A Lieutenant at Eighteen

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XX

  THE FLOWING TIDE OF THE ENEMY'S RETREAT

  Both of the officers on the hill brought their field-glasses to theireyes, and directed them to the regiment in the meadow, which was havingmore difficulty in advancing than before; for near the higher groundthe cattle had cut up the sod much more than farther off. The menscattered about more in their efforts to avoid the soft places.

  "Those men fire with remarkable precision," said Captain Woodbine. "Asoldier drops at every shot they fire, and they discharge their riflesat the rate of at least ten shots a minute."

  "They can't stand that long," added the major.

  As he spoke, the regiment broke into a run for the woods. They gave nofurther attention to the picking of their way, and struggled in themire towards the high ground; but the merciless riflemen did notsuspend their fire, and the soldiers continued to fall as the regimentadvanced. In a few minutes it looked as though half the first companyhad fallen, either killed or wounded.

  The second company, and those in the rear of it, faced about, andretreated; and, having a better sod than those nearer the hill, theyran with all the speed they could command, though some of them sankdown in the mire, and were pulled out by their companions. When theyhad fallen back out of rifle-range, they directed their flight towardsthe pike.

  The regiment in the rear halted when they saw the flight of the one infront of it. It was too far off for accurate firing. The men seemed tobe appalled at the flight of the other regiment; and through theirglasses the two officers could see that the commanding officer wasmaking a speech to his men, but neither of them could see the extent ofthe casualties of the retreating command.

  Doubtless the colonel of the regiment, ashamed of the conduct of thefleeing infantry, was rallying his men for the advance; for presentlyit resumed its march. But at that moment a new factor in the contestwas presented to the aide-de-camp. The roar of a heavy gun was heard inthe direction of the intrenchment, and both of the spectators on thehill looked in that direction. A cloud of smoke rose in the air, and atthe same moment, almost, the explosion of a shell was seen on theriflemen's hill. The branches of the trees were cut off and twisted,and the sharpshooters rushed down the declivity as though their ownweapons had been turned against them.

  "Those riflemen have probably never been in a battle before," said thecaptain, apparently unmoved by the sight that greeted his eyes.

  "I should hardly expect to see them stand up against that sort ofthing," added the major. "I never saw a shell explode before, and itmust be very trying to the nerves of an inexperienced soldier."

  "He gets used to it after a time. But that shell must have killed orwounded some of Captain Ripley's command, though neither shells norbullets are so destructive to human life as they appear to be atfirst."

  "I don't understand how that shell happened to be fired into the hill,for they could not see into the meadow where so many have fallen," saidthe major.

  "The information was probably sent into the fort by some officer onduty on the pike, near the earthworks, with an order to shell thesecond hill. But I think you had better return to your command, foryour cavalry may be wanted at any time," suggested the captain.

  "That colonel has rallied his men, and they are now marching verysteadily towards the higher land," said the major, as he rose from theseat on a rock he had occupied.

  "Ripley has done better than I expected, and he appears to have placedhis men again. No doubt the bursting of the shell so near them startledhis force, and the riflemen fled from impulse," continued thestaff-officer. "But he is a brave old man, at any rate; for he hasmounted to the highest point of the hill, and he is watching the fortwith all his eyes. It is a dangerous position, and I am afraid therewill be a military funeral soon at Millersville."

  But he was shielded by a large tree on the summit of the hill in thedirection of the enemy, and was giving his whole attention to theintrenchments. The captain was observing the regiment which was nowrapidly approaching high ground, though it had moved much farther fromthe pike than the first.

  The major had mounted his horse, and was about to rejoin his squadron.

  Before he started, and when the approaching force was beginning tomount the bank, the rifles were heard again, and the leading men of thefirst company dropped from the bank. Not more than three or four shotshad been fired before a tremendous yell was heard coming from theriflemen's hill, and the sharpshooters fled down the slope. It appearedas though Captain Ripley had watched the fort for a purpose, and, whenhe saw the flash of the great gun, had ordered his men to run, and theyhad done so. They had no time to spare, but they had a second to sparebefore the shell exploded.

  "THE SHARPSHOOTERS RUSHED DOWN THE DECLIVITY."_Page 262._]

  It did not appear that any one was hurt; at least, no one fell. Thecaptain observed the riflemen with the utmost intensity; and as soon asthe missile had spent its power, the men sprang part way up the hill,and placed themselves behind the trees. The first company had obtaineda footing on the hard ground, and the first thing they did was to formand march at the double-quick towards the hill from which thedeath-dealing balls had come.

  Major Lyon was a prudent as well as a brave man, and he galloped hishorse away from the spot with all decent celerity; for to remain thereanother minute was almost certain death. The staff-officer was too olda soldier to get excited at such a time, but he kept a tree betweenhimself and the approaching company of Confederates. The riflemenopened before the company could fairly form; and, as the distance forsuch riflemen was insignificant, a man fell with every rifle that wasfired.

  The fall of these men in the first rank, every one of whom was dropped,seemed to madden the men behind them, and they rushed forward on therun; but Ripley's policy was most disastrous to them, for the secondrank of four soldiers fell, either killed or badly wounded. At thistime Major Lyon, in obedience to an order from Captain Woodbine, withhis entire squadron galloped upon the scene of action. Captain Gordoncharged into the first company of the regiment of infantry.

  The first platoon, under Lieutenant Belthorpe, struck the head of thecolumn as it hastened forward to dislodge the sharpshooters, whose firewas so destructive to them; and Lieutenant Lyon, with the secondplatoon, took the company on the flank. This charge, so far as thefirst company of the Confederates was concerned, threw the riflemen outof the battle; for their bullets were in danger of bringing down someof the blue as well as the gray.

  Captain Ripley perceived this difficulty, and ordered his men, asusual, by passing the word from mouth to mouth along his line, for hismen to give their attention to the second company of the enemy'sinfantry, which had just begun to mount the bank from the low ground.Colonel Wolford, in command of the First Kentucky Cavalry, was inanother part of the field, pursuing the retreating regiments in theirten miles of flight from the hills, where the brunt of the action hadbeen fought; and Major Lyon was in charge of the detachment sent toassist in flanking the enemy in this quarter.

  The staff-officer had ordered up this cavalry. He had mounted hishorse, and given the order in person, going on the field in actualcommand of the force, leading it to the point where the second companywere mounting the bank. Portions of the enemy's army had been welldrilled, though this could not be said of all; and General Crittendenin his reports lamented the want of discipline in some of hisregiments. General Schoepf was more emphatic and decided in regard tothis same want of drill on the part of the Union mounted men. In thereport of a skirmish he says:--

  "The cavalry under my command, as usual, behaved badly. They are anuisance, and the sooner they are disbanded the better.... Is there nosuch thing as obtaining a regiment of _reliable_ cavalry? Such aregiment is indispensable with this brigade at this time. The absenceof such troops has kept me in the saddle until I am nearly worn downwith fatigue."

  Such remarks could not have been made of the Riverlawn Squadron; forits men had been as thoroughly drilled as those in the regular army,and the character of its t
roopers was much better than the average. Itis not strange that there should have been a foundation for the severecomments of the general in the case of men enlisted, and almostimmediately hurried into actual service, as was necessary in some partsof the State, though his caustic strictures were not applicable to allthe mounted men of Kentucky.

  Such ruffians as those against whom the battle of Riverlawn was fought,at an earlier stage of the war, had found their way to a greater orless extent into the Union army. But, whatever might have been trulysaid of portions of the cavalry, it was not true of the companies ofthe First Kentucky Cavalry; for in spite of their need of more drill,they were brave and good men, and fought like heroes when they hadtheir chance at the enemy.

  Captain Woodbine led them into action himself, though he was ablysupported by the regular officers. They made an impetuous charge whilethe riflemen were picking off the men in the rear of the actualfighting. The havoc was so great that the infantry could not stand it,and they began to fall back to the rear. Then they fled to the west, inspite of the efforts of their officers to rally them, as had been thecase on the field in many instances that day.

  The fierce charge of the Riverlawns was too much for the first companyof the enemy, outnumbered two to one. This was the first time that thesquadron had met infantry in the field, and their opponents were welldrilled in resisting the attack of mounted men. But they soon began tofall back, and retreated to the hill where Captain Woodbine hadobserved the first part of the struggle. The cavalry could not operateto advantage here on account of the roughness of the ground, and thetrees. They resorted to the carbine, and kept up an effective fire.

  The first company passed up the hill; but it did not pause there, butbegan the descent on the other side, which would bring them to thepike, near the breastworks of Beech Grove. A shell burst on thesharpshooters' eminence; but Captain Ripley resorted to his formerexpedient, and the way was now clear for his men to retreat to thelevel ground below for the moment.

  The second company of the infantry on the meadow had retreated to thewoods, half a mile away, perhaps hoping to find a passage through totheir works. At Mill Springs the Cumberland River makes a turn at rightangles with its course below, flowing from the north to the south forabout two miles. The Confederate breastworks extended across the neckof land formed by the river and a stream on the west for two miles. Thecamp occupied by the enemy before the battle was protected by water onthree sides.

  The example of the second company on the meadow was followed by theothers, and for the present they were all out of the action. The firstcompany appeared to have lost at least one-fourth of its men; but ithad fought all there was of the action. The Riverlawn charge haddisordered its men; but they had gone in tolerably good order up thehill, and had begun the descent of it, while the squadron were pickingoff the men with their carbines.

  "Lieutenant Lyon, go around the hill, and take them on the flank asthey come down!" shouted Captain Gordon.

  Deck obeyed the order promptly; and his men were full of enthusiasm asthey followed him. The roughness of the hill had impeded the movementof the enemy's company, and the second platoon of the cavalry was inseason to attack them. The foot-soldiers used their bayonets, and for afew minutes there was a terrific struggle. But before any result couldbe reached, a mob of the enemy's infantry and cavalry rushed into thespace between the road and the pike, carrying friends and enemies withit, as before the sweep of a tidal wave on a stormy sea.

  This disorderly body, coming from the pike and from the field beyond,carried all before it, and the second platoon of the Riverlawns couldnot understand the cause of the sudden commotion. The roar ofartillery, not distant from them, soon revealed the cause of thestampede. The batteries of the Union army had moved forward just beforedark; and volleys of grape or shell would have made a fearful slaughteramong the disordered bodies of the retreating enemy, and they had fledin the utmost confusion.