A Lieutenant at Eighteen Part 9

The Confederates had dismounted, turning their horses into a field.

This was a fatal mistake on the part of their officer. His men were huddled together with the Home Guards in the small s.p.a.ce; and though they fought bravely, they were soon ridden down, and totally defeated.

Many of them had been killed or disabled, and the Home Guards had run away as soon as the horses began to ride them down. The officer called for quarter, and surrendered. He and his men were paroled at once.

At the hill Lieutenant Belthorpe had vigorously attacked the second platoon, and soon drove them from their ground. When the victory was won at the fort, Captain Gordon re-enforced Belthorpe with twenty men while the paroling was in process; and the enemy seeing that they were outnumbered more than before, when they were driven from the hill, gave up the fight, and fled at the best speed of their horses by the way they had come. The lieutenant in command pursued them as far as the road, when the recall was sounded near the fort, and they returned to the little village. Captain Letcher was in command of the platoon, and he had continued to retreat, believing that his pursuers were still following him.

CHAPTER VIII

BEFORE THE BATTLE OF MILL SPRINGS

Captain Gordon had related the history of the affair at Breedings, and Deck had learned from Lieutenant Logan considerably more that was not within the knowledge of the commander. As they finished their simple dinner, they discovered a gentleman, attended by a couple of men who looked like mechanics, the latter with muskets on their shoulders, and all of them mounted on fine horses, approaching the camp. The two surgeons had finished dressing the wounds of the injured, and had mounted their horses to depart. The soldiers, the prisoners, and the horses had all been fed, and it seemed to be time for the next movement.

"That is Colonel Halliburn coming," said Milton.

"Is his t.i.tle simply an honorary one, or is he a military man?"

inquired the captain.

"He has been the leading man in the militia for thirty years, though he has never been in active service," replied Milton. "He is past the military age now."

The gentleman was introduced to the party, and he gave Deck the most cordial thanks for the service rendered to his brother.

"How is Miss Grace, Colonel?" asked Win.

"She is well and happy now, though she is much concerned about her guardian, and would have returned to him if I had permitted her to do so; but I am going over to my brother's now, and I shall persuade him and his wife to come to my house, for it is not safe for them to be alone there. I have brought a couple of my men with me; and if we can do anything to a.s.sist you here, we are at your service."

"Thank you, sir; we have defeated the enemy on all sides, and we are ready to move on now to join the other company of our squadron,"

replied the captain. "The next question that we have to settle is the disposition of our wounded, some of whom are not in condition to be moved."

"My house is at your service for this purpose. I have twenty-five men who belong to the Home Guard of Millersville residing in my village; and I have called them out since Miss Morgan came to my house, and they will be able to defend us from any ordinary enemies, so that your men will be safe there," said the colonel.

"I thank you with all my heart," answered Captain Gordon. "I shall avail myself of your kind offer."

"I am the captain of the Home Guards, and Dr. Barlow is the surgeon; and we will attend to the removal of the men. I will look after the matter as soon as I return from my brother's. Mr. Milton and the doctor will remain here till I come."

"I am under very great obligations to you, Colonel Halliburn," added the captain, "and I hope I shall be able to render you any service in a time of need which you may require."

The commander of the company paroled the Confederate prisoners, and permitted them to retire with their horses. They carried their wounded with them on stretchers or on horseback, and marched up the road to join the rest of their company. The bugle sounded, and the first company of the Riverlawns formed in the road. It was only about six miles to Millersville, and the captain decided to march the guerilla prisoners to that town. They were placed between the two platoons, with a guard on the flank; but the fun had all gone out of them, and they were as submissive as whipped puppies. The column marched, and in about two hours arrived at their next destination.

They found a company of about fifty Home Guards, armed with muskets, but without uniforms, drawn up to receive them; for the news of the skirmish had reached the place, and a considerable body of citizens were in attendance as spectators.

"I am Lieutenant Ripley, commanding in the absence of Captain Halliburn the Home Guards, all loyal men, and we give you a Kentucky welcome,"

said the officer of the Guards, saluting the captain. "What can we do for you?"

"You can take these guerilla prisoners off our hands, for they are a nuisance to us," replied Captain Gordon with a smile.

"Do you wish us to hang them to those trees yonder?" asked the lieutenant.

"I do not ask you to do anything of the kind, though it might do them good to hang them; but we don't treat prisoners in that way, even if they are guerillas," replied the commander with considerable energy.

"You can confine them in some building, or let them go; but you must not kill, starve, or ill-treat them, for Union soldiers don't do such things."

It was nearly sundown, and the captain decided to bivouac for the night. The camp was laid out in a field, and the tents were pitched. A supper was cooked for the men, though the commissioned officers were invited to a private house; but they declined the invitations to sleep away from the company, though they ate the supper provided for them in the house of a Union magnate, and repeated again the story of the day's events. The commander inquired particularly for the news from the seat of war in this quarter.

"I understand that General Crittenden has joined the army of General Zollicoffer, and, as he ranks him, has the command of the army,"

replied the host, who seemed to be a very well-informed gentleman. "I believe most of the Confederate troops on the other side of the c.u.mberland River are Tennesseeans, and that is about all I know in regard to them."

"Do you know where they are located, Mr. Kennedy?" asked the captain.

"We all know that they are on the other side of the c.u.mberland, about six miles below the point to which steamboats can ascend. Zollicoffer has fortified the hills, three or four hundred feet high, and holds a very strong position; in fact, one of the strongest in the State in the hands of the enemy. It covers the coal-mines and a great many salt-wells beyond the river, and these are of the utmost importance to the Confederacy. But it is well understood in these parts that the army of Zollicoffer is short of supplies, and some say his men are starving in the camps. I know that the Tennessee cavalry are foraging on this side of the river to a considerable extent; and you have met one of these parties to-day, and defeated them. Compared with the guerillas that are operating on their own account in many parts of the State, the foragers are really very mild; for they do not insult women, or take anything from the farmers and planters except provisions; and they treat Federalists and Secessionists just alike, for supplies have become an absolute necessity to their army."

"Troops are constantly arriving from the North; and doubtless they intend to attack Zollicoffer or General Crittenden, whichever it may be, in his position near the c.u.mberland," suggested Captain Gordon.

"I doubt if Zollicoffer will wait for them to do that; for he must find the Union forces, and beat them, or retreat into Tennessee. Should he stay where he is, he must either surrender or starve."

It appeared subsequently that he decided upon the alternative of crossing the c.u.mberland, and attacking the Union forces wherever he could find them. He was compelled to do this, as Mr. Kennedy declared, or starve for the want of supplies. Mill Springs, which is the name given to the battle that was fought by Zollicoffer, though it is called Somerset, and also Logan's Cross Roads, is on the south side of the c.u.mberland River, and is a post-town. But the battle was not fought on that side of the river, and it is the name of the position of the Confederate army before the battle.

The line of defence, or of attack, as might be, chosen by the Confederate army under General Johnston in Kentucky, appeared to extend across the southern part of the State, and included three strongholds, the first of which was Columbus, on the Mississippi River, on the west; Bowling Green in the centre; and around Mill Springs on the east.

General Crittenden, the Southern commander-in-chief in this section, had intrenched himself at Beech Grove, in Pulaski County, on the north side of the river, east of Mill Springs.

Zollicoffer commanded under him, and the battle was fought by him. His position was fifteen miles south-west of Somerset. General Buell, at Louisville, then in command of the Union department which included the State of Kentucky, realized the necessity of reducing this stronghold, and sent General George H. Thomas, the ideal soldier of the war, though not then so well known as at a later period, with a considerable force to this region to accomplish this object. This able general had approached his destination, but had not yet concentrated his force for the attack. It was General Crittenden's policy to beat the Union army in detail before the troops for the a.s.sault had been ma.s.sed for the final attack; but Zollicoffer, forced by his need of supplies, crossed the river in a steamer and other craft, with about five thousand men, and moved towards the north, to attack the force that threatened him.

This was the situation in the vicinity of Somerset and Mill Springs when the Riverlawn Cavalry was marching in the direction of the former place; and one company had reached Millersville, while the other was believed to be at Harrison. The raids in the vicinity by foragers and guerillas had been the immediate cause of sending the squadron to the locality. The first company had camped for the night; and the officers had returned from the residence of Mr. Kennedy, where they had been entertained at supper. The officers and soldiers were tired enough to roll themselves up in their blankets in their beds on the gra.s.s; and Captain Gordon was preparing to do so when one of the sentinels informed him that a man at the lines wished to see him, and he believed it was the one who had been the guide of the first platoon in the forenoon, for he gave his name as Winfield Milton.

At the sound of this name, Deck, who had lain down, sprang to his feet.

He feared that he had come for a.s.sistance against another attack of guerillas or foragers. The captain ordered him to be admitted to the tent, and he soon appeared. He had rendered very valuable service, both to Deck's command and to the company after it was united.

"I am sorry to disturb you, Captain, at this hour; but I could not get away any earlier, for we have been busy over at Colonel Halliburn's, moving his brother and his wife, and transporting the wounded to his mansion."

"I am very glad to see you, Mr. Milton. It is only eight o'clock, and I had not retired," replied the captain. "But I hope you have not been attacked again."

"No, sir, we have not been attacked; and if we had been, we have force enough at the colonel's to defend ourselves, for we have a part of the Home Guards from this town to re-enforce those of the little village,"

replied Milton. "I came for another purpose."

"I am glad to see you again, Win," interposed Deck, as he grasped the hand of the late guide.

"Sorry to turn you out of bed, Lieutenant Lyon; but I was afraid you would leave before I could get here in the morning," replied the visitor. "I have been talking with Colonel Halliburn since you left, and I have felt not a little ashamed that I am not in the Union army in its time of need. But I have had to look after Grace and her guardian's family, and that is the best excuse I could give to myself. Now they are all settled at the colonel's, and I have come over here to enlist in your company, Captain Gordon, if you will take me. You have lost some men, and I thought you might want some more."

"We have kept both of our companies full so far, and I shall be glad to have so good a man as you are in our ranks," promptly answered the captain. "When shall you be ready to join us?"

"Right now!" exclaimed Milton.

"Is Miss Morgan willing that you should enlist?" asked Deck with a laugh.

"Grace is as good a girl as ever was raised in Kentucky, and she has always been ready to have me go to the war. She is as full of patriotism as a nut is of meat, and says she should be ashamed to make any objection to my going. I am ready to sign the papers, and take all the steps to get into your company, Captain," continued the would-be recruit.

"Our surgeon is with the other company, and you must be examined by a doctor."