by Unknown
As we smoked the cigars he had brought he gave us the grim news from Charleston. “The Yankees have begun to shell it I’m afraid.” He looked directly at me. “It looks like we might both lose our homes.”
I shrugged, “It isn’t as though I ever lived there.”
“Yes but you had invested in that for your future and that of your sister. I was the one who advised you.”
“You weren’t to know; besides they might leave them alone. They are both run by our negro overseers aren’t they? Aaron and Jarvis are both good men.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath. Most of my slaves ran off and there is precious little trade coming in and out of Charleston these days.”
This was not the Captain Boswell who had led us behind enemy lines. It was not even the resourceful Colonel Boswell who had been Fitzhugh-Lee Stuart’s right hand man. This was a shell of the leader we had known and followed. He sounded depressed. “Are we losing then sir?”
“I don’t know Jed. Chancellorsville was a great victory but with Jackson so ill I just don’t know. Most troops and recruits don’t even have a uniform.” He waved his cigar in the direction of the camp. “I used the last of my money to buy the horses and the equipment for the recruits. I figured the Yankees were going to take it anyway. At least this way we can hurt them a little.”
The joyful mood at the start of the meal had evaporated and we were all thoroughly depressed when we returned to our tents. We did not have the luxury of staying depressed for General Stuart himself came to our mess tent the next morning. He beamed when he saw the colonel. “I am delighted to see you recovered and with your new recruits. Things are going to get better from now on.” He lowered his voice although there were only the officers present. “I believe that we will soon be in a position to take the fight to northern soil. Let the civilians there suffer what our people have had to endure for the past two years. However, before we can do that we need the army building up and we are mighty short of resources.” He waved an expansive hand around the camp. “We are all here because we will be close to the northern warehouses. We want you to take as much as you can from the Yankees.”
The colonel had been out of the war for a while and he looked puzzled. “What sort of materials are we talking about? Guns? Ammunition? Powder?”
Stuart said bluntly, “Anything! If it is in a northern store or a warehouse then we want it. We are short of food, clothes, shoes, feed for our animals. The Yankee blockade means that there is little coming in and nothing going out. If we are going to win this war we have to do it before our people starve to death.”
This was not the death or glory Stuart we knew so well. He had become more pragmatic and practical.
“We will do that sir.”
“You have until the end of May to gather as much as you can.”
“And then?”
General Stuart tapped his nose meaningfully, “And then we shall see.”
After he had gone the colonel said, “That means we invade the north in June or July. Danny, how many men do we have?”
“With the troopers you brought our strength is up to two hundred and twenty but eighteen of them are like Jack here, wounded.”
I took off the bandage. “Seventeen!”
The colonel laughed and slapped me on the back. “Good fellow. Still as spunky as ever. Four columns then. I will lead one, the major and the two captains will lead the others. Dago you go with me and Jed with Danny. David we will leave you in charge of the camp. Try to get as many wounded fit as possible.”
“Sir.”
This time, as we set off, we were not trying to avoid the Union forces; we were seeking them. I was given the task of raiding the railroad at Manassas. It was a busy crossroads and the tracks led north, south, east and west. The problem was it was thirty miles away. We would have to allow plenty of time to get there and back. Nor could we use our normal tactic of using the night. We suspected that the trains would be running largely during the day.
We risked the road and left before dawn. We could make better time on the road. Troopers Grant and White were on point. They were both good men. I had the new recruits, all ten of them in the middle of the column. Sergeant James rode with them along with Corporal Cartwright. No matter how well prepared they thought they were it would not be enough when the action started. I needed a steady head leading them.
Cecil rode next to me. “We’ll need wagons you know sir.”
“Not necessarily. They will slow us down. We would do better with mules and horses.”
He nodded, “And we could eat the mules when we had finished with them.” We had never been fussy eaters but the war had made us appreciate every mouthful and morsel of food. The only inhabited place we passed through was Bristow Station which was a small stop on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. We halted a mile from the station. I decided to leave Sergeant James and the new men there.
“Tie up the station employees and hide until a train comes. If none come then we have not lost anything and when we return we know we will have reinforcements here.” I lowered my voice, “Watch out for these new boys, Carlton. We need to bring them on slowly.”
“I understand sir.” He looked beyond me. “And I spy some horses in that field. We’ll see if these new boys are any good as horsemen eh sir?”
The sergeant and his men galloped off to the station. They would make sure that no one sent a telegraph message but they would not cut the lines. The last thing we needed was to have a cavalry patrol riding to investigate the silence of the wires.
We rode on, knowing that Manassas was quite close. There had been two battles here already and I knew that there would be a military presence of some kind here. We halted in a small wood half a mile from the station. We left the men improvising a tangle of bushes to hide us while Cecil and I moved closer for a better look.
We crept along a drainage ditch which afforded us a good position to spy out the land. There were soldiers there but only a handful. It looked to be less than a dozen. There was a train in the station and what looked like a warehouse nearby. The train had steam but the engineers were not in the cab. It did not look as though it would be moving any time soon. The soldiers did not look to be particularly alert and the rest of the area appeared to be deserted.
When we reached the men I gathered them around me. “Four of you will stay here with the horses. Half of you will follow the Sergeant Major. Your job is to make sure that the train does not leave. Try to keep the engineers alive; we may need to move the train. When we have captured the guards then we bring over the horses.”
They needed no more instruction than that. These were all my most experienced men. I could trust them to use their heads. I did not take my carbine nor did I take my sabre. Both of them would only get in the way. I preferred just to have the pistols. I had a spare one in my belt, one in my hand and one in my holster. We ran from cover and headed towards the station. I was counting on surprise and we had it. The guards’ rifles were neatly stacked and we reached them before they had chance to grab them.
“Corporal Jones, secure the prisoners. Troopers Dawes and Ritchie, come with me.”
We ran into the telegraph office. The dispatcher was looking up at the door in surprise. I sighed with relief; no message had been sent. “Take him outside and tie him up.” I looked at the papers and books on the desk. Most appeared innocent but I saw one with the Union flag emblazoned on the outside. It was a code book. I grabbed it and stuck it in my jacket.
By the time I returned the prisoners were securely trussed. “Corporal Jones, take five men and see what is in the warehouse. You two stay with the prisoners and the rest come with me.”
We had to work quickly. So far it had all gone better than we could have expected. Not a shot had been fired. The engineer and the train crew were all tied up and looking less than happy. I decided that the train could be disabled. It would effectively block the line and was quicker than taking up rails. “Get some water and put the f
ire out. This engine is going nowhere. Release the steam valves. Sergeant Major, detach two men to take these prisoners inside with the others and then come with me.”
I was like a child with a wrapped present as I opened the first of the doors on the railroad cars. To my disappointment it was empty. The second contained boxes and when we examined them we found that they contained tins of beef. It was better than gold. Now we just needed some horses to transport them. “Get these boxes unloaded. See if you can find any horses.”
“Sir!” Cecil raced off. The last two cars also had tinned foods. These were intended for the Union soldiers.
A trooper ran up to me, “Sir Corporal Jones says could you come to the warehouse.”
“Trooper Dawes, take charge here.” As I ran with the trooper I asked, “What has he found?”
“Ammunition sir!”
The day was getting better and better. When I reached the corporal he had a huge grin on his face. “There are just ten boxes sir but they are all full.”
“Well done corporal. Get them taken to the others.” I was just about to order the warehouses to be fired when I heard the wail of an engine. A train was coming into the station. “Better hurry boys. It looks like we have company.”
I ran into the open and looked around. The train was heading from Washington and was about a mile away. Hopefully it would pass through the station without stopping. There were two lines and I hoped that the points were set for the other train to pass. The train we had disabled was on the track the furthest from the platform. I now regretted my order to disable the train. We could have travelled on the train to Brandy Station. Now we might have to fight.
I saw Cecil leading six horses. “Sergeant Major, get those horses under cover and then get all the men into the station; there is a train coming.”
As the men scurried for cover I looked at the station. It looked normal except… there were no guards. I ran into the building. There were four Union jackets hung up. It was a hot day and the men had obviously decided to discard them. I pointed to the nearest three troopers. “Put these on jackets, grab a Yankee hat and then come outside.”
I took a wide brimmed hat from one of the prisoners as I threw a jacket over mine. “Grab a rifle and smile. We are Yankees for the next few minutes.” Over my shoulder I shouted, “Sergeant Major, keep us covered. We do nothing unless we are discovered. If that happens then unleash hell!”
I heard a reassuring, “Yes sir.”
The train began to slow as it approached the station. They sometimes did that when passing through but I had the feeling that this one was stopping. “You three make sure your gun is loaded but do it quietly. We don’t want to arouse suspicion.” I just prayed that this wasn’t a troop train or our war could end very suddenly.
My heart sank as I saw a face wearing a blue uniform peer from one of the cars. There were soldiers on board. The train hissed to a halt. A wall of white steam rose as it shuddered to a stop. The blue uniform I had seen turned out to be a lieutenant. He stepped from the train and strode towards me.
“Where is your officer?”
“He is out the back taking a leak sir.”
He looked me up and down. The jacket looked right but everything else looked wrong. “You boys are a little messy. What unit are you?”
I had to lie. “The fifth Michigan sir.”
He frowned, “I thought they were in the Shenandoah Valley.”
“On detachment sir.” I glanced down the platform. About twelve soldiers had stepped from the train. It was unlikely to be a troop train then.
Perhaps my nervousness and my lie gave me away for he suddenly reached for his gun. I shouted, “Let them have it!” as I swung the butt of the rifle to smash into his jaw. I threw the rifle to the ground and grabbed by Colt. A sergeant was aiming at me with his pistol. I fired as I brought my gun up and he spun around as my ball caught him in the shoulder. There was a cacophony of noise as rifles and pistols blazed away. It was frenetic. More men poured from the train.
I emptied one gun and drew a second. I was firing as fast as I could at anything in a blue uniform. I suddenly remembered that I was wearing blue and, when I emptied my next gun, I discarded the jacket. I hurriedly reloaded one of my guns and looked for another target. As far as I could see and hear the only shots were coming from our men.
“Cease fire!” I checked the troopers who had been with me on the platform. One was dead and Trooper Reed was slightly wounded. It could have been worse. “Trooper Dunn, tie up this lieutenant and put him with the other prisoners.”
Sergeant Major Mulrooney emerged grinning from the station. “Sergeant Major, secure the engine. I have an idea.” As the smoke cleared and the surviving Northerners were rounded up I began to formulate a plan. “Trooper Dawes cut the telegraph wire, you four start loading the boxes on the new train.”
I walked through the carnage of the dead and the dying to the railroad cars. There was one flatbed car with four horses tied to the rail running along its sides. Their white eyes showed their fear. I stroked one as I passed. They would soon calm down. Two of the other cars were empty and the last one held uniforms. My plan might just work.
“Trooper Dunn, bring the prisoners and put them in this car.” I pointed to another trooper. “Go and fetch the horses and put them on the flat car.” I virtually ran down the platform to the engine.
The engineer and his crew were cowering under Cecil’s baleful stare. “Now you boys are now prisoners of the Confederacy. We are going to drive this train to Bristow and pick up some of my men and then on to Brandy Station.”
Cecil’s eyes widened, “You’re going to steal a train?”
“Can you think of another way to get the prisoners and the contraband back to the general?”
He grinned. “No sir.”
“You stay with them until we are ready to leave and then I will ride the footplate.” I ran back to organise the men. The boxes were all loaded as were the prisoners. The horses were being led on to the flatcar. It would be a tight fit as we had the horses stolen by Cecil but we would just manage it. I grabbed half a dozen troopers. “I want every building burning. Use the coal oil. As soon as they are blazing, jump on the train. We are riding home in style.”
They whooped their pleasure. There is nothing more exciting than being told to set fire to something that doesn’t belong to you. Once back at the engine I said, “Sergeant Major, go back and take charge. When the troopers who are setting the fire are on board then wave and we will leave.”
I looked at the engineer, “When I give the order I want this train to fly. You understand?”
“Yes sir.”
As Cecil waved and the train started to move I heard the crack of gunfire. A troop of cavalry had seen the flames and ridden to the train.”Full speed now!” I stuck my head out of the cab. “Open fire!”
Every trooper fired and we had such a wall of lead that the cavalry was stopped, literally in their tracks. The problem was they knew where we were going and they could ride down the road. Would the train beat them to the station and our men? I just hoped that Sergeant James had his wits about him,
We covered the few miles really quickly. I leaned out and waved my cap so that my men would know it was our train. It was with some relief that I saw my men emerge from the station.
“Get the horses on board and your men too. There will be some Yank cavalry on our tail. Get the flag out and hang it from the side. We don’t want our boys shooting at us too.”
“Sir.” He paused, “A train?”
I shrugged, “I thought you would be happy sergeant, it gives the horses a rest!”
As we pulled out we saw the blue coats of the cavalry thundering down the road. The Sergeant Major had put the best shots in the caboose and they deterred any further pursuit. The engineer and his crew were no trouble. I suspect that they were just doing what they always had done and I kept my pistol holstered whilst I smiled at them. I glanced back along the train and saw that t
he flag was flying from one of the cars. It would have been better from the engine but it meant that the guards at the station would, at least, pause before they opened fire.
The engineer brought the train to a stately halt at Brandy Station. The steam hissed and the infantry came out with guns levelled. I stepped from the train. “You can lower your guns boys. This is the 1st Virginia Express from Manassas Junction.”
They cheered as my men stepped from the cars. A major rode up. “Well captain. You have done well. What is the cargo?”
“Twenty prisoners, guns, ammunition, food and uniforms sir.”
“Goddam but you are a sight for sore eyes. What is your name sir?”
“Captain Jack Hogan of the 1st Virginia Scouts.”
He slapped his leg. “So you are Lucky Jack! You live up to your name and reputation. I’ll inform the general of your success.”
“Can I leave everything in your hands sir? My men and I would like to get our horses off the train. They prefer solid ground beneath their hooves.”
He waved an expansive hand. “By all means.”
“Sergeant Major, get the horses unloaded; all of them!” I would keep the stolen horses for us. Our need was greater.
We rode in high spirits towards our camp. Night was falling but we had achieved far more than I had thought possible. Danny stepped from the mess tent as we rode in. “I was getting worried about you. Did you get much?”
As I dismounted I flashed a superior smile. “Just a train, twenty prisoners, guns, ammunition food and,” I waved a hand at the horses Sergeant James was leading in, “horses. And you?”