by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXI
CROSSING THE TENNESSEE RIVER
Twenty-four hours after the affair described in the last chapter, theRiverlawns rode into Huntsville, bringing with them their last prisonersand their horses. They found that the larger portion of the Unioncavalry had already arrived, and prisoners, horses, and negroes ready toflee to the North, were numerous.
"You have done remarkably well, Major Lyon," said the general incommand, on receiving Deck's report. "I doubt if any of our forces havedone better," and with this compliment the youthful commander wasdismissed.
The stop in Huntsville did not last long, some of the cavalry leaving onthe same night that the Riverlawns came in. By a pre-arranged plan theUnion forces spread out into a large semicircle when on their waynorthward, and they came home with about three hundred prisoners,sixteen hundred horses and mules, and a thousand head of cattle, sheep,and pigs. On the return, the Riverlawns encountered but one body of theenemy, less than fifteen in number, and these fled at the first sight ofthe Unionists. About six hundred negroes joined the army on itsnorthward movement, and thus escaped to the free States, much to theirown satisfaction.
General Bragg, accompanied by Wheeler's cavalry force, had escaped toChattanooga, and it was thought by some that General Rosecrans ought topursue the enemy without delay. But there were great difficulties in theway. The enemy had torn up the railroads, the Army of the Cumberland,despite such raids as the one just mentioned, was short of rations andforage, and the commanding general felt that he must have support forhis flanks ere braving the river and the mountain gaps, which he feltthe Confederates would hold as long as possible.
To thoroughly understand the situation, the reader must remember thatbetween the Union army and Chattanooga lay the lofty CumberlandMountains, washed on either side by the waters of the Elk and theTennessee rivers. To the northward the mountains were rugged and butpoorly wooded; to the southward they were partly broken up by theSequatchie River, flowing through the valley of that name, nearly fiftymiles long, a valley much broken in spots.
Behind this great barrier Bragg felt, for a time at least, safe, and heutilized each hour in adding to his troops, men being forced into theSouthern army wherever and whenever they could be found. The soldierswere poorly clothed and scantily fed, and some of the cavalry weremounted on mules. The firearms were of various sorts, English andBelgian weapons being quite common.
It was not until the 16th of August that the Army of the Cumberlandbegan that momentous advance which will ever be remembered in the annalsof history. In the meantime, railroads had been repaired, the artilleryhad been equipped with extra heavy harness for the horses, boats on therivers had been put in good condition, and, equally important, the cornhad ripened in sunny spots and been gathered in by the armyquartermasters. The loss of their crop of corn caused many aheartburning among the farmers of this section of our country, but theconfiscation was one of actual necessity; and, wherever such a courseseemed just, payments were made for what was taken.
Twice had Rosecrans defeated the enemy by turning his flank. Now, withthe mountains between himself and Bragg's front, there seemed nothing todo but to try the trick again. But the movement must be well planned andwell executed, or the enemy would immediately become aware of what wasgoing on, and make a move that would upset all the Union commander'scalculations.
As has been said, the mountains to the northward were high and rugged;to the southward, they were broken up by a long valley, a river, andseveral small creeks. To turn the enemy's right would, therefore,require a long and arduous journey through a country almost barren.Rosecrans resolved to make his real movement to the left; that is, tothe southward of Chattanooga. And the first act in the great drama wasto hoodwink Bragg into believing that he was coming around by themountain paths to the north.
Carrying with them ammunition enough for two great battles, and rationsfor twenty-five days, the forward movement began by throwingCrittenden's corps over the Cumberland Mountains and Walden's Ridge intothe Tennessee Valley, directly opposite and to the north of Chattanooga.The corps moved from Hillsboro, Manchester, and McMinnville, and when inthe Tennessee Valley were joined by Wilder's brigade of mountedinfantry,--a portion of the fourteenth corps. To these bodies were addedMinty's cavalry, which, riding on the left, through Sparta andPikeville, operated along the river for twenty-eight miles aboveBlythe's Ferry.
The boys in blue were bound to deceive the enemy if the thing could bedone, and at night immense camp-fires were lighted for miles along theriver front, always in front and to the north of Chattanooga.Foot-soldiers and cavalry showed themselves first at one place and thenanother, and at night bugle-calls sounded out in spots where no cavalryhad yet been or was likely to be. On the river bank, trees were cut downand sawed up, the ends being left to float down the stream, to give theenemy the impression that extensive bridge-building was on the way. Onedetachment climbed up a nearby ridge, and with its battery threw shellstoward the city,--something that made the inhabitants imagine that thefinal contest was now at hand.
And while all this was going on, the main portion of the Union forceshad crossed the Cumberland Mountains thirty odd miles below, and weregathering on the bank of the Tennessee River. A train had come in,bringing on it a pontoon-bridge which was to be thrown across the streamat Caperton. The train was stopped in the woods, and the boats andplanking were hurried forward in secret.
While the sun was still rising on the 29th of August, fifty boats, witha capacity of twenty-five hundred men, were taken across the open fieldsof Caperton, launched, and rowed to the south shore of the Tennessee.The picket guard of the enemy was driven away, and soon thepontoon-bridge was in position. Immediately upon the completion of thework, Davis's division crossed and went into camp at the base of RaccoonMountain. In three days his division, with Johnston's, had marchedacross the range, and forty-eight hours later these troops establishedthemselves at Winston's Pass over Lookout Mountain, within forty-twomiles of Bragg's stronghold. The same day Stanley's cavalry, underGeneral Mitchell, crossed Lookout, and on the week following descendedinto Broomtown Valley.
The march of the army was now well under way, and Thomas's corps and theother troops came along at various points, covering the ground asrapidly as the nature of the territory permitted. It was felt thatGeneral Bragg must know by this time what was going on, and strict watchwas kept all along the line to prevent a surprise.
The laying of the pontoon-bridge was to Major Deck Lyon and his brother,Captain Artie, a good deal of a novelty, and the Riverlawns assisted incarrying more than one boat down to the rushing waters of the Tennessee.Once the boats were strung from shore to shore, it was no easy matter tolink them together, or to get the planking down even after they werelinked, but all hands worked bravely, despite the occasional shots fromthe Confederate pickets fleeing from the neighborhood.
The Riverlawns crossed the bridge in safety, all but two men, a privateof the sixth company, who quickly swam his horse ashore, and Sandy Lyon.Sandy had a spirited horse, and was advised to lead him over; but thelieutenant insisted on riding, and when the middle of the bridge wasreached, his horse shied, and Sandy slid overboard like a flash. He wentdown, to come up at a point fifty feet down the turbulent stream.
"Help! help!" he yelled, as soon as he could eject the water from hismouth. "Some of you fellows haul me out!"
"Can't you swim?" asked several, unwilling to endure a wetting if it wasnot necessary.
"I can't swim much--ain't swum in five years," came in a gasp, "and thisclothing weighs a ton!"
Artie Lyon had seen Sandy go overboard, and now he drew his uncle'sattention to the scene. Titus was very much excited on the instant."Save Sandy--save my boy!" he cried, and he tried to leap overboard, butArtie hauled him back.
"You can't swim, can you?" asked the captain.
"No--but--I don't want Sandy to drown!" panted Titus Lyon. "I've lostone son already in this war!"
"There is a boat--I'll get th
at and go after Sandy," answered Artie."You stay here;" and he motioned for two cavalrymen standing near tohold Titus and thus prevent him from throwing himself into the rushingelement.
The boat was a flat-bottomed affair, owned by an old fisherman ofCaperton. The oars were handy, and Artie was soon on a seat in thecraft. As he pushed off Life Knox leaped in beside him.
"Reckon two rowers are better nor one," said the tall Kentuckian, andwithout a word Artie tossed him an oar. Soon the boat was making goodheadway down the stream in the direction in which Sandy's head could beseen bobbing up and down.
"Help me!" he cried again. "I'm played out!"
"Keep up a little longer,--we are coming," replied Artie, encouragingly.
"I can't keep up--something is fast to my foo--" And the words ended ina gurgle, as Sandy suddenly disappeared.
"Why, what can this mean?" asked the young captain. "Has he caught hisspurs into each other?"
"More than likely he got tangled up in one of those boat chains,"remarked Life Knox. "I noticed the chains hanging around when the bridgewas put down."
"Then they'll take him to the bottom, sure," said Artie, and grew moreanxious than ever for his cousin's safety.
The disappearance of Sandy had been noticed from the bridge and fromboth shores, and now several small boats put out. Titus Lyon broke awayfrom those who held him and went overboard with a loud splash, and twominutes later a boat picked him up, more dead than alive.
When Artie and Life reached the spot where Sandy had disappeared,nothing was to be seen of the young lieutenant, and a blank look seizedupon the faces of the would-be rescuers. Suddenly, however, the tallKentuckian gave a leap to the stern.
"There he is!" he shouted.
"Where?"
"Under water several feet. He is going down!"
As Life spoke he threw off his coat and hat, his boots followed,--in amoment he slipped overboard.
The boat had now swung around with the current, and Artie had his handsfull bringing her up to the proper position and holding her there.Artie's heart was in his throat. Poor Orly Lyon had been shot down inbattle, and now, if Sandy was also lost, what would his Uncle Titus andhis kind-hearted Aunt Susan do?
"Oh, I do hope Life brings him up!" he thought, when the head of theKentuckian appeared, dripping with water. Life supported Sandy in hisarms, and Artie brought the flatboat up close. In a moment Sandy waslaid on the seat and the captain of the seventh company clambered in.
The eyes of the lieutenant were closed, and Artie could not tell whetherhe was dead or otherwise. "Is it--it all right?" he faltered.
"I hope so, Artie. He had his ankle caught in a chain just as Isupposed. It was hard work releasing him, I can tell you. Let us get toshore just as fast as we can."
Artie needed no urging to do this, and soon the flatboat grounded onthe south bank of the river, and willing hands carried Sandy to a grassybank where he was rolled and worked over, until the water came out ofhim, and he gave a gasp.
"He's all right now," said Life, drawing a long breath.
"Yes, and I'm mighty glad of it," murmured Artie.
Surgeon Farnwright then took charge of the case, but Sandy scarcelyneeded him. By morning the lieutenant was as hearty as ever, although abit "shaky" as he expressed it.
"I won't forget you," he said, squeezing Life Knox's hand. "You're abrick!"
Titus Lyon was even more affected. "I've lost Orly," he said, in a huskyvoice, "I couldn't afford to lose Sandy, nohow. We ain't been very muchof friends in the past, Captain Knox, but I hope we will be in thefuture--leas'wise, I'll be your friend, through thick and thin."
And the adjutant of the Riverlawns kept his word.