LONE JACK
Although the dispersion of Porter's and Poindexter's forces had
apparently put an end, at least for a time, to the guerrilla warfare in
Northeast Missouri, the situation was still threatening in Southwest
Missouri. It was for that reason General Schofield had ordered Lawrence
to that field to inspect the posts, and to see that the officers in
command were vigilant and doing their full duty.
Rumors were rife that a large party under Hughes, Quantrell and others
was gathering to attack Independence, also that a force was moving up
from Arkansas to join them. Independence captured, the combined forces
were to move on Lexington.
Lawrence was to sift down these rumors, and find out how much truth
there was in them, and above all to impress on the officers in charge of
the different posts the necessity of eternal vigilance.
But the blow fell just before Lawrence reached Lexington. Lieutenant
Colonel Buell, in command at Independence, although repeatedly warned,
allowed himself to be surprised. His forces were divided and not well
posted, and after a spirited fight Buell surrendered, and with him about
three hundred men were taken prisoners. The Confederate commander,
Colonel Hughes, was killed in the action.
The capture of Independence greatly elated the guerrillas, and recruits
came pouring in by the hundreds. They now only awaited the arrival of
Colonel Coffee from the south and they would move on to Lexington. When
Lawrence arrived at Lexington he found the place in the wildest
excitement. Rumors said that the enemy numbered thousands, and that they
were already marching on the place.
Lawrence acted quickly. He applied to the commander of the post for a
detail of ten men, dressed in citizen clothes.
"Tell them," he said, "it is for a scout, so they will not be deceived
as to the danger of the undertaking."
The ten men were easily procured, and, headed by Lawrence and Dan,
started. The object was to find out the strength of the enemy under
Coffee, and whether he could not be prevented from forming a union with
the forces which had captured Independence.
The scout was far more successful than Lawrence could have hoped.
Representing themselves as coming from north of the river, they had no
trouble in meeting on friendly terms several small parties of guerrillas
with whom they fell in. They were all on their way to join Thompson, who
was now in command of the forces which had captured Independence.
Everyone expected Lexington would be the next to fall, and they were all
anxious to have a hand in the affair. Lawrence represented they were to
find Coffee and hurry him up.
At length they were fortunate enough to fall in with a single guerrilla
who was sitting by the side of the road, making the air blue with his
curses.
"What's the matter?" asked Lawrence.
"My hoss stepped into a hole and threw me, and I have broken my leg," he
groaned.
"That's bad," said Lawrence. "I will see what I can do for you."
"Yes, it's bad, and I was on my way from Colonel Coffee to Colonel
Thompson."
"Ah! were you? Perhaps I can help you. I can send one of my men with the
message. What was it?"
"That he would camp near Lone Jack on the evening of the fifteenth, and
wanted Thompson to join him thar."
"How many men has Coffee?" Lawrence asked.
"About a thousand, but more are coming in all the time."
The information was important. It was just what Lawrence wanted, but
what to do with the man and still keep him deceived puzzled Lawrence.
This problem was solved by a native coming along driving a raw-boned
horse before a rickety wagon. Lawrence stopped him. The disabled
guerrilla was lifted into the wagon and taken to the nearest farmhouse.
Here Lawrence left instructions for them to send for a physician to set
the broken leg.
"Now I've done all I can for you," he told him, "and I must leave you,
for my business is very important. I shall see that your message to
Colonel Thompson is safely delivered."
No sooner were they out of sight than Lawrence said, "Now, boys, for
Lexington."
When Lawrence made his report, Colonel Huston, in command at Lexington,
acted with promptness. It was decided to send a force to strike Coffee
at Lone Jack before Thompson and Quantrell could join him.
The utmost that could be done was to gather a little force of about
seven hundred and fifty. This force was placed in command of Major Emery
Foster.
There was another force of about the same number under the command of
Colonel Fitz Henry Warren at Clinton. Clinton being about the same
distance from Lone Jack as Lexington, Warren was ordered to march there
and join Foster, and the two forces combined to attack Coffee without
delay.
In the meantime General Blunt, in command at Fort Scott, Kansas, had
learned that Coffee had slipped past Springfield and was making north,
and he started in pursuit with a thousand men.
A third force under Colonel Burris of the Kansas Infantry was ordered to
move from Kansas City and try to catch Thompson and Quantrell before
they could join Coffee.
Thus it looked as if the Confederates were hemmed in, and if everything
went right, could be captured.
Lawrence decided to join the expedition under Foster.
Foster's little army left Lexington on the morning of the fifteenth of
August, and by a rapid march reached the vicinity of Lone Jack by
evening. Here at nine o'clock at night he surprised Coffee in camp,
routing him, his men fleeing in confusion.
Foster took possession of the abandoned camp and waited until morning.
Warren had not been heard from.
Lawrence still was in command of his scouts, and he volunteered to see
if he could find Warren.
The night was dark and they had to be careful.
"If we only had Harry and Bruno," sighed Lawrence to Dan, as they were
groping their way along as best they could.
"If we had we wouldn't be going at this snail pace," answered Dan.
They could find nothing of Warren and started to return. On the way back
they came to a cross road and halted in doubt as to which road to take.
While debating, the sound of approaching horses was heard.
"Halt," commanded Lawrence as two guerrillas rode up.
"Who are yo' uns?" they asked, surprised.
"We 'uns are from Thompson. I was afraid yo' uns were Yanks. Whar is
Coffee?"
"The Yanks struck his camp a few hours ago and made us git."
"Many hurt?"
"I reckon not. We 'uns run too fast."
"Glad to heah that. Thompson sent me to tell Coffee he would be with him
by morning. Coffee hasn't run clear away, has he?"
"No, he's gittin' his men together and will be all right by morning. How
many men has Thompson?"
"About twelve or fifteen hundred. You see, Quantrell and Hayes air with
him. An Red Jerry has promised to come with his company."
"Together we 'uns ought to eat the Yanks up tomorrow."
"I don't see any use of your going farther, as Thompson is coming," said
Lawrence. "So you might as well go with us into camp."
To this the guerrillas agreed, and their surprise can be imagined when
they found themselves in Foster's camp instead of Coffee's.
The report of Lawrence that he could not find Warren, and that Thompson
would join Coffee in the morning troubled Foster.
"The whole combined force will be down on us in the morning," he said.
"Where can Warren be? Surely he cannot fail, for his orders were
positive, and mine were positive to stay here and wait for him. And stay
I will, if all the devils in Missouri are around me."
Lawrence looked at him with admiration. "Major, you are a man after my
own heart," he said. "I will make one more attempt to find Warren. This
time I will only take Sherman with me, as I do not wish to deplete your
little force by a single man."
"It will be dangerous, only two of you," replied Foster.
"Not as much danger as you will be in if Warren does not come," answered
Lawrence. "God grant I may find him."
"Amen!" said Foster, fervently.
The two men shook hands and Lawrence and Dan rode away. It lacked but an
hour till day.
Morning came, but there was no Warren, and neither had Dan and Lawrence
returned. The new day had hardly begun when the guerrilla hordes poured
down on Foster's little army, confident of an easy victory.
Now began one of the bloodiest and most fiercely contested small battles
of the war. The enemy had no artillery, but Foster had two pieces of the
Third Indiana battery. The lieutenant in charge of the piece, J. F.
Devlin, had been removed by Major Foster the night before for being
intoxicated, and the guns placed in charge of Sergeant James M. Scott,
and nobly did he uphold the confidence placed in him. Never was there a
battery better or more bravely served. Time and time again did the enemy
charge upon the guns, only to be flung back, bleeding and torn.
During a lull in the conflict, Lieutenant Devlin, somewhat recovered
from his drunken debauch, staggered on the field and ordered his men to
abandon the pieces. Accustomed to obey their superior officer, the men
did so. The enemy saw and with fiendish yells of triumph swarmed upon
and over the pieces.
It was a critical moment. Major Foster hastily collected sixty men and
charged on the guns--so shamelessly abandoned by the order of a drunken
commander. Of the sixty men who charged, but eleven reached the guns,
the rest had fallen, and among them the gallant Major. Others now rushed
to the rescue, the artillery men came back, and once more the guns were
thundering their defiance. The enemy again rushed on them, only to be
bloodily repulsed.
Disheartened, the Confederates now fell back, leaving the field to those
who had so valiantly defended it. But the situation of the little band
was perilous. Nothing had been heard from Warren, and nearly one-half of
the force had fallen. Captain Brawner, on whom the command had fallen,
resolved to retreat to Lexington. In doing this the two cannon had to be
abandoned.
Every horse had been shot, even the harnesses were in tatters. Of the
thirty-six artillery men manning the guns, twenty-four had been killed
and wounded. The severely wounded had to be left, among them the gallant
Foster.[5]
[Footnote 5: The brave Major recovered from what was supposed to be a
mortal wound, was exchanged, and afterwards did valiant service for the
Union.]
So severe had been the punishment administered to the enemy that the
Federals were not molested in their retreat. It put an end to all the
Confederates' hopes of capturing Lexington.[6]
[Footnote 6: Out of the seven hundred and forty Federals engaged in the
battle the loss was two hundred and seventy-two. The Confederates never
reported their loss, but a Confederate officer told Captain Brawner that
they buried one hundred and eighteen, who had been killed outright,
besides their hundreds of wounded.]
But where were Lawrence and Dan all the time the battle was raging? Why
had they not brought Colonel Warren to the rescue?
In the early morning they had run into a small party of guerrillas, had
boldly charged them and put them to flight, but the sound of firing had
brought a larger party, and they blocked the way Lawrence and Dan wished
to go. It was now light, and they saw the band numbered at least fifty.
There was no help for it, they had to turn and run, and that in a
direction that for aught they knew would bring them in the midst of the
enemy.
With fierce yells the guerrillas took up the pursuit and the chase was a
hot one. Lawrence and Dan were well mounted, but a few of the guerrillas
were just as well mounted, and pressed them closely.
Now as they fled, above the sound of their horses' hoofs rose the sound
of battle. Just the faint cracking of musketry, and then the boom of the
cannon.
"Great Heavens!" gasped Lawrence. "They are at it. Foster and his little
band against thousands. Why did we leave them? We might have been of a
little help."
"And we are going farther away from Warren every minute," groaned Dan.
Here the whistling of a bullet from the revolver of the nearest
guerrilla brought their thoughts back to the seriousness of their own
situation. They had now gone beyond the sound of the musketry, but the
roar of the cannon grew more incessant, and they knew they were almost
in the rear of the enemy.
Coming to where there were open fields, they glanced to the right and
saw the stragglers and wounded drifting to the rear, as is always the
case in time of battle. They must turn or they would soon be in the
midst of the rabble.
Fortunately, they came to a cross road and turned into it. They were now
followed by only five or six of their pursuers, the rest having turned
back to take part in the battle. But these half dozen were mounted on
the fleetest horses and were gaining on them rapidly. Already the
bullets were singing around them freely.
"This cannot last," Lawrence exclaimed. "Our horses are becoming winded.
We must find some way to stop those fellows."
"We've got to stop them," said Dan. "My horse is staggering and I look
for him to drop any minute."
They rode over a little hill that for a moment put them out of sight.
"Now," said Lawrence, halting and wheeling his horse. Dan did the same.
"When they come over the hill give it to them," exclaimed Lawrence. "It
will be a question of who can shoot the straightest."
Dan smiled and he drew his revolver. He was known to be a dead shot, and
nothing rattled him.
They had hardly two seconds to wait when four of the guerrillas dashed
over the rise. Seeing Lawrence and Dan facing them and not thirty yards
away, startled them and they instinctively tried to check their headlong
pace. It was a fatal mistake, for it disconcerted their aim and their
shots went wild.
To his astonishment, Lawrence recognized one of the guerrillas as Jerry
Alcorn, his old time enemy. Lawrence fired, but just as he did so
Jerry's horse threw up his head and the ball struck him squarely between
the eyes. The horse dropped like a stone, pinning Jerry for a moment to
the ground.
Dan had fired the same time Lawrence did and his guerrilla pitched
headlong. The report of his shot had not died before he shot again and a
second guerrilla fell.
The remaining guerrilla had no stomach to continue the fight, and
wheeled his horse to flee. Once more Dan's revolver spoke, and the
guerrilla fell forward, but he clung desperately to the neck of his
horse and was soon carried from view.
It took Jerry Alcorn but a moment to extricate himself from his horse,
and as he half rose he fired at Lawrence, but missed. Lawrence returned
the fire, and the ball struck Jerry's revolver and sent it spinning.
With a mocking laugh Jerry sprang into the bushes along the road. "Not
this time, Lawrence Middleton," he shouted as he disappeared, "but we'll
meet again."
"Let's get out of here," said Lawrence. "We can't follow Jerry in the
brush and we are now safe from pursuit."
Even the short stop had allowed their horses a breathing spell and they
could now ride more leisurely.
"Dan, I'm a poor stick. I should be reduced to the ranks and you given
my commission," said Lawrence.
"How's that?" asked Dan.
"Didn't you get three of those fellows, and I only killed a horse and
disabled a revolver. Missed three shots." Lawrence had fired again at
Jerry as he disappeared in the brush. "Bah! I'm ashamed of myself."
"Look here!" said Dan. "It was that measly horse. He had no business to
throw up his head at that moment. Served him right to get killed."
"But the second shot, Dan. It went wild and hit his revolver, and the
third missed altogether. And of all men to let Jerry Alcorn escape. Kick
me, Dan."
"Might have bored one of us if you hadn't knocked the revolver out of
his hand," answered Dan, "so shut up."
They had ridden far out of their way and had to make a wide circuit to
get back. A little before noon the distant booming of the cannon was
heard no longer.
"It's all over," sighed Lawrence, "and I'm afraid."
Dan's jaws came together with a snap and a dark scowl came over his
face. "Why in thunder didn't Warren come?" he wrathfully exclaimed.
"Some of these officers make me tired."
It was the middle of the afternoon before Warren was found. He was
fearful of an attack on himself, and was several miles from the
battlefield.
To Lawrence's request to hurry the Colonel replied, "You say the battle
is over and in all probability Foster's whole force captured. In that
case I can do no good. My force is but little greater than that Foster
had."
"But they may not all be captured. You may be able to cover the
retreat," Lawrence urged.
"The best I can do is to stay and watch the enemy, and wait for
reinforcements," replied Warren.
Lawrence and Dan were disgusted, but Warren was right in not seeking an
engagement with his small force.
"What shall we do, Dan?" Lawrence asked with a heavy heart as they
turned away.
"Try and see what has become of Foster," answered Dan.
"You're right, Dan."
They were about to ride away when news came that Foster's force was in
full retreat for Lexington, and that those who survived the battle were
safe.
Lawrence and Dan concluded to stay with Warren.
Knowing that a force from Kansas City, as well as General Blunt from the
far south, was closing in on the Confederates, they had high hopes that
they might be captured. But during the night Coffee's entire force
slipped by Blunt and, before the movement was discovered, was well on
its way to Arkansas. The guerrilla bands of Quantrell, Red Jerry and
others took to the brush, there to remain hidden until the Federal
troops had returned to their several posts.
Lawrence and Dan returned to Lexington disgusted. They believed that if
the different forces had acted together, and the campaign been managed
rightly, the entire force of the enemy could have been captured.