by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XXIV
OPERATIONS IN McLEMORE'S COVE
Captain Vallingham was a graduate of West Point who had gone into thevolunteer service of the South immediately after Fort Sumter was firedupon. He had attached himself to the cavalry at first, but had soon beentransferred, by his own wish, to the signal corps.
The corps as operated in the army of Tennessee under General BraxtonBragg was a poor one, yet it did some excellent work in those districtswhere travelling from one hilltop to another was slow work, but wherethe topography was just right for sending messages from point to pointby means of various signalling apparatuses.
The captain was a brave fellow, and four years at our national militaryacademy had "taught him a thing or two," as old army officers are wontto express it. He was a prisoner of the enemy, but he did not intend toremain so very long, if he could help it. To think that he had beencaptured by a Union officer much younger than himself, supported by onlyone or two followers, filled him with chagrin, and he resolved to squarematters with Deck at the first opportunity.
Like the young major of the first battalion, the Confederate captainowned a horse that he had trained from ponyhood; but, unlike Deck, hestill possessed the steed and was now riding him. In addition to this,the Confederate officer knew every foot of the ground the whole partywere now traversing. He resolved to make use of his knowledge and of theabilities of his horse at the first opportunity.
The chance was not long in coming. At one point in the trail along thecreek, the rocks came to within ten feet of the water, so that the safepart of the road was only wide enough for one rider to pass along at atime. Consequently, the party had to move ahead in single file, CaptainKnox leading, Deck following, and Captain Vallingham coming next, withthe remaining Confederates behind him, the sharpshooters bringing up inthe rear.
The rocks were from six to ten feet in height, and were covered in spotswith sparse growths of brush. Back of them, at a distance of a hundredfeet or more, was a hill, leading up into a growth of cedars.
As the narrowest part of the trail was gained, Captain Vallinghamdropped behind, until fifteen or twenty feet separated him and Deck.Then, of a sudden, he drew his horse around and spoke to the animal. Theintelligent equine understood, and with one marvellous leap, cleared theedge of the rocks and stood on the flat surface above. Without a halt,Captain Vallingham urged him forward, and away he went at a breakneckspeed for the cedars.
The two Confederates riding back of their leaders saw the movement theinstant it was made, but they said nothing. Deck heard the noise as thehorse landed on the rocks and turned as quickly as he could. From wherehe sat nothing could be seen but the top of the escaping man's head, andhe fired at this, putting a hole through Captain Vallingham's hat andgiving the alarm.
CAPTAIN VALLINGHAM ATTEMPTING TO ESCAPE.
_Page 308._]
"Escaping, is he!" cried Life, and just then the rifle of the first ofthe sharpshooters rang out, and another ballet increased the ventilationin the daring man's head-covering. The second and the thirdsharpshooters tried to urge their horses up the rocks, but this couldnot be done, and they made the leaps alone, directly from their saddles.
"Stay back and watch these two!" cried Deck, to Life and the tworemaining sharpshooters, and leaped up the rocks. As he landed, he hearda splash in the water, and glancing back saw that one of the otherprisoners had tried to escape by swimming the creek. The movement was afoolish one, for the moment he reappeared, in midstream, both of thesharpshooters still on the trail fired at him, killing him instantly.
By the time Deck had reached the top of the rocks, Vallingham hadcovered half of the distance to the cedars. He was urging his horsealong among the tallest brush the plain of rocks afforded, and it wasdifficult to get another shot at him. Deck fired once, and so did one ofthe sharpshooters behind him, but the bullets whistled harmlessly amongthe cedars beyond.
"He's got the bulge on us, Major, bein' mounted!" panted Clefton, whonow caught up to Deck. "How he got his hoss to take that jump is amystery to me."
"If I had had Ceph I could have jumped after him," answered Deck, and apang of regret shot through his heart, as he realized what a great helpnoble Ceph had been to him. "Clefton, you run to the right and I willrun to the left. Sanford, you keep on straight ahead. Unless he knowsthose woods thoroughly, he'll be bothered to find a path, and will haveto turn in one direction or another."
By the time Major Lyon had ceased speaking, Vallingham had gained thefirst of the cedars. He struck the woods at a spot where the ground wasvery uneven, and turned to the left,--the direction Deck had assigned tohimself.
Ordinarily it is impossible for a man on foot to catch up with a runninghorse, although the man may be able to overtake the horse in the courseof two or three days' running, if the man is a trained runner. ButCaptain Vallingham had to move along with a certain amount of caution,for if his steed went down into a hole and broke a leg, the game wouldbe up. Being closer to the ground, Deck could see fairly well, and hecame along without slacking his speed.
The major was within a hundred feet of the Confederate, and was on thepoint of calling upon him to halt, when Vallingham slipped behind thefirst growth of cedars and out of sight.
"This way, boys!" called Deck, and made for the spot, with Clefton andSanford not over two hundred feet away. There was a small brook tocross, and he came into the woods over some uncovered roots of trees andamid a mass of half-rotted leaves and pine needles and cones.
"Captain Vallingham, you might as well give up!" he called out. "Youcannot escape."
"Follow me at your peril!" came back in a determined voice. "I am notunarmed, as you suppose."
This reply startled Deck, but in a moment he made up his mind that theConfederate was bluffing, and he did not slacken his speed. Cleftoncalled to him, and he ordered both sharpshooters to come into the woodswith him.
There was a road through the cedars, starting from a point to the northof where Vallingham had entered. Toward this road the Confederate nowpressed, with Deck at his heels, trying to get a shot, but balked by thetrees and the darkness. More than once, the major went down, and hewondered how the escaping prisoner could keep in the saddle.
As a matter of fact, Vallingham had dismounted, and was leading hissteed for the road. He was armed, as he had intimated, but his weaponwas nothing more formidable than a stout stick just picked up. Hereached the road at last, and leaped into the saddle once more.
Deck came into the opening before Vallingham had advanced more than tenyards. In the gloom he saw the forms of horse and rider, and fired twicein quick succession, at the same time calling upon Clefton and Sanfordthat the prisoner was again in sight.
The second leaden messenger from the major's weapon struck theConfederate's horse in the flank, and he leaped to one side from thepain, unseating Vallingham, and sending the captain to the ground. Theshock was a heavy one, and ere the captain could recover, Deck was uponhim.
"Do you surrender, or shall I fire on you?" demanded the young Unionofficer.
"I--I surrender," groaned Vallingham. "Oh! I am afraid I have broken arib."
"If you have, I am sorry for you, but you brought it on yourself,"answered Deck, coolly. "Sit still until the others come up."
Clefton and Sanford were in sight, and a call brought them to Deck'sside. By this time Captain Vallingham had grown very pale; and suddenlyhe fainted. Water was brought, and he revived, but he said his rightside hurt him a good deal where it had struck against a sharp stone.
The horse that had been wounded walked lamely, but was still in faircondition, and the Confederate, being unable to walk, was allowed toride, Sanford leading the steed. The whole party turned back to thetrail, where they found Life and his men and the third prisoner awaitingthem.
"And so Colver is gone," said Captain Vallingham, when told of theshooting of the man who had leaped into the creek. "Poor fellow; I amafraid I am responsible for his rashness."
"It was a foo
l move all round, Cap'n," growled the third prisoner, andthe captain did not gainsay it.
Once more the march for the Union encampment was resumed, and this timea close watch was kept on the prisoners, something which was nowscarcely necessary, as Captain Vallingham was in no condition to attemptanother escape, and the other prisoner being far too scared to dream ofsuch a thing.
It was dawn of the following day when Major Lyon finally reachedheadquarters, having placed the prisoners in Life's charge, to be turnedover to the proper authorities in the camp.
He found the general commander just finishing his scant toilet, aftertaking a much-needed sleep of a few hours.
"Be brief, Major Lyon, for I have little time to spare," he said, as hemotioned Deck to a chair.
Deck had prepared his report in his mind before announcing himself, andwas as terse as any one could wish. The general listened attentively,and studied the maps and the note-book with interest.
"This is another feather in your cap, Major Lyon," he said, at theconclusion of the interview. "I shall make mention of it."
"The men under me are as much entitled to credit as myself," answeredthe young major, wishing to be entirely fair. Yet it must be confessedthat his bosom swelled with pride at his commander's words.
"Possibly they are;--they shall be remembered also," was the rejoinder,and then the major was dismissed, to make place for several others whohad come in to report.
"You ought to be an out-and-out scout, Deck!" cried Artie, when the twogot together later in the day. "Life has been telling me about what wasdone. I only wish I had been along." And later on Sandy Lyon said thesame thing.
Information had been obtained, some days back, that the Union commander,Burnside, had occupied Knoxville, and that his opponent, S. B. Buckner,had retreated to Loudon. It was now stated that fifteen thousandConfederate forces were on their way to join Bragg. The question was,would the two forces concentrate in Chattanooga, or at some placeoutside, to do battle with the army of the North?
As has been said, the Army of the Cumberland lay along the western baseof the mountains. On the 7th of September, Negley's division commencedthe ascent of the steep sides, and at four o'clock in the afternoongained the summit. A reconnaissance was made by Colonel Wood, and it wasfound that the enemy had heavy guns in the vicinity, covering theeastern side of the mountain. The next day General Negley seizedCooper's and Stevens' Gaps, finding the latter heavily barricaded.
Other troops moved in various directions. The Riverlawns, with thecavalry on the extreme right, were ordered to sweep through BroomtownValley and seize the railroad in the vicinity of Dalton, thus cuttingoff the enemy's line of communication in this district.
The Riverlawns moved forward full of enthusiasm, and satisfied that atlast some sort of a battle was at hand. But, alas! those hopes weredoomed to disappointment. Bragg was leaving Chattanooga as fast as hecould, and by the 9th of the month, everybody in the Army of theCumberland knew it. Rosecrans had gained "The Gateway to Georgia," bystrategy alone.
As the enemy had retired, there was but one thing left to do,--go afterhim and compel him to either fight or surrender, and this Rosecrans didwithout a moment's delay.
As Chattanooga was abandoned, General Crittenden took possession withoutserious opposition. The remainder of his troops were called up from theriver, and on the same day that the news of the evacuation was spreadaround, he started with his corps for Ringgold, arriving at Rossvillethat evening. On the same day, Negley marched to McLemore's Cove, asplit formed between Lookout Mountain and Pigeon Mountain, where he metthe enemy's outposts and drove them back for several miles. At the sametime Heg's brigade marched into Broomtown Valley, to support thecavalry, should they be needed.
The pursuit was growing warm, and the next day the advance of the Uniontroops was checked in several places and severe skirmishes resulted.General Bragg had left Chattanooga in haste, but had no idea ofretreating without a battle. He reckoned that the Union forces werelarger in numbers than his own, and he devised a plan for meeting themnot as a whole but by columns.
The Confederate's first combination was directed against the corps underGeneral Thomas. If he could reach and crush Thomas's force before theothers could come up, he felt the remainder of the campaign would becomparatively plain sailing. The division under Negley at McLemore'sCove was not allowed to rest, for Bragg ordered a movement against it ingreat force.
Had Bragg's orders been carried out, there is no doubt but that Negley'sdivision would have been overwhelmed by mere force of numbers if nothingelse. But fortunately for Thomas's corps there was a delay. Hill sentword that the gaps were filled with felled timbers and could not becleared in twenty-four hours. Bragg then ordered Buckner forward tocooperate with Hindman, but there was another fatal halt. To hasten thisbattle Bragg then moved his headquarters to Lafayette, and ordered moresoldiers to this united attack, which was to fall on Negley, who wasisolated from the balance of the Fourteenth Army Corps by mountains hardto travel.
All day long the Confederate commander listened for Hindman's proposedattack, but it did not come, for Hindman thought the force before himtoo strong and awaited reenforcements under Hill. In the meantime,General Baird had come to Negley's support. There was some sharpfighting, but Negley's division was saved and withdrew to the base ofLookout Mountain, where it was joined by Reynold's and Brennan'sdivisions; and then the Union centre was once more secure.