by Unknown
“Sergeant Ritchie, fall back to the horses. I’ll be with the rearguard.” I turned to the four men with me. “Stay behind me and walk back slowly.” I slung my carbine over my shoulder and drew my Colt.
The northerners were still firing but they would soon realise that we had gone. Sure enough, I heard the order, “Cease fire and move forward.” There was still someone in command.
“Pick your targets. We will see them soon enough.”
Our improvised barrier meant that they could not fire as they struggled to cut through it with their bayonets. We began to pick them off and that slowed them down even further. “Fall back to the horses.”
Ritchie and the rest of the troopers were already mounted.
“Lead them off, sergeant. We will keep an eye on these boys until we are clear.”
It had been a successful raid. We had captured valuable booty, destroyed a train and bloodied the Yankees’ noses. We waited until we saw the blue uniforms filtering through the undergrowth and then we fired. They answered with some wild shots which scattered leaves and branches above our heads.
“That’s enough. Back to the farm!”
The troopers turned and galloped off with me in hot pursuit. I allowed the troopers ahead of me to open a gap. Copper could outrun anything else in the troop. I turned to watch the blue coats and was relieved to see that they had stopped. As I turned back I suddenly saw a log on the trail; I wheeled Copper to one side and we leapt into the air. I did not see the branch in front of my face until it was too late. All went black.
I awoke and it was dark. I opened my eyes in panic. Was I in a Yankee prison? My hands were not tied, which was a good thing. I tried to sit up but my head hurt. I put a hand to my forehead and it came away bloody. I remembered now, I had hit a branch. My eyes had become accustomed to the dark and I saw that I was in a small wooden outbuilding of some description. There were some tools and broken pieces of wood and metal. It was a workshop. I stood, a little gingerly, but I managed to stand upright. I went to the tools to find one which might be used as a weapon. As I did so I put my hand to my holster and found my Colt. I was still armed. I was thoroughly perplexed. How had I got here? Where was here? I was about to open the door and run out when I stopped. Whoever had brought me here had left me armed and, I assumed would return at some point. I could see, through the cracks at the edge of the poorly made door, that it was still daylight. When I moved it would have to be at night. I had no doubt that we had stirred up a hornet’s nest with our attack on the railroad.
I turned to examine the workshop again and saw that, on the other side of where I had lain, was a tin mug with a liquid in it. I sipped it. It was lemonade. This was becoming stranger by the minute. Someone had left me there and provided a drink. I went to the door and peered through the crack. The building was in the woods but there appeared to be a path leading up to it. I would have to wait for my benefactor to find me. In the dark I would have no idea which direction I should take. I sat down in the corner to wait for the dark or my rescuer, whichever came first.
I must have dozed off for I was suddenly alert. I had heard a noise. I slipped my Colt from its holster and then cursed myself; I had not checked to see if it was loaded. The footsteps on the path were faint, but they were heading for the door. I slipped behind it. The door swung open and I held my pistol before me. I contemplated clubbing whoever came through the door and then I got the faint smell of flowers. This was not a man.
Mary Malone peered into the darkness. “Are you there Captain Hogan?”
I stepped from behind the door and she gave a little squeak like a mouse. “Sorry if I made you start. Where am I? How did I get here?”
I saw that she had a bowl of water in her hand. “First let me tend to your wound and I will tell you as I dress it.” She gently began to wipe my head. “I heard the shooting for it is close to the house where I work. When the soldiers had gone I was curious and I came to see if there were any of your men wounded. I found none and I was about to go home again when I saw your boot sticking out from beneath a bush. I dragged you here to this workshop. It is a little way from the main house and I knew that you would be safe. I went back to where you fell and covered our tracks. They will not know you are here.” She finished dabbing it. “I do not think it needs a bandage. You are done.”
“Thank you for you ministrations and for your rescue. It was brave of you and you risked your life for me. I am grateful.”
“I told you before captain, I am a Virginia girl. My father and brother both died at Antietam. I have no love for the north.”
“And yet here you are in Maryland.”
She shrugged, “I am well thought of here and I earn a decent wage. I save it and when the war is over I will have saved enough to return home and begin my life anew.”
She was an eminently sensible girl. “I thank you again.”
“And what of you captain? From your accent you are not American born.”
“No, I am an Irishman but I have fought for the south since the start of the war.” As much as I enjoyed talking to this pretty young woman I had to get back to my men. “Are they still hunting us?”
She nodded. “They have brought some cavalry from Frederick. You and your men annoyed them by blowing up the train and killing their soldiers. They had felt safe here.”
I bit my tongue as I almost said that soon they would have an army to face and not a handful of raiders. “I will leave when it is dark.” I glanced at the door. “That will be soon I feel. Am I far from where I fell?”
“I dragged you about half a mile. I am sorry; we lost your hat along the way.”
I smiled, “A hat for a life is a fair exchange. Which way is the railroad?”
“We are about half a mile south of it.”
I began to work out where the farm we were using as a base was. By my reckoning it was about three or four miles south east of my present position. My time at sea had helped me to understand the stars and I could steer a course back to my men.
She took my hand in hers. “You should stay here captain. I can bring you food. They will stop searching in a day or so.”
I shook my head. They use the phrase, ‘the kindness of strangers’, and it was true from Stumpy and James Boswell through to Mary, people had been kind to me. I did not know why. “It is good of you to think of me but each minute I stay here increases the danger to you and I would not have you hurt for the world.”
She smiled at me and gripped my hands a little tighter. “I just want to help you.” She looked at the ground. “I like you. I know that I should not be so open and forward but this war has shown me that you need to hang on to that which you desire and love for it can be taken away in an instant.”
I was taken aback, “And I like you Mary Malone. It is unexpected to find such beauty and kindness in the middle of a war. I promise you this; I shall return and find you when this war is over. I would have you know that I have a property.” I did not know why I blurted that out but her honesty and openness had disarmed me. I shrugged, “Or I did but I have money and I can provide but this is not the time for such things. I have men to lead and battles to fight. You may find someone else. But I promise you that I will return and if you feel the same way, whenever that day dawns, then we can then begin to plan for a future away from this war.”
I saw tears in her eyes and she buried her face in my chest. “There was a boy and he died along with my brother and my father. Until I saw you I thought that he would be the only man in my life and I will wait but please do not rush off yet. I would not have you captured.”
I laughed, “Do not worry. I will evade capture but I must get back. My men will worry about me and I meant what I said about returning.” I could see that it was dark. “And now I will leave.”
I felt embarrassed. What should I do? I felt I ought to do something. She did it for me. She leaned up and kissed me full on the lips. “And I shall be here when you return. Now come. Follow me and I will take you
close to the road.”
I took out my gun as we walked. I stayed a couple of yards behind her in case we met anyone. She moved well through the woods as though she was familiar with the trail. Suddenly two horses appeared before us and there were two Yankee troopers. I pointed my gun at them. I had to think quickly.
“You two will do better than this woman. Get off your horses and keep your hands in the air.”
“You’ll not get away with this Reb.”
“Up to now I have. Now get off those horses and keep your hands where I can see them.”
“Typical Reb; taking a woman prisoner.”
“Shut your mouth Yank. Now step over there. I kept my gun pointing at them. Had I been in their place I would have gone for the gun as I would have only been able to get one shot off but I think they worried about Mary.
With my spare hand I grabbed both sets of reins. “I nodded to Mary. “I am sorry for frightening you ma’am. But you have to know I would never have harmed you.”
She hid her smile and said, “I was not frightened sir but I am glad that you are going. “ Her back was to the men and she pursed her lips in a kiss.
I mounted the horse and backed it up, keeping my Colt pointed at them. “Do not try to follow me boys for if you do I shall kill you.” I managed to put venom in my voice.
I wheeled the horses around and galloped off down the trail. I hoped that I would not meet any other troopers. The troopers fired their Colts at me. They missed but they would alert any other soldiers hunting me. I saw it becoming lighter and knew that the road would be ahead. I burst out on to the pike and found myself next to a road block. Luckily I was on the open side. I fired my gun three times at the soldiers who guarded it. I wanted to keep their heads down rather than try to kill them. I turned and galloped off down the road. By the time they had recovered enough to aim their rifles I was far enough away to make a hit extremely unlikely. I was just lucky that it had been infantry and not cavalry who had been there. I knew that there would be other troopers searching for us but I hoped that they were closer to the railroad.
I was not sure which road I was on and I looked up at the skies for help. It was cloudy. I took comfort from the fact that I seemed to be going up hill. If I could find South Mountain then I could find the farm. I came to a cross roads and saw the huge mountain ahead of me. I took that road. As soon as I could I left the road and found the shelter of the trees. I changed horses. I had no sooner done that than I heard the hooves of a cavalry patrol. I had left the road none too soon. I made my way up through the trees until I found a path of sorts. It wound its way up the mountain. I took heart from the fact that it widened as it climbed. Eventually I reached an open knoll a little way below the summit. I dismounted to make me less obvious and I led the two horses.
I did not think that we could be seen from the road but I was taking no chances. When I smelled wood smoke I knew that I was near habitation and I took out my gun. This time I reloaded. If I met another patrol I would be ready this time. I edged forwards and noticed that the trail began to drop. I re-entered the woods and went even more slowly. Suddenly I spied a light in a building and saw a man smoking a pipe. I tied the horses to a tree and crept up on him. He did not see me and I pointed my gun at his head.
His head flicked around and he looked at me in shock. “Captain Hogan! We thought you was dead or captured. The sergeant will be sure glad to see you!”
Chapter 11
To say they were glad to see me would have been an understatement. Sergeant Ritchie, in particular, appeared overjoyed. “Captain Hogan sir, I am so sorry for leaving you there.”
“I wasn’t left there. You were obeying orders and I would have had your stripes if you had come back for me.” I shook my head, which was a mistake as it still hurt, “I was knocked off Copper by a tree.” I suddenly remembered my horse, “Copper?”
Sergeant Jones gestured with his thumb, “In the stables. Followed the other horses home.”
That was a relief, “Did we lose any men?”
“No sir, just Lucky Jack.”
They all laughed at that. “But you managed to get back with the booty.”
“Most of it sir but we needed more horses.”
I gestured behind me to the forest. “If you go back in there you will find two fine Yankee horses with saddles and carbines.” As Trooper White went for them I added, “There are some Yankee cavalry in the area so we had better go a little more carefully next time. They nearly had me and they know there is Reb cavalry in the area.”
“How did you escape sir? We are not surprised but we are mighty interested. When Lieutenant Spinelli got separated he had to be rescued. How did you do it all by your lonesome?”
I told them although I left out my conversation with Mary Malone. Sergeant Jones slapped his leg and said, “And that is why he is Lucky Jack. Not only does he escape but he is helped by a pretty young Virginia girl.”
“How do you know that she is pretty?”
Trooper Ritchie looked shamefaced, “That’s me sir. It sort of slipped out.”
“Well I think I am ready for my sleep now but we need to be up early tomorrow sergeant. We need to strike while the iron is hot.”
“You mean up early today sir.” He pointed to the sun rising in the east. I would get little sleep this night.
The next day I sent two troopers back. One was to find Colonel Boswell and report on our findings whilst the other would report to General Lee. We kept the food and the ammunition at the farm. Leaving four men on guard I took the remaining troopers on a patrol. We headed for Gettysburg.
I had not been there since Dago and I had rescued General Stuart’s nephew. There had been a strong military presence there then. We approached the town cautiously but I saw little evidence of soldiers this visit. It looked like the administrative units had moved on. I was aware of General Lee’s instructions in terms of the civilian population and so we headed for the railroad.
We surrounded the station and entered the telegraph office. We quickly overpowered the employees of the railroad and tied them. I sent Sergeant Jones to investigate the warehouses while Sergeant Ritchie and his men lifted a couple of rails. The warehouses were empty but we cut the telegraph wires and destroyed the equipment. Looking back now it seems petty but at the time I knew what effect that would have on the Union. We were deep inside Pennsylvania and we were destroying their railroad without being worried by their army. They would have to move forces here and that meant that General Lee and his army of Northern Virginia could cross without having to fight a battle.
We took the small quantity of food, weapons and ammunition which we discovered in the railroad station and we headed back to the farm. We ate well again that night.
We awoke the next morning to the sound of guns from the south of us. I sent a patrol to look but they reported that they had seen nothing. It had to be General Lee’s forward units. They had made good time. “Sergeant Jones, I want six men leaving here to guard the food and the ammunition. The rest need to be mounted. We will ride towards the guns.”
I knew that the army would be advancing from Harper’s Ferry towards Hagerstown. I also knew that there were some Union forces in the area. The last thing the general would need would be to be ambushed. We headed south. I sent out four troopers to find the enemy. My men were past masters at blending into the background. They could see without being seen.
They soon returned with the news that we needed. “Sir, we found the Yankees. They are a mile yonder. They have a barricade across the road and they are dug in.”
“How many?”
“It looks like that company from Hagerstown and the cavalry with them.”
That meant that we were outnumbered. “Follow me.” We rode along the road towards the ambush. I decided on a different approach this time. “Sergeant Ritchie, I want you with me. Sergeant Jones, when I give the word I want you to bring the men forwards. Hide them. We are going to try to bluff these soldier boys into surren
dering. Follow my lead; pretend you are a brigade”
“Are you sure sir?” Sergeant Jones’ worries clearly showed on his face.
“Copper can move like lightning and Sergeant Ritchie here is no slouch. I think we can get away if they turn nasty. If they do then you will have to cover us.”
I took a piece of white cloth from my saddlebags and tied it to my sabre. We rode forwards. “You watch for any sign of treachery.” I hoped that they would respect the white flag as a flag of truce but I had never used one before.
We trotted around the bend in the road and the sound of our hooves made the officer and the sergeant turn. Their hands went to their guns.
“Flag of truce, gentlemen.”
They kept their guns in their hands but at least they did not point them at us. “What do you want Reb?”
“I want you to save unnecessary bloodshed and the lives of your men.”
The sergeant laughed, “What, from the two of you? You Rebs sure have a high opinion of yourselves.”
I pointed to the south where the popping of guns still sounded. “That is not a raiding party. That is the army of General Lee. Those guns you hear will be the guns of General Jubal Early’s men. Do you think your one hundred men are going to hold up a whole Corps?”
“Why should we to surrender to you two?”
In answer I shouted, “Sergeant Jones, bring the first troop forward! Keep the rest of the regiment hidden!” I kept my eyes on the young captain. His eyes widened as my men appeared. Although we had less than thirty five men the fact that they were spread out and on horses must have made them seem like more for his shoulders drooped in resignation.
“There is no dishonour in saving your men’s lives captain.” Just then there was a particularly large explosion from the cannon which made the captain jump. I could see him looking at the horses in front of him. He looked at the sergeant who shrugged.