by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XI
THE ENCOUNTER AT THE RAILROAD TRESTLE
"Here's a pretty mess, Life!"
"We'd better get off just as quick as we can," answered the captain ofthe seventh company. "For all we know to the contrary there may be twoor three thousand rebels around this shore."
"Pole her off!" cried Deck to the Confederates, and ran to assist.Bolder began to do as directed, but Peters, without looking back, leapedfor the ground beyond, and ran for it as rapidly as his long legs wouldcarry him. Life was about to fire on him, when the major checked him.
"Don't do it, Life; it may bring the enemy around our ears."
"Right you are, Deck," answered the Kentuckian. "But don't you dare togo," and he shook his weapon threateningly at Bolder.
"I ain't goin'," was the sullen response, and the Confederate began touse his pole, although straining his eyes in the hope that Peters orLieutenant Blackrook would appear with aid for him.
But nobody came, and in a few minutes more the raft was again inmidstream. Deck now kept her headed for the other shore, and before longthey drifted up into a meadow which was overflown for several acres.Here they ground so hard it was impossible to budge the unwieldy craft;and the voyage came to a termination.
Before leaving the raft, Deck bound Bolder's hands behind him. Lookingacross the meadow they discovered a farmhouse not over a hundred yardsaway, and hurried in that direction.
"Major Lyon, where have you been?" the cry came from Major TomBelthorpe. "You look as if you had been lost in the fog."
"We were--a short time," answered Deck. He looked around and saw thatTom had a dozen soldiers with him. "I don't know what you and your menare doing here, but if you haven't anything in particular to do, I'dlike you to help Captain Knox and myself."
"Why, what's up?"
"We went out on a scouting tour and captured one rebel, three boxes ofammunition, and a small field-piece."
The eyes of Kate Belthorpe's brother opened very widely. "Jee-rusa-lem!but you are doing things by the wholesale, Major,--one reb, three boxesof ammunition, and a gun! Where are they?"
"Down in the meadow lot below here. But you haven't told me what broughtyou here yet."
"Four prisoners got away and we gave chase,--that is, my men did. I metthem on the road and came along, just for the excitement. We collaredthree of them, and the fourth escaped in the fog. Certainly, I'll gowith you."
The pair of majors set off, Belthorpe taking six men with him. It wasnot long before Bolder was placed among the other prisoners, and the lotwere hurried to the prisoners' camp, a mile and three-quarters away. Bymessenger Deck sent word to his father regarding the capture ofammunition and the field-piece.
As may well be imagined, Colonel Lyon was more pleased than ever overthis new exploit of his son. The matter was referred to the commandantof the cavalry forces, and soon a detail of artillery came over and tookformal charge of the capture. Later on the field-piece was used to takethe place of one lost on Duck River some months back.
Van Dorn had retreated to the territory south of Rutherford Creek, andfor the present no further pursuit was inaugurated, and the Riverlawnsfound themselves taking it easy, enjoying a well-earned rest. In themeantime Morgan became active again, and the second division ofReynold's brigade, under Colonel Hall, was sent in his pursuit. Thedivision took a stand near Milton, and Morgan, after trying in vain tododge to the right or the left, and, after a stubborn contest lastingabout four hours, was forced to retreat, with heavy losses.
But the daring Confederate cavalry leader, now reenforced by some of thebest Confederate soldiers which the State of Kentucky ever reared, wason his mettle, and resolved to make his raid in that State a success. Hehad gone to Liberty, and was preparing to make another dash, whenStanley's cavalry came upon him, and forced a fight between Liberty andSnow Hill. Morgan fought desperately, but Stanley was too wide-awake forhim, and turned his left flank, and the raiders became demoralized, theexact reason for which has never been explained. Carbines were thrownaway, horses went wild, and teamsters deserted their wagons; and thebattle ended in such a rout that it took Morgan ten days to get histroops together again. Many another leader would have given up indisgust after such a scene as this; but Morgan's nerve was of iron, andhe acknowledged no such word as fail.
It was about the middle of April that the Riverlawns received word tomove again. In the meantime Deck had not forgotten the dead Confederatenamed Paul who had a sister called Rosebel living at Chattanooga. He hadmade diligent inquiries concerning the young man and his family, but, sofar, nothing definite had turned up. He was hoping to get some word fromsuch prisoners as might have had their homes at Chattanooga; but theseprisoners were hard to find.
The movement of the Riverlawns was again in connection with twobrigades of cavalry under Minty. To this force was united three brigadesof infantry under General J. Reynolds and Wilder's mounted infantry.Orders were to proceed to McMinnville, take possession of the town, anddestroy the railroad from there to Manchester. If the expedition shouldprove a success thus far, the troops were then to be reenforced byothers from Carthage, and Morgan was to be attacked again.
The weather was not bad overhead, although hardly clear; but the roadswere in a deplorable condition, and, as the regiment advanced along theroad, the horses sunk up to their fetlocks in mud, while the train ofwagons was even worse off. At short distances one or more wagons wouldget stuck, and extra horses would be needed to pull the vehicles fromthe ruts. After proceeding with the cavalry for three hours, CaptainBatterson's battery was turned back, to take up a position which wasbeing guarded near the river.
The railroad reached, at a point just outside of the town, a staffofficer presented himself to Colonel Lyon, who was riding at ease, withLieutenant-Colonel Gordon at his side.
"Colonel Lyon, the general directs that you take the road branching offjust below here and leading to the trestlework of the railroad. You areto destroy as much of the trestle and the road-bed of the railroad asyou can, also burn all supplies and sheds containing the same."
"Very well; tell General Reynolds I will do my best," replied ColonelLyon. Then turning, he gave the necessary orders, and the Riverlawnsdetached themselves from the other cavalry and galloped down the sideroad indicated.
At this time McMinnville was but a small place, yet it boasted of anewspaper, and the surrounding territory was rich in fruit and otherfarms. The ground in spots was full of hollows, and over these therailroad corporation had built a series of trestles, with here and therea shed and a siding for freight cars.
Coming within sight of the trestle mentioned to him, Colonel Lyon foundit guarded by a small company of Southerners, determined-looking men,about half uniformed, yet each with a trusty-looking gun in his hands.The Southerners opened fire without any parleying, and two cavalrymenwere struck, although not seriously.
"They have a fine position, Colonel," remarked Lieutenant-ColonelGordon. "They are above us, and that planking on this side gives them afirst-class protection."
"That is right, Gordon; but we'll dislodge them fast enough," answeredNoah Lyon, confidently. A leader somewhat against his will, he had nowstudied up military tactics in dead earnest, and with him, as with hisson Deck, nothing was an impossibility.
The first battalion was ordered to halt and take a safe place behind aslight rise of ground to the northwest of the trestle. The second wasmarched around to the north, and the third to the south. This done, theparty above was pretty well surrounded. Half a dozen shots wereexchanged, but the planking mentioned protected the Confederates, andthey did not budge.
It would have been easy to have advanced upon the party from both endsof the trestlework, but this would have cost a severe loss of life, andthe humane colonel was for protecting his men from all injury if thething could be done.
While Colonel Lyon was debating in his mind what should be his nextmovement, Artie came up and saluted, having received the properpermission from his major. The you
ng captain observed the formalities asthough the colonel was of no relationship to him.
"Colonel, I have to report something which may be of importance to you,"he said.
"Well, Captain, what is it?" smiled the colonel. "A sure way to defeatthe enemy?"
"Our company has discovered that a barrel of tar lies at the northeastend of the trestle. A freight car above was broken open, and I think thebarrel was jounced out, as the road-bed seems to be very uneven,especially at the curve."
"The tar will certainly be useful to us, Artie."
"Yes, sir, especially as the wind is blowing from the northeast," wenton the captain. "Tar, you know, makes a good, thick smoke."
The colonel stared for an instant, then a smile came into his face.
"Artie, I see you are bound to be a general like Deck. Your plan is tosmoke the enemy out."
"I only mentioned what we had found, and how the wind was blowing," wasthe modest return.
"It amounts to the same thing. You can light that barrel, and roll it asclose up to the enemy as you dare. I will send the third battalionaround to the lower end of the trestle. Send Major Belthorpe to me."
Artie retired, and presently Tom Belthorpe came dashing up. He was toldto keep a strict watch through the smoke for the enemy, should they turnup the tracks. Then Colonel Lyon galloped off with the third battalionin the opposite direction.
It was not long before the tar barrel was blazing merrily, and to add tothe smoke some of the soldiers threw on a mass of dead and wet brush.The dense cloud rolled upward, and the wind carried it directly to thespot where the Confederates were located. In the midst of the smoke thebarrel was rolled closer, until it set fire to the northeast end of thetrestle.
Blinded and choked, the Confederates fired several volleys at random,and were then compelled to seek some spot where a breath of pure airmight be obtained. Some ran up the tracks and some down, and theseengaged the second and the third battalions. A few, risking life andlimb, leaped from the trestle through the advancing fire beneath; butthese were captured by Major Deck's command, each man being fullycovered as he landed.
To Life Knox's gallant seventh company fell the lot of resisting themajority of those who had defended the trestle, and a desperate conflicttook place in a small hollow at a second trestle above the first. TheConfederate company was scarcely drilled, yet each man knew how toshoot, and when surrounded the fellows discarded their arms, and usedtheir fists and such clubs as they had picked up on the railroad. As oneIrishman in the seventh company declared afterward, "It was the mostdelightful Donnybrook fair he had seen since lavin' the ould country!" Aprivate of Kentuckian blood declared, "They didn't know enough assoldiers to surrender, but jest fit, an' fit, an' fit!" This pitchedbattle was laughed over for many a day afterward. In the end, however,every Confederate was taken prisoner.
By the time the contest closed, the trestle was burning at a furiousrate, and the regiment was ordered further along. Inside of an hour theyfound themselves in McMinnville, and here the battalions were divided.A portion of a Confederate regiment had taken a stand at a cotton millnot a great distance from the depot, and Deck's battalion was sent tothe place to dislodge them.
With the intrepid major at the head, the four companies advanced on thedouble-quick until the cotton mill in question was gained. A halt wasmade, and as several shots were fired, the major directed his companiesto take shelter behind a number of outbuildings. Here severalConfederates were brought to light and made prisoners.
The taking of the cotton mill looked as if it would be a much hardertask than had been that of deposing the company at the trestle. TheConfederates were located at every window and door of the building, andas soon as any one of Deck's command appeared he was fired upon.Moreover, the mill stood in a plot of ground by itself, so it could notbe approached excepting by a dash through the open.
"We have a nice bit of work cut out for us now, Major," observed CaptainAbbey, of the first company, as he gazed at the solid-looking buildingin perplexity. "That makes a first-class fort."
"I was thinking as much myself," answered Deck.
"Can't we smoke them out--as we did down to the railroad?"
"There is nothing at hand with which to build a fire. I wouldn't care toburn the fellows up, either."
"Then let them come out and surrender."
"The mill is on fire!" suddenly shouted some one. "The enemy must haveset the blaze themselves."
The report was correct, and in a minute more a heavy volume of smokeburst from several windows. Men leaped from half a dozen openings, andin a short while enough had gathered to form a good-sized company.
"Charge!" yelled a captain, savagely. "Break right through the Northernmudsills!"
And the Confederates charged, straight for the two companies commandedby Captain Richland and Artie Lyon.
