CHAPTER XI
THE CAVALRY COMBAT
Harry was a fine sleeper. One learns to be in long campaigns. Most ofthose about him slept as well, and the ten thousand horses, which hadbeen ridden hard in the great display during the day, also sank intoquiet. The restless hoofs ceased to move. Now and then there was asnort or a neigh, but the noise was slight on Fleetwood Hill or in thesurrounding forests.
A man came through the thickets soon after midnight and moved with thegreatest caution toward the hill on which the artillery was ranged.He was in neither blue nor gray, just the plain garb of a civilian,but he was of strong figure and his smoothly shaven face, with itsgreat width between the eyes and massive chin, expressed character anduncommon resolution.
The intruder--he was obviously such, because he sought with the minutestcare to escape observation--never left the shelter of the bushes.He had all the skill of the old forest runners, because his footstepsmade no sound as he passed and he knew how to keep his figure always inthe shadows until it became a common blur with them.
His was a most delicate task, in which discovery was certain death,but he never faltered. His heart beat steadily and strong. It was anold risk to him, and he had the advantage of great natural aptitude,fortified by long training in a school of practice where a singlemisstep meant death.
The sharp eyes of the spy missed nothing. He counted the thirty piecesof artillery on the hill. He estimated with amazing accuracy the numberof Stuart's horsemen. He saw a thousand proofs that the heavy firing hehad heard in the course of the day was not due to battle with Northerntroops. Although he stopped at times for longer looks, he made a widecircuit about the Confederate camp, and he was satisfied that Stuart,vigilant and daring though he might be, was not expecting an enemy.
Shepard's heart for the first time beat a little faster. He had felt asmuch as any general the Northern defeats and humiliations in the east,but, like officers and soldiers, he was not crushed by them. He evenfelt that the tide might be about to turn. Lee, invading the North,would find before him many of the difficulties which had faced theNorthern generals attacking the South. Shepard, a man of supremecourage, resolved that he would spare no effort in the service to whichhe had devoted himself.
He spent fully four hours in the thickets, and then, feeling that he hadachieved his task, bore away toward the river. Taking off his coat andbelt with pistols in it, and fastening them about his neck, he swam withbold strokes to the other side of the stream. However, had anyone beenon the watch at that very point, it was not likely that he would havebeen seen. It was the approach of dawn and heavy mists were rising onthe Rappahannock, as they had risen at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
Shepard gave the countersign to the pickets and was shown at once toGeneral Pleasanton, an alert, vigorous man, who was awaiting him.His report was satisfactory, because the cavalry general smiled andbegan to send quick orders to his leaders of divisions.
But the peace in Stuart's command was not broken that night. No one hadseen the figure of the spy sliding through the thickets, and Harry andhis comrades in the Inn of the Greenwood Tree were very warm and snug intheir blankets. As day came he yawned, stretched, closed his eyes again,thinking that he might have another precious fifteen minutes, but,recalling his resolution, sprang to his feet and began to rub his eyesclear.
He had slept fully dressed, like all the rest, and he intended to godown to a brook in a few minutes and bathe his face. But he first gaveSherburne a malicious shove with his foot and bade him wake up, tellinghim that it was too late for an alert cavalry captain to be sleeping.
Then Sherburne also yawned, stretched, and stood up, rubbing his eyes.The others about them rose too, and everybody felt chilled by the riverfog, which was uncommonly heavy.
"Breakfast for me," said Sherburne.
"Not just now, I think," said Harry. "Listen! Aren't those rifleshots?"
A patter, patter, distant but clear in the morning, came from a pointdown the stream.
"You're right!" exclaimed Sherburne in alarm. "It's on our side ofthe river and it's increasing fast! As sure as we live, the enemy hascrossed and attacked!"
They were not left in doubt. The pickets, running in, told them thata heavy force of Northern cavalry was across the Rappahannock and wascharging with vigor. In fact, two of the divisions had passed the fordsunseen in the fog and were now rushing Stuart's camp.
But Stuart, although surprised, never for an instant lost his presenceof mind. Throughout the Southern lines the bugles sounded the sharpcall to horse. It was full time. The outposts had been routed alreadyand were driven in on the main body.
Harry ran to his horse, which had been left saddled and bridled forany emergency. He leaped upon him and rode by the side of Sherburne,whose troop was already in line. They could not see very well for themists, but the fire in front of them from cavalry carbines had growninto great violence. It made a huge shower of red dots against thewhite screen of the mist, and now they heard shouts and the beat ofthousands of hoofs.
"They're making for our artillery!" exclaimed Sherburne with trueinstinct. "Follow me, men! We must hold them back, for a few minutesat least!"
Sherburne and his gallant troops were just in time. A great force ofcavalry in blue suddenly appeared in the whitish and foggy dawn andcharged straight for the guns. Without delaying a moment, Sherburneflung his troops in between, although they were outnumbered twenty toone or more. He did not expect to stop them; he merely hoped to delaythem a few minutes, and therefore he offered himself as a sacrifice.
Harry was beside Sherburne as they galloped straight toward the Northerncavalry, firing their short carbines and then swinging their sabres.
"They'll ride over us!" he shouted to Sherburne.
"But we'll trouble 'em a little as they pass!" the captain shouted back.
Harry shut his teeth hard together. A shiver ran over him, and then hisface grew hot. The pulses in his temples beat heavily. He was surethat Sherburne and he and all the rest were going to perish. The longand massive Northern line was coming on fast. They, too, had firedtheir carbines, and now thousands of sabres flashed through the mists.Harry was swinging his own sword, but as the great force bore down uponthem, the white mist seemed to turn to red and the long line of horsemenfused into a solid mass, its front flashing with steel.
He became conscious, as the space between them closed rapidly, that aheavy crackling fire was bursting from a wood between the Northerncavalry and the river. The Southern skirmishers, brushed away at first,had returned swiftly, and now they were sending a rain of bullets uponthe blue cavalrymen. Many saddles were emptied, but the line went on,and struck Sherburne's troop.
Harry saw a man lean from his horse and slash at him with a sabre.He had no sabre of his own, only a small sword, but he cut with all hismight at the heavy blade instead of the man, and he felt, rather thansaw, the two weapons shatter to pieces. Then his horse struck another,and, reeling in the saddle, he snatched out a pistol and began to fireat anything that looked like a human shape.
He heard all about him a terrible tumult of shots and shouts and thethunder of horses' hoofs. He still saw the red mist and a thousandsabres flashing through it, and he heard, too, the clash of steel onsteel. The Northern line had been stopped one minute, two minutes,and maybe three. He was conscious afterwards that in some sort ofconfused way he was trying to measure the time. But he was always quitecertain that it was not more than three minutes. Then the Northerncavalry passed over them.
Harry's horse was fairly knocked down by the impetus of the Northerncharge, and the young rider was partly protected by his body from thehoofs that thundered over them. Horse and rider rose together. Harryfound that the reins were still clenched in his hand. His horse wastrembling all over from shock, and so was he, but neither was muchharmed. Beyond him the great cavalry division was galloping on, andhe gazed at it a moment or two in a kind of stupor. But he becameconscio
us that the fire of the Southern skirmishers on its flank wasgrowing heavier and that many horses without riders were running loosethrough the forest.
Then his gaze turned back to the little band that had stood in the pathof the whirlwind, and he uttered a cry of joy as he saw Sherburne risingslowly to his feet, the blood flowing from a wound in his left shoulder.
"It isn't much, Harry," said the captain. "It was only the point of thesabre that grazed me, but my horse was killed, and the shock of the fallstunned me for a moment or two. Oh, my poor troop!"
There was good cause for his lament. Less than one-fourth of his bravehorsemen were left unhurt or with but slight wounds. The wounded whocould rise were limping away toward the thickets, and the unwoundedwere seeking their mounts anew. Harry caught a riderless horse. Hisfaculties were now clear and the effect of the physical shock had passed.
"We held 'em three minutes at least, Captain," he cried, "and it maybe that three minutes were enough. We were surprised, but we are notbeaten. Here, jump up! We've saved the guns from capture! And listenhow the rifle fire is increasing."
Sherburne sprang into the saddle and his little band of survivingtroopers gathered around him. They uttered a shout, too, as they sawheavy forces of their own cavalry coming up and charging, sabre in hand.Inspired by the sight and forgetting his wound, Sherburne wheeled aboutand led his little band in a charge upon the Northern flank.
A desperate battle with sabres ensued. Forest and open rang with shoutsand the clash of steel, and hundreds of pistols flashed. The Northernhorsemen were driven back. Davis, who led them here, a Southerner bybirth, but a regular officer, a man of great merit, seeking to rallythem, fell, wounded mortally. A strong body of Illinois troops came upand turned the tide of battle again. The Southern horsemen were drivenback. Some of them were taken prisoners and a part of Stuart's baggagebecame a Northern prize.
This portion of the Southern cavalry under Jones, which Harry andSherburne had joined, now merely sought to check the Northern advanceuntil Stuart could arrive. Everyone expected Stuart. Such a brilliantcavalryman could not fail. But the Northern force was increasing.Buford and his men were coming down on their flank. It seemed that theConfederate force was about to be overwhelmed again, but suddenly theirguns came into action. Shell and canister held back the Northern force,and then arose from the Southern ranks the shout: "Stuart! Stuart!"
Harry saw him galloping forward at the head of his men, his long,yellow hair flying in the air, his sabre whirled aloft in glitteringcircles, and he felt an immense sensation of relief. Leading hisdivision in person, Stuart drove back the Northern horsemen, but he inhis turn was checked by artillery and supporting columns of infantryin the wood.
Pleasanton, the Union leader, was showing great skill and courage.Having profited by his enemy's example, he was pressing his advantageto the utmost. Already he had found in Stuart's captured baggageinstructions for the campaign, showing that the whole Southern army wason its way toward the great valley, to march thence northward, and heresolved instantly to break up this advance as much as possible.
Pleasanton pressed forward again, and Stuart prepared to meet him.But Harry, who was keeping by the side of Sherburne, saw Stuart haltsuddenly. A messenger had galloped up to him and he brought formidablenews. A heavy column of horsemen had just appeared directly behind theSouthern cavalry and was marching to the attack. Stuart was in a trap.
Harry saw that Stuart had been outgeneralled, and again he shut histeeth together hard. To be outgeneralled did not mean that they wouldbe outfought. The Northern force in their rear was the third divisionunder Gregg, and Stuart sent back cavalry and guns to meet them.
Harry now saw the battle on all sides of him. Cavalry were charging,falling back, and charging again. The whole forces of the two armieswere coming into action. Nearly twenty thousand sabres were flashing inthe sunlight that had driven away the fog. Harry had never before seena cavalry battle on so grand a scale, but the confusion was so greatthat it was impossible for him to tell who was winning.
The Northern horse took Fleetwood Hill; Stuart retook it. Then hesought to meet the cavalry division in his front, and drove it to thewoods, where it reformed and hurled him back to the hill. The Northerndivision, under Gregg, that had come up behind, fell with all its forceon the Southern flank. Had it driven in the Southern lines here,Pleasanton's victory would have been assured, but the men in gray,knowing that they must stand, stood with a courage that defiedeverything. The heavy Northern masses could not drive them away,and then Stuart, whirling about, charged the North in turn with histhousands of horsemen. They were met by more Northern cavalry coming up,and the combat assumed a deeper and more furious phase.
Sherburne, with the fragment of his troop and Harry by his side, was inthis charge. The effect of it upon Harry, as upon his older comrade,was bewildering. The combatants, having emptied their pistols or thrustthem back in their belts, were now using their sabres alone. Nearlytwenty thousand blades were flashing in the air. Again the battle wasface to face and the lines became mixed. Riderless horses, emergingfrom the turmoil, were running in all directions, many of them neighingin pain and terror. Men, dismounted and wounded, were crawling awayfrom the threat of the trampling hoofs.
The gunners fired the cannon whenever they were sure they would notstrike down their own, but the horsemen charged upon them and wrenchedthe guns from their hands, only to have them wrenched back again by theSoutherners. It was the greatest cavalry battle of the war, and thespectacle was appalling. Many of the horses seemed to share the fury oftheir riders and kicked and bit. Their beating hoofs raised an immensecloud of dust, through which the blades of the sabres still flashed.
Harry never knew how he went through it unhurt. Looking back, it seemedthat such a thing was impossible. Yet it occurred. But he becameconscious that the Southern horsemen, after the long and desperatestruggle, were driving back those of the North. They had superiornumbers. One of the Northern divisions, after having been engaged withinfantry elsewhere, failed to come up.
Pleasanton, after daring and skill that deserved greater success,was forced slowly to withdraw. Roused by the roar of the firing,heavy masses of Ewell's infantry were now appearing on the horizon,sent by Lee, with orders to hurry to the utmost. Pleasanton,maintaining all his skill and coolness, dexterously withdrew his menacross the river, and Stuart did not consider it wise to follow.Each side had lost heavily. Pleasanton had not only struck a hard blow,but he had learned where Lee's army lay, and, moreover, he had shownthe horsemen of the South that those of the North were on the watch.
It was late in the afternoon when the last Northern rider crossed theRappahannock, and Harry looked upon a field strewn with the fallen,both men and horses. Then he turned to Sherburne and bound up hiswounded shoulder for him. The hurt was not serious, but Sherburne,although they had driven off the Northern horse, was far from sanguine.
"It's a Pyrrhic victory," he said. "We had the superior numbers,and it was all we could do to beat them back. Besides, they surprisedus, when we thought we had a patent on that sort of business."
"It's so," said Harry, his somber glance passing again over the field.
Their feeling was communicated, too, to the advancing masses ofinfantry. The soldiers, when they saw the stricken field and beganto hear details from their brethren of the horse, shook their heads.There was no joy of victory in the Southern army that night. The enemy,when he was least expected, had struck hard and was away.
Harry rode to General Lee and gave him as many details as he couldof the cavalry battle, to all of which the general listened withoutcomment. He had reports from others also, and soon he dismissed Harry,who took up his usual night quarters with his blankets under a greentree. Here he found Dalton, who was eager to hear more.
"They say that the Yankees, although inferior in numbers, pushed us hard,Harry; is it so?" he asked.
"It is, and they caught us napping,
too. George, I'm beginning towonder what's waiting for us there in the North."
It was dark now and he gazed toward the North, where the stars alreadytwinkled serenely in the sky. It seemed to him that their army wasabout to enter some vast, illimitable space, swarming with unknownenemies. He felt for a little while a deep depression. But it waspartly physical. His exertions of the day had been tremendous, and theintense excitement, too, had almost overcome him. The watchful Daltonnoticed his condition, and wisely said nothing, allowing his pulses toregain their normal beat.
It was nearly an hour before his nerves became quiet, and then he sankinto a heavy sleep. In the morning youth had reasserted itself, bothphysically and mentally. His doubts and apprehensions were gone.The unconquerable Army of Northern Virginia was merely marching againto fresh triumphs.
Although Hooker now understood Lee's movement, and was pushing moretroops forward on his side of the Rappahannock, the Southern general,with his eye ever on his main object, did not cease his advance.He had turned his back on Washington, and nothing, not even formidableirruptions like that of Pleasanton, could make him change his plan.
The calls from the Valley of Virginia became more frequent and urgent.Messengers came to Lee, begging his help. Milroy at Winchester, with astrong force, was using rigorous measures. The people claimed that hehad gone far beyond the rules of war. Jackson had come more than onceto avenge them, and now they expected as much of Lee.
They did not appeal in vain. Harry saw Lee's eyes flash at the reportsof the messengers, and he himself took a dispatch, the nature of whichhe knew, to Ewell, who was in advance, leading Jackson's old corps.Ewell, strapped to his horse, had regained his ruddiness and physicalvigor. Harry saw his eyes shine as he read the dispatch, and he knewthat nothing could please him more.
"You know what is in this, Lieutenant Kenton?" he said, tapping thepaper.
"I do, sir, and I'm sorry I can't go with you."
"So am I; but as sure as you and I are sitting here on our horses,trouble is coming to Mr. Milroy. Some friends of yours in the littleregiment called the Invincibles are just beyond the hill. Perhaps you'dlike to see them."
Harry thanked him, saluted, and rode over the hill, where he found thetwo colonels, St. Clair and Langdon riding at the head of their men.The youths greeted him with a happy shout and the colonels welcomed himin a manner less noisy but as sincere.
"The sight of you, Harry, is good for any kind of eyes," said ColonelTalbot. "But what has brought you here?"
"An order from General Lee to General Ewell."
"Then it must be of some significance."
"It is, sir, and since it will be no secret in a few minutes, I cantell you that this whole corps is going to Winchester to take Milroy.I wish I could go with you, Colonel, but I can't."
"You were at Brandy Station, and we weren't," said St. Clair quietly."It's our turn now."
"Right you are, Arthur," said Langdon. "I mean to take this man Milroywith my own hands. I remember that he gave us trouble in Jackson'stime. He's been licked once. What right has he to come back into theValley?"
"He's there," said Harry, "and they say that he's riding it hard withironshod hoofs."
"He won't be doing it by the time we see you again," said St. Clairconfidently as they rode away.
Harry did not see them again for several days, but when Ewell's divisionrejoined the main army, all that St. Clair predicted had come to pass.St. Clair himself, with his left arm in a sling, where it was to remainfor a week, gave him a brief and graphic account of it.
"All the soldiers in the army that he had once led knew how Old Jackloved that town," he said, "and they were on fire to drive the Yankeesaway from it once more. We marched fast. We were the foot cavalry,just as we used to be; and, do you know, that Cajun band was along withour brigade, as lively as ever. The Yankees had heard of our coming,but late. They had already built forts around Winchester, but theydidn't dream until the last moment that a big force from Lee's army wasat hand. Their biggest fort was on Applepie Ridge, some little distancefrom Winchester. We came up late in the afternoon and had to rest awhile, as it was awful hot. Then we opened, with General Ewell himselfin direct command there. Old Jube Early had gone around to attack theirother works, and we were waiting to hear the roaring of his guns.
"We gave it to 'em hot and heavy. General Ewell was on foot--that is,one foot and a crutch--and you ought to have seen him hopping aboutamong the falling cannon balls, watching and ordering everything.Sunset was at hand, with Milroy fighting us back and not dreaming thatEarly was coming on his flank. Then we heard Early's thunder. In a fewminutes his men stormed the fort on the hill next to him and turned itsguns upon Milroy himself.
"It was now too dark to go much further with the fighting, and wewaited until the next morning to finish the business. But Milroy wasa slippery fellow. He slid out in the night somehow with his men, andwas five miles away before we knew he had gone. But we followed hard,overtook him, captured four thousand men and twenty-three cannon andscattered the rest in every direction. Wasn't that a thorough job?"
"Stonewall Jackson would never have let them escape through his cordonand get a start of five miles."
"That's so, Harry, Old Jack would never have allowed it. But then,Harry, we've got to remember that there's been only one StonewallJackson, and there's no more to come."
"You're telling the whole truth, St. Clair, and if General Ewell did let'em get away, he caught 'em again. It was a brilliant deed, and it'scleared the Valley of the enemy."
"Our scouts have reported that some of the fugitives have reachedPennsylvania, spreading the alarm there. I suppose they'll be gatheringtroops in our front now. What's the news from Hooker, Harry?"
"He's moving northwest to head us off, but I don't think he has anyclear idea where we're going."
"Where are we going, Harry?"
"It's more than I can tell. Maybe we're aiming for Philadelphia."
"Then there'll be a big stir among the Quakers," said Happy Tom.
"It doesn't matter, young gentlemen, where we're going," said ColonelTalbot, who heard the last words. "It's our business to be led, andwe know that we're in the hands of a great leader. And we know, too,that whatever dangers he leads us into, he'll share them to the full.Am I not right, Hector?"
"You speak the full truth, Leonidas."
"Aye, aye, sir," said Harry. "It's sufficient for us to follow whereGeneral Lee leads."
"But we need a great victory," said Colonel Talbot. "We've had newsfrom the southwest. The enemy has penetrated too far there. Thatfellow Grant is a perfect bulldog. They say he actually means to takeour fortress of Vicksburg. He always hangs on, and that's bad for us.If we win this war, we've got to win it with some great stroke here inthe east."
"You speak with your usual penetration and clearness, Leonidas," saidLieutenant-Colonel Hector St. Hilaire, and then the two rode on, side byside, firm, quiet figures.
Now came days when suspense and fear hung heavy over the land. Thesudden blow out of the dark that had destroyed Milroy startled theNorth. The fugitives from his command told alarming stories of thegreat Southern force that was advancing. The division of Hill, watchingHooker on the Rappahannock, also dropped into the dark where Lee's mainarmy had already gone. The Army of the Potomac took up its march on aparallel line to the westward, but it was never able to come into closecontact with the Army of Northern Virginia. There were clouds ofskirmishers and cavalry between.
Undaunted by his narrow escape at Brandy Station, Stuart showed all hisold fire and courage, covering the flanks and spreading out a swarm ofhorsemen who kept off the Northern scouts. Thus Lee was still ableto veil his movements in mystery, and the anxious Hooker finally sentforward a great force to find and engage Stuart's cavalry. Stuart,now acting as a rear guard, was overtaken near the famous oldbattlefield of Manassas. For a long time he fought greatly superiornumbers and held them fast until nightfall, w
hen the Northern force,fearing some trap, fell back.
Harry had been sent back with two other staff officers, and from adistance he heard the crash and saw the flame of the battle. But hehad no part in it, merely reporting the result late in the night to hisgeneral, who speedily pressed on, disregarding what might occur on hisflanks or in his rear, sure that his lieutenants could attend to alldangers there.
The days were full of excitement for Harry. While he remained near Lee,the far-flung cavalry continually brought in exciting reports. As Harrysaw it, the North was having a taste of what she had inflicted on theSouth. The news of Milroy's destruction, startling enough in itself,had been magnified as it spread on the wings of rumor. The same rumorenlarged Lee's army and increased the speed of his advance.
Sherburne, recovered from his slight wound, was the most frequentbringer of news. There was not one among all Stuart's officers moredaring than he, and he was in his element now, as they rode northwardinto the enemy's country. He told how the troopers had followedMilroy's fugitives so closely that they barely escaped across thePotomac, and then how the Unionists of Maryland had fled before thegray horsemen.
Sherburne did not exaggerate. Hitherto the war had never really touchedthe soil of any of the free states, but now it became apparent thatPennsylvania, the second state of the Union in population, would beinvaded. Excitement seized Harrisburg, its capital, which Lee'sarmy might reach at any time. People poured over the bridges of theSusquehanna and thousands of men labored night and day to fortify thecity.
Jenkins, a Southern cavalry leader, was the first to enter Pennsylvania,his men riding into the village of Greencastle, and proceeding thence toChambersburg. While the telegraph all over the North told the story ofhis coming, and many thought that Lee's whole army was at hand, Jenkinsturned back. His was merely a small vanguard, and Lee had not yet drawntogether his whole army into a compact body.
The advance of Lee with a part of his army was harassed moreover by theNorthern cavalry, which continued to show the activity and energy thatit had displayed so freely at Pleasanton's battle with Stuart. Harry,besides bearing messages for troops to come up, often saw, as he rodeback and forth, the flame of firing on the skyline, and he heard thedistant mutter of both rifle and cannon fire. Some of these engagementswere fierce and sanguinary. In one, more than a thousand men fell,a half to either side.
Harry was shot at several times on his perilous errands, and once hehad a long gallop for safety. Then Lee stopped a while at the Potomac,with his army on both sides of the river. He was waiting to gather allhis men together before entering Pennsylvania. Already they were ina country that was largely hostile to them, and now Harry saw thedifficulty of getting accurate information. The farmers merely regardedthem with lowering brows and refused to say anything about Union troops.
Harry had parted company for the time with his friends of theInvincibles. They were far ahead with Ewell, while he and Daltonremained with Lee on the banks of the Potomac. Yet the delay was not aslong as it seemed to him. Soon they took up their march and advanced ona long line across the neck of Maryland into Pennsylvania, here a regionof fertile soil, but with many stony outcrops. The little streams werenumerous, flowing down to the rivers, and horses and men alike drankthirstily at them, because the weather was now growing hot and themarching was bad.
It was near the close of the month when Harry learned that Hooker hadbeen relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac at his ownrequest, and that he had been succeeded by Meade.
"Do you know anything about Meade?" he asked Dalton.
"He's been one of the corps commanders against us," replied theVirginian, "and they say he's cautious. That's all I know."
"I think it likely that we'll find out before long what kind of ageneral he is," said Harry thoughtfully. "We can't invade the Northwithout having a big battle."
The corps of Hill and Longstreet were now joined under the personal eyeof Lee, who rode with his two generals. Ewell was still ahead. Finallythey came to Chambersburg, which the Southern advance had reachedearlier in the month, and Lee issued an order that no devastation shouldbe committed by his troops, an order that was obeyed.
Harry and Dalton walked a little through the town, and menacing looksmet them everywhere.
"We've treated 'em well, but they don't like us," he said to Dalton.
"Why should they? We come as invaders, as foes, not as friends.Did our people in the Virginia towns give the Yankees any very friendlylooks?"
"Not that I've heard of. I suppose you can't make friends of a peoplewhom you come to make war on, even if you do speak kind words to them."
"Is General Stuart here?" asked Dalton.
"No, he's gone on a great raid with his whole force. I suppose he'sgoing to sweep up many detachments of the enemy."
"And meanwhile we're going on to Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania."
"But it seems to me that Stuart ought to be with us."
"Maybe he's gone to find out just where the Army of the Potomac is.We've lost Meade, and Meade has lost us. Some prisoners that we'vebrought in say that nobody in the North knows just where our army is,although all know that it's in Pennsylvania."
But that night, while Harry was at General Lee's headquarters, a scoutarrived with news that the Army of the Potomac was advancing upon analmost parallel line and could throw itself in his rear. Other scoutscame, one after another, with the same report. Harry saw the gravitywith which the news was received, and he speedily gathered from the talkof those about him that Lee must abandon his advance to the Pennsylvaniacapital and turn and fight, or be isolated far from Virginia, theSouthern base.
Stuart and the cavalry were still absent on a great raid. Lee's ordersto Stuart were not explicit, and the cavalry leader's ardent soul gaveto them the widest interpretation. Now they felt the lack of hishorsemen, who in the enemy's country could have obtained abundantinformation. A spy had brought them the news that the Army of thePotomac had crossed the Potomac and was marching on a parallel line withthem, but at that point their knowledge ended. The dark veil, which wasto be lifted in such a dramatic and terrible manner, still hung betweenthe two armies.
The weather turned very warm, as it was now almost July. So far asthe heat was concerned Harry could not see any difference betweenPennsylvania and Kentucky and Virginia. In all three the sun blazedat this time of the year, but the country was heavy with crops, nowripening fast. It was a region that Harry liked. He had a naturaltaste for broken land with slopes, forests, and many little streams ofclear water. Most of the fields were enclosed in stone fences, and thegreat barns and well-built houses indicated prosperous farmers.
He and Dalton rode up to one of these houses, and, finding every doorand window closed, knocked on the front door with a pistol butt.They knew it was occupied, as they had seen smoke coming from thechimney.
"This house surely belongs to a Dutchman," said Dalton, meaning oneof those Pennsylvanians of German descent who had settled in the richsoutheast of Pennsylvania generations ago.
"I fear they don't know how to talk English," said Harry.
"They can if they have to. Hit that door several times more, Harry,and hit it hard. They're a thrifty people, and they wouldn't like tosee a good door destroyed."
Harry beat a resounding tattoo until the door was suddenly thrown openand the short figure of a man of middle years, chin-whiskered and gray,but holding an old-fashioned musket in his hands, confronted them.
"Put down that gun, Herr Schneider! Put it down at once!" said Dalton,who had already levelled his pistol.
The man was evidently no coward, but when he looked into Dalton's eye,he put the musket on the floor.
Harry, still sitting on his horse--they had ridden directly up to thefront door--saw a stalwart woman and several children hovering in thedusk of the room behind the man. He watched the whole group, but heleft the examination to Dalton.
"I want you to tell me, Her
r Schneider, the location of the Army of thePotomac, down to the last gun and man, and what are the intentions ofGeneral Meade," said Dalton.
The man shook his head and said, "Nein."
"Nine!" said Dalton indignantly. "General Meade has more than nine menwith him! Come, out with the story! All those tales about the rebelscoming to burn and destroy are just tales, and nothing more. Youunderstand what I'm saying well enough. Come, out with yourinformation!"
"Nein," said the German.
"All right," said Dalton in a ferocious tone. "After all, we are therebel ogres that you thought we were."
He turned toward his comrade and, with his back toward the German,winked and said:
"What do you think I'd better do with him?"
"Oh, kill him," replied Harry carelessly. "He's broad between the eyesand there's plenty of room there for a bullet. You couldn't miss at twoyards."
The German made a dive toward his musket, but Dalton cried sharply:
"Hands up or I shoot!"
The German straightened himself and, holding his hands aloft, said:
"You would not kill me in the shelter uf mein own house?"
"Well, that depends on the amount of English you know. It seems to me,Herr Schneider, that you learned our language very suddenly."
"I vas a man who learns very fast when it vas necessary. Mein brainvorks in a manner most vonderful ven I looks down the barrel of a bigpistol."
"This pistol is a marvelous stimulant to a good education."
"How did you know mein name vas Schneider?"
"Intuition, Herr Schneider! Intuition! We Southern people havewonderful intuitive faculties."
"Vell, it vas not Schneider. My name vas Jacob Onderdonk."
Harry laughed and Dalton reddened.
"The joke is on me, Mr. Onderdonk," said Dalton. "But we're here on aserious errand. Where is General Meade?"
"I haf not had my regular letter from General Meade this morning.Vilhelmina, you are sure ve haf noddings from General Meade?"
"Noddings, Jacob," she said.
Dalton flushed again and muttered under his breath.
"We want to know," he said sharply, "if you have seen the Army of thePotomac or heard anything of it."
A look of deep sadness passed over the face of Jacob Onderdonk.
"I haf one great veakness," he said, "one dot makes my life most bitter.I haf de poorest memory in de vorld. Somedimes I forget de face of meinown Vilhelmina. Maybe de Army uf de Potomac, a hundred thousand men,pass right before my door yesterday. Maybe, as der vedder vas hot,that efery one uf dem hundred thousand men came right into der houseund take a cool drink out uf der water bucket. But I cannot remember.Alas, my poor memory!"
"Then maybe Wilhelmina remembers."
"Sh! do not speak uf dot poor voman. I do not let her go out uf derhouse dese days, as she may not be able to find der vay back in again."
"We'd better go, George," said Harry. "I think we only waste timeasking questions of such a forgetful family."
"It iss so," said Onderdonk; "but, young Mister Rebels, I remember onething."
"And what is that?" asked Dalton.
"It vas a piece of advice dot I ought to gif you. You tell dot GeneralLee to turn his horse's head and ride back to der South. You are goodyoung rebels. I can see it by your faces. Ride back to der South,I tell you again. We are too many for you up here. Der field ufcorn iss so thick und so long dot you cannot cut your way through it.Your knife may be sharp and heavy, but it vill vear out first. Do Inot tell the truth, Vilhelmina, mein vife?"
"All your life you haf been a speaker of der truth, Hans, mein husband."
"I think you're a poor prophet, Mr. Onderdonk," said Dalton. "Werecognize, however, the fact that we can't get any information out ofyou. But we ask one thing of you."
"Vat iss dot?"
"Please to remember that while we two are rebels, as you call them,we neither burn nor kill. We have offered you no rudeness whatever,and the Army of Northern Virginia is composed of men of the same kind."
"I vill remember it," said Onderdonk gravely, and as they saluted himpolitely, he returned the salute.
"Not a bad fellow, I fancy," said Harry, as they rode away.
"No, but our stubborn enemy, all the same. Wherever our battle isfought we'll find a lot of these Pennsylvania Dutchmen standing up tous to the last."
Harry and Dalton rejoined the staff, bringing with them no informationof value, and they marched slowly on another day, camping in the cool ofthe evening, both armies now being lost to the anxious world that waitedand sought to find them.
Lee himself, as Harry gathered from the talk about him, was uncertain.He did not wish a battle now, but his advance toward the Susquehannahad been stopped by the news that the Army of the Potomac could cut inbehind. The corps of Ewell had been recalled, and Harry, as he rode toit with a message from his general, saw his old friends again. Theywere in a tiny village, the name of which he forgot, and Colonel Talbotand Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire, sitting in the main room of whatwas used as a tavern in times of peace, had resumed the game of chess,interrupted so often. Lieutenant-Colonel St. Hilaire was in great glee,just having captured a pawn, and Colonel Talbot was eager and sure ofrevenge, when Harry entered and stated that he had delivered an orderto General Ewell to fall back yet farther.
"Most untimely! Most untimely!" exclaimed Colonel Talbot, as theyrapidly put away the board and chessmen. "I was just going to driveHector into a bad corner, when you came and interrupted us."
"You are my superior officer, Leonidas," said Lieutenant-Colonel HectorSt. Hilaire, "but remember that this superiority applies only tomilitary rank. I assert now, with all respect to your feelings, thatin regard to chess it does not exist, never has and never will."
"Opinions, Hector, are--opinions. Time alone decides whether theyare or are not facts. But our corps is to fall back, you say, Harry?What does it signify?"
"I think, Colonel, that it means a great battle very soon. It isapparent that General Lee thinks so, or he would not be concentratinghis troops so swiftly. The Army of the Potomac is somewhere on ourflank, and we shall have to deal with it."
"So be it. The Invincibles are few but ready."
Harry rode rapidly back to Lee with the return message from Ewell,and found him going into camp on the eve of the last day of June.The weather was hot and scarcely any tents were set, nearly everybodypreferring the open air. Harry delivered his message, and General Leesaid to him, with his characteristic kindness:
"You'd better go to sleep as soon as you can, because I shall want youto go on another errand in the morning to a place called Gettysburg."
Gettysburg! Gettysburg! He had never heard the name before and ithad absolutely no significance to him now. But he saluted, withdrew,procured his blankets and joined Dalton.
"The General tells me, George, that I'm to go to Gettysburg," he said."What's Gettysburg, and why does he want me to go there?"
"I'm to be with you, Harry, and we're both going with a flying column,in order that we may report upon its conduct and achievements. So I'vemade inquiries. It's a small town surrounded by hills, but it's agreat center for roads. We're going there because it's got a big shoefactory. Our role is to be that of shoe buyers. Harry, stick out yourfeet at once!"
Harry thrust them forward.
"One sole worn through. The heel gone from the other shoe, and eventhen you're better off than most of us. Lots of the privates arebarefooted. So you needn't think that the role of shoe buyer is anignominious one."
"I'll be ready," said Harry. "Call me early in the morning, George.We're a long way from home, and the woods are not full of friends.Getting up here in these Pennsylvania hills, one has to look prettyhard to look away down South in Dixie."
"That's so, Harry. A good sleep to you, and to-morrow, as shoe buyers,we'll ride together to Gettysburg."
He lay between his blankets, went quickly to slee
p and dreamed nothingof Gettysburg, of which he had heard for the first time that day.
The Star of Gettysburg: A Story of Southern High Tide Page 12