AN ADVENTURE AT CRAWFISH SPRINGS
The three battalions of the Riverlawns had been drawn up in something of
a semicircle, the first under Deck occupying the right, the second the
centre of the road, and the third the left. As the road was scarcely
eight feet wide and winding through the woods at that, all of the
companies were practically behind more or less shelter.
The attack by the first battalion paralyzed the panic-stricken advance
guard of those in retreat, and they knew not how to turn. But when they
did realize their position, they concluded that, for the present, the
greater danger lay in front of them, and they scampered to the rear,
behind the companies which still kept their formations.
The first battalion was still delivering its fire, when the second and
third opened up, aiming at the Confederate companies drawn up in proper
ranks. This fire was returned, and several of the Riverlawns were
struck, though none fatally. Then more Confederate companies appeared,
spreading out to the right and the left, in the hope of either
surrounding the Union regiment and capturing it, or of passing around it
and thus effecting an escape.
Colonel Lyon was wide awake, and never had he shown greater ability as a
commander than now. As the Confederates came on, he made a rapid
calculation as to their number, and of how many were armed. Then he sent
word back to Captains Knox and Ripley, to divide their forces and send
the sharpshooters into the woods, with orders to drive the fleeing ones
toward the centre,--that is, the road. Then he dashed up to Deck.
"Dexter, can you take that gun?" he asked hurriedly.
"I can try," answered the young major.
"Do so at once, and train it on the companies coming up. We can take
care of this panic-stricken horde, I feel certain."
Deck saluted and turned to his battalion. "We must take that gun, boys!
And we must take it quickly. Will you do it?"
"We will!" shouted over three hundred voices in deep unison; and away
went the four companies on the double-quick.
The captain of the battery saw them coming. He had lost his other guns,
and he was determined to hold this at any cost. As rapidly as he could,
he turned his gun into position.
"I'll give 'em one dose of canister, if I die for it!" he roared, and
sighted the piece himself.
But Deck was on the alert, and while the gun was being sighted, he gave
the order, and the battalion moved out of range immediately. They darted
among the trees, and only Artie Lyon's company received the shot, which
killed one man and wounded two others. Before the cannon could be loaded
again, the first company was on the battery, and the captain went down
under a sweeping blow from Captain Abbey's sabre. Seeing their leader
gone, the drivers tried to escape on the horses, but were brought down
and compelled to surrender. Of the whole number but one assistant
escaped.
No sooner was the gun captured, than it was turned about and reloaded.
Among the Riverlawns there were a number who knew all about handling
such a field-piece, and in less than two minutes a most destructive
fire was poured into the regularly formed Confederate companies just
appearing around a bend of the forest road. The shot brought forth a
loud, defiant yell, but the command slackened its pace, and presently
came to a halt, as if the leading officer was calculating what had best
be his next move.
Between the trees and the brush and the drifting smoke--a smoke far more
dense than that emanating from the powder used to-day--but little was to
be seen of either friend or foe, and when another movement began, five
minutes later, Colonel Lyon had to exercise great care, for fear one of
his battalions might fire into another. Advance guards were sent out
wherever practicable, and not a shot was fired until the commander knew
exactly where it was going.
The Confederates had halted, but they could not do so long, for a Union
force--some Michigan infantry--was pushing them in the rear. A charge
was made on the battery and the gallant first battalion behind it. The
rush was led by a hundred cavalrymen, and twice that number of infantry,
and in the midst of it there came on two hundred additional cavalrymen
on foot--a detachment of Forrest's unmounted force operating near the
ruins of the Alexandria bridge.
The crash of the conflict was terrific, the Confederates, hedged in
front and rear, fighting with a valor born of desperation. The cannon
marked the battle-ground, and around this circled friend and foe,
blinded by dust and smoke, and deafened by the close discharge of
carbines and muskets. In five minutes Deck saw that his battalion was
being beaten back, not rapidly, but foot by foot, toward Duff's Claim.
"Don't retreat, boys!" he shouted. "Stand up to it like men! The victory
is ours, for more Union troops are coming. Charge! and I will lead you!"
and he did, with such a magnificent show of heroism that the four
companies seemed to become inspired, and sent the enemy on the retreat.
Then the cannon was reloaded, and the Confederates received another dose
of canister, just as the Michigan infantry came into view.
"Surrender!" cried Deck, and the cry was taken up from behind the
Confederates. But the leader of the enemy's force did not deem that the
time to give up had yet arrived, and ordered his men into the woods.
It was a fatal blunder, for here they ran into the arms of the
panic-stricken crowd, hemmed in by Captain Ripley's sharpshooters.
Before they knew what to do, the second and third battalions were
ordered up, and also Life Knox's command. Three more volleys were fired
by the Unionists and one by the Confederates, and then the ranking
officer of the latter, a major, held up his sabre to which he attached
his handkerchief, as a token of surrender.
"I am Major Dudley Arkell," he said to Colonel Lyon, who received the
surrender. "I hardly know what commands I have here, as I was taken out
of my own regiment, and placed here but an hour ago,--after these poor
fellows' officers were shot down."
"I am Colonel Lyon, of the Riverlawn Cavalry of Kentucky."
Major Arkell extended his hand, which the colonel shook willingly.
"I am proud to know you, Colonel Lyon, and I have heard of the
Riverlawns before. They were pitted against some relatives of mine at
Stone River,--a captain and a lieutenant, who were captured by your
force. In behalf of these men I have surrendered to you, and who are
not my own command, I request that you will treat them with
consideration."
"I shall do the best I can for them--I do that for all prisoners,"
answered Colonel Lyon, soberly. "I do not believe in making war any more
heartrending than is necessary."
"Your humanitarianism does you credit, Colonel Lyon," concluded Major
Arkell, as he saluted, and rode to the rear.
With as little delay as possible, the captured troops were made to throw
their weapons into a heap. Under a guard of one battalion--the third,
they were speedily escorted to the rear and placed among other
prisoners, also captured within the hour.
The next movement was to obtain two army wagons, and into these were
placed the stores found on the island, and the captured firearms. In the
meanwhile, Captains Ripley and Knox were sent after the retreating
Confederate sharpshooters. But the pursuit was in vain, the shooters
having removed themselves to the opposite shore of the Chickamauga.
It must be confessed that the engagement, although lasting less than an
hour, had been a most tiring one, and many of the cavalrymen would have
been for taking a rest had it been allowed them. But this was a "day of
days" in which history is made with marvellous rapidity, and hardly were
the prisoners and the captured weapons and stores disposed of, than
Colonel Lyon received orders to take his first and second battalion up
to a ford two miles above the present battle-ground. The Confederate
cavalry, it was feared, would make a dash across the creek to Crawfish
Springs, and the Riverlawns were sent to support McCook's command, which
had been weakened by the loss of both Davis's and Johnson's divisions,
both having already gone to the support of Thomas. With McCook at this
time was Negley's division of the Fourteenth corps. The field hospital
had been established in the vicinity of Crawfish Springs, and it was
felt that the enemy must not be permitted to come over at this point.
Crawfish Springs was a most beautiful spot, a typical scene for a
landscape painter. The spring was really the outlet for a subterranean
river, and flowed forth between beautiful hills covered with trees and
flowering bushes. It was on the estate of a widow, Mrs. Gordon, whose
fine brick mansion stood not far away. In the vicinity of the spring was
the house of Lowry, Second Chief of the Cherokees, and it was here that
the Army of the Cumberland had, for the time being, established its
hospital.
The Confederates had tried early in the morning to cross Chickamauga
Creek, opposite Lee and Gordon's Mill, but had been repulsed. The Union
cavalry and infantry were now stretched along the bank of the stream,
while the enemy was opposite, and each was watching the other as a cat
watches a mouse.
"Colonel Lyon, you will take up a position in the field next to this,"
said General McCook, when the commander of the Riverlawns reported with
his two battalions. "I am sorry you have but eight companies with you.
How soon do you expect the remainder?"
"They will follow me as soon as they can dispose of some prisoners we
succeeded in taking."
"Then you have already been successfully engaged?"
"Yes, General; we took several hundred prisoners."
"I am glad to hear it, for we need some go-ahead men here, or our
hospital will be taken and General Rosecrans' very headquarters at the
Widow Glenn's threatened. Keep a careful watch and report every movement
the Confederates make."
"I will do my best, General," answered Colonel Lyon, and saluting, he
galloped off on his steed.
There had been a lull in the firing, and now, when the Riverlawns took
the position assigned to them, not a sight of a Confederate was to be
seen. The stream at this point was lined with heavy brushwood. There was
a ford above and another below, and there were numerous spots where the
banks were high and rocky. In one place not far away there was a
waterfall in the shape of a horseshoe, where the stream made a direct
descent of five or six feet.
Half an hour went by, and all remained quiet. Deck had thrown himself
under a tree and partaken of some hardtack, some rather tough beef, and
a drink of black coffee. Artie was close by, and both were recounting
their experiences in a low tone.
"They have been fighting all along the line, that's certain," said
Artie. "We'll hear of some astonishing results, to-morrow, mark my
words."
"Well, I trust we whip them, that's all," replied Deck. "My! but I am
tired. I'll sleep like a rock to-night, no doubt of that."
"We'll all sleep--if the Johnnies let us," said his brother, laughingly.
"I think--Hark! that's pretty heavy firing, eh?" He had broken off as a
heavy cannonading reached their ears. Hardly had the cannons belched
forth than the rattle of musketry followed.
The firing grew heavier, and they leaped to their feet, as if expecting
the tide of battle would come their way. Then, of a sudden, Artie
pointed to a spot between themselves and the creek.
"Look! look! Deck, who is that?"
The youthful captain had detected the form of a man moving silently but
swiftly through the brush and deep grass. The man was dressed in a
clerical suit of black, similar to those worn by unattached chaplains
throughout the war.
"Whoever it is, he acts suspicious-like," commented Deck. "I don't like
that."
"No more do I; let's investigate," rejoined Artie, and they made after
the individual, who had passed in a direction leading from them.
A hundred feet were covered, before they caught sight of the man in
black again, and then he was squatting behind the rocks, as if preparing
to leap into the stream. But when he saw that they had discovered him he
kept away from the water, and dove into the brush again.
"I'll wager that fellow is a spy!" ejaculated Deck. "Artie, we must take
him by all means!"
"I am with you," answered the brother, readily. "Come on, before he gets
too far away!" and he started on a run, with the major beside him. Soon
both were out of sight and hearing of their commands, and in the midst
of a thicket, where a short arm of the creek formed a cove surrounded by
rocks and trailing vines.
"Do you see anything of him?" whispered Artie, as they came to a halt
beside a large, square rock overhanging the cove.
"No; but he can't be far off," answered Deck. "He came down here, I am
almost positive."
They stood perfectly still, looking to the right and the left, and then
behind them. Far away boomed the cannons, and the rattle of smaller arms
was incessant; but here all was as quiet as a graveyard.
"He's a sly one," went on Artie, after a long pause. "He believes in
playing a waiting game. He's a spy beyond a doubt."
"I think you had better make a short detour around the cove," said Deck.
"I will watch from this point, to see that he doesn't enter the water
and swim away on the sly. Are you willing to undertake it, Artie?"
"Certainly, if you think it best," answered the captain, and started off
without delay.
He was soon out of sight, and Deck sat down on the rock, pistol in hand,
to await developments. For a few minutes he sat facing the water, then
he swung around, to ascertain, if possible, what progress his brother
was making.
As he turned around, a form appeared from the water under the big rock.
The form straightened up, and a long arm was thrust forth, directly at
Deck's side. The hand grasped the major's pistol, and in an instant it
was snatched from Deck's grasp.