A NEW COMPANY OF MOUNTED RIFLEMEN
The troopers were dismissed for dinner, and all the officers of the
squadron assembled in front of the farmer's house while their horses
were fed; and it was an interesting occasion. The skirmishes were gone
over again more in detail than Life had been able to give them. Deck
was required to report his affair at the house of Mr. Halliburn, and he
went over it as minutely as his father desired.
"It was very well managed, my son," said the major, who was not
especially liberal in praise of the young man as a rule. "You captured
the entire gang without firing a gun, though if Captain Coonly had
conducted his raid with even ordinary prudence, it would have been
otherwise; but it is the business of a commanding officer to profit by
the blunders of the enemy."
"It was very handsomely done," suggested Captain Gordon.
"I think it was; but Captain Coonly will not be a great military
commander," added the major. "But what has become of the prisoners
captured in this affair?"
"We marched them to Millersville, and turned them over to Colonel
Halliburn," answered Deck.
"We quartered them in a disused tobacco factory; and probably in time
we shall let them go," added the colonel. "We have no use for them; and
we can use our supply of provisions and forage much better than in
feeding these ruffians and their horses."
"I believe there will soon be a change in the sentiments of the people
in this vicinity, or at least the guerillas will find it advisable to
cease preying upon their neighbors," said the major; but he did not
explain in what manner this change would be brought about. "How
happened you to fall into the fight in the road after you had brought
your prisoners there, Dexter?"
"I think my answer to that question ought to come in after Captain
Gordon's report of the action at Breedings," replied the lieutenant.
The commander of the first company reported in detail his affair at the
fort.
"Captain Letcher, of the Tennessee cavalry, could not get all his men
into the fort, and he stationed a platoon on a hill on the other side
of the road. I sent Lieutenant Belthorpe to attack them on the hill,
while I assaulted and carried the fort, riding the horses over the
breast-work, and upsetting the iron cannon. My lieutenant defeated the
force on the hills, and drove them across the country till the recall
was sounded for them. I understand now that the detachment followed the
road towards Millersville."
"They came down that road just as I reached it with my prisoners from
Mr. Halliburn's mansion. He is the brother of Colonel Halliburn, here
present. The retreating force was under the command of Captain Letcher,
and he attacked us as soon as we dashed into the road. We defeated him,
with a loss in killed and wounded of nearly half of his command. When
Captain Gordon arrived at the scene of the skirmish with the second
platoon, he paroled the prisoners. In the afternoon we marched to
Millersville."
"Who is the man that came over to the second company with Sergeant
Knox?" asked the major. "He was a stranger to me; and I thought I knew
every man in the squadron."
"His name is Winfield Milton, of Miltonville," replied Captain Gordon.
"My authority as a recruiting-officer is still in force, and I enlisted
him on the recommendation of Lieutenant Lyon."
"He is very useful to me as a guide, and for his knowledge of the
country for many miles around us. He is the intended of Grace Morgan,
who first informed Life of what was going on at the mansion of her
guardian," added Deck.
"You did not make any mistake when you enlisted him," said Colonel
Halliburn. "I have known him for many years, and I will vouch for him.
When I say that he is worthy of Grace Morgan, one of the noblest girls
ever raised in Kentucky, I say more than you can understand."
"He came into our ranks this morning; and he has done his duty
faithfully as a guide and a soldier, and fought like a hero in the
action this morning," added the captain of the first company.
"He ought to be an officer, for he is a very intelligent and
well-educated man; and he will be an honor to the service," continued
the colonel.
"I have not yet heard the particulars of the skirmish, which seems by
the looks of things about here to have swelled to something like the
proportions of a battle," added Major Lyon.
Captain Gordon referred to the colonel; and he repeated the story of
Squire Walcott, who had brought news from the other side of the
Cumberland, and had informed him of the intention of the company of the
Tennessee cavalry to move on Millersville.
The commander of the first company then minutely related the details,
beginning with his order of battle. The voluntary offer of his command
by Colonel Halliburn had proved to be of the greatest importance; for
while the cavalrymen had fought like lions, the burden of the action
had fallen on the riflemen acting as sharpshooters in the woods.
"They caused the enemy to divide his force in the road, sending half of
them into the woods. We owe a debt of gratitude to Lieutenant Ripley,
the oldest man in the line, who commanded the riflemen in the forest.
He can report that part of the action better than any other person."
"I understood the captain's plan of action, and I did my best to carry
it out," said Lieutenant Ripley. "I had forty-two men under my command,
and every one of them could split a rifle-ball on a knife. About every
one of them dropped his man in the road. When half the Confederates
were sent into the woods dismounted to clean us out, I drew them as far
away from the road as possible. I believed I could do the best thing
for the captain's plan by leading half the enemy as far as possible
from any support. If I was wrong, I am willing to be forgiven, for I
had only my general orders."
"You did exactly the right thing, Lieutenant Ripley," added the
captain. "I waited until you had led them at least half a mile, and
then I ordered my two platoons to advance. They charged into the
remainder of the company in the road. The enemy were tangled up with
the loose horses; and when the officers had all fallen, the force out
of the forest surrendered."
"What were our losses, Captain?" asked the major.
"Three men killed, and seven wounded; only one of the riflemen had a
wound of any consequence."
"We fought behind the trees, and at long range," interposed Lieutenant
Ripley. "I was ordered to do so."
"Do you know the enemy's loss, Captain Gordon?" inquired his superior
officer.
"Fifteen killed, or reported as missing, with no doubt that most of
them were killed in the woods, and twenty-one wounded. They fought at a
very great disadvantage, and the sharp-shooters probably caused the
greater portion of their loss."
"I think I understand what the first company have been doing since we
parted company at Columbia," said the major. "As soon as you are ready
we shall march back to Jamestown. I left Harrison very early this
morning. As I did not find you there, as I expected, day before
yesterday, and you did not arrive the following day, I became
considerably concerned, for your company had the shortest route from
Columbia to Harrison, Captain Gordon. The enemy were foraging in all
directions west of the hills, and I was afraid you had been overmatched
by some of them, and I concluded to march in search of you.
"When I reached Jamestown about eight, I learned that a company of
Tennessee cavalry had camped there over night, and had left at an early
hour this morning; but I have found you, and your delay is fully
explained."
"Have you met the enemy on your way, Major Lyon?" asked the senior
captain.
"The company was compelled, about half a mile from Columbia, to deal
with a horde of about thirty guerillas; but their officer was not so
stupid as the one with whom my son had to deal, and they ran away as
soon as they saw us. We pursued and killed about a dozen of them; but
they escaped by fording a swift-running stream, and some of them were
drowned there. It was not prudent to lose any of my men by drowning;
for that was not a proper death for a soldier to die, though it may be
just as creditable to his conduct as to fall from his horse on the
field."
As usual, the commander of the squadron kept his own counsel, and he
did not say what he intended to do when he reached Jamestown. He had
come down from Liberty to Harrison, which was on the road to Somerset,
where he had expected to join the other company, and wait for orders.
He was in possession of the current news, so far as it had been
divulged by those to whom the army operations had been intrusted; and
his orders were to halt somewhere in the vicinity of Somerset. He was
aware that General Thomas had been sent down with a considerable force,
and a portion of it was in the vicinity; but it had not yet been
concentrated for the attack upon the intrenched camps of General
Crittenden and General Zollicoffer.
The Union general was waiting for the rest of the force detailed to
take part in the campaign; and had also been detained by the condition
of the roads, which rendered it almost impossible to move the
baggage-wagons and the artillery. Friday and Saturday it rained
incessantly in torrents, and raised Fishing Creek and other streams so
that it was impracticable to cross them. The general had with him the
Fourth Kentucky Infantry, and a portion of the First Kentucky Cavalry,
to which the two companies of the Riverlawn force nominally belonged,
though they had been on detached duty thus far since they were mustered
in.
Thomas had also with him, or within call, regiments from Ohio, Indiana,
and Minnesota. Major Lyon informed his audience of officers that their
regiment was somewhere in the vicinity, though he did not know where;
but his officers had never seen this force, and were not greatly
interested. The regiment had not yet been filled up, though others
enlisted later had their full complement of men and companies.
"Don't you think we had better enlist another company?" asked Captain
Gordon, who evidently had in his head a big idea.
"I don't know about that; but I am inclined to think we had better
leave that to the proper authorities, or to local leaders where men are
available, for we are away from Riverlawn and Bar Creek. I doubt if we
could find men enough in that vicinity to form another company."
"That was not my idea," interposed the captain. "How many men have you
in your company of Home Guards, Colonel Halliburn?" he asked rather
abruptly, as he proceeded to develop his purpose.
"I have sixty-two here, and there are about fifty more from various
parts of three counties, many of whom seldom meet with us," replied the
colonel, wondering what the captain was driving at.
"We have forty-two riflemen here; are there any more of them?"
"As many more, I should say."
"Don't you think it is a great pity that your company, or a portion of
it, are not in actual service in the army, where they are so much
needed?"
"Well, it is rather necessary to have some at home to look out for the
women and children, and to raise food for the army and the people,"
replied the colonel with a smile, as he began to fathom the idea of the
questioner.
"It seems to me that Colonel Halliburn is right in the main, though he
might be able to spare a portion of his men," added the major.
"I might as well let it all out at once as do it in driblets," said
Captain Gordon. "I should like to enlist your forty-two sharpshooters
as the nucleus of a company of mounted riflemen, to be armed as
cavalry, except that the rifle shall take the place of the carbine, the
men to serve mounted or dismounted, as occasion may require; not a very
radical idea, for cavalry are not infrequently called upon to serve on
foot, as we have an instance this very day."
"I like the idea very much," returned the colonel.
"I will talk about the matter with my riflemen, and let you know what
they think of it at once," said Ripley; and he hastened to his command,
who were still eating their dinner.
The plan was talked over by the riflemen, and Lieutenant Ripley
heartily approved the scheme, but thought that he might be too old to
enlist, though he was still a healthy and vigorous citizen. The plan
was not entirely new; for steps had been taken, and perhaps
successfully, to organize "mounted infantry" in various places, and the
command of Lieutenant Ripley did not essentially differ from such a
force.