canteens of -the wounded and dying soldiers as they lay scattered on that stricken -field. Throughout the second day she kept on with this work and many -and many a wounded soldier choking with thirst lived to bless her -memory. On this day a long procession of blue-clad men knocked at the -door of the house asking for bread until the whole supply was gone. -After dark on the second day, Jennie mixed up a pan of dough and set it -out to rise. She got up at daybreak and as she was lighting a fire, a -hungry soldier-boy knocked at the door and asked for something to eat. -Jennie started to mix up some biscuit and as she stood with her sleeves -rolled up and her hands in the dough, a minie ball cut through the door -and she fell over dead without a word. Her statue stands as she must -have appeared during those first two days of battle. In one hand she -carries a pitcher and over her left arm are two army-canteens hung by -their straps. Not the least of the heroic ones of that battle was -Jennie Wade who died while thus engaged in homely, helpful services for -her country. - -These are the stories of but a few who fought at Gettysburg that men -might be free and that their country might stand for righteousness. The -spirit of that battle has been best expressed in a great poem by Will -H. Thompson with which we end these stories of some of the brave deeds -of the greatest battle of the Civil War. - - HIGH TIDE AT GETTYSBURG - - A cloud possessed the hollow field, - The gathering battle's smoky shield; - Athwart the gloom the lightning flashed, - And through the cloud some horsemen dashed, - And from the heights the thunder pealed. - - Then, at the brief command of Lee, - Moved out that matchless infantry, - With Pickett leading grandly down - To rush against the roaring crown - Of those dread heights of destiny. - - Far heard above the angry guns, - A cry across the tumult runs, - The voice that rang through Shiloh's woods - And Chickamauga's solitudes, - The fierce South cheering on her sons. - - Ah, how the withering tempest blew - Against the front of Pettigrew! - A khamsin wind that scorched and singed, - Like that infernal flame that fringed - The British squares at Waterloo! - - "Once more in Glory's van with me!" - Virginia cries to Tennessee, - "We two together, come what may, - Shall stand upon those works to-day." - (The reddest day in history.) - - But who shall break the guards that wait - Before the awful face of Fate? - The tattered standards of the South - Were shriveled at the cannon's mouth, - And all her hopes were desolate. - - In vain the Tennesseean set - His breast against the bayonet; - In vain Virginia charged and raged, - A tigress in her wrath uncaged, - Till all the hill was red and wet! - - Above the bayonets mixed and crossed, - Men saw a gray, gigantic ghost - Receding through the battle-cloud, - And heard across the tempest loud - The death-cry of a nation lost! - - The brave went down! Without disgrace - They leaped to Ruin's red embrace; - They only heard Fame's thunder wake, - And saw the dazzling sun-burst break - In smiles on Glory's bloody face! - - They fell, who lifted up a hand - And bade the sun in heaven to stand! - They smote and fell, who set the bars - Against the progress of the stars, - And stayed the march of Motherland. - - They stood, who saw the future come - On through the fight's delirium! - They smote and stood, who held the hope - Of nations on that slippery slope - Amid the cheers of Christendom! - - God lives! He forged the iron will - That clutched and held that trembling hill. - God lives and reigns! He built and lent - Those heights for Freedom's battlement, - Where floats her flag in triumph still! - - Fold up the banners! Smelt the guns! - Love rules; her gentler purpose runs. - A mighty mother turns in tears - The pages of her battle years, - Lamenting all her fallen sons! - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE LONE SCOUT - - -Single-handed exploits, where a man must depend upon his own strength -and daring and coolness, rank high among brave deeds. Occasionally a -man has confidence enough in himself to penetrate alone into the -enemy's country and to protect his life and do his endeavor by his own -craft and courage. Of such was Hereward, the Last of the English, who, -like Robin Hood, many centuries later, led his little band of free men -through fen and forest and refused to yield even to the vast resources -of William the Conqueror. Once disguised as a swineherd he entered the -very court of the king and sat with the other strangers and wanderers -at the foot of the table in the great banquet-hall and saw in the -distance the man who was first to conquer and then to make -unconquerable all England. To this day we love to read of his -adventures on that scouting trip. How the servants who sat at meat with -him played rough jokes on him until, forgetful of his enormous -strength, he dealt one of them a buffet which laid him lifeless across -the table with a broken neck. How he was taken up to the head of the -table and stood before William on an instant trial for his life. His -loose jerkin had been torn during the struggle and showed his vast -chest and arms covered with scars of old wounds which no swineherd -would ever have received. The old chronicle goes on to tell how they -imprisoned him for the night and when his jailer came to fetter his -legs with heavy irons, he stunned him with a kick, unlocked the doors -and gates, broke open the stable door, selected the best horse in the -king's stable and, armed with an old scythe blade which he had picked -up in the barn, cut his way through the guard and rode all night by the -stars back to his band. - -In 1862 Corporal Pike of the Fourth Ohio Regiment led an expedition for -a hundred miles through the enemy's country, which was worthy of -Hereward himself. The expedition consisted of Corporal James Pike, who -held all positions from general to private and who also had charge of -the commissary department and was head of the board of strategy. The -corporal was a descendant of Captain Zebulon Pike the great Indian -fighter and inherited his ancestor's coolness and daring. Old Zebulon -used to say that he never really knew what happiness was until he was -in danger of his life and that when he started into a fight, it was as -if all the music in the world was playing in his ears and that a battle -to him was like a good dinner, a game of ball and a picnic all rolled -into one. The corporal was very much this way. He had taken such -particular pleasure in foolhardy exploits that his officers decided to -try him on scout duty. There he did so well that General Mitchel's -attention was attracted to him. - -In April, 1862, it was of great importance for the general's plans to -obtain information in regard to the strength of the Confederates in -Alabama, and to have a certain railroad bridge destroyed so as to cut -off the line of communications with the forces farther south. Out of -the whole regiment the general picked Corporal Pike. The corporal's -plan of procedure was characteristic of the man. He wore his regular -full blue uniform and throughout the first part of his trip made no -attempt at disguise or concealment. This was not as reckless as it -sounds. The country was filled with Confederate spies and messengers -who almost invariably adopted the Union uniform and it had this -advantage--if captured, he could claim that he was in his regular -uniform and was entitled to be treated as a soldier captured on the -field of battle and not hung as a spy. The corporal, however, did not -attach any very great weight to the protection of this uniform, as he -figured out that if he were caught burning bridges and obtaining -reports of Confederate forces, they would hang him whatever the color -of his uniform. He had no adventures until he drew near Fayetteville in -Tennessee. He spent the night in the woods and bright and early the -next morning rode into the village and up to the hotel and ordered -breakfast for himself and a similar attention for his horse. The sight -of a Union soldier assembled all the unoccupied part of the population -and in a few minutes there were three hundred men on the sidewalk in -front of the hotel. As the corporal came back from looking after his -horse, for he would never eat until he had seen that old Bill was -properly cared for, a man stepped up and inquired his name. - -[Illustration: Corporal Pike] - -"My name, sir," said the corporal, "is James Pike of the Fourth Ohio -Cavalry, which is located at Shelbyville. What can I do for you?" - -There was a few moments' silence and then a great laugh went up as the -crowd decided that this was some Confederate scout, probably one of -Morgan's rangers in disguise. - -"What are you doing down here?" asked another. - -"I am down here," said Pike coolly, "to demand the surrender of this -town just as soon as I can get my breakfast and find the mayor." - -The crowd laughed loudly again and the corporal went in to breakfast, -where he sat at a table with a number of Confederate officers with whom -he talked so mysteriously that they were fully convinced that he must -be one of Morgan's right-hand men. After breakfast he ordered his horse -and started out, first saying good-bye to the crowd who were still -waiting for him. - -"If you're from the North," said one, "why don't you show us a Yankee -trick before you go?" for the Southerners were thoroughly convinced -that all Yankees were sly foxes full of sudden schemes and stratagems. - -"Well, I will before long," said Pike, as he waved good-bye and -galloped off. - -Five miles out of the village he came to a fork in the road where one -road led to Decatur, which was where the main Confederate forces were -located, and the other to Huntsville. Just as he was turning into the -Decatur road, he saw a wagon-train coming in from Huntsville and -decided that here was a chance for his promised Yankee trick. He rode -up to the first wagon. - -"Drive that wagon up close to the fence and halt," he said. - -"How long since you've been wagon-master?" said the driver, cracking -his whip. - -"Ever since you left your musket lying in the bottom of the wagon," -said Pike, leveling his revolver at the man's head. He drove his wagon -up and halted it without a word and stood with his arms over his head -as ordered by Pike. - -One by one the other wagons came up and the drivers assumed the same -attitude. Last of all there was a rattle of hoofs and the wagon-master, -who had been lingering in the rear, galloped up. - -"What the devil are you fellows stopping for?" he shouted, but as he -came around the last wagon, he almost ran his head into Pike's revolver -and immediately assumed the same graceful attitude as the others. Pike -rode up to each wagon, collected all the muskets, not forgetting to -remove a couple of revolvers from the belt of the wagon-master and then -inquired from the latter what the wagons had in them. - -"Provender," said the wagon-master, surlily. - -"What else?" said the corporal, squinting along the barrel of his -revolver. - -"Bacon," yelled the wagon-master much alarmed; "four thousand pounds in -each wagon." - -"Well," said the corporal, "I've always been told that raw bacon is an -unhealthy thing to eat and so you just unhitch your mules and set fire -to these wagons and be mighty blamed quick about it too, because I have -a number of engagements down the road." The men grumbled, but there was -no help for them and in a few minutes every wagon was burning and -crackling and giving out dense black smoke. Waiting until it was -impossible to put them out, the corporal lined the men up across the -road. - -"Now you fellows get on your marks and when I count three you start -back to Fayetteville and if you are in reach by the time I have counted -one hundred, there's going to be some nice round holes in the backs of -your uniforms. When you get back to the village tell them that this is -the Yankee trick that I promised them." - -Before Pike had counted twenty-five there was not a man in sight. He at -once turned back and raced down the road toward Decatur. He had gone -about ten miles when he came to a small country church and as it was -Sunday, it was open and nearly filled. Fearing that there might be a -number of armed Confederate soldiers in the church who would start out -in pursuit as soon as the word came back from Fayetteville, the -corporal decided to investigate. Not wishing to dismount he rode Bill -up the steps and through the open door and down the main aisle, just as -the minister was announcing a hymn. - -"Excuse this interruption," said Pike, as the minister's voice quavered -off into silence, "but I notice a number of soldierly-looking men here -and I will take it as a great favor if they will hold their hands as -high above their heads as possible and come down here and have a talk -with me." - -As this simple request was accompanied by a revolver aimed at the -audience, one by one six soldiers who had been attending the service -came sheepishly down the aisle. They looked so funny straining their -arms over their heads that some of the girls in the audience unkindly -burst out laughing. Pike removed a revolver from each one and dumped -his captured arms into one of his saddle-bags. - -"Now, parson," he said, "I want to hear a good, fervent prayer from you -for the President of the United States." The minister hesitated. "Quick -and loud," said Pike, "because I'm going in a minute." - -There was no help for it and the minister prayed for President Lincoln -by name, while Pike reverently removed his cap. Then backing his horse -out of the door, he started on toward Decatur. Not a half mile from the -church he met two Confederate soldiers who were leisurely riding to the -church. There was no reason at all why the corporal should meddle with -these men. They were two to one and he had no way of disposing of them -even if he made them captives. However, the sight of the Confederate -parson praying for Abe Lincoln had tickled Pike and he made up his mind -to have some fun with these soldiers. As he came abreast of them he -whipped out his revolver, ordered them to halt and to give their names, -regiments and companies. They did so with great alacrity. - -"Well, gentlemen," he said, "you are my prisoners and I am very sorry -for I am so far outside of my lines that I am afraid there is only one -way to safely dispose of you." - -"Great heavens, man," said one, "you don't mean to shoot us down." - -"I'm sorry," said Pike, "but you can see for yourself that that's the -only thing to do. You are Rebel soldiers and to leave you alive would -mean that you will keep on doing harm to the Union forces." - -"Don't shoot, captain," both of them chorused; "we'll take the oath of -allegiance." - -Pike seemed to hesitate. - -"Well," he said finally, "I hate to kill men on Sunday. I suppose I -ought not to do this, but if you'll solemnly swear allegiance to the -United States of America and that you'll never hereafter serve against -the Union or be late to church again, I'll let you go." - -With much solemnity, the Confederates took the oath in the form -dictated, delivered up their revolvers and rode away. - -The next man that Pike encountered was an old gentleman on his way to -Fayetteville, who admitted that he was a judge and the next day was -intending to serve in a number of political cases involving the -property of certain Union sympathizers. Pike made him also take the -oath of allegiance, and promise not to enter judgment contrary to the -interests of the Union. He then left the road and rode along a shallow -creek through the woods. About sunset he suddenly came upon an old man -under the trees. He questioned him and found that he was a Union -sympathizer and was told by him that there were twelve Tennessee -cavalrymen and fifteen mounted citizens on the lookout for him. - -"That is," said the old man, "if you're the chap that has been going -around capturing wagon-trains and churches and soldiers and judges." - -"That's me," said Pike. - -The old man took him home and fed him and with him he left his horse -and started out on foot, feeling that the hue and cry would now be out -all over the country against a mounted man in Union uniform. Leaving -his friend, he followed the path through the woods toward Decatur until -it was dark and then wrapped himself up in a blanket and slept all -night in the pouring rain. In the morning he made his way toward the -railway and followed it until about ten o'clock when he stopped at a -house and bought a breakfast. He had not been there long before he was -joined by several Confederate cavalrymen. - -"What's your business," said one, "and what are you doing in that -uniform?" - -"Well," said Pike, "I was told to wear it and not to tell any one my -business until it was done and if you fellows don't like it, you had -better take it up with the general." - -Once again the Confederates concluded that he was on some secret -mission. They insisted, however, on taking him to camp with them and -there he stayed two days and nights, incidentally obtaining all the -information possible as to the forces and the guard about the bridge. -Just before dawn on the second morning, he managed to give them the -slip and started across country, wading and swimming and toiling -through one swamp after another until he finally reached the river -bank, traveling only by night and sleeping by day. Along this bank he -went for miles until finally he found concealed in a little creek a -small rowboat which was tied to a tree and in which were two oars. He -spent the better part of the day in loading this up with pine knots and -bits of dry driftwood which he planned to use in firing the bridge. -Just at evening he pushed off into the middle of the river and started -again down for the bridge. He had found by his inquiries that the -Confederate camp was located on a bank some distance from the bridge, -as no one expected any attack there so far within the Confederate -lines. All night long he tugged at the oars and aided by the current -reached the bridge about three o'clock in the morning. The bridge was -an old-fashioned one erected on three piers. Pike made a careful survey -of the whole length of the bridge from the river and found it -absolutely unguarded although he could hear the sentry call on the hill -a quarter of a mile away where the troops were encamped by the town. -Concealing his skiff under an overhanging tree, he toiled up to the -bridge with armful after armful of fire-wood. At each end and in the -middle he made a little heap of fat-wood and pine knots with a strip of -birch-bark, which burns like oiled paper, underneath each. Starting -from the far end, he lit the first two piles and by the time he had -crossed and was working on the last, he could hear the flames roaring -behind him as they caught the dry weather-beaten planking of the -bridge. And now he made a mistake which was to prove well-nigh fatal to -him. As soon as the fire had obtained a headway, he should have -instantly stolen back up the river in his skiff. In his anxiety to make -a thorough job of it he stayed too long, forgetting that in the bright -light of the fire every motion he made would be plainly visible from -the hilltop. Suddenly he heard the alarm given from the camp and almost -instantly it was followed by the wail of a minie ball as the sentry -above fired down upon him. By this time the river was as bright as day -for a quarter of a mile on both sides of the bridge. Near the -Confederate camp were a number of boats and Pike was already nearly -exhausted by his long row and his work in firing the bridge. He heard -the shouts of men as they dashed down for their boats. If he attempted -to escape by water he was certain to be overtaken. Another bullet close -to his head decided him and he dashed down from the bridge into the -road, and plunged into the thick woods on the farther side. All the -rest of that night and through the first part of the next day he -traveled, following one path after another and keeping his general -direction by a pocket compass. By noon he was so tired that if it had -been to save his life he could not have gone any farther. The little -stock of provisions which he had carried with him had been exhausted -the night before and he threw himself on a bed of dry pine-needles -under a long-leafed pine which stood on the top of a little knoll and -lay there for nearly an hour until part of his strength came back. The -first thing to do was to find something to eat. Pike did not dare shoot -anything with his revolver, even if there had been anything to shoot, -for fear of attracting the attention of Confederate pursuers or -bushwhackers. It was now that the corporal's wood-craft proved to be as -valuable as his scout-craft. If he were to go further, he must have -food and he commenced to wander back and forth through the woods, his -quick eye taking in everything on the ground or among the trees. On the -other side of the knoll where he had been lying, he noticed a rotten -log where the dry, punky wood had been scattered as if a hen had been -scratching there. Pike commenced to look carefully all along the ground -and finally just on the edge of the slope where the thick underbrush -began, he nearly stepped on a large brown speckled bird so much the -color of the leaves that if he had not been looking for it, he never -would have discovered the nest. The bird slipped into the underbrush -like a shadow, leaving behind fifteen brown, mottled partridge eggs. -The corporal sat down over the nest and gulped down, one after the -other, those eggs, warm from the breast of the brooding bird. As he -said afterward, never had he tasted anything half so good. This was a -step in the right direction, but even fifteen partridge eggs are not -enough for a man who hadn't eaten for nearly thirty hours. Once again -he began to prowl restlessly through the woods and this time his -attention was attracted by something growing on the side of a dead -maple stub. It was dark red and looked like a great tongue sticking out -from the bark. To his great joy, Pike recognized it at once as the -beefsteak mushroom. It was a magnificent specimen which must have -weighed nearly two pounds and as he pulled it off from the tree, red -drops oozed out and it looked and smelled like a big, fresh beefsteak. -The corporal went down the hollow into the thickest part of the swamp -and there picked an armful of perfectly dry cedar and scrub-oak twigs -which burn with a clear, smokeless flame. Out of these he built a -little Indian cooking fire by arranging the twigs into the form of a -little tepee so that a jet of clear flame came up with hardly a sign of -any smoke. It was the work of only a moment to whittle and set up a -forked stick and to fasten a slab of that meaty-looking fungus on a -spit fixed in the fork. Fortunately he had left in his haversack a -little salt and pepper with which he seasoned the broiling, hissing -steak. In about ten minutes it was done to a turn. Cutting a long strip -of bark from off one of the red river-birches which grew near, Pike -squatted down on the ground and in fifteen minutes more there was -nothing left of that savory, two-pound, broiled vegetable steak. With -fifteen eggs and two pounds of beefsteak mushroom under his belt, the -corporal felt like another man. He coiled himself up on the dry -pine-needles in a little hollow which he found under the low-hanging -boughs of a long-leaf pine and resolved to take a sleep to make up for -what he had lost during the last two nights. It was early afternoon and -everything was still and hot and the drowsy scent of the pine mingled -with puffs of spicy fragrance from the great white blossoms of the -magnolia with which the woods were starred. As he fell asleep the last -thing the corporal heard was the drowsy call of flocks of golden-winged -warblers on their way north. How long he slept he could not tell. He -only knew that he awoke with a sudden consciousness of danger, that -strange sixth sense which most Indians and a few white hunters -sometimes develop. Perhaps he inherited it from old Zebulon Pike who, -like Daniel Boone and Kit Carson, had the power of hearing and sensing -the approach of an enemy even in their soundest sleep. The corporal was -alert the second he opened his eyes, but made not a movement or a -rustle. The sun was well down in the sky and there was nothing in -sight, but the birds had stopped singing. Finally way down through the -little tunnel which a near-by flowing stream had made through the -hillocks came a sound which brought him to his feet in an instant. It -was a ringing note that chimed like a distant bell. Three times it -sounded and there was silence, then again three times, but a little -nearer and louder, then again silence. A third time it came and this -time it seemed around the bend of the bayou not half a mile away. Pike -knew in a minute what it was. It was the bay of the dreaded -bloodhounds, those man-hunters who had learned to trail their prey -through forest and fen, no matter how much he doubled nor how fast he -ran. There was but one thing to do if there was time. Springing up, the -corporal ran down to the little stream and leaped in. It was hardly up -to his knees, but he splashed along for a hundred yards, now and then -plunging in up to his waist. It ran a hundred yards or so through the -swamp and then emptied into a larger bayou. Along this Pike swam for -his life as silently as a muskrat, for now he could hear the baying of -the dogs close at hand and suddenly there was a chorus of deep raging -barks followed by shouts and he knew that his pursuers had found his -lair under the pine trees. Soon the stream ran into another one and -then another until Pike had swam and waded and plunged through half a -score of brooks which made a regular network through the middle of the -swamp. By this time the sound of the dogs had died far away in the -distance and he had every reason to believe that he had thrown them off -the track. Down the last stream there was a deep, sluggish creek nearly -fifty feet wide. He swam until he could go no farther. It opened out -into a series of swampy meadows and to his joy he saw in the very midst -of the swamp through which it ran a pile of newly-split rails. Swimming -over to this he found that they had been piled on a little island about -five feet above the level of the swamp and surrounded on all sides by -masses of underbrush and deep sluggish water. By this time it was -nearly sunset and he resolved to crawl up here and find a dry place and -spend the night on this island, which could not be approached except by -boat. As he climbed up to the top of the mass of rails, he heard a low, -thick hiss close to his face and outstretched hand. He had never heard -the sound before, but no man born needs to be taught the voice of the -serpent. He started back just in time. Coiled on one of the rails was a -great cotton-mouth moccasin whose bloated swollen body must have been -nearly five feet in length and as big around as his arm. The great -creature slowly opened its mouth, showing the pure white lining which -has given it the name and hissed again menacingly. The corporal was in -a predicament. Behind him was the cold, dark river in which he no -longer had the strength to swim. In the approaching darkness, he might -not be able to find any other island of refuge on which to pass the -night. There was nothing for him but to fight the grim snake for the -possession of the rails. He dropped back and twisted off the thick -branch of a near-by willow-tree and began again to climb up toward the -snake cautiously, but as rapidly as possible, for the light was -beginning to die out in the sky and Pike preferred not to do his -fighting in the dark in this case if possible. As he reached the top of -the pile, the king of the island was ready for him and struck viciously -at him as he approached. The movable poison fangs protruded like -poisoned spear-heads from the wide-open mouth and from them could be -seen oozing the yellow drops of the fatal venom which makes the -cotton-mouth more dreaded even than the rattler or the copperhead. The -fatal head flashed out not six inches from Corporal Pike's face, but it -had miscalculated the distance and before it could again coil, he had -struck with all his might at the monstrous body just where it joined -the heart-shaped head. Fortunately for him, his aim was good and the -crippled snake writhed and hissed and struck in vain in a horrible mass -at Pike's feet. Two more blows made it harmless and inserting the stick -under the heavy body, the corporal heaved it far over into the water -and it floated away. Pike then made a careful examination of the rails -and the island on which he stood so as to make sure that the moccasin -had not left any of his family behind. He found no others, however, and -before it was dark the corporal moved the rails and piled them around -him in a kind of barricade which shut him off from view from the water -and shore and which he sincerely hoped would discourage the visits of -any more moccasins. Inside of this he laid three rails lengthwise and -wrung out his sodden coat and coiled up for the night on his hard bed. -He woke up surrounded by the gleaming mist of the early morning and -shaking with the cold after sleeping all night in his soaked clothing. -As he was too cold to sleep and it was light enough now to see, he -decided to start off for dry land again. For over two hours he swam and -waded along big and little bayous until, just as the sun was getting -up, he came out through the morass and found himself at the rear of a -lonely plantation. Just in front of him an old negro was at work hoeing -in a field. The corporal crept up near him through the bushes and -looked all around cautiously to see whether there were any white men in -sight. Seeing none, he decided to take a chance on the negro being -friendly. - -"Hi, there, uncle!" he called cautiously from behind a little bush. - -The old man jumped a foot in the air. - -"That settles it," he observed emphatically to himself, "I'se gwine -home. This old nigger ain't gwine to work in any swamp whar he hears -hants callin' him 'uncle.'" - -At this point the corporal came out of his hiding place and finally -managed to convince the old man that he was nothing worse than very -hungry flesh and blood. The old darkey turned out to be a friend indeed -and going to his cabin in less than fifteen minutes he was back with a -big pan full of bacon and corn bread which the corporal emptied in -record-breaking time. Moreover, he brought his son with him who -promised to guide Pike by safe paths to the road which led to -Huntsville where General Mitchel had located his headquarters. Hour -after hour the two wound in and out of swamps which would have been -impassable to any one who did not know the hidden trails which crossed -them. Twice they heard Confederate soldiers, evidently still hunting -for the Union soldier who had been making them so much trouble. Toward -noon they came to a broad bayou which went in and out through the -swamp. At one point where it approached the bend it became very narrow -and Pike's guide showed him a fallen tree half hidden in the brush. - -"Cross that, boss," he said, "and at the other end you'll find a little -hard path. Follow that and you'll come out clear down on the Huntsville -road, only a few miles from the Union soldiers." - -Pike said good-bye to his faithful guide and gave him one of the -numerous Confederate revolvers which he had captured on his trip as the -only payment he could make for his kindness. - -The corporal found the path all right and was soon wearily trudging -along the Huntsville road. He had not gone far before he was overtaken -by another negro dressed in a style which would have made the lilies of -the field take to the woods. With his panama hat, red tie and checked -suit, he made a brave show. What impressed the corporal, however, more -than his clothes was the fact that he was driving a magnificent horse -attached to a brand-new buggy. - -"Stop a minute," said Pike, stepping out into the road. - -"No," said the negro, pompously, "I'se in a great hurry." - -The corporal whipped out a revolver and cocked it. - -"Come to think of it, Massa," said the darkey in quite a different -tone, "I'se got plenty of time after all." - -"Whose horse is this?" said the corporal, climbing into the buggy. - -"This is Mistah Pomeroy's property," said the negro with much dignity. - -"Well," said the corporal, "you turn right around and drive me to -General Mitchel's camp just as fast as the law will let you." - -"But, boss," objected the other, "Massa will whip me if I do." - -"And I'll shoot you if you don't," returned the corporal. - -This last argument was a convincing one and half an hour later General -Mitchel and his forces were enormously impressed by seeing Corporal -Pike, who had been reported shot, drive up back of a magnificent horse -in a new buggy and beside a wonderfully-dressed coachman. The general -was even more impressed when the corporal reported that the bridge was -gone and gave him an accurate statement as to the Confederate forces. - -Corporal Pike found Mr. Pomeroy's horse a very good substitute for his -faithful Bill and, to his surprise, the coachman went with the horse, -since he was afraid to go back, and became a cook in General Mitchel's -mess. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -RUNNING THE GAUNTLET - - -In the old days of the Indian wars a favorite amusement of a raiding -party was to make their captives run the gauntlet. On their return home -two long lines of not only the warriors, but even of the women and -children would be formed armed with clubs, arrows, tomahawks and whips. -The unfortunate captive was stationed at one end of this aisle of -enemies and given the choice of being burned at the stake or of running -for his life between the lines from one end to the other. Sometimes a -swift runner and dodger escaped enough of the blows to stagger blinded -with blood from a score of wounds, but still alive, across the line -which marked the end of this grim race against death. It was always a -desperate chance. Only the certainty of death if it were not taken ever -caused any man to enter such a terrible competition. There is no record -of even the most hardened Indian fighter ever running the gauntlet for -any life save his own. - -In the summer of 1863, three men ran the gauntlet of shot and shell and -rifle-fire for forty miles to save an army, with death dogging them all -the way. Brigadier-General Thomas, who afterward earned the title of -the Rock of Chickamauga by his brave stand in that disastrous battle, -was entrenched on one of the spurs of the hills around Chattanooga. -General Bragg with a much superior army of Confederates had hunted the -Union soldiers mile after mile. At times they had stopped and fought, -at times they had escaped by desperate marches. Now exhausted and -ringed about by the whole Confederate Army, they must soon have help or -be starved into surrender. Yet only forty miles to the eastward was a -body of thirty thousand men commanded by General Stockton. This general -was one of those valuable men who obey orders without any reasoning -about the why and the wherefore of the same. He had been commanded to -hold a certain pass in the mountains until further orders and that pass -he would hold, as General Thomas well knew, until relieved or directed -to do otherwise. If only the duty had been assigned to some other -officer, it might be that not hearing anything from the main body, he -would send out a reconnoitering party. Not so with General Stockton. -That general would stay put and only a direct order or an overpowering -force of the enemy would move him. - -It was in vain that General Thomas tried to get a messenger through -with secret despatches in cipher. General Bragg knew that he had the -Union Army cornered and he had stationed a triple row of pickets who -caught or shot every man that General Thomas sent. - -Supplies and ammunition were both running low and General Thomas was -considering massing a force of men on some point in the line in an -attempt to break through far enough for a messenger to escape. This -meant a great loss of life and probably would not be successful as the -messenger would almost certainly be captured by an outer ring of scouts -which Bragg would throw out as soon as he realized what was going on. -There was only one other chance. The Confederates were so sure of their -own strength, and that they would eventually capture the whole army, -that they had not destroyed the railroad line which ran between the two -Federal camps, hoping to use the same for shipping soldiers, prisoners -and captured supplies later on. Both sides of the track, however, were -lined with guards and covered by a number of Confederate batteries. -General Thomas decided to make the attempt and called for volunteers -who were willing to run this forty-mile gauntlet between the -Confederate lines and batteries. Two old railroad men offered their -services as engineer and fireman and they were accompanied by an -adjutant who was to be the bearer of the despatches. There seemed to be -only one chance in a thousand for this engine to get safely through and -the men themselves, if they were not shot in their flight or wrecked -with the engine, stood a good chance of being captured and hung as -spies. In fact it seemed such a hopeless chance that at the last moment -General Thomas was on the point of countermanding the order when one of -the men themselves gave the best argument in favor of the plan. - -"It's worth trying, General," said he, "for even if we fail, you only -lose three men. The other way you would have to throw away at least a -thousand before you could find out whether it was possible to cut -through the lines or not." - -It was decided to make the trial and a dark, moonless night when the -sky was covered with heavy clouds was selected as the best time for -starting. The men shook hands with their comrades and each left with -his best friend a letter to be sent to his family if he were not heard -from within a given time. There were but few engines in the Union ranks -and none of them were very good as the Confederates had captured the -most powerful. However, the ex-engineer and fireman picked out the one -which seemed to be in best repair, put in an extra supply of oil to -allow for the racking strain on the machinery and filled up the tender -with all the fuel that it could carry. At half-past ten they started -after firing up with the utmost care and in half a mile they were -running at full speed when suddenly there was the sharp crack of a -rifle and a minie bullet whined past the panting, jumping, rushing -engine. Another one crashed through the window of the caboose, but -fortunately struck no one. By this time the little engine was going at -her utmost speed. At times all four of the wheels seemed to leave the -track at once, she jumped so under the tremendous head of steam which -the fireman, working as he had never done before, had raised. The -engine swayed so from side to side as it ran that it was all that the -adjutant could do to keep his feet. Finally they reached the first -battery. Fortunately it had miscalculated the tremendous speed of the -engine. A series of guns stationed close to the track hurled a shower -of grape and solid shot at the escaping engine. It cut the framework of -the caboose almost to pieces, but fortunately not a shot struck any -vital part of the machinery or injured any of the three men. As they -whirled on, the last gun of all sent a solid shot after them which -struck the bell full and fair and with a last tremendous clang it was -dashed into the bushes by the side of the road. All along the track -there was a fusillade of musket-fire and bullets whizzed around them -constantly, but none struck any of the crew. The next danger-point was -at a junction with this road and another which ran off at right angles. -This junction was protected by no less than two batteries and -furthermore on the junction-track was an engine standing with smoke -coming out of her smoke-stack showing that she was fired up ready for -pursuit. It seemed absolutely impossible to escape these two batteries. -Already they could see lanterns hurrying to and fro on both sides of -the track where the guns were trained so close that they simply could -not fail to dash the engine into a hissing, bloody, glowing scrap-heap -of crumpled steel and iron. The men set their teeth and prepared for -the crash which every one of them felt meant death. It never came. By -some oversight, no alarm had been given and before the guns could be -manned and sighted, the engine was whirling along right between both -batteries, a cloud of sparks and a column of fire rushing two feet -above her smokestack. The Confederates succeeded in only turning one -gun and training it on the little engine fast disappearing in the -darkness. The gunner, however, who fired that gun came nearer putting -an end to the expedition than all the others. He dropped a shell in the -air directly over them. It shattered the roof of the caboose, wounded -the fireman and blew out both windows, but almost by a miracle left the -machinery still uninjured. The adjutant laid the fireman on the -jumping, bounding floor of the cab and under his faint instructions -fired the engine in his place. As he was heaping coal into the open -fire-box with all his might, there came a deep groan from the wounded -fireman. - -"Try and bear the pain, old man," shouted the engineer over the roar of -the engine. "We'll be safe in a few minutes if nothing happens." - -"Something's goin' to happen," gasped the fireman. "Listen!" - -Far back over the track came a pounding and a pushing. The engineer -shook his head. - -"They're after us," he said to the adjutant, "and what's more they're -bound to get us unless we can throw them off the track." - -"Can't we win through with this start?" said the captain. - -"No, sir," said the engineer, "they've got an engine that can do ten -miles an hour better than this one and beside that, they've got a car -to steady her. I don't dare give this old girl one ounce more of steam -or she'd jump the tracks." - -Before long far back around the curve came the head-light of the -pursuing engine like the fierce eye of some insatiable monster on the -track of its prey. Steadily she gained. Once when they approached the -long trestlework which ran for nearly a mile, the sound of the pursuit -slackened off as the lighter engine took the trestle at a speed which -the heavier one did not dare to use. Bullet after bullet whizzed past -the escaping engine as the soldiers in the cab of her pursuer fired -again and again. Both engines, however, were swaying too much to allow -for any certain aim. Finally one lucky shot smashed the clock in the -front engine close by the engineer's head, spraying glass and splinters -all over him. Now the front engine had only ten miles to go before she -would be near enough to General Stockton's lines to be in safety. The -rear engine, however, was less than a quarter of a mile away and -gaining at every yard. - -"How about dropping some of the fire-bars on the tracks?" suggested the -captain. "We've got enough coal on to carry her the next ten miles. We -shan't need the fire-bars after we get through and we certainly won't -need them if they capture us." - -It seemed a good idea and the wounded fireman dragged himself to the -throttle and took the engineer's place for a moment while he and the -captain climbed out upon the truck and carefully dropped one after the -other of the long, heavy steel rods across the track. Then they -listened, hoping to hear the crash of a derailed engine. It never came. -Instead there was a loud clanging noise followed by a crackling of the -underbrush and repeated again as the pursuing engine struck each bar -with its cow-catcher and dashed it off the rails. The captain suddenly -commenced to unbutton and tear off his long, heavy army overcoat. - -"How about putting this in the middle of the track on the chance that -it may entangle the wheels?" he suggested. - -In a minute the engineer clambered out on the truck. - -"If only it gets wedged in the piston-bar, it may take half an hour to -get it out," he panted as he climbed back into the cab. - -Suddenly from behind they heard a heavy jolting noise and then the -sound of escaping steam. - -"We got her," shouted the engineer and the captain to the wounded -fireman whose face looked ghastly white against the red light of the -open fire-box. The engineer and the captain shook hands and decided to -do a little war-dance without much success on the swaying floor of the -cab, but they were suddenly stopped by a whisper from the fireman. - -"They've got it out," he said. Sure enough once more there came the -thunder of approaching wheels and the start which they had gained was -soon cut down again. The heavy engine came more and more rapidly on -them as the fire died down, although the captain tried to stir up the -flagging flames with his sword in place of the lost fire-iron. Only a -mile ahead they could see the lights which showed where the Union lines -lay. Before them was a heavy up-grade and it was certain that the -Confederate engine would catch them there just on the edge of safety. -In a minute or so the men crowded into the cab of the engine behind to -be close enough to pick off the fugitives at their leisure. The three -men stared blankly ahead. Suddenly the dull, despairing look on the -engineer's face was replaced by a broad grin. Entirely forgetting -military etiquette, he slapped his superior officer on the back and -said: - -"Captain, come out to the tender with me and I'll show you a stunt that -will save our lives if you will do just what I tell you." - -The captain obeyed meekly while the wounded fireman stared at his -friend under the impression that he was losing his mind under the -strain. The engineer took one of the large oil-cans with a long nozzle -and then wrapping his two brawny arms tightly around the captain's -waist, lowered him as far as he could from the tender and directed him -to pour the oil directly on each rail without wasting a drop or -allowing a foot to go unoiled. It was hard in the dark to see the rail -or to keep one's balance on the bounding engine, but the captain was a -light weight and the engineer let him down as far back from the tender -as he dared and held him there until one rail was thoroughly oiled. He -repeated the operation on the other side and the two once more came -back to the fireman who was clinging limply to the throttle. - -"Now," said the engineer, "keep your eye open and you'll see some fun." - -The front engine puffed more and more slowly up the grade and the -pursuing engine seemed to gain on them at every yard. Already the men -in the cab were commencing to aim their rifles for the last fatal -volley. At this moment the front wheels of the pursuing engine reached -the oiled track and in a minute her speed slackened, the wheels whirled -round and round at a tremendous speed and there was a sudden rush and -hiss of escaping steam. The engine in front suddenly drew away from her -anchored pursuer. The engineer took a last long look at them through -his field-glasses. - -"It seems to me, captain," said he, "as if they are cussin' -considerable. Her old wheels are spinnin' like a squirrel-cage." - -The engine dashed on more and more slowly, but there was no need for -haste. In a few minutes a shot was fired in front of them and a sentry -shouted for them to halt. They were within the picket lines of the -Union Army. The engine was stopped and the three men staggered out -holding tightly the precious dispatches which they carried in -triplicate and in a few minutes more they were in the presence of -General Stockton. A force was at once sent out and the Confederates and -their locomotive were captured and within an hour thirty thousand men -were on their way to relieve the beset Union forces. - -The gauntlet had been run and General Thomas' army was saved. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -FORGOTTEN HEROES - - -"There was a little city and few men within it and there came a great -king against it and besieged it and built great bulwarks against it. -Now there was found in it a poor wise man and he by his wisdom -delivered the city, yet no man remembered that same poor man." Thus -wrote the great Solomon, hearing of a deed, the tale of which had come -down through the centuries. The doer of the deed had been long -forgotten. - -History is full of memories of brave deeds. The names of the men who -did them have passed away. The deeds live on forever. Like a fleck of -radium each deed is indestructible. It may be covered with the dust and -débris of uncounted years, but from it pulsates and streams forever a -current of example and impulse which never can be hidden, never be -forgotten, but which may flash out ages later, fighting with a -mysterious, hidden inner strength against the powers of fear and of -wrong. - -The annals of the Civil War are full of records of forgotten doers of -great deeds, humble, commonplace men and women who suddenly flashed out -in some great effort of duty and perhaps were never heard of again. -Pray God that all of us when the time comes may burst if only for a -moment into the fruition of accomplishment for which we were born and -not wither away like the unprofitable fig-tree which only grew, but -never bore fruit. - -In 1862, the battle-hospitals were crowded with wounded and dying men. -The best surgeons of that day had not learned what every doctor knows -now about the aseptic treatment of wounds and conducting of operations. -Accordingly too often even slight wounds gangrened and a terrible -percentage of injured men died helplessly and hopelessly. In the fall -of that year the hospitals at Jefferson were in a fearful condition. -Thousands and thousands of wounded and dying men were brought there for -whom there were no beds. One poor fellow lay on the bare, wet boards, -sick of a wasting fever. He was worn almost to a skeleton and on his -poor, thin body were festering bed-sores which had come because there -was no one who could give him proper attention. From his side he had -seen five men one after the other brought in sick or wounded and -carried away dead. One day an old black washerwoman named Hannah -stopped in the ward to hunt up a doctor for whom she was to do some -work. She saw this patient lying on his side on a dirty blanket spread -out on the boards unwashed and filthy beyond all description with -gaping sores showing on his wasted back. There he lay staring -hopelessly at the body of a man who had recently died next to him and -which the few overworked attendants had not had time to carry out to -the dead-house. Old Hannah could not stand the sight. When she finally -found the doctor she begged him to give her leave to take the man up -and put him in her own bed. - -"It's no use, Hannah," said the doctor kindly, "the poor chap is dying. -He will be gone to-morrow. I wish we could do something for him, but we -can't and you can't." - -Hannah could not sleep that night thinking of the sick man. Bright and -early the next morning she came down and found him still alive. That -settled it in her mind. Without asking any one's permission, she went -out, looked up her two strapping sons and made them leave their work -and bring her bed down to the hospital. It was covered with coarse but -clean linen sheets and she directed them while they lifted the sufferer -on to the bed and carried him down to her shanty. There she cut away -the filthy shirt which he wore and washed him like a baby with hot -water. Then she settled down to nurse him back to life. Every half -hour, night and day, she fed him spoonfuls of hot, nourishing soup. -That and warm water and clean linen were the only medicines she used. -For a week she did nothing else but nurse her soldier. Several times he -sank and once she thought him dead, but he always rallied and -single-handed old Hannah fought back death and slowly nursed him back -to health. Finally when he was well, he was given a furlough to go back -to his home in Indiana. He tried to persuade Hannah to go back with -him. - -"No, honey," she said, "I'se got my washing to do and besides I'm goin' -to try to adopt some more soldiers." - -She went with him to the steamboat, fixed him in a deck chair, as he -was still too feeble to walk, and kissed him good-bye and when she left -the man broke down and cried. Old Hannah went back to her shanty and -did the same thing again and again until she had nursed back to life no -less than six Union soldiers. As she was not in active service, the -government never recognized her work and even her last name was never -known, but six men and their families and their friends have handed -down the story of what a poor, old, black washerwoman could and did do -for her country and for the sick and helpless. - -The exploit of Lieutenant Blodgett and his orderly, Peter Basnett, was -a brave deed of another kind. He had been sent by General Schofield -during the engagement at Newtonia with orders to the colonel of the -Fourth Missouri Cavalry. As the two rode around a point of woods, they -suddenly found themselves facing forty Confederate soldiers drawn up in -an irregular line not fifty yards away. There was no chance of escape, -as they would be riddled with bullets at such a short range. Moreover -neither the lieutenant nor his orderly thought well of surrendering. -Without an instant's hesitation they at once drew their revolvers and -charging down upon the Confederates, shouted in loud, though rather -shaky voices, "Surrender! Drop your arms! Surrender at once!" The line -wavered, feeling that two men would not have the audacity to charge -them unless they were followed by an overwhelming force. As they came -right up to the lines, eight of the men in front threw down their -muskets. The rest hesitated a minute and then turned and broke for the -woods and the lieutenant and his orderly rode on and delivered eight -prisoners along with their orders. - -In the battle of Rappahannock Station, Colonel Edwards of the Fifth -Maine showed the same nerve under similar circumstances. While his -regiment were busy taking a whole brigade of captured Confederates to -the rear, the colonel with a dozen of his men rode out into the -darkness after more prisoners. Following the line of fortifications -down toward the river, he suddenly came out in front of a long line of -Confederate troops lying entrenched in rifle-pits. Like Lieutenant -Blodgett, he decided to make a brave bluff rather than be shot down or -spend weary years in a Confederate prison. Riding directly up to the -nearest rifle-pit where a score of guns were leveled at him, he -inquired for the officer who was in command of the Confederate forces. - -"I command here," said the Confederate colonel, rising from the middle -pit, "and who are you, sir?" - -"My name is Colonel Edwards of the Fifth Maine, U.S.A.," replied the -other, "and I call upon you to surrender your command at once." - -The Confederate colonel hesitated. - -"Let me confer with my officers first," he said. - -"No, sir," said Colonel Edwards, "I can't give you a minute. Your -forces on the right have been captured, your retreat is cut off and -unless you surrender at once, I shall be compelled to order my -regiment," pointing impressively to the whole horizon, "to attack you -without further delay. I don't wish to cause any more loss of life than -possible." - -The Confederate colonel was convinced by his impressive actions and -that there would be no use to resist. - -"I hope you will let me keep my sword, however," he said. - -"Certainly," said Colonel Edwards, generously, "you can keep your -sword, but your men must lay down their arms and pass to the rear -immediately." - -The whole brigade including a squad of the famous Louisiana Tigers were -disarmed and marched to the rear as prisoners of war by Colonel Edwards -and his twelve men. One of these men said afterward, "Colonel, I nearly -lost that battle for you by laughing when you spoke about their -'surrendering to avoid loss of life.'" - -The most terrible missile in modern warfare is the explosive shell. -Records show that the greatest loss of life occurs from artillery fire -and not from rifle bullets. In the Civil War these shells were -especially feared. The solid shot and the grape and the canister were -bad enough, but when a great, smoking shell dropped into the midst of a -regiment, the bravest men fled for shelter. The fuses were cut so that -the shell would explode immediately on striking or a very few seconds -afterward. The explosion would drive jagged fragments of iron and -sometimes heated bullets through scores of men within a radius of fully -one hundred yards. No wounds were more feared or more fatal than the -ghastly rips and tears made by the jagged, red-hot fragments of shells. -The men became used to the hiss and the whistle of the solid shot and -the whirling bullets, but when the scream of the hollow shell was heard -through the air overhead, like the yell of some great, fatal, flying -monster, every man within hearing tried to get under shelter. - -In 1864, the 101st Ohio Infantry were fighting at Buzzards Roost, -Georgia. Company H was drawn up along the banks of the stream there and -one of the Confederate batteries had just got its range. Suddenly there -came across the woods the long, fierce, wailing scream of one of the -great shells and before the echo had died out it appeared over the tree -tops and fell right in the midst of a hundred men, hissing and spitting -fire. All the men but one scattered in every direction. Private Jacob -F. Yaeger was on the edge of the group and could have secured his own -safety by dodging behind a large tree which stood conveniently near. -Just as he was about to do this he saw that some of the men had not had -time enough to get away and were just scrambling up only a few feet -from the spluttering shell. He acted on one of those quick, brave -impulses which make heroes of men. Like a flash, he sprinted across the -field, tearing off his coat as he ran, wrapped it round the hissing, -hot shell and started for the creek, clasping it tight against his -breast. By this time the fuse had burned so far in that there was no -opportunity to cut it below the spark. His only chance was to get it -into the water before the spark reached the powder below. He reached -the bank of the creek in about two jumps, but, as he said afterward, he -seemed to hang in the air a half hour between each jump. Even as he -reached the bank, he hurled the shell, coat and all, into the deep, -sluggish water and involuntarily ducked for the explosion which he was -sure was going to come. It didn't. The water stopped the spark just in -time and Private Yaeger had saved the lives of many of his comrades. - -Of all the prizes which are most valued in war the captured -battle-flags of an enemy rank first. The flag is the symbol of an -army's life. While it waves the army is living and undefeated. When the -flag falls, or when it is captured, all is over. In battle the men -rally around their colors and the flag stands for life or death. It -must never be given up and the one who carries the flag has not only -the most honorable but the most dangerous post in his company. Against -the flag every charge is directed. The man who carries the flag knows -that he is marked above all others for attack. The man who saves a flag -from capture saves his company or his regiment not only from defeat, -but from disgrace. - -In the battle of Gettysburg, Corporal Nathaniel M. Allen of the First -Massachusetts Infantry was the color-bearer of his company. On the 2d -of July his regiment had been beaten back under the tremendous attacks -of the Confederate forces. Their retreat became almost a rout as the -men ran to escape the murderous fire which was being poured in upon -them by concealed batteries of the enemy as well as from the muskets of -the advancing infantry. Corporal Allen stayed back in the rear and -retreated slowly and reluctantly so as to give his company a chance to -return and rally. Beyond and still farther back than he, marching -grimly and doggedly from the enemy, was the color-bearer of his -regiment carrying the regimental flag. Suddenly Allen saw him falter, -stop, fling up his arms and fall headlong on the field tangled up in -the flag which he was carrying. There came a tremendous yell from the -advancing Confederate forces as they saw the flag go down. Allen -stopped and for a moment hesitated. It was only his duty to carry and -wave his own colors, but at that moment he saw a squad of gray-backs -start out from the advancing Confederate forces and make a rush to -capture the flag which lay flat and motionless in a widening pool of -the color-bearer's blood. This was too much for Allen. With a yell of -defiance he rushed back, heedless of the bullets which hissed all -around him, and rolling over the dead body of the man who had given his -life for his colors he pulled the regimental flag from under his body, -and started back for the distant Union forces. By this time the -Confederates were close upon him, but his brave deed had not gone -unnoticed. Seeing him coming across the stricken field with a flag in -either hand, the rear-guard of his regiment turned back with a cheer -and poured in a volley into the approaching Confederates which stopped -them just long enough to let Allen escape and to carry back both the -colors. - -"What's the matter with you fellows anyway," said Allen, as he reached -the safety of the rear rank; "do you think I'm going to do all the -fighting?" - -A storm of cheers and laughter greeted this remark and the rear-guard -stopped. Slowly the others, hearing the cheers, and stranger still, the -laughing, came back to the colors and in a few minutes the line was -again formed and this time the regiment held and drove back the attack -of the Confederates. One man by doing more than his duty had changed a -defeat into a victory. - -Sometimes in a battle a man becomes an involuntary hero. In some of -Sienkiwictz's war-novels, he has a character named Zagloba who was -constantly doing brave deeds in spite of himself. In one battle he -became caught in a charge and while struggling desperately to get out, -he tripped and fell on top of the standard-bearer of the other army who -had just been killed. Zagloba found himself caught and entangled in the -banner and finally, as the battle swept on, he emerged from the place -in safety carrying the standard of the enemy and from that day forward -was held as one of the heroes of the army. - -At the battle of Chancellorsville Major Clifford Thompson at Hazel -Grove became an involuntary hero and did a much braver deed than he had -intended, although, unlike Zagloba, he had shown no lack of courage -throughout the battle. General Pleasonton was forming a line of battle -along the edge of the woods and was riding from gun to gun inspecting -the line when suddenly not two hundred yards distant a body of men -appeared marching toward them. He was about to give the order to fire -when a sergeant called out to him: - -"Wait, General, I can see our colors in the line." - -The General hesitated a moment and then turning said, "Major Thompson, -ride out and see who those people are and come back and tell me." - -As the major said afterward, he had absolutely no curiosity personally -to find out anything about them and was perfectly willing to let them -introduce themselves, but an order is an order, and he accordingly rode -directly toward the approaching men. He could plainly see that they had -Union colors, but could see no trace of any Union uniforms. When he was -only about forty yards distant, the whole line called out to him: - -"Come on in, we're friends; don't be afraid." - -The major, however, had heard of too many men being made prisoners by -pretended friends and accordingly rode along the front of the whole -line in order to determine definitely the character of the approaching -forces, fearing that the colors which he saw and which they kept waving -toward him might have been Union colors captured from the Union forces -the day before. Seeing that he did not come closer, one of the front -rank suddenly fired directly at him and then with a tremendous Rebel -yell the whole body charged down upon the Union forces. Thompson turned -his horse to dash back to his own lines, but realized that, caught -between two fires, he would evidently be shot either by his own troops -or by the Rebels behind him. Dashing his spurs into his horse, he rode -like the wind between the two lines, hoping to get past them both -before the final volley came. Fortunately for him both sides reserved -their fire until they came to close quarters although he received a -fusillade of scattered shots all along the line. Just as he rounded the -ends, the lines came together with a crash and simultaneous volleys of -musketry. There were a few moments of hand-to-hand fighting, but the -Union forces were too strong and the Confederate ranks broke and -retreated in scattering groups to the shelter of the woods beyond. The -major reached the rear of his own lines just in time to help drive back -the last rush of the Confederates. A few moments later he saw General -Pleasonton sitting on his horse nearly in the same place where he had -been when he had first sent him on his errand. Riding up to him, Major -Thompson saluted. - -"General," he said, "those men were Confederates." - -"I strongly suspected it," said the General, "but, Major, I never -expected to see you again, for when that charge came I figured out that -if the Rebs didn't shoot you, we would. You did a very brave thing -reconnoitering the enemies' front like that." - -"Well," said the major, "I am glad, General, that it impressed you that -way. It was such a rapid reconnoiter that I was afraid that you might -think it was a retreat." - - -When Henry C. Foster, who afterward became famous as one of the heroes -of Vicksburg, joined the Union Army, he was the rawest recruit in his -regiment. His messmates still tell the story of how, before the -regiment marched, he was visited by his mother who brought him an -umbrella and a bottle of pennyroyal for use in wet weather and was -horrified to find that soldiers are not allowed to carry umbrellas. -Henry was impatient of the constant and never-ending drilling to which -he was subjected. One day after a trying hour of setting-up exercises, -he suddenly grounded his gun and said engagingly to the captain: - -"Say, Captain, let's stop this foolishness and go over to the grocery -store and have a little game of cards." - -The captain stared at Foster for nearly a minute before he could get -his breath, then he turned to a grinning sergeant and said: - -"Sergeant, you take charge of this young cabbage-head after the regular -drilling is over and drill him like blazes for about three extra -hours," which the sergeant accordingly did. - -In spite of his greenness and his peculiarities, however, Henry had -good stuff in him and the making of a brave soldier. He was known as a -dead-shot and a good soldier, although still retaining some of his -peculiarities. Among others he insisted upon wearing a coonskin cap and -was known throughout his company as "Old Coonskin." He soon showed such -qualities of courage and self-reliance that in spite of his early -record he was gradually promoted until by the time his regiment reached -Vicksburg, which the Union Army was then besieging, he was a second -lieutenant. The siege of Vicksburg was a long and tedious affair. The -investing forces did not have sufficient artillery to make such a -breach in the defenses of the Confederates that a successful attack -could be made. The besiegers out in the wet and mud wearied of the slow -process under which the encircling lines were brought closer and closer -and longed for more active operations. Lieutenant Foster especially, -just as formerly he had protested against the interminable drilling, -now chafed against the enforced inaction of the troops. Finally he made -up his mind that he at least would get some interest out of the siege. -As one of the best shots in his regiment, he had no difficulty in being -detailed for sharp-shooting duty. One dark night, loaded with -ammunition and with a haversack of provisions and several canteens of -water, he crawled out into the space between the Union lines and the -defender's ramparts. The next morning, to his comrades' intense -surprise, they found that Old Coonskin had dug for himself a deep -burrow like a woodchuck close to the enemy's defenses and had thrown up -a little mound with a peep-hole. There he lay for three days picking -off the Confederates and scoring each successful shot with a notch on -the butt of the long rifle which he had obtained especial permission to -use. At first the Confederates could not locate the direction from -which the fatal shots kept coming. When they did discover Foster in his -burrow, volley after volley was directed at his refuge, but he kept too -close to be hit and at regular intervals men who showed themselves on -the ramparts were kept dropping before his unerring fire. At the end of -the third day, the Confederates had learned their lesson and there were -no more shots to be had and once more Old Coonskin began to be bored. -It finally occurred to him that if he could in any way gain possession -of a height which would allow him to shoot over the ramparts, he could -make the Confederate position very uncomfortable. There was no tree or -hill, however, near by which would lend itself to any such idea. -Accordingly the third night Foster crawled back again to his regiment -and spent a day in resting and reconnoitering and receiving the -congratulations of the whole regiment for his marksmanship and daring. -The next night was dark and stormy. At daylight the sentries inside the -city were amazed to see a rude structure standing close beside the -fatal burrow. It was in the form of a log-cabin hastily built out of -railroad ties and reinforced with heavy railroad iron and containing -peep-holes so that its occupant could shoot with entire safety. At -first it did not seem to be any more dangerous than the burrow had been -so long as the besieged kept off the breastwork. By the second day, -however, it had grown visibly higher and the third night found it built -up by slow degrees so that it began to look really like a low tower. -Finally it reached such a height that from an upper inside shelf, -protected by heavy logs and planks, Old Coonskin could lie at his ease -and overlook all of the operations inside the city. Then began a reign -of terror for the besieged. They had no artillery and it was necessary -to concentrate an incessant fire on the tower, otherwise the -sharp-shooter within could pick off his men without difficulty. It was -absolutely impossible for the besieged to keep under cover and still -properly man the defenses against an attack. One by one the officers -went down before Old Coonskin's deadly fire and it seemed to be only a -question of time and ammunition before the whole garrison succumbed to -his marksmanship. In the meantime, the besieging lines drew closer and -closer and the never-ceasing artillery fire and incessant attacks -gradually wore down the courage and the resources of the besieged. One -day within an hour eleven men went down before the deadly aim of Old -Coonskin, most of them officers. Suddenly the firing ceased from the -ramparts and slowly and reluctantly a white flag was hoisted, followed -shortly by an envoy to the Union lines with a flag of truce. A -tremendous cheer went up through the weary Union lines. Vicksburg had -fallen, and to this day you never will be able to convince Old -Coonskin's company that he was not the man who, along with Grant, -brought about its surrender. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE THREE HUNDRED WHO SAVED AN ARMY - - -Twenty-three hundred and fifty years ago, three hundred men beat back -an army of three millions of the Great King, as the King of Persia was -rightly called. The kingdom of Xerxes, who then ruled over Persia, -stretched from India to the Ægean Sea and from the Caspian to the Red -Sea. He reigned over Chaldean, Jew, Phoenician, Egyptian, Arab, -Ethiopian and half a hundred other nations. From these he assembled an -army, the greatest that has ever gone to war. This mass of men from all -over the Eastern world he hurled at the tiny free states in Greece. It -was as if the Czar of all the Russias with his vast armies from Europe -and Asia should suddenly attack the state of Connecticut. - -Greece's best defense was the ring of rugged mountains which surrounded -its seacoast. The Persian army had gathered at Sardis. From there to -gain entrance into Greece they must follow a narrow path close to the -seashore with a precipice on one side and impassable morasses and -quicksands on the other. Beyond this the way widened out into a little -plain and narrowed again at the other end. It was an ideal place to be -held by a small army of brave men. A Council of all the states of -Greece was held at the Isthmus of Corinth. There all the states except -one resolved to fight to the death for their freedom. Thessaly alone, -which lay first in the path of the Great King, sent earth and water to -his envoys who had come to all the states in Greece to demand -submission. The Council sent to guard this pass, which was named -Thermopylæ, a little army of four thousand men. It was commanded by -Leonidas, one of the two kings of Sparta, who led a little band of -three hundred Spartans who had sworn never to retreat. Before they left -Sparta, each man celebrated his own funeral rites. This little army -built a wall across the pass and camped there waiting for the enemy. -Before long they were seen coming, covering the whole country with army -after army until the plain below the pass was filled as far as the eye -could see with hordes of marching, shouting warriors. High on the -mountainside a throne had been built for Xerxes where he could see and -watch his armies sweep through the little force which stood in their -way. His great nobles waited for the chance to display before him their -leadership and the splendid equipment and discipline of the armies -which they led. The first attack was made by an army of the Persians -and Medes themselves, supported by archers and slingers and flanked -with cohorts of magnificently appareled horsemen mounted on Arab -steeds. With a wild crash of barbaric music they rushed to the charge -expecting by mere weight of numbers to break through the thin line of -men who manned the little wall across the path, but the slave regiments -of the Persians were made up of men who were trained under the lash. -They were officered by great nobles who had led self-indulgent lives of -luxury and pleasure. Against them was a band of free men, every one an -athlete and able to use weapons which the lighter and weaker Persians -could not withstand. The onslaught broke on the spears and long swords -of the Spartan warriors and in a minute there was a huddle of beaten, -screaming men and plunging horses and demoralized officers. Into the -broken and defeated ranks plunged the Greeks and drove them far down -the plain, returning in safety to their ramparts with the loss of -hardly a man. Again and again this happened and regiment after regiment -from the inexhaustible forces of the Persians were hurled against the -wall only to be dashed backward and driven defeated down the plain by -the impenetrable line of heavy-armed Greeks. Three times did Xerxes the -Great King leap from his throne in rage and despair as he saw his best -troops slaughtered and defeated by this tiny band of fighters. For two -days this went on until the plain in front of the wall was covered with -dead and dying Persians and mercenaries while the Greeks had hardly any -losses. - -Baffled and dispirited Xerxes was actually on the point of leading back -his great army when a traitor, for a great sum of gold, betrayed a -secret path up the mountainside. It was none other than the bottom of a -mountain torrent through the shallow water of which men could wade and -find a way which would lead them safely around to the rear of the -Grecian army. On the early morning of the third day word was brought to -Leonidas that the enemy had gained the heights above and that by noon -they would leave the plain and entirely encircle the little Grecian -army. A hasty council of war was called. All of the allied forces -except the Spartans agreed that the position could not be held further -and advised an honorable retreat. The Spartan band alone refused to go, -although Leonidas tried to save two of his kinsmen by giving them -letters and messages to Sparta. One of them answered that he had come -to fight and not to carry letters and the other that his deeds would -tell all that Sparta needed to know. Another one named Dienices, when -told that the enemy's archers were so numerous that their arrows -darkened the sun, replied, "So much the better, for we shall fight in -the shade." - -The little band took a farewell of their comrades and watched them -march away and then without waiting to be attacked, this tiny body of -three hundred men marched out from behind their ramparts and attacked a -force nearly ten thousand times their own number. Right through the -slave-ranks they broke and fought their way to a little hillock where -back to back they defended themselves against the whole vast army of -the Persians. Again and again waves of men dashed up from all sides -against this little hill, but only to fall back leaving their dead -behind. At last the spears of the Spartans broke and they fought until -their swords were dulled and dashed out of their hands. Then they -fought on with their daggers, with their hands and their teeth until -not one living man was left, but only a mound of slain, bristled over -with arrows and surrounded by ring after ring of dead Persians, Medes, -Arabs, Ethiopians and the other mercenaries which had been dashed -against them. So died Leonidas and his band of heroes. Nearly ten -thousand of the Persian army lay dead around them during the three days -of hand-to-hand fighting. By their death they had gained time for the -armies of the Grecian states to organize and, best of all, they had -taught Persian and Greek alike that brave men cannot be beaten down by -mere numbers. - -Leonidas and his band are drifting dust. The stone lion and the pillar -with the names of those that died that marked the battle-mound have -crumbled and passed away long centuries ago. Even the blood-stained -Pass itself has gone and the sea has drawn back many miles and there is -no longer the morass, the path or the precipice. - -After the passage of more than twoscore centuries in a new world of -which Leonidas never dreamed, in another great war between freedom and -slavery, this same great deed was wrought again by another three -hundred men who laid down their lives to hold back an enemy and dying -saved an army and perhaps a nation. Their story might almost be the -old, old hero story of the lost Spartan band. - -The great Civil War was in its third year. Disaster after disaster had -overtaken the Union armies. English writers were already chronicling -The Decline and Fall of the American Republic. It was a time of -darkness and peril. The great leaders who were afterward to win great -victories had not yet arrived. Under McClellan nothing had been -accomplished. At the first trial Burnside failed at the terrible battle -of Fredericksburg where nearly thirteen thousand Union soldiers--the -flower of the army--died for naught. There was another shift and -"Fighting Joe Hooker" took command of the Army of the Potomac. Through -continuous defeats, the great army had become disheartened and the men -were sullen and discouraged. It was a time of shameful desertions. The -express trains to the army were filled with packages of citizens' -clothes which parents and wives and brothers and sisters were sending -to their kindred to help them desert from the army. Hooker changed all -this. He was brave, energetic and full of life and before long the -soldiers were again ready and anxious to fight. Unfortunately, their -general, in spite of his many good qualities, did not have those which -would make him the leader of a successful army. He was vain, boastful -and easily overcome and confused by any unexpected check or defeat. -Encamped on the Rappahannock River he had one hundred and thirty -thousand men against the sixty thousand of the Confederate forces on -the other side. These sixty thousand, however, included Robert E. Lee, -the great son of a great father, as their general. "Light-Horse Harry -Lee," his father, had been one of the great cavalry commanders of the -Revolution and one of Washington's most trusted generals. With Robert -E. Lee was Stonewall Jackson, the great flanker who has never been -equaled in daring, rapid, decisive, brilliant flanking, turning -movements which so often are what decide great battles. Hooker decided -to fight. By the night of April 30, 1863, no less than four army corps -crossed the river in safety and were assembled at the little village of -Chancellorsville under his command. His confidence was shown in the -boastful order which he issued just before the battle. - -"The operations of the last three days," he declared, "have determined -that our enemy must either ingloriously fly or come out from behind his -defenses and give us battle on our own ground where certain destruction -awaits him." - -Well might it have been said to him as to another boaster in the days -of old, "Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast as him that taketh -it off." - -The morning of the battle came and Hooker said to his generals that he -had the Confederates where God Almighty Himself could not save them. At -first Lee retreated before his advance, but when he had reached a -favorable position, suddenly turned and drove back the Union forces -with such energy that Hooker lost heart and ordered his men to fall -back to a better position. This was done against the protests of all of -his division commanders who felt as did Meade, afterward the hero of -Gettysburg, who exclaimed to General Hooker, "If we can't hold the top -of a hill, we certainly can't hold the bottom of it." - -[Illustration: In the Woods Near Chancellorsville] - -Hooker took a position in the Wilderness, a tangled forest mixed with -impenetrable thickets of dwarf oak and underbrush. Here he hoped that -Lee would make a direct attack, but this pause gave the great -Confederate general the one chance which he wanted. All that night -Jackson with thirty thousand men marched half-way round the Union Army. -Again and again word was sent to Hooker that the Confederate forces -were marching toward his flank, but he could see in the movement -nothing but a retreat and sent word that they were withdrawing so as to -save their baggage trains. At three o'clock the next afternoon Jackson -was at last in position. In front of Hooker's army lay the main forces -of Lee. Half-way to the rear of his forces were Jackson's magnificent -veterans. The first warning of the fatal attack which nearly caused the -loss of the great Union Army of the Potomac came from the wild rush of -deer and rabbits which had been driven from their lairs by the quick -march of the Confederate soldiers through the forest. Following the -charge of the frightened animals came the tremendous attack of -Jackson's infantry, the toughest, hardiest, bravest, best-trained -troops in the Confederate Army. The Union soldiers fought well, but -they were new troops taken by surprise and as soon as the roar of the -volleys of the attacking Confederates sounded from the rear, Lee -advanced, with every man in his army and smashed into Hooker's front. -The surprise and the shock of possible defeat instead of expected -victory was too much for a man of Hooker's temperament. At the time -when he most needed a clear mind and unflinching nerve, he fell into a -state of almost complete nervous collapse. The battle was practically -fought without a leader, every corps commander did the best he could, -but in a short time the converging attacks of the two great Confederate -leaders cut the army in two and defeat was certain. At this time came -the greatest loss which the Confederate Army had received up to that -day. Stonewall Jackson's men had charged through the forest and cut -deeply into the flank of the Union Army. After their charge the -Confederate front was in confusion owing to the thick and tangled woods -in which they fought. Jackson had ridden forward beyond his troops in -order to reform them. The fleeing Union soldiers rallied for a minute -and fired a volley at the little party which Jackson was leading. He -turned back to rejoin his own troops and in the darkness and confusion -he and his men were mistaken for Union cavalry and received a volley -from their own forces which dashed Jackson out of his saddle with a -wound in his left arm which afterward turned out to be mortal. At that -time General Lee sent his celebrated message to Jackson, "You are -luckier than I for your left arm only is wounded, but when you were -disabled, I lost my right arm." - -In a short time the whole Union Army was nothing but a disorganized -mass of men, horses, ambulance-wagons, artillery and commissary trains, -all striving desperately to cross the Rappahannock before the pursuing -Confederates could turn the retreat into a massacre. Unless the -Confederate pursuit could be held back long enough to let the men cross -the river and reform on the opposite bank, the whole army was lost. -History is full of the terrible disasters which overtake an army which -is caught by the enemy while in the confusion of crossing a river. -General Pleasonton of Pennsylvania was in command of the rear of the -Federal retreat. He was striving desperately to mount his guns so as to -sweep the only road which led to the river and hold back the -Confederate forces long enough to let his men cross. Already the van of -the Union Army had reached the ford when far down the road appeared the -whole corps of Stonewall Jackson, maddened by the loss of their great -leader. Every man that Pleasonton had was working desperately to get -the guns into position, but it was evident that they would be captured -and their pursuers would sweep into the huddle which was crossing the -river unless something could be done to hold them back. As the general -looked silently down the road, he saw near to him Major Keenan of the -Pennsylvania cavalry. Keenan had been a porter in a Philadelphia store, -but his rare faculty for handling men and horses had made him one of -the most efficient cavalry officers of any Pennsylvania regiment. The -three companies which were with him were all the cavalry that -Pleasonton had. They were bringing up the rear of the retreat like a -pack of wolves who, though driven back from their prey, move off -sullenly only waiting for the signal from their leader to turn again -and fight. General Pleasonton had rallied his gunners and they would -stand if only they had a chance. There was no hope of bringing any -order into the mass of broken, terrified infantry rushing on toward the -river. - -"Major Keenan," shouted General Pleasonton, "how many men have you -got?" - -"Three hundred, General," replied Keenan, quietly. - -"Major," said the general, low and earnestly, riding up to him, "we -must have ten minutes to save the Army of the Potomac. Charge the -Confederate advance and hold them!" - -Keenan never hesitated. When the Six Hundred charged at Balaclava, some -of them came back from the bite of the Russian sabres and the roar of -the Muscovite guns. When Pickett made that desperate, fatal charge at -Gettysburg, there was still a chance to retreat, but Major Keenan knew -that when three hundred cavalry met the fixed bayonets of thirty -thousand infantry on a narrow road, not one would ever return. It was -not a splendid charge which might mean laurels of victory, but a -hopeless going to death, the buying of ten minutes of time with the -lives of three hundred men, yet neither Keenan nor his men questioned -the price nor flinched at the order. - -The sunlight of the last day he was to see on earth caught the gleam of -his uplifted sabre as he gave the quick, sharp command to charge. He -flung his cap into the bushes, bent his head and rode bareheaded in -front of his flying column and then like an avalanche, like a hurricane -of horse, he and his three hundred men thundered down the narrow road. -Just around the curve, with a crash that broke the necks of a score of -the leading horses, this charging column hurled themselves against the -astonished, packed ranks of infantry rushing on with fixed bayonets. -For five, for ten, for fifteen minutes horses rose and fell to the -clashing of dripping sabres and the bark of revolvers thrust into the -faces of the oncoming foemen. For fifteen long minutes there was a -swirl and a flurry which held back the head of the charging forces and -then shattered by volley after volley of musketry and pierced by -thousands of charging bayonets, horse and men alike went down. Not one -ever came back. Keenan and his Three Hundred had bought the ten minutes -and had thrown in five more for good measure and the price was paid. -The head of the Confederate column reformed, passed over and by the -struggling horses and the silent, mangled men and then again swept on -around the bend and down the road toward the fords crowded with a -hundred thousand helpless, escaping soldiers. General Pleasonton, -however, had made good use of those precious moments. As the -Confederate column came around the curve, they were met by a hell of -grape and canister from the batteries which at last had been mounted in -position. Right into their front roared the guns and the road was a -shamble of writhing, struggling, dying men. No army ever marched that -could stand up against the grim storm of death that swept down that -road and in a moment the Confederate forces broke and rushed back for -shelter. The Army of the Potomac was saved. Bought at a great price, it -was yet to be hammered and forged and welded under a great leader into -the sword which was to save the Union. - - "Year after year, the pine cones fall, - And the whippoorwill lisps her spectral call. - They have ceased, but their glory will never cease, - Nor their light be quenched in the light of peace. - The rush of the charge is sounding still, - That saved the Army at Chancellorsville." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE RESCUE OF THE SCOUTS - - -The man who will risk his life for his friends, the leader who never -deserts his band, the soldier who will not escape alone, these are the -men whom history has always hailed as heroes. Some of the greatest -stories of devotion and courage have been those which chronicle the -rescue of men from almost certain death. Courage and devotion have -often opened the dark doors of dungeons, stricken the fetters from -despairing prisoners and saved men doomed to death from the stake, the -block and the gallows. - -When the Civil War broke out, the lot of the few Union men left in the -South was a hard one. The fierce passions of those days ran so high -that not only was a Unionist himself liable to death and the -confiscation of his property, but even his family were not safe. In -1863 there was a Georgian who assumed the name of William Morford in -order to protect those of his family who lived in Georgia from the -bitter hatred which his services for the Union had aroused. He was one -of many devoted scouts who worked secretly and single-handed for their -country, claiming no reward if they won and losing their lives on the -gallows if they lost. Morford throughout 1863 was attached to the -command of General Rosecrans and performed many a feat during that -stormy year. It was Morford who burned an important bridge under the -very eyes of a Confederate regiment sent to guard it and who, when the -light from the flames made escape impossible, coolly mingled with the -guards and actually received their congratulations for his bravery in -attempting to put out the fire which he himself had lighted. It was -Morford who single-handed captured a Confederate colonel while he was -sleeping in a house surrounded by his regiment and with his staff in -the next room. Morford obtained access to him under pretense of bearing -an important oral dispatch from General Beauregard himself. They were -left alone with an armed sentry just outside the half-opened door. -Stepping to one side so that he could not be seen by the guard, Morford -suddenly placed a cocked revolver close against the substantial stomach -of the colonel. - -"I have been sent, Colonel," he muttered sternly, "to either capture or -kill you. I would rather capture you, for if I kill you I shall have to -fight my way out, but it is for you to say which it shall be." - -The colonel was a brave officer, but a cocked revolver against one's -stomach is discouraging even for a hero. He decided instantly that he -much preferred being a prisoner to being a corpse and said as much to -Morford. - -"Well," said the latter, still in a tone so low that the sentry could -not make out the words, "I'm glad you feel that way. Get your hat and -tell the guard that you're going to take me out for a talk with some of -the other officers. I'll be right behind you with this revolver in my -sleeve and if anything goes wrong, two bullets will go through the -small of your back." - -With this stimulant, the colonel arranged matters entirely to the -scout's satisfaction. He led the way out of the house and through the -lines, giving the countersign himself, in a somewhat shaky voice, and -in a short time the two found themselves within the Union lines. - -"I hope I didn't startle you too much, Colonel," said Morford, as he -turned his prisoner over to the guard. "You weren't in any danger, for -my revolver wasn't loaded. I didn't find it out until just as I got to -your lines and I figured out that I probably wouldn't have to shoot -anyway." - -As this is a book for good boys and girls, it would not be proper to -set down the colonel's language as he looked at the empty chambers of -Morford's revolver. - -Another time the scout was sent by General Rosecrans to find out -whether certain steamboats were on the Hiawassee and if so, where they -were located. On this trip he climbed Cumberland Mountain and on -looking down over the famous Cumberland Gap, he discovered a force of -Confederates who were busily engaged in fortifying the Gap so as to -prevent any federal troops from passing through it. The force consisted -of twenty soldiers and forty or fifty negroes who were doing the work. -Morford made up his mind that it was his business as a Union scout to -stop all such work. Standing out in full sight of the troop, he fired -his revolver at the officer in command. The shot killed the leader's -horse, and horse and man pitched over into the little troop throwing it -into confusion. Morford at once fired a second time and then turning, -waved his hand to an imaginary aide and shouted so that the -Confederates could hear: - -"Run back and tell the regiment to hurry up." - -He then turned to the opposite ridge and shouted across the Gap to -another imaginary force: - -"Lead your men down that path and close in on 'em. Hurry up. My men -will come from this side and we'll beat you down." - -By this time the Confederate officer was on his feet again and started -to rally his men. Morford made a rush toward them, firing his revolver -as he came, waving his arms in both directions, shouting to his -imaginary forces and bellowing at the top of his tremendous -voice--"Come on, boys, we've got them now. Surround 'em. Don't let a -man escape!" - -The negro workmen felt that this was no place for neutrals and they -dropped their shovels and made a rush for the mouth of the Gap. The -Confederate soldiers stood for a minute, but as they saw Morford -rushing toward them, they broke and followed the workmen. The scout -chased them until he saw that they were well on their way and then -started back along the ridge chuckling to himself over the way in which -they had scattered. He laughed too soon. The Confederates had not gone -far before they found out the trick which had been played upon them. -They turned back and in a short time fifty men were riding along the -ridge at full speed to capture the Yankee who had fooled them so. -Unfortunately for Morford, he had kept to the path along the ridge -which was better going, but which offered very little chance of escape, -since on one side was a sheer precipice while on the other was a long, -bare slope which offered no place for concealment. From the top of a -little knoll he caught sight of the Confederates before they saw him. -At that time they were only a half mile behind. The scout tried to -escape by running far out on a rocky spur which jutted out over the Gap -and which was filled with trees, hoping that he might dodge in among -these, double on his pursuers and so get away. The same officer, -however, whom he had unhorsed caught sight of him as he ran from one -tree to another and with a tremendous shout, the whole band galloped -after him at full speed. Morford had hoped that as the way led up a -steep hill covered with rocks, his pursuers would have to dismount, but -they were riding horses which had been bred in the mountains and which -were trained to go up and down hill-paths like goats. They gained on -him fast. Spreading out they cut off every chance of his escaping back -to the slope or skirting their ranks. There was nothing left for him to -do except to go on and on to the very edge of the precipice. The scout -knew that if he were caught he would be hung on the nearest tree and -that knowledge was a considerable incentive to keep ahead of his -pursuers as long as possible. He ran as he had never run before and as -he could follow paths too narrow for the horses, for a while he managed -to hold his lead. He could see, however, that some of the band had -ridden around the slope and held the whole base of the spur so that it -would be only a question of time before he would be hunted out and -caught. He was running now along the very edge of the precipice which -dropped six hundred feet to the rocks below. The gorge narrowed until -finally at one point it was not more than twenty feet wide. This was -too wide, however, for the scout to clear, even if he were not wearing -heavy boots and carrying a rifle. Several feet below where he stood, on -the opposite shelf a hickory tree had grown out so that some of the -branches extended within ten feet of his side of the gorge. Below that -tree was a fissure through the rock down which a desperate man might -possibly clamber. It was a slight chance, but the only one which he -had. At this point he was hidden from the Confederates by a wall of -rock. Without allowing himself to stop, for fear that he would lose his -nerve, Morford took a run and launched himself through the air ten feet -out and ten feet down against the spreading boughs of the hickory tree. -He broke through them with a rush but wound his arms desperately around -the bending limbs and though they bent and cracked, the tough wood held -and he found himself firmly hugging the shaggy bark of the trunk with -all his might. He slid down, ripping his clothes and skin, until -finally his feet touched the beginning of a possible path down to the -gorge. He could hear the shouts of his pursuers only a few rods away. -If they had gone to the edge, nothing could have saved him, as they -would have shot him down before he could have escaped, but they beat -carefully through the trees and rocks for fear lest he should crawl -back through their line. Without stopping to weigh his chances, Morford -let himself drop from one shelf of rock to another, clinging to every -little crevice and every twig and plant which he could find. Several -times he thought he was gone as his feet swung off into the space -below, but always he managed to get a hand-grip on some rock which -held, and almost before he realized the terrible chance he had taken, -he had passed down the side of the cliff and was safe around a bend in -the rock which hid him from view. From there the path was easier and in -a short time he found himself in the gorge far below. There he crawled -carefully along behind rocks and took advantage of every bit of cover -and in a few minutes was far on his way, leaving the Confederates to -hunt for hours every square yard of ground on the rocky promontory -whence he had come. - -This was but one of many similar adventures which made the name of -Morford feared and hated through the Confederate states. The most -desperate as well as the most generous of his many exploits was his -rescue of three fellow-scouts who were held in jail at Harrison, -Tennessee, and were to be shot on May 1st. Morford was then in -Chattanooga and there heard of the capture of these scouts. Chattanooga -at that time was a Confederate town, although it had a number of Union -residents. There did not seem to be any chance of rescuing the -condemned men, yet from the minute that Morford heard that these scouts -were facing death, as he had so often faced it, he made up his mind -that he would rescue them if he had to do it alone. - -Morford's mother's name was Kinmont and her earliest ancestor had been -Kinmont Willie, celebrated in the border-wars between England and -Scotland in the latter part of the sixteenth century. Many and many a -time had she sung to him as a child an old Scotch ballad handed down -for centuries through the family, which told of the rescue of this -far-away ancestor by his leader on the night before the day fixed for -his execution. In 1596 Salkeld was the deputy of Lord Scroope, the -English warden of the West Marches, while the Laird of Buccleuch, the -keeper of Liddesdale, guarded the Scotch border. In that year these two -held meetings on the border-line of the kingdoms according to the -custom of the time for the purpose of arranging differences and -settling disputes. On these occasions a truce was always proclaimed -from the day of the meeting until the next day at sunrise. Kinmont -Willie was a follower of the Laird of Buccleuch and was hated by the -Englishmen for many a deed of arms in the numerous border-raids of -those times. After the conference he was returning home attended by -only three or four friends when he was taken prisoner by a couple of -hundred Englishmen and in spite of the truce lodged in the grim Castle -of Carlisle. The Laird of Buccleuch tried first to free him by applying -to the English warden and even to the Scotch embassador, but got no -satisfaction from either and when at last he heard that his retainer -was to be hung three days later, he took the matter into his own hands, -gathered together two hundred of his men, surprised the Castle of -Carlisle and rescued Kinmont Willie by force of arms. The story of this -rescue is told in one of the best as well as one of the least-known of -the Scotch ballads, "Kinmont Willie," the verses of which run as -follows: - - O have ye na heard o' the fause Sakelde? - O have ye na heard o' the keen Lord Scroope? - How they hae ta'en bauld Kinmont Willie, - On Haribee to hang him up? - - They band his legs beneath the steed, - They tied his hands behind his back; - They guarded him, fivesome on each side, - And they brought him over the Liddel-rack. - - Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper, - In Branksome Ha' where that he lay, - That Lord Scroope has ta'en the Kinmont Willie, - Between the hours of night and day. - - He has ta'en the table wi' his hand, - He garr'd the red wine spring on hie-- - "Now Christ's curse on my head," he said, - "But avenged of Lord Scroope I'll be! - - "O were there war between the lands, - As well I wot that there is none, - I would slight Carlisle castell high, - Though it were builded of marble stone. - - "I would set that castell in a low, - And sloken it with English blood! - There's never a man in Cumberland, - Should ken where Carlisle castell stood. - - "But since nae war's between the lands, - And there is peace, and peace should be; - I'll neither harm English lad or lass, - And yet the Kinmont freed shall be!" - - He has call'd him forty Marchmen bauld, - Were kinsmen to the bauld Buccleuch; - With spur on heel, and splent on spauld, - And gleuves of green, and feathers blue. - - And as we cross'd the Bateable Land, - When to the English side we held, - The first o'men that we met wi', - Whae sould it be but fause Sakelde? - - "Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen?" - Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell to me!" - "We go to hunt an English stag, - Has trespass'd on the Scots countrie." - - "Where be ye gaun, ye marshal men?" - Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell me true!" - "We go to catch a rank reiver, - Has broken faith wi' the bauld Buccleuch." - - "Where are ye gaun, ye mason lads, - Wi' a' your ladders lang and hie?" - "We gang to berry a corbie's nest, - That wons not far frae Woodhouselee." - - "Where be ye gaun, ye broken men?" - Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell to me!" - Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band, - And the nevir a word of lear had he. - - "Why trespass ye on the English side? - Row-footed outlaws, stand!" quo' he; - The nevir a word had Dickie to say, - Sae he thrust the lance through his fause bodie. - - And when we left the Staneshaw-bank, - The wind began full loud to blaw; - But 'twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet, - When we came beneath the castle wa'. - - We crept on knees, and held our breath, - Till we placed the ladders against the wa'; - And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell - To mount the first before us a'. - - He has ta'en the watchman by the throat, - He flung him down upon the lead-- - Had there not been peace between our lands, - Upon the other side thou hadst gaed! - - "Now sound out, trumpets!" quo' Buccleuch; - "Let's waken Lord Scroope right merrilie!" - Then loud the warden's trumpet blew-- - "O wha dare meddle wi' me?" - - Then speedilie to work we gaed, - And raised the slogan ane and a', - And cut a hole through a sheet of lead, - And so we wan to the castle ha'. - - They thought King James and a' his men - Had won the house wi' bow and spear; - It was but twenty Scots and ten, - That put a thousand in sic' a stear! - - Wi' coulters, and wi' forehammers, - We garr'd the bars bang merrilie, - Until we came to the inner prison, - Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie. - - And when we cam to the lower prison, - Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie-- - "O sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie, - Upon the morn that thou's to die?" - - "O I sleep saft, and I wake aft, - It's lang since sleeping was fley'd frae me; - Gie my service back to my wife and bairns, - And a' gude fellows that spier for me." - - Then Red Rowan has hente him up, - The starkest man in Teviotdale-- - "Abide, abide now, Red Rowan, - Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell." - - "Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope! - My gude Lord Scroope, farewell!" he cried-- - "I'll pay you for my lodging maill, - When first we meet on the Border side." - - Then shoulder high, with shout and cry, - We bore him down the ladder lang; - At every stride Red Rowan made, - I wot the Kinmont's airns play'd clang. - - "O mony a time," quo' Kinmont Willie, - "I have ridden horse baith wild and wood; - But a rougher beast than Red Rowan - I ween my legs have ne'er bestrode." - - "And mony a time," quo' Kinmont Willie, - "I've prick'd a horse out oure the furs; - But since the day I back'd a steed, - I never wore sic cumbrous spurs." - - We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank, - When a' the Carlisle bells were rung, - And a thousand men on horse and foot - Cam wi' the keen Lord Scroope along. - - Buccleuch has turn'd to Eden Water, - Even where it flow'd frae bank to brim, - And he has plunged in wi' a' his band, - And safely swam them through the strem. - - He turn'd him on the other side, - And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he-- - "If ye like na my visit in merry England, - In fair Scotland come visit me!" - - "All sore astonish'd stood Lord Scroope, - He stood as still as rock of stane; - He scarcely dared to trew his eyes, - When through the water they had gone. - - "He is either himsell a devil fra hell, - Or else his mother a witch maun be; - I wadna have ridden that wan water, - For a' the gowd in Christentie." - -The memory of that brave rescue nearly three hundred years before, as -the scout afterward told his friends, was what inspired him to save his -fellow-scouts as Buccleuch had saved the first William Kinmont. By -saving the lives of these three men he would pay with interest for the -life of his ancestor. Shakespeare writes somewhere that the good which -men do is oft buried with their bones, but that their evil deeds live -on forever. No more mistaken lines have ever been written. Evil brings -about its own death. No good deed is ever forgotten or ever buried. -Hundreds of years later it may flash out through the dust of centuries -and light the path of high endeavor. - -Morford scoured Chattanooga and finally found nine men who were ready -to go with him and try to rescue the condemned scouts. Leaving -Chattanooga they traveled by night and hid by day in caves and thickets -among the mountains. Occasionally they would meet or get word from men -whom they knew to be Union sympathizers. Finally they hid on the top of -Bear Mountain which towered above the river and which separated them -from Harrison where was located the jail. Although they had traveled -fast and far they were only just in time. The second noon after the -night when they reached the mountain had been fixed for the execution. -On Bear Mountain they hid in a cave which Morford himself had -discovered when hunting there many years before. It could only be -reached by a narrow path which ran along a shelf of rock which jutted -out over a precipice three hundred feet deep. The path turned sharply -and led under an enormous overhanging ledge and ended in a deep cave -with a little mountain spring bubbling up on a mossy slope only ten -feet wide which led up to the cave's entrance. Inside was a dry, high -cavern large enough to hold fifty men. It could not be reached from -above by reason of the over-hanging ledge. At that point the path -stopped and where the slope ended was a sheer drop to the rocks below -which extended around the farther side of the slope so that the only -entrance was around the path's bend along which only one man could pass -at a time. Morford reached the foot of Bear Mountain just at sunset and -led his little band up the steep side by a winding deer-path, the -entrance to which was concealed in a tangled thicket of green briar and -could only be reached by crawling underneath the sharp thorns like -snakes. The path to the cave was no place for a man with weak nerves. -It was bad enough as it skirted the precipice, but where it took a -sharp bend around the jutting point of rock, it narrowed to nothing -more than a foothold not three inches wide. He who would pass into the -cave must turn with his back to the precipice and edge his way with -arms outstretched along the smooth face of the rock for nearly ten -feet. The point at the turn was the worst. There it was necessary to -take one foot off the ledge and grope for a tiny foothold below the -path while one shuffled around the curve. It was not absolutely -necessary for Morford and his men to spend the night in this cave. -There were other places where they could have stayed in safety, as no -one suspected their presence. Morford, however, had made up his mind to -choose his men with the utmost care. It was necessary in order to save -the lives of the three condemned scouts to pass through the camp of the -soldiers and the ring of guards encircling the jail, break open the -jail, rescue the prisoners and break out again. It was a desperate -chance and Morford's only hope of success was to have men who would -show absolute coolness and daring throughout the whole adventure. The -nine men whom he had selected all bore a high reputation for courage, -but Morford decided like Gideon of old to cut out every factor of -weakness and leave only the picked men. When Gideon was chosen of God -to rescue the children of Israel from the unnumbered host of Midianites -and Amalekites and the other Bedouin hordes of the desert which were -encamped in the great valley that lay at the hill of Moreh, he started -with a force of thirty-two thousand. When this army looked down upon -the innumerable hosts of the fierce desert warriors, it began to weaken -and Gideon sent back twenty-two thousand soldiers who had showed signs -of fear. The night before the day fixed for battle, Gideon decided to -select from this ten thousand a picked band of men who would be not -only brave, but watchful and ready for any emergency. As his army -swarmed down to the water-hole Gideon watched the men as they drank. -They had kept watch and ward on that bare sun-smitten mountain top all -through the long, hot day. As they came to the water some of the -thirsty men dashed forward out of the ranks and fell on their faces and -lapped the water like dogs without a thought that there might be an -ambush at the ford and without a care that they were lying absolutely -defenseless before any enemy who might attack them. Others kneeled on -their hands and knees and drank. Of the ten thousand only three hundred -had bravery and self-control enough to maintain the discipline of a -vigilant army. Without laying down their weapons they drank as a deer -drinks, watching on every side for fear of a surprise. With one hand -they scooped up the water, in the other they held fast their weapon. It -was slower, but it was safer. These three hundred men Gideon chose for -that band which for three thousand years has been the symbol of bravery -and watchfulness. With this little force just before dawn he burst down -upon the sleeping Midianites which were as the sand by the sea for -multitude. The three hundred were divided into three companies. Each -man carried a sword, a trumpet, and an earthenware pitcher with a -lighted lamp inside. From three separate directions they rushed down -upon the sleeping foe and sounded the trumpets and brake the pitchers -and held the flashing lamps on high and then shouting as their -watchword, "The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon," they burst into the -great camp of the invaders. Roused from sleep, hearing the trumpet -notes and the crash of the breaking pitchers and seeing the flash of -lights from all sides and mighty voices shouting the fierce slogan, the -Midianites scattered like sheep and all that great host ran and cried -and fled and every man's sword was against his fellow in the darkness, -and when day dawned the ground was covered with dead men, the camp was -abandoned and nothing was left of that mighty army but a fringe of -fugitives scattered in every direction. - -It may be that some such test was in Morford's mind as the little band -of nine scaled the heights of Bear Mountain. At any rate as they -approached the precipice-path he halted them. - -"Boys," he said, "I got word this afternoon that these scouts have only -thirty-six hours to live unless we save them. The guards have been -doubled. It's going to be a desperate chance to get to them and none of -us may ever come back. Now if any of you fellows want to quit, the time -to do it is now rather than later. I'm going to lead the way along the -path which we used to say was the best nerve-tonic in this county. If -any of you fellows get discouraged and don't want to make the last turn -past old Double-Trouble, why back out, go over the top of the mountain -and down the other side. You know your way home and you've got -provisions enough to last for the trip. Only travel fast, for those of -us who are left are going to come right over the top of this mountain -on the run with those scouts--if we save 'em." - -With this characteristic oration, Morford started along the path, first -tightening his heavy revolver belt so that it might not swing out and -over-balance him at the critical moment. He was instantly followed by -six others, quiet, self-contained men who like him had taken up -scouting as the best way of showing their devotion to the Union. The -other three hesitated a moment, looked at each other shamefacedly and -then slowly followed along the dangerous route. As Morford reached -Double-Trouble, he stopped and in a low voice told the next man how to -put one foot out into space and search for the little foothold which -jutted out below the main path and then how to swing around that -desperate curve. Slowly and with infinite caution each one of the six -followed their leader and found himself safe on the slope of the cave. -The seventh man listened carefully to the instructions of the man -before him as to how he should round the curve and gave a gasp of -horror when he found that he must balance himself on one foot on a -three-inch ledge while the other was in mid-air. - -"Tell General Morford," he finally said, "that I ain't no tight-rope -walker. I draw the line at holdin' on like a fly, head downward over -this old precipice. Anyway I don't think there's any chance to do -anything and I'm goin' home." - -He seemed to have voiced the exact sentiments of the other two who had -sidled up and with out-stretched necks were examining in the faint -light the curve around Double-Trouble. The last man spent no time in -any argument. - -"Good-bye, General," he called in a low voice. "Go as far as you -like--but go without me." - -That was the last Morford and the other six ever saw of those men. They -reached home in safety after some days of wandering, but decided to -choose another territory where the scouting would not be quite so -strenuous. Morford and his men made themselves comfortable that night. -They drank deep from the spring and then had a much-needed scrub. After -a hearty meal they turned in and slept like dead men through the next -day on the crisp springy moss, first rolling a big boulder against the -side of Double-Trouble so that no one could pass. - -Late the next afternoon they awoke and found that the path was not so -bad the second time as it had been the first. Down the mountainside by -the same concealed route they marched in single file and just at dark -crossed the river and entered the little village of Harrison. There -they were met by an old man with whom Morford had previously -communicated. He had obtained by strategy the countersign which would -take them through the soldiers, the guards and to the very entrance of -the jail itself. Curiously enough, some Confederate officer had fixed -as the countersign that very one with which Gideon had conquered so -many years ago. "The Sword of Gideon" was the open sesame which would -take them past the guards and unlock the gates which ringed about the -doomed men. Morford accepted it as a good omen. The night before he had -told his companions the old story of Gideon's test and it came to them -all as a direct message that God was fighting on their side as he had -fought of old against even greater odds. Morford planned to use -Gideon's tactics. He decided to surprise and confuse his enemy and -escape in the confusion. He tied the hands of two of his band behind -their backs and with the other four marched directly to the Confederate -camp, gave the countersign, and stated that he had prisoners to deliver -to the jail. The sleepy sentry passed him through without any comment -and they marched until they came to the high board fence with a double -row of spikes on top which surrounded the prison-yard. This fence at -one point touched the edge of a marsh filled with rank grass, briars -and tussocks. To this point Morford had gone earlier in the evening and -had bored two auger-holes in one of the boards and then with a small -saw dipped in oil had carefully sawed out one of the old timbers, -leaving a space just large enough to admit of a man passing through. -There was only one entrance to the prison grounds which was through the -main gate besides which night and day sat two guards. Morford rang at -this gate and when it was opened, presented himself with his pretended -prisoners. One of the guards accompanied them to the main jail toward -which Morford marched with his prisoners and two men, leaving the other -two behind with the remaining guard. Morford had no more than passed -around the corner when these two suddenly seized the unsuspecting guard -at the gate, pressed a revolver against his temple and in an instant -gagged him, tied him up hand and foot with rope which they had brought -and started to the jail to assist the others. Usually the jail was only -guarded by the jailer and one deputy or assistant who lived there with -him. To-night, however, there was a death-watch of three extra men -heavily armed stationed around in the corridor in front of the cells of -the condemned men. The jailer opened the door and the sentry who had -accompanied Morford from the gate explained that these were two -prisoners coming under guard from Chattanooga, and Morford and his men -were admitted. Every detail had been planned out ahead and the -prisoners tottered into the corridor in an apparently exhausted -condition and approached the guards who were waiting in front of the -cells, or rather cages, in which were the condemned men. Suddenly just -as the supposed prisoners came close, the ropes dropped off their hands -and each of said hands grasped a particularly dangerous looking -revolver which was aimed directly at the heads of the astonished -guards. - -"Sit still," said one of the prisoners, "and keep on sitting still -because I have very nervous fingers and if they twitch, these revolvers -are likely to go off." - -The guards followed this advice and in an instant were disarmed and -roped up like the guard at the gate. So far everything had gone like -clockwork according to program. The jailer, however, had yet to be -reckoned with. As he did not seem to be armed, Morford had stepped -forward to assist in disarming the guards when with a tremendous spring -the jailer reached the door, pulled it open and with the same motion -kicked a chair at Morford who had sprung after him. Morford tripped -over the chair and before he could get the door open, the jailer had -cleared the staircase with one jump and was out of the jail, running -toward the entrance. Morford and two others ran after him, but he had -too much of a start and reached the gate fifty yards ahead. This jailer -was cool enough to stop at the gate long enough to pull a knife from -his belt. With this he slashed the ropes of the bound guard, pulled him -to his feet and they both disappeared together through the open gate in -spite of a couple of revolver shots which Morford sent after them. The -latter, however, was prepared for any emergencies. He told off two of -his men to shut and bar the gates and to guard against any attack. Two -others were to run around and around the fence on the inside shouting -and firing as rapidly and as often as their breath and ammunition would -allow. With one companion he returned to the jail and demanded the keys -from the tethered guard. - -"The jailer's got them, Captain," said one of the guards; "he always -carries them with him and there isn't a duplicate key in the place." - -There was no time to be lost. Already could be heard outside the -Confederate camp the shouts of the officers to the men to fall in. Only -the tremendous turmoil which apparently was going on inside saved the -day for Morford. It would have been an easy thing to force the rickety -old fence at any point or to dash in at the gate if the Confederates -had known how small a force of rescuers there were. They, however, -believed that the jail must have been surprised by some large Union -force and they spent precious time in throwing out skirmishers, -mustering the men and preparing to defend against a flank attack. In -the meantime Morford had rushed into the jailer's room and found lying -there a heavy axe. With this he tried to break into the cells of the -condemned men who were shaking the bars and cheering on their plucky -rescuers. The door of the cell was locked and also barred with heavy -chains. Morford was a man of tremendous strength and swinging the axe, -in a short time he managed to snap the chains apart and smash in the -outer lock and with the aid of an iron bar pried open the door only to -find that there was an inside door with a tremendous lock of wrought -steel against which his axe had absolutely no effect. Time was going. -Already they could hear the shouted commands of the Confederate -officers just outside the fence and Morford expected any moment to see -the door fly in and receive a charge from a couple of hundred armed -men. As he wiped the sweat off his forehead, out of the corner of his -eye he saw one of the guards grinning derisively at him. This was -enough for Morford. Dropping the axe, he cocked his revolver and with -one jump was beside the guard. Placing the cold muzzle of his weapon -against the guard's temple, he ordered him to tell him instantly where -the keys were. There's no case on record where any man stopped laughing -quicker than did that guard. - -"I ain't got 'em, Captain," he gasped, "really I ain't." - -"I'm going to count ten," said Morford, inflexibly, "and if I don't -hear where those keys are by the time I say ten, I'm going to pull the -trigger of this forty-four. Then I'm going to count ten more and do the -same with the next man and the next. If I can't save these prisoners, -I'm going to leave three guards to go along with them." - -Morford got as far as three when the guard, whose voice trembled so -that he could scarcely make himself heard, shouted at the top of his -voice: - -"There's a key in the pants-pocket of each one of us." - -In spite of the emergency they were facing Morford's men could not help -laughing at the expression on their leader's face as he stood and -stared at the speaker. - -"I have a great mind," he said at last, "to shoot you fellows anyway as -a punishment for being such liars and for making me chop up about two -cords of iron bars." - -"You wouldn't shoot down prisoners, General," faltered one of the -Confederates. - -"No, I wouldn't," said Morford, commencing to grin himself, "but I -ought to." - -As he talked he had been fitting the key into the locks and with the -last words the door opened and the condemned scouts were once more free -men. There was not an instant to lose. Already the Confederates were -battering away at the front gate with a great log and a fusillade of -revolver-shots showed that the outer guards were doing all they could -to stand off the attack. It took only a moment to arm the scouts with -the weapons taken from the guards and in a minute the seven men were -out in the prison-yard. Morford himself ran to the gate, stooping in -the darkness to avoid any chance shots that might fly through and -ordered the two guards, who were lying flat on either side of the gate -shooting through the bars at the soldiers outside, to join the others -at the place where the plank had been removed. It took only a minute -for the men to rush across the dark yard and reach the farther corner -of the fence. Morford sent them through the opening one by one. Like -snakes they crept into the tall grass, wormed their way through the -tussocks into the thick marsh beyond and disappeared in the darkness. -They were only just in time. As Morford himself crept through the -opening last the gate crashed in and with a whoop and a yell a file of -infantry poured into the yard. At the same moment another detachment -dashed around on the outside in order to make an entrance at the rear -of the supposed Union forces. Morford had hardly time to dive under the -briars like a rabbit when a company of soldiers reached the opening -through which he had just passed. - -"Here's the place, Captain," he heard one of them say in a whisper. -"Here's the place where they broke in." - -The Confederate officer hurried his men through the gap, not realizing -that it was really the place where the rescuers had broken out. As the -last man disappeared through the fence, Morford crept on into the -marsh, took the lead of his men and following a little fox-path soon -had them safe on the other side and once again they started for Bear -Mountain. They reached the boat in safety and in a few minutes they -were on the other side of the river. Instead of getting out at the -landing, however, Morford rowed down and made the men get out and make -a distinct trail for a hundred yards or so to a highway which led off -in an opposite direction from the mountain. Then they came back and got -into the boat again while Morford rowed to where an old tree hung clear -out over the water. A few feet from this tree was a stone wall. Morford -instructed his men to swing themselves up through the tree and jump as -far out as possible on the wall and to follow that for a hundred yards -and then spring out from the wall some ten or fifteen feet before -starting for the mountain. When they had all safely reached the wall, -Morford himself climbed into the tree and set the boat adrift and again -took charge of his party. Some of the younger scouts, who had never -been hunted by dogs, were inclined to think that their leader was -unnecessarily cautious. The next morning, however, as they lay safe and -sound on the slope of the cave at the top of Bear Mountain and saw -party after party of soldiers and civilians leading leashed bloodhounds -back and forth along the river-bank, they decided that their captain -knew his business. Their pursuers picked up the trail which was lost -again in the highway and finally decided that the men must have escaped -along the road, although the dogs were, of course, unable to follow it -more than a hundred yards. For three days the scouts lay safe on the -mountainside and rested up for their long trip north. Several times -parties went up and down Bear Mountain, but fortunately did not find -the hidden deer-path nor was Morford called upon to stand siege behind -old Double-Trouble. When the pursuit was finally given up and the -soldiers all seemed to be safe back in camp, Morford led his little -troop out and following the same secret paths by which they had come, -landed them all with the Union forces at Murfreesboro. - -So ended one of the many brave deeds of a forgotten hero. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE BOY-GENERAL - - -Boys are apt to think that they must wait until they are men before -they can claim the great rewards which life holds in store for all of -us. History shows that courage, high endeavor, concentration and the -sacrifice of self will give the prizes of a high calling to boys as -well as to men. One is never too young or too old to seek and find and -seize opportunity. Alexander Hamilton was only a boy when in New York -at the outbreak of the Revolution, white-hot with indignation and -patriotic zeal, he climbed up on a railing and in an impassioned speech -to a great crowd which had collected, put himself at once in the -forefront along with Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, John Otis and other -patriots who were to be the leaders of a new nation. David was only a -boy of seventeen when he was sent to take provisions to his brethren in -the army of the Israelites then encamped on the heights around the -great battle-valley of Elah. There he heard the fierce giant-warrior of -a lost race challenge the discouraged army. By being brave and ready -enough to seize the opportunity which thousands of other men had passed -by, he that day began the career which won for him a kingdom. - -George Washington was only a boy when he saved what was left of -Braddock's ill-fated army in that dark and fatal massacre and was -hardly of age when the governor of Virginia sent him on that dangerous -mission to the Indian chiefs and the French commander at Venango. On -that mission he showed courage that no threats could weaken and an -intelligence that no treachery could deceive and he came back a man -marked for great deeds. As a boy he showed the same forgetfulness of -self which he afterward showed as a man when he refused to take any pay -for his long services as general of the Continental Army and even -advanced heavy disbursements from his own encumbered estate. - -Napoleon was only a boy when, as a young lieutenant, he first showed -that military genius, that power of grasping opportunities, of breaking -away from outworn rules which made him one of the greatest generals of -all time and which laid Europe at his feet. If only to his bravery and -genius had been added the high principle and the unselfishness of -Washington, of Hamilton, of David, he would not have died in exile -hated and feared by millions of men and women and children whose -countries he had harried and whose lives he had burdened. - -In the Civil War the youngest general in both the Union and the -Confederate forces was Major-General Galusha Pennypacker, who still -lives in Philadelphia. He became a captain and major at seventeen, a -colonel at twenty and a full brigadier-general a few months before he -became twenty-one. His last and greatest fight was at Fort Fisher and -the story of that day, of which he was the hero, is typical of the -bravery and readiness which made him the only boy-general in the world. -By the end of 1864 the Union forces had captured one by one the great -naval ports of the Confederacy, the gates through which their armies -were fed by the blockade-runners of Europe. New Orleans, Mobile and -Savannah had at last fallen. By December, 1864, Wilmington, South -Carolina, was the only port left through which the Confederacy could -receive provisions from outside. In that month an expedition was sent -against the city by sea and land. The river-forces were commanded by -Admiral Porter while Generals Ben Butler and Witzel had charge of the -land-forces. General Butler conceived the fantastic idea of exploding -an old vessel filled with powder close to the ramparts. In the -confusion which he thought would result, he hoped to carry the place by -assault. Fort Fisher was the strongest fortress of the Confederacy. -Admiral Porter afterward said that it was stronger than the famous -Russian fortress Malakoff, which next to Gibraltar was supposed to be -the most impregnable fortification in the world. Fort Fisher consisted -of a system of bomb-proof traverses surrounded by great ramparts of -heavy timbers covered with sand and banked with turf, the largest -earthworks in the whole South and which were proof against the heaviest -artillery of that day. The powder-boat was an abandoned vessel which -was loaded to the gunnels with kegs of powder and floated up to within -four hundred yards of the fort. When it was finally exploded, its -effect upon the fortress was so slight that the Confederate soldiers -inside thought it was merely a boiler explosion from one of the -besieging vessels. General Butler and his assistant, General Witzel, -however, landed their forces, hoping to find the garrison in a state of -confusion and discouragement. General Butler found that the explosion -had simply aroused rather than dismayed the besieged. From all along -the ramparts as well as from the tops of the inner bastions a -tremendous converging fire was poured upon the attacking force. Back of -these fortifications were grouped some of the best sharp-shooters of -the whole Confederate Army and after a few minutes of disastrous -fighting, General Butler was glad enough to withdraw his forces back to -the safety of the ships. He refused to renew the battle and reported to -General Grant that Fort Fisher could not be taken by assault. General -Grant was so disgusted by this report that he at once relieved General -Butler of the command and this battle was the end of the latter's -military career and he went back to civil life in Massachusetts. -President Lincoln too was deeply disappointed at the unfortunate ending -of this first assault on the last stronghold of the Confederacy. -General Grant sent word to Admiral Porter to hold his position and sent -General Alfred H. Terry to attack the fort again by land with an -increased force. General Robert E. Lee learned of the proposed attack -and sent word to Colonel Lamont, who commanded the fort, that it must -be held, otherwise his army would be starved into surrender. - -On January 13, 1865, Admiral Porter ran his ironclad within close range -of the fort and concentrating a fire of four hundred heavy guns rained -great shells on every spot on the parapets and on the interior -fortifications from which came any gun-fire. The shells burst as -regularly as the ticking of a watch. The Confederates tried in vain to -stand to their guns. One by one they were broken and dismounted and the -garrison driven to take refuge in the interior bomb-proof traverses. -The attacking forces were divided into three brigades. The attack was -commenced by one hundred picked sharp-shooters all armed with repeating -rifles and shovels. They charged to within one hundred and seventy-five -yards of the fort, quickly dug themselves out of sight in a shallow -trench in the sand and tried to pick off each man who appeared in the -ramparts. Next came General Curtis' brigade to within four hundred -yards of the fort and laid down and with their tin-cups and plates and -knives and sword-blades and bayonets, dug out of sight like moles. -Close behind them was Pennypacker's second brigade and after him Bell's -third brigade. In a few moments, Curtis and his brigade advanced at a -run to a line close behind the sharp-shooters while Pennypacker's -brigade moved into the trench just vacated and Bell and his men came -within two hundred yards of Pennypacker. All this time men were -dropping everywhere under the deadly fire from the traverses. It was -not the blind fire with the bullets whistling and humming overhead -which the men had learned to disregard, but it was a scattering -irregular series of well-aimed shots of which far too many took effect. -The loss in officers especially was tremendous and equal to that of any -battle in the war. More than half of the officers engaged were shot -that day while one man in every four of the privates went down. - -When the men had at last taken their final positions, the fire of the -vessels was directed to the sea-face of the fort and a strong naval -detachment charged, with some of Ames' infantry of the land-forces, at -the sea angle of the fort. The besieged ran forward a couple of light -guns loaded with double charges of canister and grape and rushed to the -angle all of their available forces. The canister and the heavy -musketry fire were too much for the bluejackets and they were compelled -to slowly draw back out of range while the Confederates shouted taunts -after them. - -"Come aboard, you sailors," they yelled; "the captain's ladder is right -this way. What you hangin' back for?" - -[Illustration: Attacking the Inner Traverses of Fort Fisher] - -The last words were drowned in a tremendous Rebel yell as they saw the -bluejackets break and retreat out of range. The Confederates, however, -had cheered too soon. In manning the sea-wall they had weakened too -much the defenses on the landward side and the word was given for all -three brigades to attack at once. The color-bearers of all the -regiments ran forward like madmen, headed by the officers and all -sprinting as if running a two hundred and twenty-yard dash. The -officers and the color-bearers of all three brigades reached the outer -lines almost at the same time. With a rush and a yell they were up over -the outer wall and forming inside for the attack on the inner traverses -which yet remained. It was desperate work and the hardest fighting of -the day was done around these inner bomb-proofs, each one of which was -like a little fort in miniature. The crisis came when the first brigade -was barely keeping its foothold on the west end of the parapet while -the enemy which had repulsed the bluejackets were moving over in a -heavy column to drive out Curtis' panting men. It was at this moment -that the boy-general Pennypacker showed himself the hero of the day. He -had already carried the palisades and the sally-port and had taken four -hundred prisoners and then wheeled and charged to the rescue of Curtis' -exhausted men. Ahead of them was the fifth traverse which must be -stormed and crossed before Curtis' men could be relieved. Already the -men were wavering and it was a moment which called for the finest -qualities of leadership. Pennypacker himself seized the colors of the -97th Pennsylvania, his old regiment, and calling on his men to follow, -charged up the broken side of the fifth traverse. His troops swarmed up -after him side by side with the men of the 203d Pennsylvania and the -soldiers of the 117th New York, but Pennypacker was the first man to -fix the regimental flag on the parapet and shouted to Colonel Moore of -the other Pennsylvania regiment: - -"Colonel, I want you to take notice that the first flag up is the flag -of my old regiment." - -Before Colonel Moore had time to answer, he pitched over with a bullet -through his heart and Colonel Bell was killed at the head of his -brigade as he came in. The gigantic Curtis was fighting furiously with -the blood streaming down from his face. Just at that moment, at the -head of his men, General Pennypacker fell over, so badly wounded that -never from that time to this was a day to pass free from pain. His work -was done, however. His men fought fiercely to avenge his fall, broke up -the enemies' intended attack, freed the first brigade and all three -forces joined and swept through the traverses, capturing them one by -one until the last and strongest fort of the Confederacy had fallen. -The only remaining gateway to the outer world was closed. After the -fall of Fort Fisher, it was only a few months to Appomattox. One of the -bloodiest and most successful assaults of the war had succeeded. -General Grant ordered a hundred-gun salute in honor of the victory from -each of his armies. The Secretary of War, Stanton, himself, ran his -steamer into Wilmington and landed to thank personally in the name of -President Lincoln the brave fighters who had won a battle which meant -the close of the war. - -General Pennypacker was to survive his wounds. This was the seventh -time that he had been wounded in eight months. At the close of the war -he was made colonel in the regular army, being the youngest man who -ever held that rank, and was placed in command of various departments -in the South and was the first representative of the North to introduce -the policy of conciliation. Later on he went abroad and met Emperor -William of Germany, the Emperor of Austria and Prince Bismarck and von -Moltke, that war-worn old general, who shook hands with him and said -that as the oldest general in the world, he was glad to welcome the -youngest. - -So ends the story of a great battle where a boy showed that he could -fight as bravely and think as quickly and hold on as enduringly as any -man. What the boys of '64 could do, the boys of 1915 can and will do if -ever a time comes when they too must fight for their country. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -MEDAL-OF-HONOR MEN - - -To-day in the world-war that is being waged in two hemispheres among -twelve nations, we hear much of the Victoria Cross and the Iron Cross, -and the decoration of the Legion of Honor, those tiny immortal symbols -of achievement for which men are so willing to lay down their lives and -which are cherished and passed on from father to son as a heritage of -honor undying. Not since gunpowder sent armor, swords, spears, arrows, -bows, catapults and a host of other outworn equipment to the scrap-heap -has the method of warfare been changed as it was in the year 1914. -Battles are now fought in the air and under the water and armies move -forward underground. Automobiles and power-driven cars, trucks and -platforms have succeeded the horse. Aeroplanes have taken the place of -cavalry. Vast howitzers carried piecemeal on trucks, which can run -across a rougher country than a horse, have made the strongest fortress -obsolete. Bombs which kill every living thing within a circle one -hundred and fifty yards in diameter, vast cylinders of gas which turn -the air for miles into a death-trap, airships which can drop high-power -explosives while invisible beyond the clouds, aerial and submarine -torpedoes which can be automatically guided by electric currents from -vessels miles away, guns that send vast shells a mile above the earth -to carry death and destruction to a point twenty miles away, concealed -artillery equipped with parabolic mirrors and automatic range-finders -which can shoot over distant hills and mountains to a hair's breadth, -and destroy concealed and protected bodies of men, rifles which shoot -without noise and without smoke, machine-guns that spray bullets across -a wide front of charging men as a hose sprays water across the width of -a lawn, wireless apparatus which send messages thousands of miles -across land and sea, all these and hundreds of other devices would be -more of a mystery to Grant and Lee and the other great commanders of -the Civil War than the breech-loading magazine rifles and artillery and -iron-clads of their day would have been to Napoleon. The warfare of -to-day is farther removed from the period of the Civil War of half a -century ago than the Napoleonic wars were from those of Hannibal over a -thousand years before. - -Methods have changed, but men are the same to-day as they were when -they first built that great tower on the plain of Shinar. The -eternities of life are still with us. Brave deeds, acts of -self-sacrifice, truth, honor, courage, unselfishness still stand as in -the days of old. Every man or woman or child, small or great, can -achieve such deeds. At the end of this chronicle of the brave deeds -wrought by our fathers and grandfathers in a war which was fought for -an ideal, it is most fitting that the boys and girls of to-day should -read what was done by commonplace men as a matter of course. From the -great list prepared by the War Department of the United States of those -whom their country have honored have been selected a few stories of the -way different men won their Medal of Honor. - -In 1864 General Sherman was in the midst of his great march to Atlanta. -Grant had begun the campaign against Lee's army which was to end at -Richmond, while to Sherman was given the task of crushing his rival, -Joseph E. Johnston. Inch by inch the whole of that march was fought out -in a series of tremendous battles. One of these was the hard battle of -New Hope Church in sight of Kenesaw Mountain. The battle was fought as -a successful attempt on the part of Sherman to turn the flank of -Johnston's position at Alatoona Pass. During the battle, Follett -Johnson, a corporal in the 60th Infantry, did not only a brave, but an -unusual deed. While his company was awaiting the signal to take part in -the battle which was raging on their left, they were much annoyed by -the deadly aim of a Confederate sharp-shooter concealed in an oak tree -a quarter of a mile away. Every few minutes there would be a puff of -smoke and the whine of a minie bullet, too often followed by the thud -which told that the bullet had found its billet. When at last the sixth -man, one of Johnson's best friends, was fatally wounded through the -head, Johnson made up his mind to do his share in stopping this -sharp-shooting permanently. Unfortunately he was only an ordinary shot -himself, but he crawled down the line and had a hasty conference with -one of the best shots in the regiment. - -"You get a good steady rest," said Johnson, "and draw a bead on that -oak tree. I'll kind of move around and get the chap interested and when -he gives you a chance, you take it." - -The Union sharp-shooter agreed to carry out his part of the bargain. -Johnson suddenly sprang to his feet and ran in a zigzag course to a -position farther down the line. A bullet from the watcher in the tree -shrieked close past his head. - -"Lie down, you fool," shouted his captain. "Are you trying to commit -suicide?" - -"Captain, we're fishing for that fellow over in the tree," returned -Johnson. "I'm the bait." - -"Well, you won't be live-bait if you keep it up much longer," said his -captain as Johnson again took another run while a bullet cut through -his coat hardly an inch from his side. Johnson did keep it up, however. -Now he would raise his cap on a stick and try to draw the enemy's fire -in safety. Again he would suddenly spring up and make divers -disrespectful gestures toward the sharp-shooter in his tree. Sometimes -he would lie on his back and kick his legs insultingly up over a little -breastwork that had been hurriedly thrown up. One bullet from the -Confederate marksman nearly ruined a pair of good boots for Johnson -while he was doing this, taking the heel off his left boot as neatly as -any cobbler could have done. The hidden marksman, however, commenced to -show the effect of this challenge by this unknown joker. Little by -little he ventured out from behind the trunk of the tree in order to -get a better aim. By the captain's orders no one fired at him in the -hopes that he would give the watching Union sharp-shooter a deadly -chance. At last his time came. Johnson started his most ambitious -demonstration. He suddenly stood up in front of the breastworks in an -attitude of the most irritating unconcern. Yawning, he gave a great -stretch as if tired of lying down any longer, then he kissed his hand -toward the sharp-shooter and started to stroll down the front of the -line, first stopping to light his pipe. The whole company gave a gasp. - -"That will be about all for poor old Folly," said one man to his -neighbor and every minute they expected to see him pitch forward. His -indifference was too much for the Confederate. Emboldened by the -absence of any recent shots, he leaned out from behind the sheltering -trunk in order to draw a deadly bead on the man who had been mocking -him before two armies. This was the chance for which the Union -sharp-shooter had been waiting. Before the Confederate marksman had a -chance to pull his trigger there was the bang of a Springfield rifle a -few rods from where Johnson was walking and the watching soldiers saw -the Confederate sharp-shooter topple backward. The rifle which had done -so much harm slipped slowly from his hand to the ground and in a minute -there was first a rustle, then a crash through the dense branches of -the oak as the unconscious body lost its grip on the limb and pitched -forward to the ground forty feet below. Johnson's captain was the first -man to shake his hand. - -"It takes courage to fish for these fellows sometimes," he said, "but -it takes braver men than I am to be the bait." - -Nearly thirty years later this occurrence was remembered and Corporal -Johnson awarded the medal of honor which he had earned. - -Another man who drew the enemy's fire in order to save his comrades was -John Kiggins, a sergeant in one of the New York regiments. It was at -the battle of Lookout Mountain on November 24, 1863. The terrible -battle of Chickamauga had been fought. The Union Army had been reduced -to a rabble and swept off the field, except over on the left wing where -General George H. Thomas with twenty-five thousand men dashed back for -a whole afternoon the assaults of double that number of Confederates -and earned the title which he was henceforth to bear of the "Rock of -Chickamauga." The defeated army, followed afterward by General Thomas' -forces, withdrew to Chattanooga, that Tennessee battle-ground -surrounded by the heights of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. -Here the Union forces were invested on all sides by the Confederate -Army under General Bragg. The supplies of the Union Army gave out. The -Confederates commanded the Tennessee River and held all of the good -wagon-roads on the south side of it. The Union Army was nearly starved. -General Rosecrans had never recovered from the battle of Chickamauga. -Not only was his nerve shattered, but he seemed to have lost all -strength of will and concentration of purpose. General Grant, who had -just been placed in supreme command of all the military operations in -the West, decided to place Thomas in command of the Army of the -Cumberland in place of the dispirited Rosecrans. He telegraphed Thomas -to hold Chattanooga at all hazards. - -"We'll hold the town until we starve," Thomas telegraphed back. - -When Grant reached Chattanooga on October 23d, wet and dirty, but well, -he realized as he saw the dead horses and the hollow-cheeked men how -far the starving process had gone. Although he was on crutches from -injuries received from a runaway horse, yet his influence was -immediately felt throughout the whole army. He was a compeller of men -like Napoleon and, like him, had only to ride down the line and let his -men see that he was there in order to accomplish the impossible. He at -once sent a message to Sherman, who was coming slowly along from -Vicksburg. His messenger paddled down the Tennessee River in a canoe -under a guerrilla-fire during his whole journey and handed Sherman a -dispatch from Grant which said, "Drop everything and move your entire -force toward Stevenson." Sherman marched as only he could. When his -army reached the Tennessee River he laid a pontoon bridge thirteen -hundred and fifty feet in length in a half day, rushed his army across, -captured all the Confederate pickets and was ready to join Grant in the -great battle of Chattanooga. General Hooker marched in from one side on -November 24th and fought the great battle of Lookout Mountain above the -clouds, through driving mists and rains and on the morning of November -25th the stars and stripes waved from the lofty peak of Lookout -Mountain. The next day eighteen thousand men without any orders charged -up the almost perpendicular side of Missionary Ridge and carried it, -and the three-day battle of Chattanooga was ended in the complete -defeat of Bragg's army and the rescue of the men whom he thought he had -cornered beyond all hopes of escape. - -It was during this first day's battle in the mist on Lookout Mountain -that Kiggins distinguished himself. The New York regiment, in which he -was a sergeant, had crawled and crept up a narrow winding path, -dragging their cannon after them up places where it did not seem as if -a goat could keep its footing. They had already come into position on -one side of the higher slopes when suddenly a battery above them opened -fire and the men began to fall. Through the mists they could see the -stars and stripes waving over this upper battery, which had mistaken -them for Confederate soldiers. They were shielded from the Confederate -batteries by a wall of rock, but it was necessary to stop this mistaken -fire or every man of the regiment would be swept off the mountain by -the well-aimed Union guns. Sergeant Kiggins volunteered to do the -necessary signaling. He climbed up on the natural wall of rock which -protected them from the Confederate batteries and sharp-shooters and -waved the Union flag toward the battery above him with all his might. -They stopped firing, but evidently considered it simply a stratagem and -wigwagged to Kiggins an inquiry in the Union code. It was necessary for -Kiggins to answer this or the fire would undoubtedly be at once -resumed. Unfortunately he was a poor wigwagger and as he stood on the -wall, he was exposed to the fire of every Confederate battery or -rifleman within range. The perspiration ran down his face as he -clumsily began to spell a message back to the battery above. Over his -head hummed and whirled solid round shot and around him screamed the -minie balls from half-a-dozen different directions. Once a shot pierced -his signaling flag right in the middle of a word. He not only had to -replace the flag, but he had to spell the word over again which was -even worse. The whole message did not take many minutes, but it seemed -hours to poor Kiggins. His life was saved as if by a miracle. Several -bullets pierced his uniform, his cap was shot off his head and when the -last word was finished, he dropped off the wall with such -lightning-like rapidity that his comrades, who had been watching him -with open mouths, thought that at last some bullet must have reached -its mark. Kiggins, however, was unharmed, but made a firm resolve to -perfect himself in wigwagging. We have no record whether he carried out -this good resolution, but his unwilling courage saved his regiment in -spite of his bad spelling and won for himself a medal of honor. - -It was at the end of that terrible Wilderness campaign of Grant's which -in a little more than a month had cost him fifty-four thousand nine -hundred and twenty-nine men, a number nearly equal to the whole army of -Lee, his antagonist, when the campaign was commenced. Grant's first -object in this campaign was to destroy or capture Lee's army. His -second object was to capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. -A special rank of Lieutenant-General had been created for him by -President Lincoln with the approval of the whole country. His victory -at the dreadful battle of Shiloh, his successful siege of Vicksburg and -his winning above the clouds the battle of Chattanooga, had made the -silent, scrubby, commonplace-looking man, with the gray-blue eyes, who -never talked but acted instead, the hope of the whole nation. In this -campaign, Grant's one idea was to clinch with Lee's army and fight it -as hard and as often as possible. He fought in the wilderness, tangled -in thickets and swamps. He fought against strong positions on hilltops, -he fought against entrenchments defended by masked batteries and -tremendous artillery. He fought against impregnable positions and -although he lost and lost and lost, he never stopped fighting. Lee had -beaten McClellan and Pope and Burnside and Hooker, all able generals, -who had tried against him every plan except that which Grant now tried, -of wearing him out by victories and defeats alike. Grant's army could -be replenished. There were not men enough left in the Confederacy to -replace Lee's army. It was a terrible campaign and only a president of -Lincoln's breadth of view and only the supreme confidence which the -American people have in a man who fights, no matter how often he is -beaten, kept Grant in command. If, after the bloody defeats in the -Wilderness and at Spottsylvania or at Cold Harbor, he had turned back -like any of his successors would have done, undoubtedly his past record -would not have saved him the command. It was like the celebrated battle -between Tom Cribb, the champion of England, and Molineaux, the giant -black, in the eighteenth century for the championship of the world. -Again and again and again Cribb was knocked down by blows so tremendous -that even his ring generalship could not avoid them. Battered and -bloody he always staggered to his feet and bored in again for more. -Molineaux at last said to his seconds, "I can't lick a fellow like -that; the fool doesn't know when he is beaten." It was so with Grant -and Lee. Grant never knew when he was beaten. Lee's generalship could -knock him down, but could not keep him back, and the Confederate leader -realized himself that sooner or later some chance of war would give -Grant the opportunity for a victory from which the Confederate Army -could not recuperate. - -Cold Harbor was the last of this series of defeats which helped wear -out Lee's army and ended in its capture and the occupation of Richmond. -At the time, however, it was bitter to be borne by the millions of men -and women and children who were hungering and thirsting for a victory -of the Union arms. Marching and fighting and fighting and marching -every day for a month, Grant was almost in sight of the spires of the -Confederate capital. About six miles outside the city Lee had taken his -last stand at Cold Harbor. He held a position of tremendous natural -strength and had fortified and entrenched it so that it was practically -impregnable. Grant tried in vain to flank it. On June 30th he ordered -an assault in front. Against him was the flower of the Confederate Army -commanded by the best general of the world and securely entrenched in a -position than which no stronger was ever attacked throughout the whole -war. Grant first gave his command to attack on the afternoon of June -2d, but then postponed it until the early morning of June 3d. Officers -and men alike knew that they were to be sacrificed. All through the -regiments men were pinning slips of paper, on which were written their -names and addresses, to the backs of their coats, so that their dead -bodies might be recognized after the battle and news sent to their -families at the North. The battle was a short one. The second corps of -General Hancock, one of the bravest and most dashing of all of Grant's -generals, was shot to pieces in twenty-two minutes and fell back with -three thousand of its best men gone, including most of its officers. -All along the line the story was the same. At some places the Union men -were beaten back without any difficulty and at other spots they -penetrated the salients, but were driven back. Attack after attack was -in vain against the generalship of Lee, the bravery of his men and the -almost impregnable strength of his position. - -Eugene M. Tinkham, of the 148th New York Infantry, was in that corps -directly under the eye of Grant himself which attacked and attacked the -Confederate position throughout that bloody morning, only to be driven -back each time with tremendous losses. The 148th Infantry, in which -Tinkham was a corporal, charged right up to the very mouth of the guns. -Flesh and blood could not stand, however, against the volleys of grape -and canister which ripped bloody, struggling lanes right through the -masses of the charging men. As the corps of which Tinkham's regiment -was a part was stopped by the wall of dead and wounded men piled up in -front of them, the Confederates with a fierce Rebel yell charged over -the breastworks on the confused attackers. For a minute the New York -regiment held its own, but were finally slowly forced back fighting -every foot to the shelter of their own rifle-pits. There they made a -stand and the Confederate sally stopped and the men in gray dashed back -to their own fortifications. In this charge, Tinkham received a bayonet -wound through his left shoulder while a jagged piece of canister had -ripped through his left arm. Not until he found himself back in the -rifle-pit, however, did he even know that he was wounded. His bayonet -and the barrel of his rifle were red clear up to the stock and he did -not at first realize that the blood dripping from his left sleeve was -his own. It was only as he lay on the dry sand and saw the red stain -beside him grow larger and larger that he realized that he was hurt. -One of the few men who had returned with him stripped off his coat, cut -away the sleeve of his shirt and made a couple of rough bandages and -extemporized a rude tourniquet from the splinters of one of the wheels -of a battered field-piece which had flown into the pit. When that was -over, Tinkham lay back and shut his eyes and felt the weakness which -comes over a man who has lost much blood. To-day there was not the -tonic of victory which sometimes keeps even wounded men up. He had seen -his comrades, men with whom he had eaten and slept and fought for over -two years, thrown away, as it seemed to him, uselessly. He was yet to -learn, what the army learned first and the country last, that Grant was -big enough and far-sighted enough to know that some victories must be -wrought from failure as well as success. This was one of the -hammer-strokes which seemed to bound back from the enemy's armor -without leaving a mark, yet the impact weakened Lee even when it seemed -that he was most impervious to it. It was absolutely necessary to -Grant's far-reaching plans that Lee be fought on every possible -occasion. Whether he won or lost, Grant's only hope lay on keeping Lee -on the defensive. None of this, of course, could a wounded corporal in -a battered, beaten and defeated regiment realize. All he knew was that -his friends were gone, that he was wounded and, worst of all, had been -forced to again and again retreat. He shut his eyes and there was a -sound in his ears like the tolling of a great bell. It seemed to swell -and rise until it drowned even the rattle and roar of the battle which -was still going on. When Tinkham opened his eyes everything seemed to -waver and quiver before him. Suddenly there came a short, thin, wailing -sound which cut like a knife through the midst of the unconsciousness -which was stealing over him. It was the cries of two wounded men lying -far out in the field over which he had come. Tinkham raised his hand -and strained his eyes. He could recognize two of his own file, men who -a moment before had been by his side and who now lay moaning their -lives away out on that shell-swept field. Tinkham listened to it as -long as he could. Then he set his teeth, scrambled to his feet and in -spite of his comrades who thought that he was delirious, climbed -stiffly over the edge of the rifle-pit and began to creep out between -the lines toward the wounded men. At first every motion was an agony. -He was weakened by the loss of blood and he could bear no weight on his -left arm, yet there was such a fatal storm of bullets and grape-shot -whizzing over him that he knew that, if he rose to his feet, there -would be little chance of his ever reaching his friends alive. Slowly -and doggedly he sidled along like a disabled crab. Sometimes he would -have to stop and rest. Many times bullets whizzed close to him and cut -the turf all around where he lay. As soon as he had rested a few -seconds, he would fix his eye on some little tuft of grass or stone or -weed and make up his mind that he would crawl until he reached that -before he rested again. It was a long journey before he reached his -goal. On the way he had taken three full canteens of water from silent -figures which would never need them more. When at last he reached the -men, they recognized him and the tears ran down their faces as they -called his name. - -"God bless you, Corporal," said one; "it's just like you to come for -us." - -Tinkham had no breath left to talk, but he gave each wounded man a -refreshing drink from the canteens. Both of them were badly, although -not fatally, wounded. One had a shattered leg and the other was slowly -bleeding to death from a jagged wound in his thigh which he had tried -in vain to staunch. Tinkham bandaged them up to the best of his ability -and started to drag them both back to safety. With his help and -encouragement, each of them crawled for himself as best he was able. It -was a weary journey. During the last part of it, however, he was helped -by other volunteers who were shamed into action by seeing this wounded -man do what they had not dared. All three recovered and lived to take -part in the latter-day victories which were yet to come. - -Tinkham was but one of the thousands of brave men who risked their -lives to save their comrades. There was Michael Madden who at Mason's -Island, Maryland, was on a reconnaissance with a comrade within the -enemy's lines. His companion was wounded. A number of the enemy's -cavalry started out to cut off the two men who were at the same time -exposed to concentrated fire from the enemy's sharp-shooters. Madden -picked his comrade up as if he had been a child, hoisted him to his -back and ran with him to the bank of the Potomac, and plunged off into -the water. Swimming on his back, he kept his comrade's head up and -crossed the river in safety with the bullets hissing and spattering all -around him. - -Then there was Julius Langbein, a drummer-boy fifteen years old. In -1862 at Camden, N.C., the captain of his company was shot down. -Langbein went to his help, but found that unless he received surgical -treatment, he could not live an hour. Unstrapping his drum, he ran back -to the rear and found a surgeon who was brave enough to go out to the -front with him and under a heavy fire give first-aid to the wounded -officer. Then the two carried the unconscious captain back to safety. - -It is a brave man that can rally himself in a retreat. Usually men go -with the crowd. Once let the tide of battle begin to ebb and a company -or a regiment or a brigade commence a retreat, it takes not only -unusual courage, but also unusual will-power for any single man to -stand out against his fellows and resist not only his own fears, but -theirs. Such a man was John S. Kenyon. At Trenton, S.C., on May 15, -1862, the whole column of his regiment, the 3d New York Cavalry, was -retreating under a murderous fire from the enemy. Kenyon was in the -rear rank. The retreat had started at a trot, had increased to a gallop -and finally the whole column was riding at breakneck speed away from -the shot and shell which crashed through their ranks. At the very -height of their speed a man riding next to Kenyon was struck in the -right shoulder by a grape-shot. The force of the blow pitched him -headlong from the saddle. He still held to his reins with his left hand -with a death-grip and was dragged for yards by his plunging, snorting -horse. Kenyon was just ahead and knew nothing of the occurrence until -he heard a faint voice behind him calling breathlessly, "Help, John, -help!" He looked back and saw his comrade nearly fifty yards behind -lying on the ground. Already his fingers were loosening their grip on -the rein and the blood was flowing fast from the gash on his shoulder. -Behind him the Confederate cavalry came thundering along not a quarter -of a mile away while the massed batteries behind them swept the whole -field with a hail of lead and steel. John hesitated for a minute and -for the last time he heard once more the call of help, this time so -faint that he could hardly hear it above the din of the battle. With a -quick movement, he swung his horse to one side of the column. - -"Don't be a fool, John," shouted one of the men ahead; "it's every man -for himself now. You can't save him and you'll only lose your own -life." - -It was the old plausible lie that started when Satan said of Job, "Skin -for skin, all that a man hath will he give for his life." It was a lie -then and it is just as much a lie to-day. - -"Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his -friend," said our Master. Every day when the crisis comes we see men -who will do that. Kenyon was one of these men. As he said afterward, "I -should never have been able to get Jim's voice out of my mind if I -hadn't stopped." - -It only took an instant to cover the distance from the column to the -wounded man. Kenyon reached him just in time to catch the riderless -horse which had at last freed his bridle from the weak grip of his -wounded master. Kenyon swung himself to the ground and holding the two -plunging horses with his right hand, pulled his friend to his feet and -with a tremendous effort finally hoisted him into his saddle again. By -this time the pursuing cavalry was within pistol-shot and the revolver -bullets began to sing around the heads of the two men. - -"You hang on to your saddle, Jim," said Kenyon, "and I'll take care of -your horse." - -Bending low in his saddle, he dug his spurs deep into his horse's -sides, at the same time keeping his grip on the reins of the other -horse and in a few minutes the two were back again in the rear of the -retreating column. All through the retreat Kenyon stuck to his comrade -and finally landed him safely in the field-hospital in front of which -the Union Army had thrown up entrenchments which stopped all further -pursuit. - -War, like everything else, is always a one-man job. It was the one man -Hannibal that took a tropical army of sunburned Arabs, Carthaginians, -Abyssinians, Berbers and soldiers from half a score of other southern -nations and cut and built and tunneled his way through the ice and snow -and cold of the Alps. Not only did his indomitable will carry his men -through an impossible and unknown region, but it was this one man who -for the first time in the history of the world marched elephants up -over the Alps. Over two thousand years later it was one man again who -took a ragged, battered, beaten army and marched over the same route -and through the avalanches and snow-covered peaks and blinding -snow-storms of the Great Bernard Pass. When the men turned trembling -back from the brink of immeasurable precipices and before cliffs which -seemed as if they could be climbed only by the chamois, Napoleon would -order the drums and bugles to strike up the signal for a charge and up -and over his soldiers went. It was this one short, frail, little man -that fused this army into a great fighting machine, marched it over -impossible mountains and swept down into Italy to win as great -victories as did his fierce predecessor twenty centuries before. - -The records of the War Department are full of instances where men -singly did seemingly impossible things. There was Patrick Ginley, a -private in a New York regiment. At Reams Station, Virginia, the command -in which he fought deserted important works which they occupied and -retreated under the tremendous fire of the advancing enemy. Patrick -remained. It seemed impossible that only one man could do anything -except throw away his life, but Patrick made up his mind that he would -accomplish everything that one man could. Accordingly as the enemy -surged up to occupy the works with cheers and laughter at the sight of -the retreating bluecoats, they were suddenly staggered by receiving a -tremendous cannonade of grape-shot which cut down the entire first two -ranks of the approaching company. It was Private Ginley who, -single-handed, had loaded and sighted the gun and coolly waited until -the enemy were within pointblank range. The Confederates were thrown -into confusion. They suspected a Yankee trick and thought that the -retreat had been made simply to lure them into close range. In the -confusion they fell back, although they could have marched in without -any further opposition, for as soon as Ginley had fired the gun, he -escaped out of the rear of the earthworks and hastened to another Union -regiment which was holding its ground near by. Waving his arms over his -head and shouting like a mad-man, he rushed up to the astonished men -and grabbed the colors out of the hands of the bewildered -color-sergeant. - -"Come on, boys!" he shouted. "I've got some good guns and a nice bit of -fortification just waitin' for you. Look at the way I drove them back -all by myself." - -And he waved the colors toward the shattered Confederates who were -slowly forming into line again preparatory to an assault, and started -back for the works as fast as his legs could carry him. - -"Come on, you fellows," he yelled over his shoulder; "do you want me to -drive them back twice?" - -His example was all that was needed. There was a cheer from officers -and men alike and close behind him thundered the charge of the -regiment. With a rush they swept up over the earthworks, drove the -Confederates, who had just entered from the other side, out headlong, -manned the whole works and in a minute were pouring charges of grape -and canister from the retaken guns which completed their victory. A -defeat had been changed into a victory, eleven guns and important works -had been retaken from the enemy and a regiment of Confederates -disorganized and driven from the field. One man did it. - -The deeds that most appeal to our imagination are single combats--one -man against a multitude when daring and dash and coolness and skill -take the place of numbers. History is full of such stories. We love to -read of that great death-fight of Hereward the Wake, the Last of the -English, when with sturdy little Winter at his back, he fought his last -fight ringed around with hateful, treacherous foes. At his feet the -pile of dead and wounded men grew high and higher until no one dared -step within the sweep of that fatal sword. At last when Winter had -fallen, some treacherous coward thrust a spear into Hereward's -defenseless back. As he lay fallen on his face, apparently dead, one of -his foemen stepped over to rob him of his sword when Hereward struggled -to his knees and struck forward with his shield so fiercely, the last -blow of the last Englishman, that he laid his man dead on the field. - -Then there was the death-fight of Grettir the Outlaw which Andrew Lang -calls one of the four great fights in literature of one man against a -multitude. No boy should ever grow up without reading the Grettir Saga -which tells how after being unjustly driven into outlawry Grettir -finally took refuge on a rocky island which could only be climbed by a -rope-ladder. There with his brother and a cowardly, lazy servant he -lived in safety until his enemies hired a witch-wife to do him harm. At -midnight she cut grim runes into a great log of driftwood and burned -strange signs thereon and stained it with her blood and then after -laying upon it many a wicked spell, had it cast into the sea by four -strong men. Against wind and tide it sailed to Drangy, Grettir's island -of refuge. There he found it on the beach, but recognized it as -ill-fated and warned the servant not to use it for fire-wood. In spite -of this the lazy thrall brought it up the next day and when Grettir, -not recognizing it, started to split the accursed log, his axe glanced -and cut a deep gash in his leg. The wound festered and the leg swelled -and turned blue so that Grettir could not even stand on it. When he was -at last disabled, the witch-wife raised a storm and under her direction -a band of his bitterest enemies went out to the island and found that -his servant had left the rope-ladder down. One by one they climbed the -sheer cliff and made a ring around the little hut where Grettir and his -young brother slept. They dashed in the door. Grettir seized his sword -and shield and fought on one knee so fiercely that they dared not -approach him. Some of the attackers tried to slip behind his watchful -sword. - -"Bare is the back of the brotherless," panted Grettir and his -boy-brother stood behind him and fought over him until they were both -overborne by the sheer weight of heavy shields, and Grettir killed, -although not until six men lay dead in front of the great chieftain. -Illugi, the brother, was offered his life if he would promise to take -no vengeance on the murderers of his brother. He refused to do this -because they had killed Grettir by witchcraft and treachery and not in -fair fight. So they slew him, trying in vain to avoid the vengeance -which came to them all many years later at the hands of another of -Grettir's kin. - -We read also of battles won against what seem to us impossible odds. -The Samurai stories of old Japan have several instances where -chieftains defeated whole armies single-handed by their wonderful -swordsmanship. The Bible contains several such stories. There is the -story of Jonathan and his armor-bearer who together captured a -fortress. Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, "Come and -let us go over unto the garrison. It may be that the Lord will work for -us." And his armor-bearer said unto him, "Do all that is in thine -heart, behold I am with thee." Then they agreed to wait for a sign. If -when they came before the garrison the men should invite them to come -up, then they would go. If not, they would not make the attempt. The -account goes on to say that when they both discovered themselves unto -the garrison of the Philistines, the men of the garrison cried out to -Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, "Come up to us and we will show -you a thing." And Jonathan said unto his armor-bearer, "Come up after -me for the Lord hath delivered them to us." And Jonathan climbed up -upon his hands and upon his feet and his armor-bearer after him and -they fell before Jonathan and his armor-bearer slew after him. In a -half-acre of ground which a yoke of oxen might plough, these two fought -and slew and cut their way back and forth until the band that held the -fort broke and fled and the stronghold was captured by the two. - -Then there was Jashobeam the Hachmonite, one of the first three men of -David's body-guard of heroes who slew with his spear three hundred men -at one time. There was Eleazar, who with David fought in that bloody -barley field when these two warriors single-handed dispersed a company -of Philistines. There was Abishai who slew three hundred men. These -were the three mighty men who were besieged with David in the cave of -Adullam in the midst of a parched and burning desert and David longed -and said, "Oh, that one would give me to drink of the water of the well -of Bethlehem that is at the gate." The three heard what their captain -said and alone they broke through the ranks of the Philistines, drew -water out of the well of Bethlehem and brought it back to David. And -David did not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord and said, -"Lord forbid that I should drink the blood of these men that have put -their lives in jeopardy for me." - -When we read these and other hero-stories, we are apt to think that the -time for such deeds is past and that the men of to-day can never equal -the accomplishments of the fighters of olden time. Yet the Civil War -shows stories just as stirring and accomplishments seemingly as -impossible. There was George Wilhelm, a captain in the Ohio Infantry. -At Bakers Creek he was badly wounded in the breast and after he had -fallen was captured by a Confederate, forced to his feet and though -faint from loss of blood marched to the Confederate camp. As he saw -himself farther and farther away from his own army a Berserkir rage -came over him which made him forget his wound and his weakness. With -one tremendous spring he caught his captor around the neck, wrested his -drawn sabre from out of his hand, slashed him over the left shoulder -and then picking up the loaded revolver which had dropped from the -disabled hand faced him around and marched him back to the Union lines -a prisoner although, toward the end of that journey, Wilhelm was so -weak that he had to lean on the shoulder of his unwilling attendant. - -There was William G. Whitney a sergeant in the 11th Michigan Infantry, -at the battle of Chickamauga who, just as his men were about to face a -fierce charge from the Confederates, found that their ammunition had -given out. Outside the Union works was a shell-swept field covered with -dead and wounded men. Whitney never hesitated. He leaped over the works -and ran back and forth over that field, cutting off and loading himself -down with cartridge-boxes, although it did not seem as if a man could -live a minute in that hissing storm of bullets and shell. Just in time -he brought back the ammunition which enabled his men to beat back the -charge and hold their position. - -At Rappahannock Station, Virginia, J. Henry White, a private in the -90th Pennsylvania Infantry, like David's men brought back water to his -thirsty comrades at the risk of his own life. The enemy had -concentrated their fire on the only spring from which Union men could -get water, but White crawled through the grass like a snake, covered -from head to foot with canteens, filled them every one and crawled back -under a fire which seemed as if it must be fatal. The Union forces were -able to hold out and win the fight through his brave deed. - -On May 12, 1864, Christopher W. Wilson, a private in the 73d New York -Infantry at the battle of Spottsylvania in a charge on the Confederate -works, seized the flag which the wounded color-bearer had dropped, led -the charge and then for good measure cut down the color-bearer of the -56th Virginia Regiment, captured the Confederate colors and brought -back both flags in safety to the Union lines. - -Another color-bearer who won his share of battle-glory was Andrew J. -Tozier, a sergeant in the 20th Maine Infantry at the battle of -Gettysburg. Tozier believed that it was the duty of a color-bearer -having done all to stand fast. At the very flood-tide of the fight when -it was a toss-up which side would be the victor of that crisis-battle -of the war, Tozier's regiment, which was in the forefront, was borne -back leaving him standing with the colors in an advanced position. -Tozier stood there like a rock and coolly picked off with his musket -every Confederate that attacked him until his ammunition gave out. He -then pushed forward a few yards until he reached the body of one of the -soldiers of his regiment who had fallen and stooping down, still -keeping his colors flying, he managed to loosen some cartridges from -the dead man's belt. With these he recharged his rifle and fought a -great fight alone. Again and again he would stoop for a minute to get -more cartridges, but the flag never went down. From all over the field -the officers from the scattered regiment rallied their men and hurried -toward the colors and just as a Confederate troop thundered down on -Tozier, intending to ride over him and carry away the precious flag, -from every part of the field little squads of fighting men reached him -in time to pour in a volley that saved the colors which Tozier for many -minutes had been protecting single-handed. That was the turning-point -of this part of the battle. The Maine regiment pressed on and never -retreated a foot again through all those days of terrible fighting. -Tozier was one of the many men who saved that day for the Union by -being brave in the face of tremendous odds. - -Freeman C. Thompson of the 116th Ohio Infantry won his medal of honor -at Petersburg, Virginia. On April 2, 1865, the Union forces were -storming Fort Gregg. Both sides had poured in murderous volleys at -short range and then had rushed to close quarters, fighting desperately -with bayonet and butt. Thompson scrambled up on his hands and knees, -but had no more reached the parapet when he was knocked off it headlong -by a tremendous blow on the head from a clubbed musket. When he -returned to consciousness he found himself lying in the ditch with two -dead men on top of him. Thompson made up his mind that this was not the -kind of company which he ought to keep and springing to his feet, he -started again for the parapet. This time he was more fortunate for he -gained a footing and managed to bayonet the first man who attacked him, -but before he could withdraw the bayonet, once again he received a -tremendous smash full in the face from a clubbed musket and went clear -over backward with a broken nose. He struck on the heap of bodies from -which he had just emerged and though not unconscious, lay for a few -minutes unable to move. Finally he managed to wipe the blood out from -his eyes and spit out the blood and broken teeth from his battered -mouth. Some men would have felt that they had had enough, but not so -with this one. For the third and last time he scrambled up and as he -reached the edge of the parapet caught sight of the man who was -responsible for his battered face. Thompson rushed at him and there was -a battle royal between the two, bayonet to bayonet, but Thompson at -last by a trick of fence which he had learned, suddenly reversed his -musket and smashed the heavy butt down on his opponent's right forearm, -breaking the latter's grip on his own weapon. Before he could recover, -Thompson's bayonet had passed through his throat and Thompson himself -had gained a foothold within the works. Shoulder to shoulder he fought -with the rest of his comrades in spite of the streaming blood and only -stopped when the garrison surrendered. - -It is a brave man in civil life that will give up his vacation and it -takes a hero to relinquish a furlough, that precious breathing spell -away from battles and hardships back at home with his dear ones. Martin -Schubert, a private in the 26th New York Infantry, had gained this -respite and had paid for it by his wounds. Hearing that his regiment -was about to go into battle again at Fredericksburg, he gave up his -furlough, hurried back to the front and fought fiercely through all -that brave day. Six men of his regiment, one after the other, had been -shot down that fatal afternoon while carrying the colors. Schubert, -although he already had one half-healed and one open wound, seized the -flag when it went down for the last time and carried it to the front -until the very end of the battle, although he received an extra wound -for doing it. Thirty-one years later he received a medal of honor for -that day's work. - -It is easier to save a wounded friend or wounded comrade than a wounded -enemy. He who dares death to save one whom he is fighting against shows -courage of the highest type. Such a deed occurred during the battle of -Chancellorsville. Those four fatal May-days were filled as full of -brave deeds as any days of the Civil War. Though General Hooker, the -Union general, flinched and lost not only the battle, but forever his -name of Fighting Joe Hooker, his men gave up only when they were -outflanked and out-fought and unsupported. - -Elisha B. Seaman was a private in one of the regiments which was -surprised and attacked by the twenty-six thousand infantry of Stonewall -Jackson, the best fighters in the Confederate Army. The Union men were -not suspecting any danger. Word had been sent a number of times both to -Hooker and to General Howard who commanded the eleventh corps under him -that Jackson was crossing through the woods to make a flank-attack. -Neither general would believe the message. Both were sure that Jackson -was in retreat. When the attack came the Union troops were attacked in -front and from the flank and rear at once. They held their ground for a -time, but they were new troops and even veterans could not have long -sustained such an assault. At first they attempted to make an orderly -retreat, but the Confederates pressed on them so close and fought so -fiercely that the retreat became a run and the corps of which Seaman's -regiment was a part was not rallied until they met reinforcements far -over in the wilderness and gradually came to a halt and threw up -defenses. There they were too strong to be driven back further by the -Confederates and managed to hold their ground although attacked again -and again. After the last attack the Confederate forces withdrew and -took up a strong position on the Union front, brought up artillery and -opened up a tremendous rifle-fire mingled with the cannonade from all -their available batteries, hoping to throw the Union forces into -disorder so that they would not stand another charge. During the -fiercest of the fire while every man was keeping close under cover, -Seaman's attention was caught by the sight of a Confederate officer who -lay writhing in terrible agony not a hundred yards outside of the Union -lines. He had been shot through the body in the last charge and had -been left on the field by the retreating Confederates. The pain was -unbearable. Seaman could see his face all distorted and although not a -sound came through the clenched teeth, the poor fellow could not -control the agonized twitching and jerking of his tortured muscles. -Seaman tried to turn his face away from the sight, but each time his -eyes came back to that brave man in torment out in front of him. At -last he could stand it no longer. He slipped back to the rear and got -hold of a surgeon. - -"Doctor," he said, "there's a fellow out in front pretty badly wounded. -If I get him to you, do you think you can ease his pain?" - -"I certainly can," said the surgeon, "but judging from the noise out -there in front, you'll lie out there with him if you go beyond the -breastworks." - -"You get your chloroform ready," said Seaman, "and I'll get the man." - -A few minutes later Elisha was seen by his astonished comrades crawling -along the bullet-torn turf on his way to the wounded man. - -"Hi there, come back, you lump-head!" yelled his bunkie. "Don't you see -the fellow is a Reb? You'll get killed." - -"I wouldn't let a dog suffer the way that fellow's suffering," yelled -back Elisha, waddling along on his hands and knees like a woodchuck. He -finally reached the officer, forced a little whiskey into his mouth and -prepared to lift him up on his back. - -"Cheer up, old man," he said. "I've got a good surgeon back there who -says he can fix you up. If I can only get you on my back, we'll be safe -in a minute." - -"You'll be safe enough," gasped the other somewhat ungratefully, Seaman -thought, "but there will be a dozen bullets through me." - -There seemed to be something in that statement. Elisha decided that it -would be a cruel kindness to turn this man into a target for the -bullets which were coming across the field and make him act as his -involuntary shield. - -"I'll tell you what I'll do, General," Seaman said finally; "I'll get -you up and then I'll back down to our lines. If any one gets hit, it'll -be me. - -He was as good as his word. Although the wounded officer was a large -man, Seaman got a fireman's-lift on him, swung him over his shoulders -and then facing the Confederate lines, slowly backed his way toward -safety. At first the Confederate fire redoubled as the men in gray -thought that he was simply effecting the capture of one of their men. -When, however, they realized that he was protecting one of their own -officers from their fire with his own body, all along the line the -fusillade of musketry died down and there came down the wind in its -place the sound of a storm of cheers which swept from one end of the -Confederate position to the other. Seaman covered the last fifty yards -of his dangerous journey without a shot being fired at him except the -shot and shell from the batteries which were being worked too far back -for the gunners to know what was going on. The surgeon with whom he had -spoken had been attracted to the front by the shouts and cheers both -from the Confederate lines and from Seaman's own comrades and was the -first to help him over the breastworks. - -"You're a great fool," he said. "I thought you were talking about one -of our men, but so long as you brought this poor Reb in at the risk of -your life, I'll certainly cure him." - -And he did. - -Another man whose courage flared up superior to wounds and mutilation -and who was brave enough to do his duty in spite of the agony he was -suffering, was Corporal Miles James, who on September 30, 1864, at -Chapins Farm, Virginia, with the rest of his company was attacking the -enemy's works. They had charged up to within thirty yards of the -fortifications when they were met by a murderous storm of grape and -canister, the enemy having held their fire until the very last moment. -A grape-shot cut through Corporal James' left arm just above the elbow, -smashing right through the middle of the bone and cutting the arm half -off so that it dangled by the severed muscles. The force of the blow -whirled James around like a top and he fell over to the ground, but was -on his feet again in an instant and started for the Confederate line -like the bulldog that he was. - -"Go back, Corporal," shouted one of his men. "Your arm's half off and -you'll bleed to death." - -"No I won't," yelled James; "my right arm is my fighting-arm anyway." - -"Let me tie you up then," said the man, pulling him to the ground where -the rest of the regiment lay flat on their faces waiting for the storm -to pass so that they might charge again. "There's plenty of time." - -An examination of the arm showed that it was past saving. - -"Corporal," said the other, "you had better let me take this arm right -off. I can make a quick job with my bowie-knife and bandage it. If I -don't you'll bleed to death." - -"All right," said Miles; "go ahead." - -A minute later the amateur surgeon tied the last knot in the bandage -which he had made out of a couple of bandanna handkerchiefs which had -been contributed by others of the file. - -"Now, Corporal," he said, coaxingly, "let me get you back where you can -lie down and rest." - -"No," said Corporal James, "the only resting I'm going to do will be -inside those works." - -He reached back for the Springfield rifle which he had dropped when -first struck and fitting it carefully to his right shoulder, fired a -well-aimed shot at a Confederate gunner who was serving one of the -cannons on the breastworks. As the man toppled over the corporal smiled -grimly and in spite of offers of help from all sides, loaded and fired -his gun twice again. By this time the fire had died down and the -corporal suddenly sprang to his feet and started for the breastworks. - -"Hurry up, fellows," he shouted to his men; "don't let a one-armed man -do all the work." - -With a tremendous cheer the whole force sprang again to their feet and -swarmed over the ramparts in a rush which there was no stopping. James -was right with them, two of his men hoisting and pushing him up, for he -found that although he could shoot, it was more difficult to climb with -one arm. As the last Confederates who were left surrendered, James sat -down against one of the captured cannon and smiled wanly at the man who -had helped him and said: - -"Now I'll take a rest and later on I'll go to the rear with you if you -like." - -This he did and a regular surgeon completed an operation which he said -had, under the circumstances, been most efficiently performed. Corporal -James always said that the medal of honor which the government gave him -was worth far more than the arm which he gave the government. - -In the days of David there came a great famine. Year after year the -crops failed and the people starved. At last the priests and -soothsayers told David that this doom had fallen upon the nation -because of a broken oath. Many centuries before Joshua, one of the -great generals of the world, was fighting his way into the Promised -Land. He was contending with huge black giant tribes like the Anakim, -and against blue-eyed Amorite mountaineers with their war-chariots of -iron, whose five kings he was to utterly destroy on that great day when -he said in the sight of the host of Israel, "Sun, stand thou still upon -Gibeon and thou Moon in the valley of Ajalon," and the sun stood still -and the moon stayed until the people had revenged themselves upon their -enemies. He had captured the fortified city of Jericho and had razed it -to the ground and laid that terrible curse which was afterward -fulfilled on the man who should again lay the foundation and rebuild -the city. He had destroyed the city of Ai, little but inhabited by -fierce fighters who had hurled back even the numberless hordes of -Israel. The terror and the dread of the invaders had spread through the -length and breadth of the land. On the slopes of Mount Hermon lived the -Hivites. They were not great in war, but like the men of Tyre they -asked to be let alone to carry on the trade and commerce in which they -were so expert. Not far away from Ai was their chief city of Gibeon and -the elders of that city planned to obtain from Joshua safety by -stratagem. They sent embassadors whose skin bottles were old and rent -and bound up and whose shoes were worn through and clouted and whose -garments were old and worn and their provision dry and mouldy. These -came to Joshua pretending to be embassadors from a far country who -desired to make a league with them. Not knowing that their city was in -the very path of his march, Joshua and the princes of the congregation -made peace with them. Later on they found that they had been deceived, -but the word of the nation had been passed and the sworn peace could -not be broken. So it happened from that day that the Gibeonites became -hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and lived in -peace with the Israelites under their sworn protection. The centuries -passed and at last Saul, the first king of Israel, began his reign. In -spite of the oath of his forefathers, he slew the Gibeonites and sought -to root them out of the land. It was this broken oath that had brought -upon the nation the years of famine and suffering. Under the advice of -their priests David sent for the remnants of the Gibeonites and asked -them what atonement could be made for the cruel and treacherous deed of -King Saul who had long been dead, but whose sin lived on after him. The -Gibeonites said that they would have no silver or gold of Saul or of -his house, but demanded that seven men of the race of Saul be delivered -unto them. It was done and they hung these seven prisoners as a -vengeance on the bloody house of Saul. Two of them were the sons of -Rizpah whom she bore unto Saul, the king. When they were hanged, she -took sackcloth and spread it on the rocks and guarded those bodies -night and day and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest upon -them by day or the beasts of the field by night. Sleeplessly she -guarded all that was left of her sons until the news of her -faithfulness was brought to David, who gave back to her the bodies for -burial and for the last rites of sepulchre and sanctuary which mean so -much to all believers. - -In the Civil War at Cold Harbor, Virginia, Sergeant LeRoy Williams of -the 8th New York Artillery, like Rizpah, saved the body of his dead -colonel and brought it back at the risk of his own life for honored -burial. During that terrible battle in one of the charges of his -regiment, his colonel was shot down close to the enemy's lines. When -the shattered remnants of the regiment rallied again after they had -been driven back by the entrenched Confederates, it was found that the -colonel was missing. Williams had a profound admiration and affection -for his colonel. When he found he was missing, he took an oath before -the men that were left that he would find him and bring him in dead or -alive. All the rest of that weary afternoon he crept back and forth -over the battle-field exposed to the fire of the enemy's -sharp-shooters. Again and again his life was saved almost by a miracle, -so close did the well-directed bullets strike. Finally just at twilight -close to the enemy's lines he found his colonel. He lay as he had -fallen, facing the entrenchments which he had fought so hard to win, -with a bullet through his heart. Within a few feet of where he lay the -Confederate pickets were stationed who watched the field and fired at -the least suspicious movement. Just as Williams identified the body, he -saw one of the sentries approaching in the dusk and had just time to -throw himself down with outstretched arms beside the dead officer when -the guard was upon him. Something in his attitude aroused the man's -suspicions and he prodded Williams in the back with his bayonet. -Fortunately the sharp steel struck him glancingly and only inflicted a -shallow wound and Williams had the presence of mind and the fortitude -to lie perfectly quiet without a motion or a sound to indicate that he -lived. The sentry passed on convinced that only dead men lay before -him. Williams waited until it became perfectly dark and started to drag -in the dead body of his officer. Inch by inch he crept away from the -enemy's lines in the darkness until he was far enough away so that his -movements could not be seen. All that weary night he dragged and -carried the rescued body of the dead officer until just at dawn he -brought it within the Union lines to receive the honors of a military -funeral. - -Space fails to tell of the many brave deeds which gleam through the -blood of many a hard-fought field and shine against the blackness of -many a dark defeat. There was David L. Smith, a sergeant in Battery E -of the 1st New York Light Artillery, who, when a shell struck an -ammunition chest in his battery, exploding a number of cartridges and -setting fire to the packing tow, instead of running away from the -exploding cartridges which threatened every minute to set fire to the -fuses of some of the great shells, had the coolness and the courage to -bring a bucket of water and put out the flames as quietly as if he were -banking a camp-fire for the night. - -There was Isaac Redlon, a private in the 27th Maine Infantry, who -shortly before the battle of Chickamauga was put under arrest for a -gross breach of discipline. Isaac saw a chance to wipe out the disgrace -which he had incurred. Instead of staying at the rear with the wounded -and other men under arrest, he managed to get hold of a rifle and -fought through the two terrible days of that disastrous battle. So -bravely did he fight, so cool was he under fire and so quick to carry -out and to anticipate every order that was given, that when the battle -was at last over, his captain decided that not only had Redlon wiped -out the memory of his former misdoing, but that he had earned the medal -which was afterward awarded to him. - -Another man whose bravery wiped out his mistakes was Colonel Louis P. -DiCesnola of the 4th New York Cavalry. On June 17, 1863, he was under -arrest when the battle was joined at Aldie, Virginia. It was the -bitterest day that the colonel had ever known when in the guard-house -he watched his regiment go into action without him. He felt that he had -ruined his whole career and that his life through his folly and -hot-headedness was a complete failure. There was granted to him, -however, as there is to all of us, the opportunity to make amends. -While he was still moodily watching the progress of the battle, -suddenly he saw the men, whom he had so often led, waver. Then -stragglers began to slip back through the lines and suddenly the whole -regiment was in full retreat. Colonel DiCesnola did not hesitate a -moment. - -"Open that door," he said to the guard. "I'll show those fellows how to -fight and I'll come back when it's all over." - -Without a word the sentry unlocked the door and the colonel rushed out -just in time to meet the first rank of the flying men. Almost the first -man that he met was the officer who had taken his place, riding the -colonel's own horse. DiCesnola gripped the animal by the bridle. - -"Get off that horse," he shouted, "and let some one ride him who knows -which way to go. He's not used to retreating," and before his -bewildered successor could answer, he was hurled out of the saddle and -Colonel DiCesnola was on the back of his own horse. - -"About face, charge!" he thundered to his men. Most of them recognized -his voice and the familiar figure that so often led them and without -hesitating a moment, wheeled about and followed him toward the front. -Every few yards his troop was increased by men who were ashamed to ride -to the rear when they saw him charging to the front unarmed but waving -his hat and cheering them on. Before the Confederates could realize -what had happened they were fairly hurled off their feet by the -tremendous rush of hurtling men and horses. Of all the attacks which -are hard to withstand, the charge of a body of men who have rallied and -are trying to wipe out the shame of their retreat is most to be feared. -It was so here. Although the Confederates fought hard nothing could -hold back the rush of this cavalry regiment. They were led by their own -colonel who though unarmed stayed in the forefront of the battle. As -they finally broke through the Confederate line, a burly cavalryman -slashed at him with his sabre. Colonel DiCesnola stooped low to avoid -the cut, but the point of the sabre caught him on the right shoulder -and ripped deep into his chest while almost at the same moment he -received a pistol shot in his left arm which broke it. Unable to hold -the reins, he slipped forward and would have fallen to the ground, but -was held in his saddle by his first assailant who forced his horse up -close beside the colonel's and dashed back through the Confederate -lines carrying DiCesnola and his magnificent horse. There the colonel -was made prisoner, but was carefully nursed and by the time that he had -recovered his strength, was exchanged and rejoined his old regiment. He -reported to his general as still under arrest. - -"You are mistaken," said the latter. "I saw the way you rallied your -men that day and when you were reported missing, we thought you had -been killed. The charges against you are dismissed and your record is -just as clean as it ever was and your old regiment is waiting for you." - -The story of William W. Noyes, a private in the 2d Vermont Infantry, -and his charmed life is still told by the veterans who fought at -Spottsylvania. On that day the madness of battle came over him. When -that happens, life has no value except to spend it for the cause for -which one is fighting. Noyes' regiment had charged up to the -breastworks of the enemy from which was poured into the attacking -forces tremendous volleys. Noyes had charged with the others, but when -they stopped to rally at the breastworks preparatory to forcing them, -Noyes never paused. Right up the parapet he scrambled and stood on top -of the breastworks with his musket in full range of a thousand men. -Taking deliberate aim he shot the man just below him who was aiming his -gun at him not more than two yards away. In full sight of both armies -he stood there and loaded and fired no less than fifteen shots. Not one -of them missed its mark. It was in vain that the men all around him who -were exposed to his fire shot at him. The bullets cut through his -clothing, carried off his cap and one stripped the sights off his rifle -and ricochetted off the hammer itself, but not a wound did he receive. -His example spurred his comrades on and in a few minutes the whole -regiment struggled over the earthworks and drove out the garrison. - -Joseph von Matre, a private in the 116th Ohio Infantry, did the same -thing at Petersburg on April 2, 1865, during the assault on Fort Gregg. -He climbed up the parapet and fired down into the fort as fast as his -comrades could pass up to him loaded guns. No bullet could harm him and -single-handed he drove the men out of that embrasure after killing -several and forced a gap which was filled by the men who climbed up -when he shouted down to them what he had done. - -This chronicle of brave deeds would not be complete without the stories -of the men who were brave enough to disregard all odds either in -numbers or in circumstances. There was Delano Morey, a private in the -82d Ohio Infantry, who at McDowell, Virginia, found himself, after the -charge of the Confederates had been repulsed, with an empty gun and no -ammunition. Just in front of him were two of the enemy's sharp-shooters -who had been picking off the Union officers all through the charge. -Each of them was a dead shot and each of them had a loaded gun. -Menacing them both with his empty piece, Morey rushed forward and -called on them to surrender. The superb confidence of the man was too -much for them and without a word each of them handed him his loaded -rifle and walked meekly back with him as prisoners to the Union lines. - -There was Frank W. Mills, a sergeant in a New York regiment, who while -scouting at Sandy Cross Roads in North Carolina, with only three or -four men under him, suddenly came upon a whole troop of the enemy. -Without orders and seemingly without the possibility of succeeding, -Mills charged down upon the Confederates at the head of his regiment, -consisting of four men. Courage took the place of numbers. The -Confederates scattered like sheep and Mills and his men rounded up no -less than one hundred and twenty prisoners who stacked their arms and -marched obediently into the Union lines. - -Augustus Merrill, a captain in the 1st Maine Infantry, performed a -similar feat at Petersburg when with six men he captured sixty-nine -Confederate prisoners and recaptured and released a number of Union -soldiers whom they had made prisoners. - -The 4th of May, 1863, was a great day for John P. McVean, a corporal in -the 49th Infantry. On that day at Fredericksburg Heights, Virginia, he -fought at the forefront of his company and when the order to charge was -given, outstripped them all, reached the Confederate lines entirely -alone, shot down the Confederate color-bearer, seized the colors and -fought back all attempts to retake them until his comrades could come -to his assistance. Later in the day he showed that he could be just as -brave away from the inspiration and excitement of battle. Between the -lines stood a barn which was occupied by a number of Confederate -sharp-shooters who were greatly annoying the Union forces by picking -off men at every opportunity. McVean's captain finally ordered his men -to charge on the barn and drive them out. - -"Wait a minute, Captain," said the corporal; "I believe I can make -those fellows surrender without losing any men. Let me try anyway." - -Without waiting for the captain to reply, the corporal laid down his -gun and alone and unarmed and beckoning as he walked with his hand -toward the barn, started for the sharp-shooters. Seeing that he was not -armed they allowed him to come within speaking distance. - -"I have come to take you men prisoners," he said positively; "we don't -want to kill you, but if you don't come now, we are going to charge and -this is your last chance." - -The men inside hesitated a minute, but there was such an air of supreme -confidence about McVean that first one and then another and then the -whole band of twelve men marched out and followed him back to the Union -lines. Once more a brave man had accomplished the impossible. - -There were no braver men in all the Union Army than were found in the -ranks of the different batteries whose guns did so much to bring about -the final victory of the Union arms. The courage of our cannoneers, men -who saved the guns in spite of every attack and who often saved them in -many a defeat, has never been surpassed. The affection of a gunner for -the piece which he has manned and served in many a hard-fought battle -is like that which a cavalryman has for his horse. Like the rider, the -crew of a battery will risk all to save their gun. At Wilson's Creek, -Missouri, on August 10, 1861, Nicholas Broquet, a private in one of the -Iowa batteries, showed the spirit that was in him when the gun that he -was serving was disabled. The battery-horses had been shot down, all -the crew except himself had been killed by the tremendous fire of the -enemy and across the field appeared a detachment of the enemy's forces -sent to capture the gun. Broquet cut the traces of the dead horses, -rushed out between the lines in the face of a fierce fire and succeeded -in catching a riderless horse. He rode the animal back to the gun, made -him fast to it and just as the enemy's detachment was close upon him, -rode off in safety, trundling the rescued gun behind him. - -John F. Chase was a cannoneer of the same stamp. At Chancellorsville he -was serving as a private in a Maine battery. A shell from one of the -enemy's guns struck down the officers and killed or disabled every man -of the battery except Chase and one other. They manned the gun, sighted -it as best they could and fired three rounds at the approaching enemy. -Then as the horses had been killed and it was certain that the gun -would be captured in a few minutes, they fastened themselves to the -traces and tugged away until they got the gun in motion. Although it -was a heavy one which ordinarily took two horses to drag it, yet these -two actually pulled the gun across the rough field safe to the main -line of the Union forces and saved it from capture. - -Three of the most spectacular deeds of the whole war were those of -Lieutenant Thomas W. Custer, Private Samuel E. Eddy and Adjutant Eugene -W. Ferris. Custer was a lieutenant in the 6th Michigan Cavalry and was -present at the spirited engagement at Sailors Creek, Virginia, when the -Union forces attacked the entrenched Confederates. Custer's company -charged in the face of a heavy fire on the enemy's works. When they -reached the entrenchments the order was received to dismount and to -continue the charge on foot. Custer was riding a thorough-bred and -preferred to continue the charge on horseback. Spurring his horse up to -the lowest part of the ramparts, he actually leaped him over and landed -in the very midst of the astonished defenders. Making a dash for the -color-bearer, Custer cut him down, seized the colors and wheeled and -galloped right through the demoralized men to the other end of the -works, intending to capture the colors displayed there. As he broke -through the ranks of the defenders for the second time, a volley of -straggling shots was fired at him. One bullet pierced his thigh and two -more struck his horse, killing the latter instantly. Custer rolled over -and over with the struggling animal, managed to pull himself loose and -still clinging to the captured colors, with the blood streaming down -his leg, rushed at the last color-bearer, shot him down with his -revolver and seized his colors and with his back to the rampart, fought -off all attempts to rescue them. A moment later his companions climbed -over the earthworks and rescued him just as he was on the point of -fainting from loss of blood. - -Eddy was a private in the 37th Massachusetts Infantry and on April 6, -1865, was present at the battle of Sailors Creek, Virginia. While his -regiment was fighting desperately to hold their position, Eddy saw that -his adjutant lay wounded far out beyond their lines. A little -detachment of Confederate soldiers approached and to Eddy's horror, he -saw them deliberately shoot down several of the wounded Union men. One -of them approached the adjutant to whom Eddy was much attached. He -could not bear to see him killed without at least attempting to rescue -him and he at once rushed out beyond the protection of his own line. As -he approached the adjutant, he saw the leader of the Confederate -attachment in the act of taking aim at the wounded officer. Eddy was an -excellent shot and at once knelt down and took rapid but accurate aim -and killed the Confederate just as he was on the point of firing. He -ran forward to his adjutant, but there he encountered three -Confederates and had a hand-to-hand bayonet fight with them. Eddy was a -man of tremendous strength and reach and managed to kill one of his -assailants and severely wound another. While he was so engaged, -however, the third ran him through the body with his bayonet and pinned -him to the ground. While the enemy was struggling to disengage his -bayonet for another fatal thrust, Eddy, by a last desperate effort, -managed to slip a cartridge into his gun and just as his opponent was -aiming a deadly stab at his throat, shot him through the body. Then -wounded as he was, he staggered to his feet and half-carried, -half-dragged the wounded adjutant back to the safety of the Union lines -where they were both nursed back to health and strength. - -Ferris was an adjutant in the 30th Massachusetts Infantry. On April 1, -1865, at Berryville, Virginia, accompanied only by an orderly, he was -riding outside the Union lines when he was attacked by five of Mosby's -guerrillas. It was not the custom of Mosby's men either to ask or give -quarter or to take prisoners. Ferris who was well mounted could -probably have escaped, but would have had to leave his orderly behind, -as the latter's horse was a slow one. Accordingly, although both the -men were armed only with sabres, Ferris made up his mind to fight to -the death. Without waiting to be attacked, he spurred his horse at the -guerrilla-leader and suddenly executing a demi-volte which is only -effective when performed by a good sabre and a trained horse, he -whirled like lightning and caught his opponent such a tremendous -back-handed slash that he cut him almost to the saddle. As the man -toppled over, Ferris slipped one arm around his waist and managed to -unbuckle his pistol-belt and seize both of his pistols. He then at once -engaged with another one of the band and while parrying and thrusting, -saw out of the tail of his eye a third man aiming a revolver at him -only a few yards away. Parrying a thrust from his opponent in front, -Ferris simultaneously fired with the other hand. Although Ferris was -shooting with his left hand, his bullet killed his opponent while the -Confederate's fire struck Ferris just above the left knee, inflicting a -painful but not dangerous flesh-wound. Ferris pressed his opponent in -front still more vigorously and finally succeeded in wounding him so -severely that he turned and bolted, leaving Ferris free to go to the -rescue of his orderly, who had been putting up a good fight against the -other two of the band. Ferris reached him just in time. He had been -wounded twice and though fighting bravely, one of his antagonists had -managed to reach a position in his rear. There was not much time for -Ferris to do anything with his sabre. Everything must depend upon a -pistol shot. Stopping his horse, he drew his remaining pistol, took -careful aim and shot the man behind his orderly through the body just -as the latter had his sabre uplifted for a last blow at the -hardly-pressed Union officer. The remaining guerrilla, who had already -been slightly wounded by the orderly, wheeled his horse and rode off -leaving the two Union men in possession of the field and the spoils of -war, consisting of two capital pistols and a magnificent riderless -horse which they brought back with them. - -One of the most devoted deeds of courage in the war is chronicled last. -On July 21, 1861, the first great battle of the war was fought at Bull -Run, Virginia, not far from the federal capital. It was a disastrous -day. Unorganized, commanded by inexperienced officers, that battle soon -became the shameful rout which for a long time was the basis of the -belief throughout the South that one Southerner could whip four -Northerners. - -Charles J. Murphy was quartermaster on that day in the 38th New York -Infantry. It was not his business to fight. He was there to feed and -look after his men and it was no more his duty to join the battle than -that of the surgeons, the band, or any of the other non-combatants -which accompany a regiment. When, however, he saw the masses of beaten, -discouraged, panic-stricken men straggling back, Murphy made up his -mind that the rear was no place for him. Seizing a rifle which one of -the retreating men had thrown away, he rushed forward and did all that -one man could to stop the retreat, fighting as long and as hard as he -could. It was beyond his power. His regiment were bewildered, confused -and broke and fled like sheep, leaving hundreds of wounded men on the -field. Murphy made up his mind that he would have no part or lot in -this rout and also that he would not desert his wounded comrades, for -in those days there were terrible tales rife of how the Confederates -treated wounded soldiers. The Union fighters had not yet learned that -their antagonists were the same brave, fair fighters that they were. -Murphy stayed behind. When the victorious Confederate forces marched -down the field, they found it held by one man who was giving water to -the wounded and doing his clumsy best to staunch the flowing blood from -many a ghastly wound. - -"Do you surrender?" shouted the first officer who approached him. - -"Not if you are going to hurt these wounded men," said Murphy, bringing -his bayonet into position. - -"We will take just as good care of them as we will of our own," the -officer assured him, and only on this assurance did Murphy surrender. -He spent years in Rebel prisons, but no prison could ever take away -from him the recollection that he alone had refused to retreat on that -disastrous day and that he had risked his life and given up his liberty -to save his wounded comrades. - -So ends, with these little stories of sudden hero-acts wrought by -commonplace men in a matter-of-fact manner, this chronicle of a few of -the many, many brave deeds done by our forefathers in a war that was -fought for an ideal. Read them, boys and girls, in these war-days that -we may remember anew the lessons which the lives and deaths of our kin -hold for us. If the day ever comes when we too must fight for ideals -which other nations have forgotten or have trampled upon, may we show -ourselves worthy of the great heritage of honor which our forefathers -have handed down to us. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Brave Deeds of Union Soldiers, by Samuel Scoville - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAVE DEEDS OF UNION SOLDIERS *** - -***** This file should be named 41036-8.txt or 41036-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/0/3/41036/ - -Produced by sp1nd and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from -images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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