by Unknown
“I guess us boys from North Carolina will have to save Virginia for you boys.”
“That is only because no-one wants your piss poor plantations anyway.”
I had no idea what Stuart’s plan would be but I guessed that it would be adventurous. That was his way. The bugle sounded for the advance. We could only see the Carolina boys but we moved forwards. It was broken terrain with too many obstacles for a charge and so we all rode with our carbines in our hands. We heard the pop of muskets to our right and the smoke began to drift from the action.
Dago pointed and shouted, “Yankees!” There was a regiment of cavalry ahead of us.
Danny halted the line and ordered, “Fire!”
We all used a different technique when firing our carbines from our horses. I leaned my elbows on the saddle and Copper’s neck. It was a stable platform. I aimed my first shot carefully. Once I had fired I would be able to see little. I squeezed the trigger and saw a horse wheel away as I struck its shoulder. That trajectory would work. I began to fire steadily.
The colonel of the 5th North Carolina was obviously in the mood for a little glory and he ordered a charge. Danny cursed and ordered, “Aim further left. Don’t hit those boys from North Carolina.”
An action like this becomes smaller somehow. All you can see is a wall of smoke. You might be able to see the men next to you but not always. I went to load my carbine and found that I was out of ammunition. I took out my Colt. There was little point in firing, they were too far away.
Suddenly, from the smoke, came the remnants of the 5th North Carolina. From the empty saddles I could see that they had taken casualties. I turned to my troop. “Watch out boys. There will be Yankees chasing the 5th.” It was inevitable. Even if an officer ordered them not to charge, the sight of a retreating enemy was always too much for many men.
Danny yelled, “Echelon right.”
There was now a gap next to us and the Union cavalry would be pouring through that soon enough. I slid my sabre in and out of its scabbard. It was some time since I had used it and I did not want it to stick if I had to pull it. The first cavalry burst through on our right. I took a snap shot and saw one of them hit but he carried on. I fired again and again until my gun was empty. The Union Brigadier General must have decided to charge because this was not one or two troopers, this was a brigade.
Most of my men had emptied their guns and we would have no time to reload. “Draw sabres!”
Danny was a few yards from me and I heard him roar. “Charge!”
We both knew that we would not get up to a gallop but we would be hitting them in the flank and that would hurt them. “Come on boys. Give the rebel yell!”
I knew the effect the yell had and my men screamed it as they leaned forwards with their sabres held in front of us. We struck the Union cavalry on their right and they found it hard to defend themselves against us. I stabbed a trooper through the shoulder and he fell to the ground clutching the wound. I raised the blade and slashed it downwards as a corporal tried to turn and engage me. He was too slow. My sword cut through his kepi, down his face and across his hand. Blood spurted as he dropped his sword. This kind of savage encounter did not allow you the luxury of ensuring that your opponents were dead; as long as they were incapacitated you moved on to the next man.
Copper was still moving at speed and crashed into the side of a bugler who fell to the ground. I swung my blade at him but he blocked it with his bugle and then rolled away. He was a lucky bugler. A major saw me and wheeled to engage me. Union officers tended to be well trained in fencing whilst those in the Confederate army were less so. The grim smile on his face told me that he thought I would lacking skill. He was not to know that Colonel Boswell himself had trained me and I was more than competent.
His first blow was intended to disarm me. He gave a flick of his wrist as his blade touched mine. That was easy to parry and I flicked the opposite way. My edge caught his leg and he flinched. I stabbed at him whilst kicking Copper on. My horse was a weapon too. He found himself trying to control his own horse with his left hand. I reached forwards and grabbed his reins, pulling them from his hand. I could ride Copper just using my knees and my body weight. As I pulled I turned Copper with my knees and he began to slide forwards. I stabbed him in the neck and he fell dead.
I kept hold of the reins and sheathed my sword. I took out a fully loaded Colt and began to aim at the men who were closest to me. As the smoke cleared I could see that we had broken the back of the enemy and they were retreating. I heard the recall being sounded. It was not for us but the other regiments who were plunging through the smoke after the retreating Yankee cavalry.
I tied the dead major’s horse to Copper and searched him. He had a full ammunition pouch which I took as well as his sword. Cecil’s sword was little more than a lump of metal. This one would serve better. I found two more dead troopers and I relieved them of their ammunition. Unlike their officers they also had ammunition for carbines.
“Sergeant Major!” Cecil appeared from behind me. I threw him the sword, “There you go Cecil, have a decent sword.”
He beamed, “That’s lovely that is. I’ll make the other into a knife.” Cecil was a master at making and repairing equipment. He was the first one any one went to with a faulty gun and they were normally mended within an hour.
“Did we lose any?”
“Troopers Lowell and Sandy. A few of the lads have wounds but nothing serious.”
“It could have been worse.”
“That it could.”
“Get the boys to take anything of value from their dead. Some have some nice boots. If the dead major’s fit you Cecil…”
“I have tiny feet but Dawesy might be able to wear them.”
Trooper Dawes was the tallest man in the regiment. We had learned not to be fussy when it came to the enemy dead; they were well provisioned and well provided for. I knew some infantry regiments where half the soldiers had no shoes at all.
Chapter 5
We had little time to rest on whatever laurels we had won. The Union began their attack. We were not privy to General Lee’s plan but we later found out that he intended to hold Fredericksburg with a little over eleven thousand men while Generals Jackson and Stuart marched around the enemy’s flank. We did not know that. All we knew was that we had left many dead on the battlefield close to Chancellorsville but the Union had lost more. On that last couple of days in April we were a thin screen of cavalry in front of General Anderson’s men who began to dig trenches and earthworks close to Zion Church.
We were stood down to help us to recover. We had been riding for the best part of four days and we needed rest. The new horses we had acquired were allocated those whose horses had suffered the most. This would allow the weaker beasts to recover. We now had more ammunition; we would not run out in the middle of the battle but we were still desperately short of men. While we had not lost many men it was like being bled to death slowly. The trickle of casualties made us weaker each time we went into action. Unless we received reinforcements soon we would be back to the numbers we had had when we were Boswell’s Wildcats.
The last day in April saw us rise wearily to a sunless dawn and be confronted by a fog so thick that you could barely see you horse from five paces. I wondered if the enemy would choose to attack under cover of the fog but Stuart’s aide, Captain George, who was delivering our orders shook his head. “No, Captain Hogan, the enemy have much larger numbers. They don’t need the fog. The fog helps us by disguising our inferior numbers. The fog means no attack today.”
We took the opportunity of reorganising us into three troops. Dago and some of his men joined the major while Jed and some of his joined Harry’s troop. I was reinforced by the rest of their men. I now had a hundred men in my troop. I had no junior officer but I didn’t need one. The Sergeant Major and Sergeant James more than made up for a pip on the shoulder.
“What are the general’s orders sir?”
We had wait
ed until Danny had read them twice before asking. “It seems we have to stop the enemy from spotting General Jackson and Second Corps when they sneak around the Yanks and attack in their flank.”
“How many brigades do we have then sir?”
“Two.”
It was an ominous silence. Two brigades meant five or six regiments at most. We would be facing three divisions. We would be outnumbered by almost five to one. First, however we had to defend against General Joe Hooker’s first attack on May 1st. We were almost spectators on the left flank. I still don’t know why General Stonehouse did not send his cavalry to attack us. They could have driven us from the field like a fly from a swatter. Thankfully he didn’t and all we did was pop a few balls at each other while the Union tried to attack our trenches and guns. I don’t know if he was surprised at the numbers of men but the attack was half hearted and Hooker withdrew. We had expected a much harder fight than the one we were given. The field was ours.
General Stuart himself rode up to see me after the wounded had been removed from the field. “Captain Hogan, did you say there was an unfinished railroad running parallel to the river?”
“Yes sir. We escaped the Yankees down it the other day.”
“Good. I want to detach your troop. You will advance down the railroad track and screen the Second Corps at Catherine Furnace. You need to leave in the hour. I want you to do everything you can to prevent the Union Army from seeing this column.” He must have seen the uncertainty on my face for he smiled, “I know you can do this, son. I have faith in you. General Jackson has to get around their flank without being detected.”
I told Danny what my orders were and he shook his head. “Let’s hope that famous luck of yours doesn’t run out today. I have heard there are sixty thousand Yanks over there.”
“I think you and the boys are in more danger. I won’t be screening the rest of the army.”
We had a cold night ahead of us and I made sure that all of my men had a hot meal before we left. “Sergeant Major, check that every man has at least two pistols as well as his carbine and I want full ammunition pouches.”
We just waved our farewells. Prolonged goodbyes were not our way and the sooner we got the job done the sooner we would be back. The unfinished railroad seemed somehow both sinister and threatening as we rode along it. Every moving tree made me jump. I knew that we were beyond our front lines after a mere thousand yards. I kept glancing to the right, expecting to see Yankee rifles firing at us. We made the rendezvous safely.
“I want the horses tied to a line with just two men guarding it. The rest need to make breastworks from dead branches and trees. I want us to be invisible. While you do that I will go and scout out the road that Jackson will be taking.”
I knew that the Second Corps would have an easier time in daylight but I needed to see what the terrain was like for myself. There was the skeleton of an uncompleted bridge and a small ford. The road from Catherine Furnace went south. I was glad that I had come to look. We would need to have some men here. A Union patrol could easily come down the road for a variety of reasons. The ford was not deep and even artillery could cross it. I knew, however, that Stonewall Jackson would not be laden with cannon. His foot cavalry moved too fast for lumbering cannon.
By the time I reached the troop there was some semblance of order. “Carlton, take twenty men and go to the creek. Watch the road from the north.”
“Yes sir.” He paused. “Any fish in the stream sir?”
I laughed, “Well if you can catch some it will make a nice breakfast.”
“I’ll keep a couple for you sir.”
The Sergeant Major came up to me. I noticed he was wearing his new sword. I would have to tell him that it would trip him up in the woods. I had left mine on Copper. “The boys are at the line. I sent Troopers Ritchie and Lythe about a hundred yards into the woods, just the other side of the building, to give us warning of any trouble.” The building in question looked to be an outbuilding from the main Catherine Furnace. We could not see the Catherine Furnace but we knew it was somewhere to our left on the other side of the stream.
I sat with my back to a tree and Cecil sat next to me. “I would leave the sword on your horse you know. They are a bugger for tripping you up.”
“I know sir but it is the finest thing anyone has ever given me.”
I shook my head, “It was hardly a gift Sergeant Major. I killed its owner and…”
“And you thought of me. Not many others would have done that. Lieutenant Spinelli, he would have kept it or sold it wouldn’t he?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I know sir and it’s why the lads’ll do anything for you. Look at me. I know I was an idiot when I joined but no-one else gave me a chance. You saw something in me and look at me now. I’m a Sergeant Major.”
“You deserve it.”
“Not until you gave me the chance.” We sat and watched the sky lighten a little. “Sir, can I ask you something?”
“Ask away.”
“Do you think we can win this war?”
Did I answer with my head or my heart? “We have the best soldiers and the best generals so we should.”
He nodded sagely, “True, true enough but they have more men and more guns. I’m thinking we will make a good stab at this thing but, unless we get lucky, then we are going to lose.”
I said nothing but I knew he was right. I suspected he was still fighting because he did not want to let me down after I had given him his chance. It was the same way with me. I would keep fighting because I had been given a chance when James Boswell came aboard my ship in Charleston Harbour. I had answered myself; it was nothing to do with the head and all to do with the heart.
The Second Corps came through a couple of hours after dawn. The scouts trotted past us with a cheery wave and I wandered down to see them pass. General Jackson halted his horse next to me. “Captain Hogan, I appreciate your efforts sir. You have done a fine job again. When the end of my Corps has passed if you would be so good as to head towards the Yankee lines and harass them a little.”
“Harass them sir?”
He smiled, which was a rarity. “Make them think your little troop is a brigade. You are good at that sort of thing.”
He was a peculiar man; he was quite brilliant as a general and yet he was unlike all of the other generals. I went back to the Sergeant Major. “Another couple of hours and they will have passed. Get some breakfast organised. I’ll go and see how Carlton is getting on.”
I almost thought that they had disappeared when I went down to the stream but they were just hidden. The sergeant stepped out from cover and handed me a line with six brown trout. “Here you are sir, breakfast. We amused ourselves.”
“Good. Make sure you boys eat. We’ll be pulling out of here in a couple of hours.”
It is amazing the appetite you get when you smell fresh fish cooking. I shared my fish with the Sergeant Major and the troopers who had spent the night close to us. We had just finished them when we heard the unmistakeable sound of gunfire. It was coming from the north. It sounded like the rest of the cavalry was earning its keep.
“Ritchie, go back to the railroad line and let me know when the column has passed.”
The firing became more intense and closer. “Trooper Dawes, take some men and bring the horses up.” As soon as we were freed I was anxious to get to the aid of Danny and the rest of the regiment.
“The last of the column has passed sir.”
“Good, fetch Sergeant James and his men. They are by the stream. Sergeant Major, get the men mounted as soon as the horses arrive.”
I moved us out in a column of fours. The trees were thinly spaced enough to allow this and gave us the chance to form two lines far quicker. We rode to the sound of the guns. The drive behind our efforts was that our comrades would be outnumbered and outgunned. We might make the difference. I had no scouts out for I knew that when I reached the pall of smoke I would have reached the bat
tle. Sure enough a waft of smoke drifted towards us. I could see no grey but there were dark uniforms ahead. The terrain did not suit horses.
“Horse holders!”
The ten designated troopers quickly dismounted and took the reins of the other horses.
“Form skirmish line. Sergeant Major, take the right. Sergeant James, take the left.”
I took my carbine and led the line. Miraculously, ahead, I saw a fence line. I was lucky that day. “Quickly men, run to the fence line.” All ninety of us were soon behind the wooden fence posts and peering out at the Union infantry who were firing at our cavalry. This was no time for individual action; this was the time for volleys.
“Pick your targets. Ready, aim, fire!”
All ninety carbines bucked at the same time.
“Fire!”
There was now a wall of smoke in front of us but I had seen, before the smoke closed in, that we had cut deeply into their side. I knew that they would now begin to realign. We had to keep up the pressure.
“Fire!” Volley fire would now be impossible and so I shouted, “Independent fire at will!”
My repeater barked until it was empty. I drew my pistol and emptied that. I then began to reload both my weapons. I was surprised that no one had tried to rush us but I suppose our sudden attack had taken them by surprise. I knew it could not last and I peered through the smoke to see the enemy. The muzzle flashes told me that they were now firing back. I ran to the right of the line.
“Sergeant Major, can you see our boys?” I pointed to where the cavalry had been.
“They are regrouping sir.”
“When I give the order I want us to fall back in pairs. One man fires and one runs back. Pass the word.” I ran down the line and repeated my message to Sergeant James. When I reached my original position I saw that the Union soldiers were now less than fifty paces away. I turned to Trooper Ritchie, “When I give the word you run back fifty yards and cover me. We are going back to the horses this way.”
