by Thomas Dixon
CHAPTER XXXVII
THE RAIDERS
In February, 1864, both North and South were straining every nerve forthe last act of the grand drama of blood and tears. The Presidentialelection would be held in November to choose a successor to AbrahamLincoln. At this moment Lincoln was the most unpopular, the mostreviled, the most misunderstood and the most abused man who had everserved as President of the United States. The opposition to him insidehis own party was fierce, malignant, vindictive and would stop short ofnothing to encompass his defeat in their nominating convention. They hadnot hesitated even to accuse his wife of treason.
Military success and military success alone could save theadministration at Washington. George B. McClellan, the most populargeneral of the Union army, was already slated to oppose Lincoln on aplatform demanding peace.
If the South could hold her own until the first Monday in November, theopposition to the war in the North would crush the administration andpeace would be had at the price of Southern independence.
No man in America understood the tense situation more clearly thanJefferson Davis. His agents in the North kept him personally informed ofevery movement of the political chess board. Personally he had neverbelieved in the possibility of the South winning in a conflict of armssince the death of Jackson had been given its full significance in thebattle of Gettysburg. He had however believed in the possibility of theparty of the North which stood for the old Constitution winning anelection on the issue of a bloody and unsuccessful war and, on theirwinning, that he could open negotiations for peace and gain every pointfor which the war had been fought. It all depended on the battles of thecoming spring and summer.
Grant, the new Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Union, had beengiven a free hand with unlimited resources of men and money. He was nowdirecting the movements of nearly a million soldiers in blue.
Sherman was drilling under his orders an army of a hundred thousand withwhich to march into Georgia--while Grant himself would direct themovement of a quarter of a million men in his invasion of Virginia.
The Confederate President saw at once that Lee's army must be raised toits highest point of efficiency and that it was of equal importance thatJoseph E. Johnston should be given as many or more men with which tooppose Sherman.
To allow for Johnston's feeble strategy, Davis sent him 68,000 soldiersto Dalton, Georgia, to meet Sherman's 100,000 and gave Lee 64,000 withwhich to oppose Grant's 150,000 threatening to cross the Rapidan andmove directly on Richmond.
Socola had informed the War Department at Washington that theConfederate Capital had been stripped of any semblance of an effectivegarrison to fill the ranks of Lee and Johnston.
General Judson Kilpatrick was authorized to select three thousand pickedcavalry, dash suddenly on Richmond, capture it and release the 15,000Union prisoners confined in its walls and stockades.
These prisoners Grant steadily refused to receive in exchange. In vainDavis besought the Federal Government to take them home in return foran equal number of Confederate prisoners who were freezing and dying inthe North.
Grant's logic was inexorable. Every Confederate prisoner exchanged andsent back home meant a recruit to Lee's army. It was cruel to leave hismen to languish in beleaguered Richmond whose citizens were rioting inthe streets for bread, but he figured these prisoners as soldiers dyingin battle. The Confederate Government had no medicine for them. Theblockade was drawn so tight scarcely an ounce of medicine could beobtained for the Confederate army. Davis offered the WashingtonGovernment to let their own surgeons come to Richmond and carry medicineand food to their prisoners. His request was refused.
The only thing Grant conceded was his consent to Kilpatrick's attempt tofree and arm these 15,000 prisoners and loose them with fire and swordin the streets of the Confederate Capital.
Little did the men, women and children of Richmond dream that they werelying down each night to sleep on the thin crust of a volcano.
Captain Welford in the pursuit of Socola and Miss Van Lew had found thatthe woman on Church Hill persisted in her visits to the prisons. Libby,which contained a number of Union officers of rank, was her favorite.
On the last day of February his patient watch was rewarded. He hadplaced a spy in Libby disguised as a captive Union soldier.
This man had sent the Captain an urgent message to communicate with himat once. Within thirty minutes Welford confronted him in the guardroomof the prison.
The Captain spoke in sharp nervous tones:
"Well?"
"I've something big--"
He paused and glanced about the room.
"Go on!"
"There's a plot on foot inside to escape--"
"Of course. They're always plotting to escape--we've no real prisonsystem--no discipline. Hundreds have escaped already. It's nothingnew--"
"This _is_ new," the spy went on eagerly, "They let me into theircouncils last night. There's going to be a big raid on Richmond--the meninside are going to fight their way out, arm themselves and burn thecity. When they get the signal from the outside they'll batter down thewalls and rush through--"
"Batter down the walls?"
"Yes, sir--"
"How?"
"They've loosed two big rafters and have them ready to use as batteringrams--"
"You're sure of this?"
"Sure's God's in heaven. Go in and see for yourself--"
Captain Welford gave a low whistle.
"This is big news. There are enough prisoners in Richmond to make anarmy corps--eleven hundred in here--twenty-five hundred at Crew andPemberton's--at Belle Isle and the other stockades at least fifteenthousand in all. They are guarded by a handful of men. If they realizetheir power, they can batter their way out in five minutes and sweep thecity with blood and fire--"
He stopped suddenly, drew a deep breath and turned again to the man.
"That'll do for you here. Take a little rest. You'd as well go back intoa lion's den when they find out that I know. They'd spot you sure andtear you limb from limb."
The spy saluted.
"Report to me a week from to-day at the office. You've earned avacation."
The man saluted again and passed quickly out.
Captain Welford asked the Superintendent to call his prisoners together.
"I have something to say to them."
A thousand silent men in blue were gathered in the assembly room of theold warehouse.
Captain Welford boldly entered the place carrying a box in his hand. Heplaced it on the floor, sprang on it and lifted his hand over the crowd:
"I've an announcement to make, gentlemen," he began quietly amid asilence that was death like. "The Department which I represent haslearned that you are planning to batter down the walls and join a forceof raiders who are on the way to capture Richmond--"
He paused and a murmur of smothered despair, inarticulate, bitter, creptthrough the crowd.
"To forestall this little scheme, I have planted a thousand pounds ofpowder under this building. I have mined every other prison. The firstone of you that lifts his finger to escape gives the signal that willblow you into Eternity--"
Dick stepped from the box and made his way out without another word. Hecould feel the wild heart beat of baffled hope as they followed him tothe door with despairing eyes.
A murmur of sickening rage swept the prison. An ominous silence fellwhere hope had beat high.
The same strategic announcement was made in every prison in Richmond. Nomines had been laid. But the story served its purpose. Fifteen thousandmen were bound hand and foot by fear. Three hundred soldiers guardedthem successfully. Not a finger was lifted to help their bold rescuerswho were already dashing toward the city.
Colonel Ulric Dahlgren was crossing the James above Richmond to strikefrom the south side, while General Kilpatrick led the attack direct fromthe north, Dahlgren crossed the river at Ely's Ford, passed in the rearof Lee's army, captured a Confederate court martial in session, butmissed
a park of sixty-eight pieces of artillery which had been leftunguarded.
When they again reached the James at Davis' Mill, where a ford wassupposed to be, none could be found. Stanton had sent from Washington anegro guide. They accused the negro of treachery and hung him from thenearest limb without the formality of a drumhead court martial.
At dawn on March first, Bradley Johnson's cavalry, guarding Lee's flank,struck one of Kilpatrick's parties and drove them in on the main body.They pursued Kilpatrick's men through Ashland and down to the outerdefenses of Richmond.
Hero the raiders dismounted their twenty-five hundred men and preparedto attack the entrenchments. Wade Hampton immediately moved out to meethim. Bradley Johnson's Marylanders drew up in Kilpatrick's rear at thesame moment, and captured five men bearing dispatches from Dahlgren. Hewould attack on the rear at sunset. He asked Kilpatrick to strike at thesame moment.
Johnson boldly charged Kilpatrick's rear with his handful of men anddrove him headlong down the Peninsula to the York River. The Confederateleader had but seventy-five men and two pieces of artillery but he hungon Kilpatrick's division of twenty-five hundred and captured a hundredand forty prisoners.
Dahlgren at night with but four hundred men boldly attacked the defenseson the north side of the city. He was met by a company of Richmond boysunder eighteen years of age. The youngsters gave such good account ofthemselves that he withdrew from the field, leaving forty of his mendead and wounded.
In his retreat down the Peninsula, he failed to find Kilpatrick'sdivision. His command was cut to pieces and captured and Dahlgrenhimself killed.
The part which Socola had played in this raid was successfullyaccomplished without a hitch. He was compelled to answer the drum whichcalled every clerk of his Department to arms for the defense of thecity. In the darkness he succeeded in pressing into Dahlgren's lines andon his retreat made his way back to his place in the ranks of theConfederates.
It was a little thing which betrayed him after the real danger was pastand brought him face to face with Jennie Barton.