by Unknown
“Take the men to Upperville and camp in the woods to the north east.” He nodded, we had used them before. We should be back before nightfall.”
“You be careful sir.”
I grinned, “I always am, Irish. The Lucky Jack name is because I am so careful.”
We mounted and trotted off through the woods. “Irish tells me you come from these parts.”
“Yes sir. My folks have a farm the other side of the town.” His face darkened. “Leastways we did until the Yankees come through and accused my pa of being a southern spy. They shot him and my poor ma died of a broken heart. I joined up the day after I buried her.”
I knew what he meant. My parents had both been killed unnecessarily and had prompted me and my sister to make a new start. As soon as this war was over I would find my sister Caitlin. “I am sorry for your loss. Don’t let it make you bitter. You are a young man.” We had reached the road. “Is this the best way into town?”
“It’s the main road but I think there will be a checkpoint just before Main Street.” He pointed to a little track leading off the main pike. “The locals use that road to avoid dumb questions. It brings you out in the middle of Main Street.”
“Then that is the way we will go. If anyone asks we are from the 10th Illinois Volunteers.”
“Is there such a regiment sir?”
“I have no idea but I am guessing they won’t know either. Just have the confidence to bluff. Hopefully no-one will ask us anything.”
We were half way along the track when I saw the Union camp to our right. It looked like it spanned the pike. The artillery and the infantry were camped on the west side and the cavalry to the east. Cooper had done well to bring us this way. We could not risk close scrutiny. I saw that they had used the fences from the farms to make their perimeter. The artillery pieces were neatly parked as were the limbers. The powder looked to have its own guards and was a sensible fifty yards from any other tents. The guards looked to be relaxed. I suspected they felt safe here so far from the Confederate front lines. Major Mosby and his Partisan Rangers were operating well to the north of here.
“There sir, that is Main Street.”
There was a small avenue of apple trees leading into the town. “Right let’s dismount. We want to find out which regiments are here and how many men. Keep your eyes and ears open.”
We walked our horses along the trees. A few people were walking towards us from the town. They had obviously been shopping and were returning to their farms; it was well past noon. We touched our caps and said, “Morning,” as we passed them; our smiles disarming them. When we reached Main Street I could see that it was a busy and bustling little town. We walked to the grocery store and hitched our horses to the rail. We walked along the street identifying the buttons and cap badges of the soldiers we passed. I saluted everyone as though I was just a trooper. We crossed the street and came back the other way. We had just reached our horses when a troop of cavalry came along the street heading for the camp.
“Let’s mount. We’ll follow these boys.”
Cooper shot me a look of fear. “But sir, the Sergeant Major said we ought to be careful.”
“And we will be. The others will think we are part of this troop. No-one will look twice at us.”
We followed ten yards behind the last pair. I had seen that these were the same Connecticut cavalry we had bested a few days earlier. I hoped that we would look like their scouts. The sight of cavalry must have been commonplace for no-one gave us a second glance. When we reached the camp we were waved through by the guards at the end of Main Street. The cavalry headed left to their tents and we just trotted on. The guards had forgotten us and were eyeing up the wagon which was heading their way.
“Slow down, Ben, and count the sentries and locate the horse herd.” I could see that the two guard points were the ones with the most guards; it was to be expected. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that the wagon was being searched. “Stop here.” I dismounted and pretended to examine Copper’s hoof. As the wagon came abreast of us I mounted and we followed. As we reached the next guards we were stopped again. While we waited I saw that the horse herd was close to the tree line where the ground began to rise. They wanted the smell as far away from them as possible.
I heard the driver arguing with the guards. “Goddam! We were stopped and searched by the numbskulls at the other end. Do you think we have picked up contraband in your camp?”
“Just doing my job, mister. Where are you boys headed?”
“Taking some uniforms to Fredericksburg.”
“Carry on then sir. Sorry for the delay.”
In reply the teamster spat over the side of the wagon and flicked his whip. The wagon lurched through and we followed. The two guards looked at us briefly but then went back to their conversation. Half a mile from the camp, we turned off and headed across country.
“Sir? Weren’t you scared?”
“Not really, Trooper. If we had been stopped I would have pulled my Colt, shot them and been away before they could raise the alarm.” I tapped the Army Colt. “Close up, these are much more effective than a rifle. I would bet you that neither of those men had a ball in his musket. As a weapon they would be about as effective as a stick. I would back a Colt against a stick any day of the week. Wouldn’t you?”
We headed across the open fields to get to our rendezvous. We would attract less attention that way. I hoped that Irish had avoided attention. We could both see many blue uniforms travelling up and down the roads. As the afternoon faded into dusk we kicked on. I knew that we would be eating cold rations; we could not risk a fire and I regretted not eating in Warrenton. Then I realised that I would not have enjoyed it because I believed in sharing the hardships of my men.
Copper told me that we were close to our men when her ears pricked and she snorted. The sentry at the edge of the woods silently waved us through. The two sergeants had done well and the troop as well spread out in the woods. Our tents were no longer white but a dirty grey colour. They might not be clean but they kept us hidden better than pristine white new ones. Sergeant James had risked a small fire protected by rocks and we had hot coffee at least. He handed me a cup as he led Copper off.
“Well done Trooper. You did well today.”
Surprised at the compliment he grinned, “Thank you sir. It was a learning experience that is for sure.”
Cecil wandered over, “Any problems, Irish?”
“No sir. We kept off the roads.”
“We’ll raid them tomorrow night. It will give us a day to let the horses recover. You can take a dozen of the boys out first thing to scout Upperville. We might as well hit them the day after.”
Our camp would have to be left unguarded. We had too few men for that. It would be a small price to pay; a few tents against the damage to the Union.
Cecil returned just after noon. “They have a large presence in the town sir. I saw no artillery but they had a few different regiments of cavalry and infantry. I think they are using it to control the area.”
That made sense. It would be where they had the intelligence and planning officers. The cavalry and infantry would be detachments from some of the other regiments. They would be the soldiers delivering orders. A captured courier was as valuable as fifty dead horsemen. We had enough work for the next three or four days. “Well done. You and your men get some shut eye. We will leave after dark.”
We had the most success when we operated after dark. Our grey uniforms made us almost invisible. The Yankees called Mosby and his men the Grey Ghosts and it was appropriate. We use the same idea.
After our frugal meal I gathered the non commissioned officers around me. “We are going to do two things; one, blow up their powder magazine and two, drive off their horses. Sergeant James, you take the two corporals and half the men. You will capture or drive off the horse herd. If we can capture any then so much the better. If you think you can capture them then just head on back to Kelly’s Ford. The regiment
will need those horses. Irish, you and the rest of the boys will come with me and we will blow up the powder and, hopefully some of the guns and limbers.” Cannon without limbers were useless.
“How do we coordinate the attacks sir?”
“You take Cooper with you. He knows where the herd is. We will wait until we hear the commotion near you and then we will strike.”
I suppose to a regular army unit on either side that would have sounded ridiculous but we had fought together for enough time to build trust. I knew that the sergeant would do his job; he would ensure that he had minimal casualties and he would capture the maximum number of horses. He knew that we would do the same.
We waited until the sun had set before we left. We had plenty of time to reach our destination and we moved slowly, carefully and silently though the fields and woods. We separated well north of the camp and I led my detachment well to the west to approach the hidden lane from the south west.
Leaving five men with the horses, Irish and I led the others towards the artillery park. We had slow fuses with us and flint to make a spark. Before we could even think about destroying the powder we had to eliminate the guards. There were just two sentries and they were standing close by each other, both men were smoking pipes. We all had small leather bags filled with sand. We had found them quite useful for incapacitating sentries. Cutting a throat was riskier and definitely messier. The Sergeant Major assigned two men to each sentry and they crept along the fence line. All that I could see was the shadows and the glow from their pipes as the two Union artillerymen smoked away, oblivious to their danger. When the glow stopped we moved forwards.
The two guards were trussed up by the time we reached them. “Irish keep those pipes going; they will be better than the flint.” He grinned and handed them to two of the troopers who kept them alight. We ran to the barrels. “You two take one of the guard’s pipes and two of the barrels and put them near to the limbers.” The two men raced off and I gestured another two over. “You two take these two barrels to the cannon.”
Irish had already opened one barrel and was laying a trail of powder around the outside of the barrels. Trooper Smith was cutting the slow fuse and inserting into the opened barrel. “You finish up here. Keep the other pipe and I will taker the flint. Have the men keep a watch for any other sentries.”
The camp was pitch black and as silent as the grave. They had placed this dangerous ordnance as far away form their men as they could and that worked to our advantage. I reached the limbers. “Open one barrel and spread some of the powder around the limbers then put the slow fuse in the open barrel. When I give the signal then light it.”
I ran to the guns. I knew we were running out of time. All too soon all hell would break loose. “Open a barrel and spread it around the guns.” As they started to do that I saw that the guns were breech loaders. When the two men had finished I said, “Take as many of the breech blocks as you can and dump them in the stream yonder.” I cut the slow fuse and plunged one end into the open barrel. I took out the flint and waited. This was the nerve wracking time. Had Sergeant James been able to reach the horses unseen? I suppose I would have heard a commotion if they had been caught. Just then I heard the pop, pop of muskets in the distance and then a fusillade.
“Now!”
I chipped the flint. It took four goes to light the fuse and I blew on the end until it glowed and then fizzed. “Let’s get out of here!”
I ran towards the fence line. I could hear the commotion in the Union camp. I hoped that they would not have noticed us and that their attention would be drawn to my other detachment. I heard the thunder of distant hooves. The sergeant had, at least, managed to make the horses move. I was the last to reach the horses as I had the furthest to go, I was just about to mount Copper when the sky lit up and a wave of air almost knocked me from my feet as the first of the barrels exploded. The Sergeant Major’s anxious face looked down at me. “Sir! Come on. Let’s go.”
I think that any other horse but Copper would have run at the noise but I had the best horse in the regiment and he calmly waited for me to mount. As soon as I was mounted we rode back the way we had come. Sentries along the other side of the camp began to fire blindly at the sound of our hooves. It would be a disaster if we were shot by accident. We all rode low to the saddle. Suddenly there was the flash of a rifle ahead of us. I saw the lane leading to Main Street and I yelled, “Go right!”
I wheeled Copper’s head around and drew my Colt at the same time. We would have to risk Main Street. If we headed left we would only have the one guard post to deal with. I knew that Sergeant James would have headed in the opposite direction and so we would be splitting the enemy. As I had expected there were no civilians on Main Street but there soon would be. I could hear more explosions from the artillery park where the charges in the limbers were now exploding. The cannon would not be of any use to Joe Hooker.
“Draw your pistols! There’s a guard post at the end of the street.
The dark street, the grey uniforms and the confusion all helped to hide us from the sentries at the end. It was the drumming of our hooves which alerted them. “Open fire!”
I knew that we were beyond effective pistol range but buzzing balls would keep the sentries’ heads down. I saw the flash of a rifle and then heard the crack as one of the sentries tried to hit the horde of horseflesh which was hurtling towards them. There was a whizz above my head. He had aimed high. The guard post was a mobile barrier. I emptied my gun at the four huddled soldiers and then Copper sailed over the barrier. I heard the crack and pop of the pistols of those following. I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw that my troopers were close behind me.
I heard a few ‘Yee Haws!’ as the younger troopers cleared the barrier. I slowed Copper a little; there was little point in exhausting our mounts.
Cecil rode next to me, his face filled with excitement. “I think we did just what the general wanted there sir.”
“I think that you are right. We had better halt the men and check for casualties.”
“Troop halt!”
I began to reload as I turned to see if there were any empty saddles. Our horses herded together; if any men had fallen we would still have their horses. There were no empty saddles. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Just then, ironically, it began to rain. Although we would have an uncomfortable ride home it would afford us some protection.
“Just three men wounded sir. Two are slight but Trooper Muldoon has taken a ball to the leg. He’s bleeding a little.”
“Form a perimeter and I will look at him. Make sure that they have all reloaded.”
The ball had struck Trooper Muldoon below the knee. It had missed all the vital bones and arteries but it was bleeding heavily. He tried to get off his horse. “No, Trooper, stay there it will be easier for me to work on it.” I took out the knife I had been given when I had been a sailor. It was razor sharp. I cut the leg of his breeches down the side. “Give me your bandana.” I took his bandana and tied a tourniquet above the wound. I took the whisky from my saddlebag and poured it down the wound. He winced. “Now take a slug yourself. Just the one to numb the pain a little.” As he did so I used a clean dressing to bind the wound and I tied a bandage around it. It was not as good as David would have done but he would live and, once in the camp I would be able to deal with it better.
“Right, Trooper Davis, you keep an eye on Trooper Muldoon. Loosen the tourniquet every time we stop and then tighten it again.”
“Yes sir. We sure whipped them tonight sir.”
I smiled, “Let’s wait until we are back in camp before we start crowing eh Trooper?”
He was unabashed, “With you leading us sir, we’ll get back.”
I shook my head; the Lucky Jack name was like an albatross around my neck. “Sergeant Major, put two good men at the rear. I don’t want any surprises.”
Cecil and I led the way home. We headed along the road and then cut across country. The rain was just getting
heavier and heavier. We would all be soaked but it would discourage any pursuit. Every time we passed close to a farm or a house my heart was in my mouth. I wanted us to be invisible and just disappear. I was counting on the fact that they would not think to look north of Warrenton for us; at least not yet.
It was dawn by the time we wearily rode into the camp. “Sergeant Major, we’ll risk a fire. The boys need something hot inside them. Just use dry wood.” We had a supply of dry wood in every tent.
“Yes sir.”
“Wounded men! Come to my tent.” When the four men arrived I said to Trooper Davis. “Well done Trooper, now see to Copper for me. There is an apple in my saddlebag.” He looked nervous. “Don’t worry he won’t bite as long as you have given him an apple.” I cleaned Muldoon’s wound first. Luckily it had passed through the leg. It must have been fired at close quarters. “You have been lucky, Trooper but check your horse. The ball might have creased him too. Just clean up the wound if it has.” I then stitched his leg up.
“Thank you sir.”
“All part of the service Trooper, now go and get some rest.”
“Right after I check my horse sir.”
Every trooper knew how valuable his horse was. The other two just needed their wounds cleaning and bandaging. We had been lucky. I just hoped that Sergeant James had been as lucky. Cecil came along with some coffee and a piece of salted ham between two stale pieces of bread. It tasted as good as any food I had ever eaten.
“Divide the men into two. You and your half sleep now and I will wake you at noon.” He looked as though he was going to object. “I have my reports to write out and I am still wide awake. The wounded are excused duty.”
“Yes sir.”
I finished my coffee and began to write the report for Danny. We had learned to do this when serving with Colonel Cartwright. He was old school and he told us that it was important to record what you had seen as soon as the incident was over. Intelligence was about the little details. I spent the next two hours painstakingly writing down all that we had seen and done. Then I took a turn around the sentries. Although we had no other non commissioned officers we were such a tight unit that I knew that none of them would slack off. They all saluted as I walked the perimeter. They had donned their slickers but, as it was still raining, I knew that they would be soaked to the skin.