by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER VII
AN EXPEDITION IN FRONT
The affair in the wheat-field had been conducted very quietly, andapparently had not attracted the attention of any of the rebels in thevicinity. During the brief parley, the thunder of the battle had soundedon the right and left of the parties. The enemy were in force in theirworks, and it was believed that there were squads of pickets in everyplace of concealment which the ground afforded.
Somers was very much surprised to find that he was not molested, and madeall possible haste to carry out the programme with which he had beenintrusted by Captain de Banyan. Followed by the balance of his men, hecrept carefully towards the house till he had reached the end of thegrain-field. He could see about a dozen rebels skulking behind thebuilding, all of them so intent upon getting a shot at the Unionsoldiers, that they paid no attention to the events transpiring in therear of them; probably deeming it impossible for an enemy to approach inthat direction.
The lieutenant had but fifteen men left to execute his part of thescheme, and there seemed to be double that number of graybacks lurking inand about the house. Everything depended upon his effecting the requisitejunction with the force of the captain. As his superior had but a shortdistance to march, it was probable that he was already in position tosupport him; and he decided to make the attack without permitting anydelay to rob him of the chances of success.
"Now, double-quick, forward!" shouted Somers, as he rose from the ground,and led the way to a position where he could intercept the retreat of therebels.
Agreeably to the instructions previously given, his men stretched outinto an extended line, and commenced firing at will upon the lucklessgraybacks who were in sight. It did not take them long to find out thatthey were assailed by a fire in the rear.
"Surrender!" shouted Captain de Banyan, who at this moment appeared atthe head of his men.
The rebels were not disposed to accept this polite invitation, but beganto fall back from the house in good order. They discharged their piecesat the force in front, and then started at a run to effect their escapein the opposite direction. They forgot for the moment that they had beenfired upon from the rear, or else thought that the fire had been directedby some of their own people at the Yankees who had so suddenly attackedin front.
"Surrender!" shouted Lieutenant Somers, as the retreating rebelsapproached his line.
They halted at this unexpected summons. The officer in command of themtook a hasty survey of the situation, and then ordered his troops to cuttheir way through the thin line between them and the rebel field-works.The commander of the rebel pickets was a gallant fellow; and, drawing hissword, he rushed towards the spot where the lieutenant was stationed.Discharging his pistol with the left hand at Somers, he dashed forwardlike a festive horse.
Both parties had discharged their guns, and there was no time to reloadthem. Some of the rebels had bayonets, and some had not; and, with thefury of their brave leader, they attempted to break their way through theline. A sharp but very irregular conflict ensued, the rebels clubbingtheir muskets or grappling with the Union soldiers, each according to hisindividual taste. As they were two to one of the Federals, they wouldcertainly have won the field if Captain de Banyan had not promptly cometo the rescue.
The excited rebel officer manifested a most persistent desire to revengehis misfortunes upon Lieutenant Somers. After he had fired his pistoltwice, and one of the balls had passed through his opponent's cap, thelatter, by a sudden dash, knocked the weapon from his hand with hissword. He then attempted to use his own sword, and, if Somers had notbeen a "master of fence," would probably have run him through the body.Some hard blows were struck with these weapons, and the age of chivalry,when men fought hand to hand with trusty blades, seemed to be revived.But the sword of the rebel officer was not so trusty as it ought to havebeen. It was not a regulation sword; and, while its owner was flourishingit most valiantly, the blade flew away from the handle.
"Now, surrender!" said Somers, out of breath with the violence of hisexertions, as he drew from his belt the pistol which, being so hardpressed, he had not been able to use before.
"Never, sir! I don't surrender! I was sent here to fight, and not tosurrender!" replied the officer, as proudly as though he had been incommand of a beleaguered fortress, instead of a squad of two or threedozen men.
Somers had him at his mercy, and it seemed but little better than murderto shoot him in his defenseless state.
That was a bad mistake on his part; for the rebel officer at onceproceeded to prove that he was no effeminate character, who depended upona sword, pistol, or other weapon, to fight his battles with, but could,if occasion required, defend himself with his naked arm. He sprang uponSomers with the ferocity of a tiger. The latter fired; but the suddenmovement of the former impaired his aim, and the ball whistled harmlesslyover the head of the rebel. The desperate officer attempted to gainpossession of the pistol; but Somers, now thoroughly aroused to a senseof his own danger, sprang at the throat of his antagonist, and, by thefierceness of the dash, bore him to the earth. His victim struggled toescape; and, being a stronger man than the other, would certainly havesucceeded, if Somers had not picked up his pistol, which lay on the spotwhere they fell, and struck a blow with the butt of it on the temple ofthe rebel. This effectually quieted him; but the lieutenant's littleforce were falling back before the furious assaults of the graybacks.
He had only time to get up before the rebels were upon him. At thisinteresting and critical moment, Captain de Banyan came up with his largeforce; and the enemy, finding themselves pressed in front and rear, gaveup in despair. They were disarmed; and, those from the wheat-field beingbrought forward, the whole squad were marched in the direction of theUnion line.
About one-half of Somers's men were wounded, though some but slightly.These were sent back. The rebel officer lay insensible upon the ground;but Somers, satisfied that he was only stunned, desired to carry him off,not only as a trophy of his prowess, but because such a desperate fellowwould be less dangerous in a prison-camp than in the lines of the rebels.He directed two of his men to bear the insensible form to the house,whither they were followed by the remainder of the force.
"Somers, my dear fellow, give me your hand," said Captain de Banyan, assoon as the pressing business of the moment had been disposed of. "Youhave covered yourself with glory."
"Pooh!" replied Somers, trying to look indifferent. "I have only done myduty, and obeyed my orders."
"That's very true; but, if you had been weak in the knees, you couldn'tvery well have obeyed orders. Somers, you have done a big thing; and, inmy judgment, you ought to be promoted."
"Promoted for that?"
"In the battle of Magenta----"
"Oh, confound the battle of Magenta!" exclaimed Somers, interrupting him."I will give you a handsome present if you will never say Magenta to meagain."
"Don't be petulant, my dear boy! You have got a sweet temper naturally,and I hope you won't spoil it."
"I am afraid you will spoil it for me."
"I was only saying pleasant things to you, and you fly off and rollyourself up in your dignity like a little hedgehog. By the way, Somers,don't you suppose that Senator Guilford will hear of this affair?"
"I hope not."
"Nor that little lady we left all used up with a broken arm?"
"I don't care whether she does or not."
"Or that other little lady who knits socks for soldiers that don't runaway in battle?"
Somers blushed like a maiden, and his experienced companion saw that hehad touched the tender spot in his heart. Very likely the captain wouldhave said something more on this interesting subject, if the conversationhad not been interrupted by their arrival at the old house. Here theywere met by a messenger from the colonel, ordering the detachment tohasten back; for orders had come for the brigade to retire to their oldposition.
The wounded and the prisoners were conducted safely back to the line inthe woods, where our pa
rty were warmly congratulated upon their decidedsuccess. The brigade fell back, but were immediately ordered forwardagain, and held the advanced position which had been so gallantly won. Itwas not a very comfortable place; for the soldiers stood over shoes inthe water. Late in the evening, our regiment was relieved by another, andordered back to the breastworks in the rear. It had lost but few men,though torrents of loyal blood had flowed on that eventful day.
The action of that day was the initial conflict of the seven-days'battles. General McClellan actually commenced his long-deferredoperations against the city of Richmond. But the favorable moment hadpassed by, and even then the battalions of the rebels were gathering inreadiness to be hurled upon our devoted army. While the regiment, whosefortunes have been more intimately connected with our story, was retiringfrom the pestiferous swamp, the commanding general received informationof the approach of Stonewall Jackson. These proved to be sad tidings; forthe anticipated triumphal march into the rebel capital was changed into abloody but glorious retreat. The battles which were to be fought for avictorious advance were made to cover a disastrous defeat--disastrous tothe campaign, though not to the army.
Fatigued, hungry and chilled by the night damps of the swamp, theregiment threaded its way through the intricacies of the woods towardsthe breastworks in the rear. It was a dark and gloomy hour, though the_prestige_ of victory dwelt in the souls of the gallant soldiers. Theofficers were not familiar with the ground; and with difficulty theyfound their way back to the old line.
"Well, Somers, how do you feel?" asked Captain de Banyan when theregiment was dismissed.
"I'm all worn out. I haven't got toughened to this kind of work yet,"replied Somers.
"Don't give it up yet, my boy. We shall be in Richmond in less than aweek, and then we will take rooms at the Spottswood House, and have agood time."
"Do you believe we shall ever get into Richmond, captain?"
"Certainly I do. Everything is working to my entire satisfaction. Youfeel a little blue, my boy; but it is only because you are tired. Youwill feel better in the morning."
"I am tired, but I am not blue. I am ready to do my duty, in victory ordefeat. There has been an awful roar of guns all day, and no one can tellwhat the result of a battle will be."
"An awful roar of guns! 'Pon my word, I like that," laughed the captain."Why, at Magenta----"
"Magenta again!" sneered Somers, who was heartily sick of that word.
"Yes, at Magenta! If you could only have heard the guns there! Why, therewere seven thousand two hundred and forty-six pieces rattling away likemad on our side alone; and I believe the Russians----"
"Russians at Magenta again! I don't believe you were at the battle ofMagenta any more than I was!" exclaimed Somers desperately.
"Do you mean to tell me that I lie?" asked the captain gravely.
"Go on with your story," said the lieutenant, fearing that he had saidtoo much.
"Answer my question, if you please. You gave me the lie; did you not?"
"No; I didn't use that word."
"You said you didn't believe I was at the battle of Magenta."
"To be perfectly candid with you, I don't believe it; but I am tired, andwant my supper," answered Somers, wishing to escape the issue which hehad provoked.
"Fair play, my boy. You charged me with lying--indirectly--but not theless offensively on that account. Don't dodge the question."
"I haven't dodged it. I gave you my candid opinion that you were notpresent at Magenta; and I don't think there is an officer in the regimentwho believes you were there."
"Isn't the word of an officer and a gentleman to be accepted?"
"Certainly, if he keeps within the bounds of reason; but when you talkabout the Russians at Magenta, and over seven thousand cannons in asingle army, we know that you are either 'drawing the long-bow,' orlaboring under some strange delusion. Supper is ready."
"We can eat and talk too." And they did. "May I be allowed to ask,Lieutenant Somers, if you deem my statement inconsistent with reason?"
"To be sure I do. We have six guns to a battery; seventy-two hundred gunswould make twelve hundred batteries. We have about one hundred and fiftymen to a battery, which would make one hundred and eighty thousand men inthe artillery arm alone; which is positively ridiculous. You saidRussians----"
"Of course, that was a slip of the tongue. I meant Prussians," added thecaptain, entirely overwhelmed by the lieutenant's arithmetic, as well asby the laughter of Captain Benson and Lieutenant Munroe, who belonged tothe mess.
"Worse yet," said Somers. "They were Austrians. Now, captain, you are abrave man, and a splendid fellow; but I think it is a great pity youshould tell such abominably great stories."
"I accept the apology," laughed Captain de Banyan. "We will call itsquare, and turn in; for I think that we shall have hot work to-morrow."