The Tree of Appomattox

by Joseph A. Altsheler

  CHAPTER XI

  CEDAR CREEK

  The Winchester Regiment and the rest of the cavalry returned to theUnion army, and, on the memorable night of the eighteenth of October,they were north of Cedar Creek with the Eighth Corps, most of the menbeing then comfortably asleep in tents. A courier had brought word toGeneral Wright that all was quiet in front, and the same word was sentto Sheridan, who, returning, had come as far as Winchester where heslept that night, expecting to rejoin his command the next day.

  But there were men of lower rank than Wright and Sheridan who wereuneasy, and particularly so Sergeant Daniel Whitley, veteran of theplains, and of Indian ambush and battle. None of the Winchesterofficers had sought sleep either in the tents or elsewhere, and, in thenight, Dick stood beside the suspicious sergeant and peered into thefog.

  "I don't like it," said the veteran. "Fogs ain't to be taken lightly.I wish this one hadn't come at this time. I'm generally scared of mostof the things I can't see."

  "But what have we to be afraid of?" asked Dick. "We're here in strongforce, and the enemy is too weak to attack."

  "The Johnnies are never too weak to attack. Rec'lect, too, that thisis their country, and they know every inch of it. I wish Mr. Shepardwas here."

  "I think he was detailed for some scout duty off toward the Blue Ridge."

  "I don't know who sent him, but I make bold to say, Mr. Mason, that hecould do a lot more good out there in the fog on the other side ofCedar Creek, a-spyin' and a-spyin', a-lookin' and a-lookin',a-listenin' and a-listenin'."

  "And perhaps he would neither see nor hear anything"

  "Maybe, sir, but if I may make bold again, I think you're wrong. Why,I just fairly smell danger."

  "It's the fog and your fear of it, sergeant."

  "No, sir; it's not that. It's my five senses working all together andtelling me the truth."

  "But the pickets have brought in no word."

  "In this fog, pickets can't see more'n a few yards beyond their beats.What time is it, Mr. Mason?"

  "A little past one in the morning, sergeant."

  "Enough of the night left yet for a lot of mischief. I'm glad, sir, ifI may make bold once more, that the Winchester men stay out of thetents and keep awake."

  Warner joined them, and reported that fresh messengers from the fronthad given renewed assurances of quiet. Absolutely nothing was stirringalong Cedar Creek, but Sergeant Daniel Whitley was still dissatisfied.

  "It's always where nothin' is stirrin' that most is doin', sir," hesaid to Dick.

  "You're epigrammatic, sergeant."

  "I'm what, sir? I was never called that before."

  "It doesn't depreciate you. It's a flattering adjective, but you'veset my own nerves to tingling and I don't feel like sleeping."

  "It never hurts, sir, to watch in war, even when nothing happens. Iremember once when we were in a blizzard west of the Missouri, only ahundred of us. It was in the country of the Northern Cheyennes, an' nogreater fighters ever lived than them red demons. We got into a kindof dip, surrounded by trees, an' managed to build a fire. We was sobusy tryin' to keep from freezin' to death that we never gave a thoughtto Indians, that is 'ceptin' one, the guide, Jim Palmer, who knowedthem Cheyennes, an' who kept dodgin' about in the blizzard, facin' theicy blast an' the whirlin' snow, an' always lookin' an' listenin'. Iowe my life to him, an' so does every other one of the hundred. Shoreenough the Cheyennes come, ridin' right on the edge of the blizzard,an' in all that terrible storm they tried to rush us. But we'd beenwarned by Palmer an' we beat 'em off at last, though a lot of good menbit the snow. I say again, sir, that you can't ever be too careful inwar. Do everything you can think of, and then think of some more. Iwish Mr. Shepard would come!"

  They continued to walk back and forth, in front of the lines, and, attimes, they were accompanied by Colonel Winchester or Warner orPennington. The colonel fully shared the sergeant's anxieties. Thefact that most of the Union army was asleep in the tents alarmed him,and the great fog added to his uneasiness. It came now in heavy driftslike clouds sweeping down the valley, and he did not know what was inthe heart of it. The pickets had been sent far forward, but the vastmoving column of heavy whitish vapor hid everything from their eyes,too, save a circle of a few yards about them.

  Toward morning Dick, the colonel and the sergeant stood together,trying to pierce the veil of vapor in front of them. The colonel didnot hesitate to speak his thought to the two.

  "I wish that General Sheridan was here," he said.

  "But he's at Winchester," said Dick. "He'll join us at noon."

  "I wish he was here now, and I wish, too, that this fog would lift, andthe day would come. Hark, what was that?"

  "It was a rifle shot, sir," said the sergeant.

  "And there are more," exclaimed Dick. "Listen!"

  There was a sudden crackle of firing, and in front of them pink dotsappeared through the fog.

  "Here comes the Southern army!" said Sergeant Whitley.

  Out of the fog rose a tremendous swelling cry from thousands ofthroats, fierce, long-drawn, and full of menace. It was the rebelyell, and from another point above the rising thunder of cannon andrifles came the same yell in reply, like a signal. The surprise wascomplete. Gordon had hurled himself upon the Union flank and at thesame moment Early, according to his plan, drove with all his might atthe center.

  Dick was horrified, and, for a moment or two, the blood was ice in hisveins.

  "Back!" cried Colonel Winchester to him and the sergeant, and thenafter shouting, "Up men! Up!" he blew long and loud upon his whistle.All of his men were on their feet in an instant, and they were first toreturn the Southern fire, but it had little effect upon the torrentthat was now pouring down upon them. Other troops, so rudely arousedfrom sleep, rushed from their tents, still dazed, and firing wildly inthe fog.

  Again that terrible yell arose, more distinct than ever with menace andtriumph, and so great was the rush of the men in gray that they swepteverything before them, their rifles and cannon raking the Union campwith a withering fire. The Winchesters, despite their quickness toform in proper order, were driven back with the others, and the wholecorps, assailed with frightful force on the flank also, was compelledcontinually to give ground, and to leave long rows of dead and wounded.

  "Keep close to me!" shouted Colonel Winchester to his young officers,and then he added to the sergeant, who stood beside him: "Whitley, youwere right!"

  "I'm sorry to say I was, sir," replied the sergeant. "It was a greatambush, and it's succeeding so far."

  "But we must hold them! We must find some way to hold them!" cried thecolonel.

  He said more, but it was lost in the tremendous uproar of the firingand the shouting. All the officers were dismounted--their horsesalready had been taken by the enemy--and now, waving their swords, theywalked up and down in front of the lines, seeking to encourage theirown troops. Despite the surprise and the attack from two sides, the menin blue sustained their courage and made a stubborn fight.Nevertheless the attack in both front and flank was fatal. Again andagain they sought to hold a position, but always they were driven fromit, leaving behind more dead and wounded and more prisoners.

  Dick's heart sank. It was bitter to see a defeat, after so manyvictories. Perhaps the fortunes of the South had not passed the zenithafter all! If Sheridan were defeated and driven from the valley, andLee's flank left protected, Grant might sit forever before him atPetersburg and not be able to force his trenches. All these thoughtsand fears swept before him, vague, disconnected, and swift.

  But he saw that Warner, Pennington and the colonel were still unhurt,and that the Winchesters, despite their exposed position, had notsuffered as much loss as some of the other regiments. General Wrightin the absence of Sheridan retained his head, and formed a strong coreof resistance which, although it could not yet hold the ground, mightgive promise of doing so, if help arrived.

  Dawn came, driving the fog away, and
casting a red glow over the fieldof battle. The ground where the Union troops had slept the nightbefore was now left far behind, and the Southern army, full of fire andthe swell of victory, was pushing on with undiminished energy, itswhole front blazing with the rapid discharge of cannon and rifles.

  The terrible retreat lasted a long time, and the whole Union army wasdriven back a full five miles before it could make a permanent stand.Then, far in the morning, the regiments reformed, held their ground,and Dick, for the first time, took a long free breath.

  "We've been defeated but not destroyed," he said.

  "No, we haven't," said a voice beside him, "but the fact that theJohnnies were so hungry has saved us a lot."

  It was Shepard, who seemed to have risen from the ground.

  "I've got back from places farther north," he said. "Chance kept meaway from here last night."

  "What do you mean about the Southern hunger helping us?" asked Dick.

  "I've been on the flank, and I saw that when they drove us out of ourcamps the temptation was too great for many of their men. Theyscattered, seizing our good food and devouring it. It was impossiblefor their officers to restrain them. They've suffered losses too, andthey can drive us no farther."

  Then Shepard spoke briefly with Colonel Winchester, and disappearedagain. The fire had now died somewhat and the banks of smoke wererising, enabling Dick to see the field with a degree of clearness.Union batteries and regiments were in line, but behind them a mass offugitives, who had not yet recovered from the surprise and who thoughtthe defeat complete, were pouring along the turnpike toward Winchester.When Dick saw their numbers his fears were renewed. He believed thatif the Southern army could gather up all its forces and attack oncemore it would win another success.

  But while he looked at the long line of fire in front of them a suddenroar of cheering rose from the Union ranks. It became a shout,tremendous and thrilling. Dick turned in excitement and he was aboutto ask what it meant, when he distinguished a name thundered again andagain:

  "Sheridan! Sheridan! Sheridan!"

  Then before them galloped their own Little Phil, seeming to bringstrength, courage and victory with him. His hat was thrown back, hisface flushed, and his eyes sparkling. Everywhere the men rallied tohis call and the shouts: "Sheridan! Sheridan!" rolled up and down.The fugitives too came pouring back to swell the line of battle. Dickcaught the enthusiasm at once, and felt his own pulses leaping. He andPennington and Warner joined in the shouts: "Sheridan! Sheridan!" andsnatching off their caps waved them with all their vigor.

  It was an amazing transformation. A beaten and dispirited army,holding on from a sense of duty, suddenly became alive with zeal, andasked only to be led against the enemy by the general they trusted.One man alone had worked the miracle and as his enemies had truly saidhis presence was worth ten thousand men.

  His coming had been dramatic. He had spent the night quietly atWinchester, but, early in the morning, he had heard the sounds offiring which steadily grew louder. Apprehensive, he rode at oncetoward the distant field, and, before he had gone two miles, he met thefirst stragglers, bringing wild tales that the army had been routed,and that the Southerners were hot on their heels. Sheridan roderapidly now. He met thicker streams of fugitives, but turned them backtoward the enemy, and when he finally came upon the field itself hebrought with him all the retreating regiments.

  Dick never beheld a more thrilling and inspiring sight than that whichoccurred when Sheridan galloped among them, swinging his hat in hishand.

  "What troops are these?" he had asked.

  "The Sixth Corps!" hundreds of voices shouted in reply.

  "We are all right! We'll win!" cried Sheridan.

  And then, as he galloped along the line he added:

  "Never mind, boys, we'll whip 'em yet! We'll whip 'em yet! We'llsleep in their quarters tonight!"

  The roar of cheering swept up and down the line again, and Sheridan andhis officers began to prepare the restored army for a new battle. Allthe time the Union numbers swelled, and, as the Southern army washesitating, Sheridan was able to post his divisions as he pleased.

  The Winchester regiment was drawn up towards the flank. All theofficers were still on foot, but they stood a little in front, ready tolead their men into the new battle. It was now about noon, and therewas a pause in the combat, enabling the smoke to lift yet higher, anddisclosing the whole field. Sheridan was still riding up and down thelines, cool, determined and resolved to turn defeat into victory.Wherever he went he spoke words of encouragement to his troops, but allthe time his eye, which was the eye of a true general, swept the field.He put the gallant young Custer with his cavalry on the right, Crookand Merritt with their horse on the left, while the infantry weremassed in the center. The Winchester men were sent to the right.

  The doubts in the ranks of the South helped Sheridan. Early after hisvictory in the morning was surprised to see the Union army gatheritself together again and show such a formidable front. Neither he norhis lieutenants could understand the sudden reversal, and the pause,which at first had been meant merely to give the troops opportunity forfresh breath, grew into a long delay. Here and there, skirmishers werefiring, feeling out one another, but the masses of the army paid noattention to those scattered shots.

  The Winchester men were elated. Colonel Winchester and the youngofficers knew that delay worked steadily for them. All the defeatedtroops of the morning were coming back into line, and now they wereanxious to retrieve their disaster. Dick, through his glasses, sawthat the Confederates so far from continuing the advance were nowfortifying behind stone fences and also were spreading across thevalley to keep from being flanked on either side by the cavalry. Buthe saw too that their ranks were scanty. If they spread far enough toprotect their flanks they would become dangerously thin in the center.He handed his glasses to the sergeant, and asked him to take a look.

  "Their surprise," said Whitley, "has spent its force. Their army isnot big enough. Our general has seen it, and it's why he delays solong. Time works for us, because we can gather together much greaternumbers than they have."

  The delay lasted far into the afternoon. The smoke and dust settled,and the October sun gleamed on cannon and bayonets. Dick's watchshowed that it was nearly four o'clock.

  "We attack today surely," said Pennington, who was growing nervous withimpatience.

  "Don't you worry, young man," said Warner. "The two armies are here inline facing each other and as it would be too much trouble to arrangeit all again tomorrow the battle will be fought today. The wholeprogram will be carried out on time."

  "I think," said Dick, "that the attack is very near, and that it's wewho are going to make it. Here is General Sheridan himself."

  The general rode along the line just before the Winchesters and noddedto them approvingly. He came so close that Dick saw the contraction ofhis face, and his eager burning look, as if the great moment hadarrived. Suddenly, he raised his hand and the buglers blew the fiercenotes of the charge.

  "Now we go!" cried Pennington in uncontrollable excitement, and thewhole right wing seemed to lift itself up bodily and rush forward. Themen, eager to avenge the losses of the morning, began to shout, andtheir cheers mingled with the mighty tread of the charge, the thunderof the cannon and the rapid firing of thousands of rifles. They knew,too, that Sheridan's own eye was upon them, and it encouraged them to asupreme effort.

  Infantry and cavalry swept on together in an overwhelming mass. Cannonand rifles sent a bitter hail upon them, but nothing could stop theirrush. Dick felt all his pulses beating heavily and he saw a sea offire before him, but his excitement was so intense that he forgot aboutdanger.

  The center also swung into the charge and then the left. All thedivisions of the army, as arranged by Sheridan, moved in perfect time.The soldiers advanced like veterans going from one victory to another,instead of rallying from a defeat. The war had not witnessed anotherinstance of such a quick
and powerful recovery.

  Dick knew, as their charge gathered force at every step, that they weregoing to certain triumph. The thinness of the Southern lines hadalready told him that they could not withstand the impact of Sheridan.A moment later the crash came and the whole Union force rushed tovictory. Early's army, exhausted by its efforts of the morning, wasoverwhelmed. It was swept from the stone fences and driven back indefeat, while the men in blue, growing more eager as they saw successachieved, pressed harder and harder.

  No need for bugle and command to urge them on now. The Southern armycould not withstand anywhere such ardor and such weight. Positionafter position was lost, then there was no time to take a new stand,and the defeat became a rout. Early's army which had come forward sogallantly in the morning was compelled to flee in disorder in theafternoon. The brave Ramseur, fighting desperately, fell mortallywounded, Kershaw could save but a few men, Evans held a ford a littlewhile, but he too was soon hurled from it. The Invincibles were drivenon with the rest, cannon and wagons were lost, and all but the core ofEarly's force ceased to exist.

  The sun set upon the Union army in the camps that it had lost in thefog of the morning. It had been driven five miles but had come backagain. It had recovered all its own guns, and had taken twenty-fourbelonging to the South. It was the most complete victory that had yetbeen won by either side in the war, and it had been snatched from thevery jaws of defeat and humiliation. Small wonder that there was greatrejoicing in the ranks of northern youth! Despite their immenseexertions and the commands of their officers they could not yet liedown and sleep or rest. Now and then a tremendous cheer for Little Philwho had saved them arose. Huge bonfires sprang up in the night, wherethey were burning the captured Confederate ambulances and wagons,because they did not have the horses with which to take them away.

  Long after the battle was over, Dick's heart beat hard with exertionand excitement. But he shared too in the joy. He would not have beenhuman, and he would not have been young if he had not. Warner andPennington and he had collected four more small wounds among them, butthey were so slight that they had not noticed them in the storm andfury of the battle. Colonel Winchester had not been touched.

  When Dick was at last able to sit still, he joined his comrades aboutone of the fires, where they were serving supper to the victors.Shepard had just galloped back from a long ride after the enemy to saythat they had been scattered to the winds, and that another surprisewas not possible, because there were no longer enough Southern soldiersin the valley to make an army.

  "They made a great effort," said Colonel Winchester. "We must givethem credit for what they achieved against numbers and resources. Theyorganized and carried out their surprise in a wonderful manner, andperhaps they would be the victors tonight if we didn't have such ageneral as Sheridan."

  "It was a great sight," said Warner, "when he appeared, gallopingbefore our line, calling upon us to renew our courage and beat theenemy."

  "One man can influence an army. I've found out that," said Dick.

  They rose and saluted as General Sheridan walked past with some of thehigher officers. He returned the salutes, congratulated them on theircourage and went on. After a long while the exhausted victors fellasleep.

  * * * *

  That night a band of men, a hundred perhaps, entered the woods alongthe slopes of the Massanuttons. They were the remains of theInvincibles. Throughout those fatal hours they had fought with all thecourage and tenacity for which they had been famous so long and sojustly. In the heat and confusion of the combat they had beenseparated from the other portions of Early's army, and, the Northerncavalry driving in between, they had been compelled to take refuge inthe forest, under cover of darkness. They might have surrendered withhonor, but not one among them thought of such a thing. They had beenforced to leave their dead behind them, and of those who had withdrawnabout a third were wounded. But, their hurts bandaged by theircomrades, they limped on with the rest.

  The two colonels were at the head of the sombre little column. It hadseemed to Harry Kenton as they left the field that each of them hadsuddenly grown at least ten years older, but now as they passed withinthe deep shadows they became erect again and their faces grew moreyouthful. It was a marvelous transformation, but Harry read theirsecret. All the rest of the Invincibles were lads, or but little more,and they two middle-aged men felt that they were responsible for them.In the face of defeat and irretrievable disaster they recovered theircourage, and refused to abandon hope.

  "A dark sunset, Hector," said Colonel Talbot, "but a bright dawn willcome, even yet."

  "Who can doubt it, Leonidas? We won a glorious victory over odds inthe morning, but when a million Yankees appeared on the field in theafternoon it was too much."

  "That's always the trouble, Hector. We are never able to finish ourvictories, because so many of the enemy always come up before the workis done."

  "It's a great pity, Leonidas, that we didn't count the Yankees beforethe war was started."

  "It's too late now. Don't call up a sore subject, Hector. We've gotto take care of these lads of ours, and try to get them across themountain somehow to Lee. It's useless to seek Early and we couldn'treach him if we tried. He's done for."

  "Alas! It's true, Leonidas! We're through with the valley for thisautumn at least, and, since the organization of the army here is brokenup, there is nothing for us to do but go to Lee. Harry, is this a highmountain?"

  "Not so very high, sir," replied Harry Kenton, who was just behind him,"but I don't think we can cross it tonight."

  "Maybe we don't want to do so," said Colonel Talbot. "You boys havefood in your knapsacks, taken from the Union camps, which we held for afew short and glorious hours. At least we have brought off thosevaluable trophies, and, when we have climbed higher up the mountainside, we will sup and rest."

  The colonel held himself very erect, and spoke in a firm proud tone. Hewould inspire a high spirit into the hearts of these boys of his, andin doing so he inspired a great deal of it into his own. He lookedback at his column, which still limped bravely after him. It was toodark for him to see the faces of the lads, but he knew that none ofthem expressed despair.

  "That's the way, my brave fellows," he said. "I know we'll find a warmand comfortable cove higher up. We'll sleep there, and tomorrow we'llstart toward Lee. When we join him we'll whip Grant, come back hereand rout Sheridan and then go on and take Washington."

  "Where I mean yet, sir, to sleep in the White House with my boots on,"said the irrepressible Happy.

  "You are a youth frivolous of speech, Thomas Langdon," said ColonelLeonidas Talbot gravely, "but I have always known that beneath thissuperficiality of manner was a brave and honest heart. I'm glad to seethat your courage is so high."

  "Thank you, sir," said Happy sincerely.

  Half way up the mountain they found the dip they wished, sheltered bycedars and pines. Here they rested and ate, and from their covert sawmany lights burning in the valley. But they knew they were the lightsof the victorious foe, and they would not look that way often.

  The October winds were cold, and they had lost their blankets, but thedry leaves lay in heaps, and they raked them up for beds. The lads,worn to the bone, fell asleep, and, after a while, only the twocolonels remained awake.

  "I do not feel sleepy at all, Hector," said Colonel Leonidas Talbot.

  "I could not possibly sleep, Leonidas," said Lieutenant Colonel St.Hilaire.

  "Then shall we?"

  "Why not?"

  Colonel Talbot produced from under his coat a small board, andLieutenant Colonel St. Hilaire took from under his own coat a small box.

  They put the board upon a broad stone, arranged the chessmen, as theywere at the latest interruption, and, as the moonlight came through thedwarfed pines and cedars, the two gray heads bent over the game.