by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER IV
THE DAY'S MARCH OF THE SQUADRON
It seemed to be almost a miracle that Noah Lyon had been transformedinto a soldier; and those who had known him in the State of NewHampshire could hardly have recognized him. He had always been adignified, peaceable, and quiet man--the very antipode of a fire-eater.At his former home he had been a justice of the peace, and was regardedas a person of eminent gravity.
His anger, if he was ever stirred by any such passion, was nothing morethan indignation. But he was not a milk-and-water man; and, gentle aswere his manners, he was an earnest man. He had never developed anymilitary ambition in his earlier years, though he was sorry he had notdone so when he found himself on the very border of the Rebellion. Hewas still of the military age, and was a hearty and vigorous man atforty-two, when he was called into the service.
He was an earnest and determined patriot; and nothing but the need ofthe nation could have induced him to put on a uniform, and drilllaboriously for months in preparation for his new sphere. He belonged tothe class who were said to make the best soldiers, because they wentinto the field as high-toned men, with whom a principle was at stake.Such soldiers had not been hurried into the camp by the excitement ofthe times, or by any motive but patriotic duty.
Sandy and Orly Lyon stood in front of Pickford's house, and observed theapproaching column of cavalry; but the most of their attention was givento Uncle Noah. It was a very strange sight for them to see him in theuniform of a soldier, riding at the head of the squadron. These boys haddrilled and marched with the Home Guards, and their father had militaryaspirations, though he was a little past the military age. They couldnot help contrasting the appearance of Major Lyon's command with that ofCaptain Lyon's.
Not all the Home Guards in the State were of the character of theruffians forming the company which had marched to Bowling Green, and whohad been the principal participants in the outrages and the ruffianismin the vicinity of Barcreek. Some of the companies were composed andofficered by Union men, who did some of the first fighting in the Statewhen the Confederates fortified Cumberland Gap in the eastern section.Such as these wheeled into the Union army, while those of the Secessionstripe promptly joined the forces on the other side.
No doubt many of these Home Guards believed sincerely in the neutralitypolicy, which was advocated by some of the best men in the State; but itafforded thousands of ruffians the advantages of an organization forplunder and outrage. But its day had gone by. Major Lyon insisted fromthe beginning that it was a fraud; and, in spite of the action of thegovernor, Kentucky adhered to the Union. It cost something there to betrue to the old flag, and the State deserves all honor for the struggleit made against the breaking up of the Union.
Major Lyon sat erect upon his horse, a valuable animal, which had beenhis favorite since his arrival. There was nothing like vanity in hisexpression, as might have been excusable at the head of such a finebody of men; but he looked as he always did, earnest and determined, hissoldierly character resting more on his devotion to the cause than onany other motive. He wore a felt hat, ornamented with a black feather,which the mustering officer had prevailed upon him to adopt.
The squadron was composed of rather young men as a rule, and they werethe sons of farmers and others engaged in business. They werefine-looking men, and they had been diligently drilled by the officerssent to Riverlawn for the purpose. Perhaps the commander was the onlyreal planter enlisted; for most of them in the vicinity were past theage for active service, though they had done their duty in repressingoutrages and keeping the peace.
Captain Gordon, who had been charged with the organization of the firstcompany, was in command of it, while Captain Truman, a young lawyer,whose eloquent voice had been raised for the Union in the importantmeeting at the Big Bend schoolhouse, was in command of the second; buthe had proved in the Riverlawn battle that he was a brave man, and wouldmake a good soldier. Tom Belthorpe, who had taken part in the defenceof Lyndhall and of Riverlawn, was first lieutenant of the first company;while Major Gadbury, whose military title was one of courtesy, held thecorresponding rank in the second company.
It had required a great deal of persuasion to induce the proprietor ofRiverlawn to accept the position of major. He was a man of character;and some of the planters in the neighborhood, especially ColonelCosgrove and Colonel Belthorpe, convinced him that it was his duty tothe cause to take the place. He had proved to them, in the engagementswith the ruffians, that he had the material in his composition of whichreliable commanders are made.
Deck Lyon had a tremendous reputation for courage and skill at Lyndhall;for he had rescued both of the daughters of its owner from the hands ofthe ruffians, who had captured them for the purpose of assisting in therecovery of the arms the major had secured. When it came to the matterof electing officers for the second company, Tom had advocated thechoice of Deck as captain, though he was only eighteen years old, to theposition.
Of course the young man was elated at the idea of being elevated to sucha position before he had been tried in the service; but it did not seemto be quite right to him, and he went to his father for advice. Themajor promptly advised him to accept no position in the company. He wastoo young to be the commander of a company, which might be ordered onduty by itself. As his father pointed out to him the difficulties in hisway, Deck went to the other extreme, and declined to take a place evenas a non-commissioned officer. Artie Lyon liked the stand he had takenso well, that he followed his example, and both remained privates.
Deck and Artie did not forget the favorable mention of their names, andthey electioneered very zealously for the choice of Tom Belthorpe asfirst lieutenant. In the case of the former, perhaps Deck wasunconsciously influenced by the fact that he had a very pretty sister,who had manifested no little interest in him since he had attacked theruffian who held her as a prisoner. In fact, Tom had two pretty sisters;but this fact affected Lieutenant Gadbury more than any other person.
When the squadron had advanced a short distance, Major Lyon wheeled hishorse, and faced his command, who were marching as usual on the road byfours. He had learned his lesson well at the camp; for the squadron hadbeen thoroughly drilled from the beginning, up to the point where the"school of the battalion" had been their practice.
"Battalion, halt!" he commanded, with a voice loud enough and clearenough to be heard far back of the place where the order was given.
Captain Gordon declared that he had not caught the major in a singleerror or slip since he had begun to exercise the squadron. The commandwas repeated by the subordinate officers, and the force came to a fullhalt. Deck had stopped by the side of the road, to await the coming upof his section, and his father called him as soon as he had halted thebattalion.
The young man had been on a military errand for the major, rather thanfor his father, who insisted that his two sons should fare precisely thesame as other soldiers of the companies. There was to be no favoritismon account of relationship. Deck could not report the result of hiserrand while the commander was marching at the head of his column, forthe new companies had not reached the free-and-easy stage which camelater.
Deck saluted the major as though they had never met before in theirlives, and his father acknowledged it. Then the private reported theresult of his mission.
"You have been making some stay at this house we are passing," continuedMajor Lyon, as he glanced back at the two boys who were still standingthere.
"Found a fight going on in the house, and I went in on account of a callfor help," replied Deck.
"But that is Pickford's house, and no ruffians would attack him,"suggested the major. "Are these Titus's boys standing here?"
"They are. Uncle Titus has a bill against Pickford for twenty-sevendollars for building his chimney, and Sandy and Orly were trying tocollect it by force of arms."
"I will hear more of that another time, Dexter," added Major Lyon,cutting short the story. "I declare, I hardly knew those boys!"
"Th
ey have had a hard time of it; but I must fall in," said Deck, as hebegan to turn his horse. "I suppose you are out for a drill, father."
"We are not; we are going on duty this time. General Buckner issomewhere in this vicinity, and evidently intends to occupy BowlingGreen. Colonel Cosgrove came over to see me this morning. He saysCaptain Titus's company have got into the Confederate army at last, andhave been supplied with arms of a poor quality, though not withuniforms."
"His men have been about half-starved while waiting, and that is thereason why Sandy and Orly came home," added the young soldier.
"Another time for that, Dexter. Are you all ready to march with yourcompany?" asked the major.
"I have my sabre, carbine, and pistols; but I have no blanket, as I seethe rest of the men have."
"You can be supplied from the wagon in the rear. But fall in," said themajor, as he prepared to resume the march.
Deck galloped back to the section in which he belonged, where he hadonly to take his place at the side of Artie, though inside of him, forhe was a trifle taller than his cousin. In the infantry, the tallest menare placed on the right, which is always the head of the column, whilein the cavalry the tallest are placed in the middle.
"What does all this mean, Deck? Didn't I see Sandy and Orly Lyon by thathouse?" asked Artie.
"They are there, whether you saw them or not," replied Deck.
"Battalion, at ease, march!"
In the infantry, when the order for "route step!" is given, the men neednot even keep step, and the formalities are relaxed in some otherrespects. In the cavalry, in which the horses take all the steps, thestrain of precise position and movement is removed, and the soldiers maymake the best of their journey. Artie wanted to know all about his twocousins he had seen at Pickford's, and Deck told him the whole story ofwhat had occurred there.
"Is it possible that Uncle Titus's family are reduced to such a strait?"demanded Artie, his pity and sympathy apparent on his face.
"The boys say Aunt Meely and the girls are going back to Derry; andthat looks as though the family were very hard up," replied Deck. "AndMabel has gone out to work in the family of Dr. Falkirk."
"I think Sandy and Orly must be in a desperate situation when they tryto collect a bill with a gun."
"I have no doubt of it; though Sandy tried to put the best face on thematter, and said the part of the Confederate army that was to come toBowling Green had not got there yet, and that they will be all right assoon as the company is mustered in. Orly speaks out loud, and tells allhe knows about the condition of the family. He wants to join one of ourcompanies."
"Orly Lyon!" exclaimed Artie. "Why, he was one of the loudestSecessionists in the village!"
"He has got enough of it, working without pay or rations," added Deck."But where are we going, Artie?"
"I'm sure I don't know; why didn't you ask your father, if you want toknow?"
"Ask my father! You know better than that, Artie; for you are aware thatcommanding officers don't tell what they are going to do till they getready to do it," returned Deck.
"We are provided with ammunition and rations, and very likely we havecome out to-day in order to get used to carrying them on a march,"suggested Artie.
"Not at all; for father told me we were out on duty to-day, though hedid not say what it was," replied Deck.
The march continued all day long, and it began to look as though itwould extend into the night. About nine o'clock in the evening MajorLyon called a halt at a point where a railroad could be seen in thegloom of the night. The column had just crossed a bridge of considerablelength over a creek, and the position of the railroad indicated that itmust be bridged over the same stream.
While the commander and his officers were trying to make out thesurroundings, half a dozen muskets were discharged from a covert oftrees; but fortunately none of the cavalrymen appeared to be struck bythe bullets. But it was evident that the time for action had come.