AWAKENED--WATCHING IN AMBUSH--AVERILL'S CAVALRY--WOMAN MAKING
SUGAR--WE SEE MEN DRESSED IN BLUE--DECEIVING THE WOMAN--CHANGE OF
BASE--MISLEADING PURSUERS--WE EAT LAST OF OUR SUPPLIES--START OUT IN
DAY-TIME IN ACCORDANCE WITH AGREEMENT--OUR DISCOVERY--OUR PURSUIT--OUR
FLIGHT--TRIPPE FAILS--HE FALLS BY THE WAY--REBELS THREATEN--OUR SPEED
OUR SAFETY--TRIPPE'S PROBABLE FATE.
Near nine o'clock, A. M., March 4th, we were awakened by the rumbling
noise of a wagon running over a rough and stony road not far to the
east of us. We supposed this road intersected the one we had been
traveling during the night, but we had not noticed the point of
intersection. On finding we were near a road upon which persons would
be passing during the day Smith cautiously ventured in the direction
of the road to a cluster of cedar bushes, from which, while concealed
from observation, he could see any one passing. Soon another wagon
was heard coming down the road. Smith watched in the bushes until the
wagon passed, when he returned to us, reporting that the wagon was a
common army wagon, and that the driver had on a blue overcoat. "Can
it be," said Smith, "that Averill's cavalry are on a raid through
here?" As we knew the Confederates wore blue coats whenever they got
possession of them we did not comfort ourselves with the hope that
Union troopers were in the vicinity. We rather concluded there was a
squad of Confederate military in the neighborhood, and thought best to
look about us a little.
Smith, having been out east of us and taken a survey of the road
and adjacent woods, thought he would take a look to the south and
south-west of us. Keeping under cover of the brush as much as possible,
he went out south of us, intending to be gone only a few minutes.
Fully a half hour passed and Smith had not returned, and, finally, we
suspected something wrong, and quietly, though quickly, folded our
blankets and got ready for a "skedaddle." We did not, however, intend
changing our location before Smith returned, or until it was certain
he would not return at all, unless somebody else came upon us in our
present retreat. We had but a few minutes to wait before we saw Smith
approach from the south in a brisk, though cautious walk.
"What does this mean?" asked Smith, on noticing we had torn up camp,
and were looking as though we were about ready to fly.
"It means that we had given you up as lost or captured," answered
Trippe.
"Well," said Smith, "I think it will be policy for us to shift from
this place."
"We have been in momentary expectation of a summons to surrender,"
added Trippe.
Smith had gone south of our camp but little more than a quarter of a
mile. He was bearing considerably to the west, when he noticed to his
right, and just beyond a bluff or ledge, a smoke curling upward. Not
hearing or seeing any one, he walked up to the edge of the bluff and
looked over and saw a woman engaged in boiling sugar-water. As he was
endeavoring to gain the shelter of the bushes the woman noticed him
shying off and asked, "What are you afeared of?"
"O nothing; only I was afraid you would be scared if you saw me,"
answered Smith.
While conversing briefly with the woman Smith found she thought it
nothing strange to have met a man dressed in blue. Just as he was on
the point of asking if there were Federal soldiers near he happened to
see four or five men approaching a log cabin, which was situated in the
center of a cleared space of ground. Two of the men were dressed in
blue; the others were clad in butternut. The cabin was quite a quarter
of a mile distant to the south-west. Smith observed to the woman,
"There is a company of soldiers not far from your house."
This remark was made in such a tone and manner as led the woman to
believe that Smith was acquainted in the vicinity. As it was also half
inquisitive, the woman answered that there was a company of soldiers
not far off, and asked, "An't you one of 'em?"
Having gained the information desired, and seeing the opportunity of
deceiving the woman, Smith replied, "Of course I am."
"Well," said the woman, "I thought it curious if you wasn't."
"O, yes," returned Smith, "I'm a soldier."
As there was a horse tied to a tree near the woman having a man's
saddle on it, Smith expected a man--perhaps a soldier--would be there
presently, and started off, observing as he left, "Well, I must go back
to camp."
On leaving the woman, Smith went in a direction contrary to that
which he expected to take on getting out of her sight. He soon after
approached our hiding-place from the south, as before mentioned. On
hearing Smith's narration of facts, as given above, we gathered our
things and started eastward. On reaching the road on which the wagons
had passed, we walked backward across it. We went through the woods
some distance further east, and then we turned north. We soon came to
the road over which we had passed during the night, and crossed it,
walking backward. We continued in a northern direction until we had
gone something more than a mile from the road, and had reached heavy
woods with a thick bushy undergrowth, in which we halted for awhile.
After a few moments' rest and consultation, we retraced our steps a
short distance to a branch we had crossed, and in it we washed our
hands and faces. We then eat the last of our provisions, and had
nothing left to carry with us to subsist on.
Near three o'clock, P. M., having got every thing ready, we started on
our travels in daylight, in accordance with previous arrangement. We
made our way through the woods and brush with some difficulty, in a
western direction, until we had gone about a mile, when we noticed an
opening not far to our left, where the timber had been cleared away. We
approached this cleared land, in order to avoid the thickets of brush.
On reaching it, we saw a small log cabin in the edge of the woods, on
the opposite side of it. As we saw no one, we went along near the brush
and woods, going toward the stream we had encountered at day-break,
before we had found our place of refuge for the day. When within two
hundred yards of the stream, having gained a point directly north of
the cabin, we looked toward it, and saw a woman standing near its
south-west corner. As she was not looking at us, we judged she had not
noticed us, and as she was almost half a mile distant, we deemed it
unnecessary to change our course on her account. On reaching the bank
of the stream, and before going down to the water's brink, we again
looked toward the cabin, and saw that the woman was just disappearing.
Almost at the same instant we heard the loud, shrill, blast of a horn
or bugle. Not knowing for what purpose the bugle had been sounded, we
thought it boded us no good at least. When we reached the margin of the
stream we removed the shoes and socks from our feet, then putting our
shoes on, we waded the stream. Wood and Trippe had reached the opposite
bank, and Smith, Sutherland, and I were nearing it, when looking to
our left we saw a man on horseback coming down the road that passed
between the stream and the ridge of the mountain. He came toward us
rapidly until he saw us plainly, when he wheeled suddenly about, and
dashed back up the road with great speed. He was bare-headed, and when
he turned about in the road, displaying his long locks of hair, and
the cape of his overcoat, with its brass buttons glistening in the
sunlight, we at once realized our situation, and the necessity of
getting away from there as quickly as we could. We took time, however,
to put on our dry socks; then putting our shoes on, and lacing them
securely, we left the bank of the stream and the road directly in our
rear, and pushed up the mountain-side as rapidly as the nature of the
ground would permit.
The ridge near its base was thickly covered over with pine and cedar
bushes, but as we neared its summit, the bushes were more scattering.
The side of the ridge was covered over with rocks, large and small,
and it was impossible to make a footprint on its stony surface. Near
the top of the ridge, and on its summit, were innumerable rocks of
large and massive size. Trippe having been recaptured once and sent
back to prison, was determined to avoid, if possible, the recurrence
of an event fraught with such calamitous consequences. On the first
appearance of danger he had hurried his preparations for leaving the
stream, and had started out in advance of the other four of us. We
only aimed to keep Trippe in view, and allow the distance between him
and ourselves to grow no greater. Trippe was within two hundred yards
of the summit of the ridge when he stopped to rest. As soon as we saw
he had halted, we did the same, although we were not much wearied.
But we wished to husband our strength as much as possible, knowing
we should be hunted and pursued. Smith, Sutherland, Wood, and I kept
near together, that we might consult each other as we hurried forward,
for we recognized the value and importance of concerted action in the
expected emergency.
We had rested a very few minutes when we looked up the mountain and
saw Trippe hurrying to the top of it. Supposing from his extraordinary
exertions that he had seen pursuers from his more elevated position,
we cast a glance below us. At first glance we saw no one, but thought
we could see the tops of the bushes moving near the base of the ridge.
We watched for a moment only, and then saw five or six bare-headed
Butternut gentry appear in sight, as they emerged from the bushes,
about two hundred yards below us. They had guns, with bayonets
attached, but were minus their cartridge-boxes. We pushed ahead at a
moderate run for the top of the mountain, occasionally looking behind
us to see if the Rebels were gaining on us. On reaching the summit of
the ridge we followed it, as Trippe had, in a north-eastern direction.
Soon we came to a deep chasm, or gorge, through the top of the
mountain. On the sides of this chasm were many large rocks, and a few
scattering trees or bushes. Should our pursuers fire on us, we thought
we could make it very difficult for them to hit us, by constantly
dodging about, and disappearing behind the huge rocks.
As Smith, Sutherland, Wood, and I were going down the south side
of the chasm, Trippe was hurrying with might and main up its north
side. Just as our pursuers reached the chasm, on its south side, we
gained the top of the ridge on the north of it. Should the Rebels all
commence to cross the chasm at once, we should be out of sight before
they got over; so they divided their squad, two remaining to watch our
movements, while the others crossed in pursuit of us. Just as we had
gained the top of the ridge north of the gorge, the two Rebels on the
south side of it cried out, "Halt! halt! you d--d Yankees, you, or
we'll shoot you." Having little fears of bullets at such long range,
and feeling sure they had but one round of ammunition with them, we
paid no attention to their threats. No shots were fired at us, but
threats to shoot were repeated as long as we were in hearing.
Although we had hurried considerably, we discovered Trippe was out of
sight, and we increased our speed, as much to get a view of him as
to gain on our pursuers. We had gone but a few yards after so doing
before we came to Trippe lying on the ground, near a large crevice
or opening in a huge rock. He was completely exhausted, and unable
to speak or make himself understood. We scarcely halted on reaching
Trippe, as three or four of the Confederates had gained the top of the
ridge north of the gorge, and were yelling at us to halt and surrender.
They were not more than a hundred yards distant, but many rocks of
huge proportions intervened between them and ourselves. Trippe at this
moment motioned to us with both arms, and then began crawling into the
opening in the rock near him. What he wished us to do we did not know,
and had no opportunity of ascertaining, as we were obliged to flee for
our own safety. He attempted to speak but could not.
We left Trippe to his fate, and hurried on without stopping, until we
were entirely out of hearing of the Rebels. When we were beyond the
immediate reach of the enemy, it was a question with us whether we
should pause for a few moments, to see if Trippe had escaped their
notice, or push ahead. We halted and listened for a few minutes, but
heard nothing. We concluded the enemy had found Trippe, and were now
looking among the rocks for us, and determined to push forward. We kept
on the top of the ridge for the distance of nearly two miles, when we
came to a gorge leading down the western slope of the mountain into the
valley. We followed down this gorge until we were fully half-way to
the valley. In a place entirely surrounded by cedar bushes, we halted
to rest. The sides of the gorge were high and rugged, and huge rocks
projected from them, and hung almost directly over our heads. No sound
fell upon our ears; not even of the wind gently blowing, or of running
water's low murmur. It was truly a place of solitude. The unfortunate
event of the evening, the loss of our comrade, made it doubly sad
and solitary to us. As we had made very few, if any, foot-prints, we
knew the enemy could not easily trace us; and though sorrowing and
dejected in spirit, we felt safe in the loneliness and seclusion of
the place. We felt deeply the loss we had sustained in our separation
from Trippe, as we had hitherto deferred to him in all the straits and
critical situations in which we had been placed. It was the second time
he had been recaptured--if really recaptured this time--and foiled in
his attempts to escape prison, and on that account we felt sorry for
him. We called to mind the reluctance manifested by him to starting
with us on the trip to the lines; also his great discouragement when
he came across the citizen in the woods, about ten days previously.
We conjectured the Rebels had certainly found Trippe. We conjectured,
too, that Trippe, in motioning to us, had intended to be understood as
directing us to hide, as he was doing; that the Rebels would question
him as to where the rest of us were, and that he would answer that we
were hid among the rocks somewhere near; that they would look for us,
and, failing to find us, would accuse him of deceiving and delaying
them in their pursuit of us until we were out of reach. Taking this
view of the matter we feared the Rebels would become exasperated at
Trippe, and would treat him cruelly, if they did not murder him.
Whatever the result of the fray might have been to Trippe, we knew we
were yet free. Knowing it was entirely beyond our power to rescue or
protect him, we sadly realized the extent of our loss, and began to
look out again for ourselves.
To this date, February, 1870, I have never heard either from or of
Trippe, and know nothing as to his fate. He was about thirty-four
years of age, was a man of good judgment, and possessed many excellent
qualities of mind and heart. I think he had been at one time Orderly
Sergeant of his Company, Company H, 15th United States Infantry. He
enlisted at Columbus, Ohio, in the year 1861. He was never married.