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THE YOUNG SHARPSHOOTER AT ANTIETAM
by
EVERETT T. TOMLINSON
Boston and New York
Houghton Mifflin Company
The Riverside Press Cambridge
1914
Copyright, 1914, by Everett T. Tomlinson
All Rights Reserved
Published September 1914
[Illustration: THEY WERE FALLING BY SCORES]
PREFACE
This story has been written with no desire to revive or even to keep
alive the spirit of the struggle between the States.
Nevertheless the facts which have made our history and the forces which
have entered into the making of the life of our country ought not to be
ignored or forgotten. The effect of the conflict was too great for that.
The Civil War is now far enough away to enable us to see the heroic,
dramatic, and even romantic elements that composed it; and all these,
too, free from the bitterness which naturally was characteristic of the
times.
To-day each side understands the other better, and with a more complete
knowledge is able to see more clearly the sterling qualities of both
contestants.
The appreciation of the importance of Lee's first attempt to invade the
North is necessary if one is to understand the struggle which followed.
The dash, spirit, and skill of the great Southern leader, as well as the
energy and the daring of his lieutenants, are seen to-day more clearly
than in the times when his effort was made. What the consequence would
have been if General Lee had succeeded, all can appreciate. The battle
of Antietam was almost a pivot of the great Civil War.
That my young readers may gain a more complete knowledge of the daring
advance of the great Southern general and the result which followed when
his army was turned back into Virginia, I have written this story. My
hope is that it will lead to a careful study of the conflict, and that
boys, North and South alike, may be led into an increased knowledge of
and interest in our common country.
EVERETT T. TOMLINSON.
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
CONTENTS
I. THE IRISHMAN AND HIS PIG 1
II. THE SUTLER'S GOODS 13
III. INTERCEPTED 27
IV. THE V IN THE FENCE 38
V. THE PLAN OF GENERAL LEE 47
VI. LONG JOHN 54
VII. CAUGHT 63
VIII. UNDER GUARD 72
IX. THE PLOT 83
X. INTO THE STORM 93
XI. NICK 102
XII. THE GIANT 113
XIII. FRIENDS OF THE UNION 124
XIV. THE SUTLER AS A GUIDE 135
XV. WARLIKE BEES 146
XVI. A HELPER 154
XVII. THE GUEST ROOM 166
XVIII. THE FIRE 177
XIX. AT THE FORK 188
XX. THE STACK OF STRAW 198
XXI. THE CARPET-BAG 207
XXII. A MYSTERY 217
XXIII. THE GUARD-HOUSE 227
XXIV. A FRUITLESS INTERVIEW 236
XXV. THE EXECUTION 248
XXVI. THE TEST 260
XXVII. THE SHARPSHOOTERS 270
XXVIII. THE PRESIDENT'S ACTION 280
XXIX. THE BATTLE 290
XXX. THE FOLLOWING DAY 302
XXXI. ANTIETAM 311
XXXII. CONCLUSION 323
ILLUSTRATIONS
THEY WERE FALLING BY SCORES (PAGE 303) _Frontispiece_
"DEY SAY YO' HAB HAWNS" 58
NOEL HEARD THE BULLET AS IT WHISTLED PAST 152
"WHO'S IN THERE?" 200
_From drawings by George Avison_
THE YOUNG SHARPSHOOTER AT ANTIETAM
CHAPTER I
THE IRISHMAN AND HIS PIG
"You're too noisy, Dennis."
"What's the harm?" replied Dennis O'Hara as he stopped a moment and
looked all about him. "There are no Johnnies around here."
"You don't know whether there are or not," retorted Noel Curtis sharply,
as he too glanced in either direction along the dusty road over which
the two young soldiers were tramping that September day in 1862. Both
were clad in the uniform of the Union army, and the manner in which they
carried their rifles gave evidence of the fact that both young soldiers
were well known in the army of General McClellan for their skill as
sharpshooters.
"'Tis nothing I'm afraid of now," said Dennis gleefully, as he shifted
from one shoulder to the other the body of a small pig which he had
secured in his foraging expedition with his companions.
The day was one to stir the souls of both young men, who were thoroughly
wearied by the routine of the camp life at Harper's Ferry, where they
had been stationed with about eight thousand other Union soldiers. There
was a haze in the distance that covered the summits of the hills and
even the waters of the near-by stream seemed to be subdued as they
rushed on their way to join the Potomac.
"'Tis a fine day," exclaimed Dennis; and at once he began to sing,--
"My rations are S.B.,
Taken from porkers three
Thousand years old;
And hard-tack cut and dried
Long before Noah died,--
From what wars left aside
Ne'er can be told."
"What do you mean by 'S.B.'?" laughed Noel.
"Sometimes 'tis said to mean 'salt bacon,' and then again maybe 'tis
'salt beef,' and sometimes we call it 'soaked beans.' Whatever it is I
have had my fill of it. Shure, Noel, me boy, it's you and I that will be
feasting ourselves on some roast pork before to-morrow mornin'."
"Look at those pickaninnies!" exclaimed Noel, as he pointed to a little
hut from which a stream of black-faced urchins appeared, who were
rushing to join their companions in the road and watch the two
approaching Union soldiers.
"Wait 'til I sing them a song, too," exclaimed Dennis; and once more he
began to sing,--
"Ole massa run, ha! ha!
De darkies stay, ho! ho!
It must be now dat de kingdom's comin'
And de year of Jubilo."
In addition to the crowd of dusky-faced children several older negroes
now joined the group to watch the passing Union soldiers. The boys in
blue were still such a novelty to many of the slaves that their
appearance usually served to summon speedily a band of the admiring
dusky spectators.
Dennis, unfamiliar with the colored people and their ways, had never
ceased to express his dislike of them. Many a time in the camp when the
soldier boys had wanted to have a little sport they would call upon
Dennis to "cuss the niggers," by which term they described Dennis's
oratorical efforts. Standing upon the head of a barrel, or mounting some
box near the quarters of the sutler, with his ready tongue Dennis
promptly poured forth a steady stream of almost meaningless words that
were supposed to be descriptive of his feeling of antipathy toward the
people for whose liberty he was fighting.
In the company of negroes at this time assembled to watch the passing of
the two young soldiers there was one woman, manifestly an old
field-hand, whose size was so immense as to be impressive. The
admiration with which the woman gazed upon Dennis was returned in the
expression of astonishment with which the young Irish soldier stared at
this huge negress.
"Shure, Noel," he exclaimed to his friend in a loud whisper, "'tis not
an ounce liss than four hundred pounds she weighs."
Noel laughed and did not reply as he looked again at the strange woman.
Her cheeks hung down almost to her shoulders, and her immense lower lip,
which appeared to be nearly an inch in thickness, and her hair, which in
appearance was not unlike the tail of a horse after the animal has been
feeding in some field where cockles abound, increased the weird
expression with which she beamed upon the approaching boys.
All of the negroes by this time were becoming more and more excited.
Their eyes seemed almost to protrude from their faces. They soon began
to sing and dance, and mingled with the strange noises were the wild and
weird shouts they occasionally uttered. The huge negress was the wildest
of all.
Neither of the approaching soldiers looked at the spectacle with any
other thought than that of curiosity. To both of them up to the time of
their enlistment a negro had been a rare sight. Since they had entered
the army, of course they naturally had come frequently in contact with
the dusky slaves. And the contrabands also on many occasions had flocked
into the camps, confidently expecting to be sent North by their soldier
friends.
Suddenly the huge negress abruptly started toward the young soldiers.
Swinging her arms as she ran, she swiftly approached the boys, who had
stopped abruptly when they first discovered her action.
"Bress de Lor'! Bress de Lor'! Yo's de ones we's been prayin' fo' dese
fo' yeahs! Lor' bress ye, honey! I lub ye! I lub ye!" she added in her
excitement, as she lunged toward Dennis, who was the particular object
of her attack.
For a moment the startled young Irishman gazed in mingled disgust and
fear at the huge negress, who was rapidly approaching. Then without a
word of explanation Dennis O'Hara, who on the battle-field had been
brave almost beyond the power of description, abruptly turned and fled
from the excited negress. A wild shout from the assemblage followed his
unexpected departure, and even Noel was compelled to laugh when he saw
the huge woman start in swift and awkward pursuit of the fleeing
soldier.
Unwilling to let go his hold upon the pig, which he had secured in his
foraging, Dennis was greatly hampered in his flight. With long strides
the black woman gained rapidly upon him. Once Dennis emitted a loud
whoop of terror or warning, Noel was unable to decide which.
The excitement of the negroes became more marked as it was seen that the
efforts of Dennis to escape were unavailing. Nearer and nearer came the
excited black woman, and in a brief time she flung her great arms about
Dennis, who was helpless to protect himself, as he still was unwilling
to let go his hold upon his prize.
"Lor' bress ye, honey!" shouted the woman as she clasped the unwilling
soldier in her arm. "Bress de Lor'! Bress de Lor'! We hab bin prayin'
fo' yo' dese fo' yeahs! M--m--m--"
Her grasp evidently became more vigorous and her enthusiasm more marked
as the plight of the helpless soldier became more manifest. The watching
negroes, almost hilarious by this time, started toward the place where
the exciting scene was being enacted.
What the outcome might be now began to trouble even Noel, who rapidly
advanced to the side of his friend, and shouted to the approaching
blacks, "Keep back! Keep back!"
The negroes, however, either were too excited or were unwilling at first
to heed the request, and in a screaming, laughing, shouting mob they
still pressed forward.
The negress, as has been said, apparently a field-hand, was possessed of
great physical strength, and it was plain that Dennis was unable to
protect or even release himself as long as he held to the body of the
pig.
As Noel approached, Dennis shouted excitedly to him, "Take the porker,
Noel, me boy! Take me gun, too! Help me out o' this!"
"Bress ye, honey! We hab bin waitin' fo' yeahs fo' yo' to come! We's
been prayin' all de time and when I hear yo' singin' about 'Ole massa
run, ha! ha!' and 'De darkies stay, ho! ho!' den I des know de kingdom
was come shore 'nuff and de yeah of Jubilo was right yere!"
Too angry to respond, Dennis waited until Noel had relieved him of his
gun and the pig, and then with one violent effort freed himself from the
grasp of the excited black woman.
When she made as if she was about to approach him once more and renew
her expression of delight over the coming of the boys in blue, Dennis
suddenly seized the little pig that Noel was holding and swinging it
with all his strength struck the woman with it upon the side of her
face.
The effect of his effort, however, was plainly not more than to cause
the huge mass of flesh to stop a moment, but not to abandon the efforts
in which the negress was engaged. Again Dennis drew back the little pig
and again struck at his tormentor. His second effort, however, like his
first, was unable to check the fervor of the powerful woman. The
remaining negroes now were almost upon the struggling pair. The fear in
Noel's heart that some harm might come to Dennis or to himself became
real.
"Stand back there!" he shouted. "Don't come any nearer!"
At his word the crowd halted and, quickly taking advantage of the
interval, Noel said, "This woman says you have been praying for four
years for us to come."
"Yas, suh! Yas, suh! We shore has! Dis yere is de Jubilo, shore 'nuff!
Shore 'nuff! Ole massa goin' to run, and de darkies goin' to stay!"
"Do you know that song?" inquired Noel.
"We shore does! Yas, suh! Yas, suh! We knows it!"
"Then I want you to stand up by the side of the road and sing it while
we march back to camp."
Laughingly the dusky crowd arranged themselves in lines along the
roadside according to Noel's bidding. Even the huge negress, after some
persuasion, reluctantly took her stand at the head of the line on the
right.
"Now, then, everybody sing!" called Noel, after he had whispered to
Dennis, "Take your gun and pig and start out of this, but don't try to
be in too much of a hurry."
"All right," he called loudly, as he passed the negress. There was a
laughing response and instantly Noel and Dennis, as they quickly
advanced began to sing,--
"Ole massa run, ha! ha!
De darkies stay, ho! ho!
It must be now dat de kingdom's comin'
And de year ob Jubilo."
Glancing neither to the right nor left the two soldiers steadily moved
forward and in a brief time passed beyond the strange assembly on the
roadside.
"Is she after me, lad?" whispered Dennis loudly, glancing anxiously
behind him.
"I don't think so," replied Noel, "but I shan't look back just yet. I
don't hear anybody coming and they are singing like mad back there yet."
"Just listen to them, will you!" he added as there came from the crowd
an increased volume of sound, which was somewhat indicative of the
excitement that possessed the assembly.
"I guess we 're all right now," Noel said a few minutes later when they
had turned a bend in the road and their admirers no longer were to be
seen.
"Now, Noel, me boy," said Dennis, "I want ye to promise me something."
"What's that?" inquired Noel quizzically, although he was confident that
he understood what the request of his companion was to be.
"I want ye to promise me that ye'll kape what happened here a sacret.
'Tis just between you and me, me boy."
"Oh, but, Dennis," suggested Noel, "think what fun the boys in the camp
will miss if we don't tell them what the black woman did."
"Shure, you won't tell on me!" Dennis pleaded as he stopped a moment and
gazed anxiously at his companion.
"I shall have to think about that," replied Noel mockingly.
The expression of consternation that appeared for a moment on the face
of his companion caused the young soldier to laugh heartily.
"Why don't you tell them about it yourself, Dennis?" he asked abruptly.
"Niver!" replied the young Irish soldier. "'Tis one of the sacrets I
shall niver tell, not aven to me mither. But I want to feel that you
will help me to kape the sacret."
"I'll agree not to tell it to-night," said Noel at last.
"Well, I suppose I'll have to be contint wid that, thin," responded
Dennis. "But let me tell ye wan thing, Noel Curtis. If I find the story
ever does lake out, I shall know where it came from and the fellow that
tells on me will want to go to the surgeon to be put together. Indade
an' he will that!"
"He won't if he gets that black woman here to help him," laughed Noel.
"Now, how are you going to get that pig into the camp? You know what the
colonel said about foraging, and what he told us would happen to the boy
who tried it, after such strict orders had been given against it."
"Shure, and I'll give the colonel a piece o' the rib o' me pig. When he
once swallows that he'll forget all about his orders."
"I'm not so sure about that," said Noel good-naturedly. "But here we are
almost back to camp, and you'll have a chance to try it out in a little
while."