AN EXPEDITION IN FRONT
The affair in the wheat-field had been conducted very quietly, and
apparently had not attracted the attention of any of the rebels in the
vicinity. During the brief parley, the thunder of the battle had sounded
on the right and left of the parties. The enemy were in force in their
works, and it was believed that there were squads of pickets in every
place of concealment which the ground afforded.
Somers was very much surprised to find that he was not molested, and made
all possible haste to carry out the programme with which he had been
intrusted by Captain de Banyan. Followed by the balance of his men, he
crept carefully towards the house till he had reached the end of the
grain-field. He could see about a dozen rebels skulking behind the
building, all of them so intent upon getting a shot at the Union
soldiers, that they paid no attention to the events transpiring in the
rear of them; probably deeming it impossible for an enemy to approach in
that direction.
The lieutenant had but fifteen men left to execute his part of the
scheme, and there seemed to be double that number of graybacks lurking in
and about the house. Everything depended upon his effecting the requisite
junction with the force of the captain. As his superior had but a short
distance to march, it was probable that he was already in position to
support him; and he decided to make the attack without permitting any
delay to rob him of the chances of success.
"Now, double-quick, forward!" shouted Somers, as he rose from the ground,
and led the way to a position where he could intercept the retreat of the
rebels.
Agreeably to the instructions previously given, his men stretched out
into an extended line, and commenced firing at will upon the luckless
graybacks who were in sight. It did not take them long to find out that
they were assailed by a fire in the rear.
"Surrender!" shouted Captain de Banyan, who at this moment appeared at
the head of his men.
The rebels were not disposed to accept this polite invitation, but began
to fall back from the house in good order. They discharged their pieces
at the force in front, and then started at a run to effect their escape
in the opposite direction. They forgot for the moment that they had been
fired upon from the rear, or else thought that the fire had been directed
by some of their own people at the Yankees who had so suddenly attacked
in front.
"Surrender!" shouted Lieutenant Somers, as the retreating rebels
approached his line.
They halted at this unexpected summons. The officer in command of them
took a hasty survey of the situation, and then ordered his troops to cut
their way through the thin line between them and the rebel field-works.
The commander of the rebel pickets was a gallant fellow; and, drawing his
sword, he rushed towards the spot where the lieutenant was stationed.
Discharging his pistol with the left hand at Somers, he dashed forward
like a festive horse.
Both parties had discharged their guns, and there was no time to reload
them. Some of the rebels had bayonets, and some had not; and, with the
fury of their brave leader, they attempted to break their way through the
line. A sharp but very irregular conflict ensued, the rebels clubbing
their muskets or grappling with the Union soldiers, each according to his
individual taste. As they were two to one of the Federals, they would
certainly have won the field if Captain de Banyan had not promptly come
to the rescue.
The excited rebel officer manifested a most persistent desire to revenge
his misfortunes upon Lieutenant Somers. After he had fired his pistol
twice, and one of the balls had passed through his opponent's cap, the
latter, by a sudden dash, knocked the weapon from his hand with his
sword. He then attempted to use his own sword, and, if Somers had not
been a "master of fence," would probably have run him through the body.
Some hard blows were struck with these weapons, and the age of chivalry,
when men fought hand to hand with trusty blades, seemed to be revived.
But the sword of the rebel officer was not so trusty as it ought to have
been. It was not a regulation sword; and, while its owner was flourishing
it most valiantly, the blade flew away from the handle.
"Now, surrender!" said Somers, out of breath with the violence of his
exertions, as he drew from his belt the pistol which, being so hard
pressed, he had not been able to use before.
"Never, sir! I don't surrender! I was sent here to fight, and not to
surrender!" replied the officer, as proudly as though he had been in
command of a beleaguered fortress, instead of a squad of two or three
dozen men.
Somers had him at his mercy, and it seemed but little better than murder
to shoot him in his defenseless state.
That was a bad mistake on his part; for the rebel officer at once
proceeded to prove that he was no effeminate character, who depended upon
a sword, pistol, or other weapon, to fight his battles with, but could,
if occasion required, defend himself with his naked arm. He sprang upon
Somers with the ferocity of a tiger. The latter fired; but the sudden
movement of the former impaired his aim, and the ball whistled harmlessly
over the head of the rebel. The desperate officer attempted to gain
possession of the pistol; but Somers, now thoroughly aroused to a sense
of his own danger, sprang at the throat of his antagonist, and, by the
fierceness of the dash, bore him to the earth. His victim struggled to
escape; and, being a stronger man than the other, would certainly have
succeeded, if Somers had not picked up his pistol, which lay on the spot
where they fell, and struck a blow with the butt of it on the temple of
the rebel. This effectually quieted him; but the lieutenant's little
force were falling back before the furious assaults of the graybacks.
He had only time to get up before the rebels were upon him. At this
interesting and critical moment, Captain de Banyan came up with his large
force; and the enemy, finding themselves pressed in front and rear, gave
up in despair. They were disarmed; and, those from the wheat-field being
brought forward, the whole squad were marched in the direction of the
Union line.
About one-half of Somers's men were wounded, though some but slightly.
These were sent back. The rebel officer lay insensible upon the ground;
but Somers, satisfied that he was only stunned, desired to carry him off,
not only as a trophy of his prowess, but because such a desperate fellow
would be less dangerous in a prison-camp than in the lines of the rebels.
He directed two of his men to bear the insensible form to the house,
whither they were followed by the remainder of the force.
"Somers, my dear fellow, give me your hand," said Captain de Banyan, as
soon as the pressing business of the moment had been disposed of. "You
have covered yourself with glory."
"Pooh!" replied Somers, trying to look indifferent. "I have only done my
duty, and obeyed my orders."
"That's very true; but, if you had been weak in the knees, you couldn't
very well have obeyed orders. Somers, you have done a big thing; and, in
my judgment, you ought to be promoted."
"Promoted for that?"
"In the battle of Magenta----"
"Oh, confound the battle of Magenta!" exclaimed Somers, interrupting him.
"I will give you a handsome present if you will never say Magenta to me
again."
"Don't be petulant, my dear boy! You have got a sweet temper naturally,
and I hope you won't spoil it."
"I am afraid you will spoil it for me."
"I was only saying pleasant things to you, and you fly off and roll
yourself up in your dignity like a little hedgehog. By the way, Somers,
don't you suppose that Senator Guilford will hear of this affair?"
"I hope not."
"Nor that little lady we left all used up with a broken arm?"
"I don't care whether she does or not."
"Or that other little lady who knits socks for soldiers that don't run
away in battle?"
Somers blushed like a maiden, and his experienced companion saw that he
had touched the tender spot in his heart. Very likely the captain would
have said something more on this interesting subject, if the conversation
had not been interrupted by their arrival at the old house. Here they
were met by a messenger from the colonel, ordering the detachment to
hasten back; for orders had come for the brigade to retire to their old
position.
The wounded and the prisoners were conducted safely back to the line in
the woods, where our party were warmly congratulated upon their decided
success. The brigade fell back, but were immediately ordered forward
again, and held the advanced position which had been so gallantly won. It
was not a very comfortable place; for the soldiers stood over shoes in
the water. Late in the evening, our regiment was relieved by another, and
ordered back to the breastworks in the rear. It had lost but few men,
though torrents of loyal blood had flowed on that eventful day.
The action of that day was the initial conflict of the seven-days'
battles. General McClellan actually commenced his long-deferred
operations against the city of Richmond. But the favorable moment had
passed by, and even then the battalions of the rebels were gathering in
readiness to be hurled upon our devoted army. While the regiment, whose
fortunes have been more intimately connected with our story, was retiring
from the pestiferous swamp, the commanding general received information
of the approach of Stonewall Jackson. These proved to be sad tidings; for
the anticipated triumphal march into the rebel capital was changed into a
bloody but glorious retreat. The battles which were to be fought for a
victorious advance were made to cover a disastrous defeat--disastrous to
the campaign, though not to the army.
Fatigued, hungry and chilled by the night damps of the swamp, the
regiment threaded its way through the intricacies of the woods towards
the breastworks in the rear. It was a dark and gloomy hour, though the
_prestige_ of victory dwelt in the souls of the gallant soldiers. The
officers were not familiar with the ground; and with difficulty they
found their way back to the old line.
"Well, Somers, how do you feel?" asked Captain de Banyan when the
regiment was dismissed.
"I'm all worn out. I haven't got toughened to this kind of work yet,"
replied Somers.
"Don't give it up yet, my boy. We shall be in Richmond in less than a
week, and then we will take rooms at the Spottswood House, and have a
good time."
"Do you believe we shall ever get into Richmond, captain?"
"Certainly I do. Everything is working to my entire satisfaction. You
feel a little blue, my boy; but it is only because you are tired. You
will feel better in the morning."
"I am tired, but I am not blue. I am ready to do my duty, in victory or
defeat. There has been an awful roar of guns all day, and no one can tell
what the result of a battle will be."
"An awful roar of guns! 'Pon my word, I like that," laughed the captain.
"Why, at Magenta----"
"Magenta again!" sneered Somers, who was heartily sick of that word.
"Yes, at Magenta! If you could only have heard the guns there! Why, there
were seven thousand two hundred and forty-six pieces rattling away like
mad on our side alone; and I believe the Russians----"
"Russians at Magenta again! I don't believe you were at the battle of
Magenta any more than I was!" exclaimed Somers desperately.
"Do you mean to tell me that I lie?" asked the captain gravely.
"Go on with your story," said the lieutenant, fearing that he had said
too much.
"Answer my question, if you please. You gave me the lie; did you not?"
"No; I didn't use that word."
"You said you didn't believe I was at the battle of Magenta."
"To be perfectly candid with you, I don't believe it; but I am tired, and
want my supper," answered Somers, wishing to escape the issue which he
had provoked.
"Fair play, my boy. You charged me with lying--indirectly--but not the
less offensively on that account. Don't dodge the question."
"I haven't dodged it. I gave you my candid opinion that you were not
present at Magenta; and I don't think there is an officer in the regiment
who believes you were there."
"Isn't the word of an officer and a gentleman to be accepted?"
"Certainly, if he keeps within the bounds of reason; but when you talk
about the Russians at Magenta, and over seven thousand cannons in a
single army, we know that you are either 'drawing the long-bow,' or
laboring under some strange delusion. Supper is ready."
"We can eat and talk too." And they did. "May I be allowed to ask,
Lieutenant Somers, if you deem my statement inconsistent with reason?"
"To be sure I do. We have six guns to a battery; seventy-two hundred guns
would make twelve hundred batteries. We have about one hundred and fifty
men to a battery, which would make one hundred and eighty thousand men in
the artillery arm alone; which is positively ridiculous. You said
Russians----"
"Of course, that was a slip of the tongue. I meant Prussians," added the
captain, entirely overwhelmed by the lieutenant's arithmetic, as well as
by the laughter of Captain Benson and Lieutenant Munroe, who belonged to
the mess.
"Worse yet," said Somers. "They were Austrians. Now, captain, you are a
brave man, and a splendid fellow; but I think it is a great pity you
should tell such abominably great stories."
"I accept the apology," laughed Captain de Banyan. "We will call it
square, and turn in; for I think that we shall have hot work to-morrow."