by Unknown
The sudden appearance of nineteen heavily armed men who appeared like wraiths from the dark had an amazing effect. They all dropped to their knees. The fat man I was with looked nervously over his shoulder. “Just keep on moving; I’ll tell you when to drop. This ain’t no prayer meeting.”
“Gentlemen,” Captain Boswell’s voice sounded cultured and refined, “we are going to do you a favour. You will not need to work in the morning. We are going to relieve you of your cargo.”
There were two men who had not been there before and they were both better dressed than the others. One of them tried to struggle to his feet. “I protest sir! This is U.S. Army property and you risk severe punishment.” Danny pushed him back to his knees.
“Well, sir, I am Captain James Boswell and these are Boswell’s Wildcats and our avowed intent is to hurt the U.S. Army. Danny you and Harry search these two. The rest of you, tie their hands and lead them to the road. Jed and Dago put them somewhere safe.”
“You heard him boys,” I spied a coil of rope in one of the wagons and I began to cut it into lengths and give it to the men. In a very short time they were all tied with their hands behind their backs. Danny and Harry had finished their search and the two men were also tied.
Jed had found some more rope and he looped it around the men’s necks. One of them began moaning. “Don’t hang us boys! I am a married man!”
Jed laughed. “You ain’t gonna hang. Come on Dago. There’s a tree down the lane a ways. It’ll do.”
I turned to Wilkie. “Go and get Cecil and the horses.”
Danny was already laying a trail of powder away from the wagons. Harry was doing the same. I looked at the cauldron of food. “Seems a shame to waste this captain. We haven’t eaten for a while.”
He grinned, “Sure thing. Feed the boys when they get back.”
“Carlton you get some food now and then go and watch the prisoners.”
Carlton was always hungry and he greedily filled a bowl and began eating the pork and beans with some sour dough bread he had found. Just watching him made me hungry too but I would wait until the men had eaten first. We heard the sound of hooves as the horses arrived. “Get some food boys and then go with Carlton to watch the prisoners.”
The other men were not as greedy as Carlton had been they finished at the same time. They all ran quickly down the lane to the tree where Dago and Jed waited. Danny and Harry returned. “We might as well eat. Come on captain.”
Captain Boswell was totally engrossed in the papers. He wandered over. “This is gold dust. It is a series of orders for wagons to supply the army. The boys on the general’s staff should be able to work out where their supply bases are.” He stuffed the papers in his pocket and then began to eat. “I think, as we have been fed, that we’ll head south tonight and try to get close to our lines by morning.”
Jed and Dago brought the rest of the men up and they ate their fill. There was little left in the cauldron when we had finished. “Harry, get your men to rope the teams of horses and mules. We’ll take them back. Jack, collect any weapons you can find although they won’t be worth much. Right boys; mount. We’ll meet you at the prisoners. Danny and I will have the pleasure of setting off this little firework display!”
The captain was right, the weapons were of poor quality but I put them on the pack horses Harry had brought. The prisoners were looking sorry for themselves as they waited, tied beneath the huge oak tree. The fat teamster looked up at Jed who was wiping the grease off his mouth. “I guess you boys enjoyed our supper.”
“You can’t beat food cooked on the campfire; especially if it is cooked by someone else.”
Suddenly the sky lit up and then there was an enormous crump as the wagon park exploded. The shock waves almost knocked us off our feet. One of the prisoners yelled, “Jesus Christ. There goes our bonus!”
We were laughing at that when Danny and the captain ran in laughing like children. “What’s up captain?”
“We were too damned close to the explosion.” He pointed to his and Danny’s face. They had no eyebrows and their beards and moustaches were smoking. “That was fun though.” He turned to the prisoners. “Well gentleman I can’t promise you a comfortable night but I expect you will be released just as soon as the good people of the town come to see what the explosion was.” He swept his hat off in a salute, vaulted on his horse and we rode east, towards Washington.
Chapter 6
We decided that we had better return to our own lines. The explosion would have been heard for miles around and it would not take them long to organise a pursuit. As soon as we were out of sight we turned south. We had to tread carefully. We knew that there were troops and munitions heading south from Alexandria towards Burnside’s army. We were counting on the fact that they would not be travelling at night. We had full stomachs, rested horses and we had won. We were in fine humour. Our maps showed a trail over the hills close to Aquia Church. We left the road just before the church and Dago soon found the back trail. We felt much more secure as we clambered up hills and through forested tracks. We kept going until well beyond sunrise. We laid up for most of the afternoon. Jed and Harry had been out scouting the roads and seen them teeming with Union forces. We couldn’t risk the main towns and we would have to cross the river near Falmouth again. It meant crossing through their lines and that meant we would have to wait until night fall.
When we came in sight of Fredericksburg the captain gathered us in a circle. “I want Harry and his boys as the rearguard.” He turned to Dago , Jed and me, “ Jack, Danny and I will take your men with us. I want you to take Dago and Jed and scout us out a route away from Yankees. There will be vedettes out there and we can’t afford a fire fight. We have to sneak through their lines.” He chuckled, “And you three are the sneakiest men we have. Mark the trail. Three cuts on the trees to the left should keep us straight.”
“And when we are out of the trees?”
“We will assume that we go straight on unless you put some stones in a pile. Three for left and five for right. Find us a safe place to ford.”
I took out my knife in preparation. As we headed south I said, “Keep your eyes open for stones. You can collect them when I mark the trees.” After half a mile I marked a tree. We were not turning but I wanted to give the reassurance that the men following were heading in the right direction. Another half mile and I marked another tree. It was all remarkably easy. Jed and Dago had a fine collection of stones and so far we had not seen any danger.
Suddenly I smelled tobacco and I held up my hand. The other two stopped. Dago went for his gun but I shook my head and mimed punching. We gave our reins to Jed and crept forwards. There were two cavalrymen at the road. It was obviously a checkpoint and I could see, in the distance, the glowing fires of a camp. We had almost stumbled upon a cavalry regiment. Dago and I had worked together enough times not to need words. I waved my hand to the right three times and I slipped left to take one sentry while Dago took the right. Despite my instructions to Dago, I took out my Colt. I wanted to frighten them. The two sentries were talking to each other and, instead of watching the road were watching each other; a cardinal error. I reached up and grabbed the back of the cavalryman’s jacket. I used his straps to wrench him to the ground and pushed my Colt almost up his left nostril. “One sound and you get a ball in your head. Understand?” He nodded. “Good lad. Now stand.” He was only young, no more than eighteen and he was almost shaking as he stood.
“Don’t kill me sergeant.”
“If’n I wanted you dead, you would be.” I looked over to where Dago had cold cocked the other. “Stick him on his horse and then cover this one.” I whistled twice and Jed rode up. We mounted our horses and then I said, “Come on sonny. Get on your horse. Dago, take them back to the captain. We’ll head towards the river.” I could see the moonlight glistening on the Rappahannock River just ahead. We now needed a ford.
“Come on Jed. We’ll use the road. Leave five stones in the middle.�
�� I glanced over and saw that there were a pile of large rocks by the side of the road. “They’ll do.” We arranged them in a symmetrical pile.
I was gambling on the fact that they would only have sentries at the end of a road. We must have reached the limits of their camps. It made sense to put the cavalry on the flanks and I was grateful that their sentries had been green. “Look Jack, there’s Falmouth. The ford is just beyond it.”
“You wait here for the captain and I will check it out.”
I rode confidently down the road. The small burg looked to be closed up for the night. I could see neither lights nor any sign that people were awake. The main road went through the town but I could see a well worn dirt track that seemed to go around the back of it. I took the track. It went very close to the shrubs and bushes on one side and the back of, what looked like, small holdings and farms. There was a danger that there would be dogs if they were farms but it was a chance we might have to take. The track headed away from the river and I followed the line of buildings and was rewarded with the sight of the ford we had used to head north. I turned around and rode back. No dog had barked and I took that as a good omen.
The company were waiting for me. I made my report. “How far is it then?”
“No more than two miles. We should reach it before sunrise.”
We rode in single file along the track. I thought our luck had held until we were half way along the sheltered way when a dog began to bark. In an instant it seemed that every dog in Falmouth had decided to join in. “Ride captain. They know we are here.”
We kicked on and I raced for the ford. It was as I remembered it. It would be icy cold and this time we would be trying to get twenty horses we were not familiar with across. I rode to the island and took out my Henry. If any bluecoats came then I would have to discourage them from some distance away to give the company time to cross. Dago and Jed joined me and we peered at the northern river bank to the east of where we would be crossing. Already I could see the glow from some lights in the houses. We were so close to dawn that some of the inhabitants would have been rising anyway; the dogs merely made them curious. I saw my section leading the pack horses. I hoped that Cecil had some of the quieter ones as he was not the most confident around horses.
“Dago, you and Jed get to the other bank. When we left it was in our hands but you never know what can happen in a couple of days.” I never took my eyes off the northern bank but I heard the troop splashing across.
Wilkie and Jacob brought the first horses across. “Nearly there boys. Just one more wetting!”
“I bin baptised sergeant! This is going a bit far!”
If Wilkie could joke then we were going to make it. The captain and Danny reined in. “Well done, Jack. This is a good crossing. Shame about the dogs.”
“Dago and Jed are on the other bank. I haven’t heard shooting so they should be safe. I’ll wait here until Harry and his boys are safely over.”
Just at that moment I saw the flash and I heard the crack of a pistol across the river. “Best get them moving, Danny. I think Harry has company.”
I brought the Henry up to my shoulder. I couldn’t see anyone yet but I wanted to be ready. A movement out of the corner of my eye made me drag the sight around to my left but I saw that it was Ritchie, one of Harry’s new boys. He gasped, panic making him sound out of breath, “Union cavalry. Didn’t stop to count.”
“Well stop now, turn round your horse and take out your rifle. Just calm down son. We’ll get out of this.”
When he said, “Yes sarge,” he sounded much calmer already.
The next two riders were older hands and they wheeled around to flank me. I saw the flash of a sabre in dawn’s early light and I knew that they were cavalry. “Aim for the horses and make your shots count. Fire slowly and carefully.”
I aimed at the leading rider and squeezed off a shot. A horse is a good, big target, the trick is to hit it where it will hurt. I have seen horses struggle for a mile or more with a ball in its side. I was lucky; my ball struck it in the forelock and it tumbled over throwing the rider to the ground. The others fired and I saw at least one man fall. “Come on Harry,” I murmured to myself.
As if he had heard me, my old friend reined in with the last of his men. I saw that Carlton was wounded. “Isaiah, take Carlton over the river. The rest of you join Lucky Jack here.” With six of us firing at them, the Union cavalry were halting and forming a skirmish line. “I think that is us done. Cross the river!”
Harry and I fired one last shot and then we plunged into the icy waters of the Rappahannock River. A ball took my kepi off my head and sent it flying into the river. “Lucky Jack! Again!” Harry went into fits of laughter.
The captain had organised the rest of the men into a mounted skirmish line so that a volley from their guns discouraged the Union horsemen who were already demoralised. We headed south to where we could see the fires that we assumed were the Confederate soldiers. The first pickets we met were nervous cavalrymen from Louisiana.
“Where you boys come from? We thought we were the furthest forward.”
“We’ve been in the north. We’re Rangers!” Cecil blurted. I shook my head and he said, “Sorry captain.”
“I am Captain Boswell and these are Boswell’s Wildcats. Is General Stuart close by?”
“He’s in the cavalry camp.” He pointed to the south.
“And the quartermaster?”
“A little further south.”
“Much obliged.”
“Jack, you and the boys take these horses and weapons to the quartermaster. Danny and I will report to the general and then meet you.”
Although the meeting with the quartermaster was productive I noticed a few strange looks from some of the officers who were standing around. There appeared to be a chilly atmosphere. Harry noticed it too but passed it off by saying that they probably hadn’t heard of the train and the powder. “Besides, I don’t give a bugger. “
I liked Harry. He always spoke his mind and didn’t care who he offended but there was no more loyal member of the Wildcats than Harry. “How have the new boys settled in?”
Harry had been given some of those who had come from England and Scotland. As we worked in our sections I didn’t get to know his men as well as mine. “Good lads, generally. A bit wet behind the ears but they will settle in. You are lucky with Davy and Jimmy. They have been around long enough to be able to give you some help. I lost Bill and Norman in the ambush. I think we are going to have to reorganise. I mean the captain and Danny have no-one left in their sections, unless you count Jed and Dago.”
“You are right. The ambush hurt us in many ways. But it could have been worse.”
“How?”
“We could all have been captured or killed. It wasn’t just Jack that was lucky, it was the Wildcats. We could so easily have missed finding those clues.”
He chuckled. “You are definitely the glass is half full aren’t you Jack?”
I shrugged, “I can’t see the point in looking on the black side. There is always hope. I could still have been aboard that slaver but for the captain. That’s hope.”
We were getting worried about the two officers. They seemed to be with the general for hours. Perhaps he was showing them the same hospitality we had seen in the Newgate tavern. Their faces looked dark when they reached us.
“Where do we pitch our tents captain?”
“We don’t. Let’s head west. I have a fancy for a hotel.” He smiled at Jed and me. “The general was telling me that you two had a fine time when he met you. Living it up like lords I think he said.”
Harry and I rode with the two officers as we headed for Culpeper. They told us what had transpired. “It seems that the Rangers days are over. They are allowing Mosby to carry on as a Partisan Ranger but the rest of us are either disbanded or are to be incorporated into the Confederate Army. Apparently Colonel Mosby has the ear of the Secretary of War. But Jeff Davis has said the rest have to be disba
nded and the men can join the army.”
“Which is what you want isn’t it captain? Or at least it was before we became Rangers.”
His shoulders sagged, “Before we became Rangers I would have said yes but I quite like the freedom we have enjoyed up to now.”
Harry looked over his shoulder at the camp which was disappearing in the distance. “How come we aren’t joining the army now?”
Danny tapped his nose. “The captain still has enemies who are opposed to him having a commission. We could all join a regiment today but I didn’t think you would want to desert the captain. Am I right?” We all chorused our affirmation. “That’s what I thought. Anyway there’s going to be a big battle in the next few days. When the dust has cleared there will be some new regiments formed and General Stuart wants us in one of those. We are going home for an early Christmas and then we can come back in January and the general will have a regiment for us.” He looked serious for a moment. “And there is something else. The Northern Newspapers are calling the execution of Colm and Geraghty as murder. They are saying that they were Union soldiers. Boswell’s Rangers are being called bandits and murderers. Some of our own side are not happy about us.”
“Bullshit!”
“You are dead right, Dago, but they believe that we are murderers and there is a price on our heads. The general thought it would be easier for us if we used our skills with the army. He said he sees us as a company who scout for a regiment. He still sees us as Rangers. I quite like that idea. But, we wouldn’t be Boswell’s Horse anymore, nor the Wildcats.”
There was a stunned silence as we took that in. We might still be Rangers but we wouldn’t have our unique identity.
The captain looked sadly at us. “I wouldn’t blame you boys if you did join another regiment. I would understand. I have managed to make some really dumb decisions.”