Uncle Daniel's Story Of "Tom" Anderson Part 26

"'Well,' said the General, 'that is of more importance to know than anything you have told me.'

"'I am exceedingly glad then, General, that I thought of it.'

"The General then said to her: 'I am extremely curious to know how you learned this.'

"'Well, sir, I visit hospitals on both sides, and many things are there said that would not be told to anyone in camp. I had seen a sick rebel who had just come into the city in citizen's clothes to be taken care of by his friends, and you must not ask me who or where he is.'

"'No,' said the General, 'I will not. Good-by!'

"Gen. Silent at once ordered Gen. Hord to concentrate his whole force at Bridgeton as quickly as possible, and in three days the 20,000 men from the Army of the East had secured Bridgeton and crossed over Little Combination River on the road to Looking-Gla.s.s Valley. They moved forward, driving Biggs before them, until they reached the western base of c.o.o.n's Mountain, in order to pa.s.s into Looking-Gla.s.s Valley. At the point where he was to enter the Valley the rebels made an a.s.sault upon his head of column. Hord deployed his troops, advanced to the attack, and very soon routed the enemy. The enemy now could very plainly detect and understand the movement. Our troops went into camp at about six o'clock.

"The rebels could see that if this movement was successful re-enforcements as well as supplies to the Union army would immediately be the result, and they were bewildered and chagrined. At about one o'clock the same night, Hord was attacked in force by the enemy. Gear's command first received the a.s.sault. Hord at once moved to the support of Gear, but before reaching him found a large rebel force posted on a range of hills which completely commanded his line of march. These hills were steep and rugged. There was, however, but one course left, and that was to a.s.sault. This was done in a most gallant style. The hills were scaled and the enemy driven from them with a loss of many prisoners, as well as killed and wounded. Gen. Gear meanwhile had been contending against a superior force for two hours, and though almost enveloped at one time by the enemy, he finally succeeded in repelling the a.s.sault.

The moonlight was so bright that the firing seemed to light up the whole heavens, as if meteors were in every possible s.p.a.ce. The yells of the rebels, the running away of teams, the heavy sound of artillery, were enough to 'frighten the souls of fearful adversaries.' Mules broke away from their wagons and hitching places, some with halters, some with harness and singletrees dangling at their heels. Horses neighing and mules braying, all dashed in the direction of the enemy, who mistook the fleeing animals for a cavalry charge, and fled in disorder and confusion. At daylight the enemy had been repulsed at every point and our route to Chatteraugus secured.

"Gen. Silent had managed to communicate with Gen. Papson, and directed that one of his divisions should cross over the river in front of his camp in plain view of the enemy, and while the enemy were watching these movements pontoon bridges were being laid across the river by the Engineer Corps, they pa.s.sing down the river beyond the left flank of the enemy in the night time. Over this bridge crossed Palmerston's Division and joined Hord, and by the next morning all the heights commanding the bridge and Looking-Gla.s.s Valley were secured--communication opened by way of the north side of the river by crossing the pontoon bridge, and on that very day rations for the men were taken into Chatteraugus.

Such a shout as went up from the throats of nearly 50,000 men was perhaps never heard before nor since. Gen. Silent entered Chatteraugus with the supplies for the hungry, and was most gratefully received by officers and men. When this line was opened the boys christened it 'Silent's cracker line.'

"The scene that followed the opening of this line of communication is not to be described by any one. Poor fellows, they had suffered long and much. They were patriots; but how many people remember it now?"

At this point the old man grew eloquent, and finally bowed his head for a moment. Resuming, he said:

"In a very short time every one had gained confidence and courage, and was again not only ready but eager for the fray. Biggs at once saw his peril. Longpath was at Knoxburg trying to dislodge Broomfield, while Gen. Papson was being rapidly re-enforced. And now the tables were turned. The rebels no longer jeered at and tantalized our boys with inquiries as to when they proposed to start for 'Pine Forest Prison.'

Jeff Davis, the Confederate President, had only a few days before visited Biggs's army and looked down upon our starving soldiers. Our boys knew this, and would ask if Jeff Devis would like to dine with Gen.

Silent on hard-tack?

"Just at this time our forces were anxiously looking for the arrival of the troops from the Army of the West, which they knew were marching with all the energy they could to the aid of their comrades. So the next morning the rebels were saluted with a shout that rang from the valley up to the top of Looking-Gla.s.s Mountain and along Middle-ton's Ridge. It was the arrival of Sherwood from Victor's Hill with two full corps of as good soldiers as ever marched under the American flag. Cheer upon cheer from both our armies rang out and gladdened the hearts of all.

"The next day Gen. Silent was handed a note by a cavalryman. He examined it, and found that it bore information to the effect that Longpath had failed to capture Knoxburg, but had been repulsed by Broomfield and was then marching rapidly to re-enforce Biggs. On inquiry the General found that the note was written by a lady, who was then some ten miles away at a farmhouse. The cavalryman stated that she was very anxious that Gen.

Silent should get the note that day, and that she had also told him to say to the General that she was the same lady who had given him certain information at Nashua some days before, and that she informed the bearer of the contents of the note and requested him to destroy it if in danger of being captured. Gen. Silent consulted Gen. Papson and found that he had implicit faith in her statements, as he said she had given Rosenfelt truthful and important information twice as to the numbers and movements of the enemy. Gen. Silent said:

"'This being so, we must drive Biggs from his position before Longpath can join him.'

"It was then raining and blowing a perfect gale, and Gen. Papson said that it might be well to delay until the storm was over. This Gen.

Silent a.s.sented to, but directed that all preparations be made for the attack, so as to be in perfect readiness at a moment's notice.

"Sherwood, however, had not yet succeeded in getting to the position a.s.signed him. He was struggling against rain, wind, and high water. In crossing Little Combination River to the north side the pontoon bridge gave way, and Gen. Osterman and his division of Sherwood's command were completely cut off and left on the south side of the stream. Silent ordered him to proceed up the river to a point opposite Middleton's Ridge with the remainder of his command. By this time the freshet was so great that it was impossible to repair the bridge. So Osterman was ordered, if he could not get across by eight o'clock the next morning, to report to Gen. Hord. Sherwood finally succeeded in moving the rest of his command to the point indicated. Pontoons were now necessary for bridging the river at this point in order to cross the troops again over to the south side to a.s.sault Middleton's Ridge, the point of it sloping down near to the river, on which rested the rebel right flank. There were but few pontoons to be obtained, and here the genius of man came well into play. Rafts and boats of a rough character were at once improvised, and by the morning of the 24th of November Sherwood's command was once more on the south side of the river, with men, horses and artillery, ready for the a.s.sault. He was moving in a drizzling rain, and as the clouds hung low his movement was pretty well covered. He pushed forward with great rapidity and seized the smaller hills near the river, driving the enemy therefrom, and at once fortified them securely.

"The rebels now seeing this advantage made an ineffectual a.s.sault to dislodge him. He had possession of two hills, with a depression in his front between him and the main ridge, it being his objective point.

The mist and heaviness of the day prevented the enemy on Looking-Gla.s.s Mountain from seeing or understanding the movement of Sherwood on the right. Night closed in, and as the clouds cleared away, the light of the camp fires revealed the position of both armies. Indeed, the night was beautiful. The lights on the north side were made by those guarding the camp of Sherwood, left in his movement, across the river. These lights of the camp fires of both armies now formed a complete circuit, making a grand picture. The stillness of the night was a warning to all that in the morning work was to be done.

"About the hour of ten Gen. Silent was out looking at the lights, and in order to form some opinion of the condition of the weather during the next day, he strolled along the river bank alone. Stopping at no great distance from one of the sentinels, he sat down upon a stone under a large tree, the shadows of which obscured him from view.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Spector appears to the General 238]

"While sitting absorbed in thought as to what the future would be to the army then preparing for a desperate battle, a strange form seemed to appear before him. He was at first startled, and then felt as though he had dreamed, and was thereby deceiving himself. The object was apparently a woman dressed in a long flowing robe of pure white. The features were regularly formed; she had large blue eyes, long, auburn hair, and a light shone about her which made every feature plain and visible to him. This strange apparition did not speak, but pointed to Looking-Gla.s.s Mountain, and pa.s.sed her hand, extending her forefinger, as though tracing the mountain along to where it dips down to the Roseville road. At this point she held her finger pointing for some seconds. She then turned and pointed to the end of Middleton's Ridge, near the river, and there hesitated; then turned and pointed to the center of the ridge, near where Gen. Biggs's Headquarters were afterwards located. Here she seemed to trace two lines on the side of the ridge by pa.s.sing her finger twice back and forth. She hesitated at this point for some moments, finally pointing to the sky as though calling attention to the stars. At this moment Gen. Silent arose quite excited, and the strange specter vanished. He stood for some moments motionless. He could not move, and was trembling with nervousness.

Finally he aroused himself and stepped to the spot where the strange figure had appeared. There was nothing that could have been by dreamy imagination distorted into such a form. He said to himself, 'I dreamed; I must have dreamed; how could this be otherwise?' Just at this moment he saw a sentinel walking his beat some paces away and approached him cautiously. The sentinel challenged, and Silent went forward and gave the countersign. He then told the sentinel who he was, and inquired if anything unusual was going on. The sentinel replied in the negative.

Silent then inquired if he had seen nothing unusual.

"'No,' replied the sentinel, 'except that you have been sitting on the stone under this tree for some time. I have been watching you, as I was not aware of your business.'

"'You saw nothing else?' said the general

"'No, sir,' was the reply.

"The General then bade him good night and returned to his headquarters, feeling pretty sure that he had fallen asleep and dreamed while sitting under the tree. Yet he had a half lingering superst.i.tion on the subject, and it annoyed him very much. He could not divine the meaning of it; whether a dream or not he could not decide. He walked back and forth in a very unusual manner. One of his staff inquired if anything had gone wrong in the movements of the army. He said not, but inquired if all the Orderlies were at their posts, saying:

"'I will want them very soon to take orders to the field. They must be cautioned, also, as they will be in some danger in pa.s.sing to where they must go.'

"He then sat down and commenced dictating his orders.

"At midnight they were sent out to the different commanders. Hord was to attack with all his force, a.s.sisted by Osterman's division, in the morning at the earliest moment possible, and scale Looking-Gla.s.s Mountain. Gen. Papson was to make a demonstration against the rebel center.

"The mountain is very steep and covered with trees and underbrush. Crags jut out at every turn all over its sides, and at the summit a high crest rises almost perpendicular 50 or 60 feet. Around the point of the mountain nearest the river the enemy had heavy earthworks, held by one brigade. The ridge or crest of the mountain was held by some 7,000 men, with many pieces of artillery. Hord's command was all on the west side of the mountain, entirely obscured from the sight of any of our troops who were in the town of Chatteraugus, so that nothing could be seen except the rebels who occupied the crest of the mountain. The movements of the enemy proved clearly that some advance was being made.

"Gens. Silent and Papson stood on an earthwork on the north side of the town near the river, where they could plainly see all the rebel lines.

Very soon the smoke and sounds of battle were seen and heard. Osterman had attacked the rebels in their works at the foot of the mountain nearest the river and driven them pell-mell out of their intrenchments, killing, wounding and capturing a great number. At the same time Gen.

Gear was pus.h.i.+ng up the mountain, his right pa.s.sing directly under the muzzles of the enemy's guns which were on the summit, climbing over logs, boulders and crags, up hill and down, dislodging and driving the enemy wherever he opposed. Up and on went our brave boys to the mouths of cannon and into the very jaws of death. Gen. Silent, addressing Papson, said:

"'General, our men must be climbing up the mountain's side. The enemy would not fire so rapidly nor such volleys unless our men were near them.'

"'No, I should think they would not,' said Papson.

"The fire flashed from their guns and muskets in the sunlight as though the heavens were in a blaze. Soon batteries could be seen pulling out and moving on the table of the mountain in the direction of the south.

"'Do you see that, Papson?' said Silent. 'They are getting ready to retreat. See, they are sending their batteries out of danger!'

"Papson looked, but said not a word. Soon a portion of their infantry moved in the same direction. The noise of artillery firing could be heard no longer, but the rattle of musketry was becoming more distinct.

The men and officers who were not in the demonstration against Middleton's Ridge, which was not a very heavy one, were standing and looking in breathless silence at the upper table-land of Looking-Gla.s.s mountain. Finally our line was seen moving up the crest, the men firing as they came, and such a yell as arose from our men in the town of Chatteraugus was of the kind to bring joy to a patriot's soul. On they went, the fire flas.h.i.+ng from the muzzles of their muskets. The rebels began to retreat, our men pressing them until they were driven entirely from the mountain and across the valley near the old Mission House, and nearly to the foot of Middleton's Ridge. Papson's movement against the ridge, which was the enemy's right, ceased, and Looking-Gla.s.s Mountain was ours. Joy was unconfined among our troops.

"The poor fellows, who were nearly starved, acted as though they were perfectly well and hearty, although they had had but little to eat for weeks.

"This was only the beginning of the end at Chatteraugus.

"Gen. Silent thought the rebels would now retreat into Georgia; but in this he was mistaken. They strengthened their line on Middleton's Ridge and extended it across the valley to where Looking-Gla.s.s Mountain slopes down to the road from Roseville to Chatteraugus, and there they seemed bent on staying. Two days later, finding the enemy again preparing for battle, Gen. Silent issued his orders for a general a.s.sault. Sherwood at early dawn was to attack the enemy on his right and drive him back if possible on the southern portion of the ridge; Papson was to be ready to a.s.sault in front at the moment when the commanding General should think the proper time had arrived; Gen. Hord was to cross from Looking-Gla.s.s Mountain over to the Roseville road and attack his left flank.

"The morning was clear and cold. Biggs's Headquarters could be seen on the crest of Middleton's Ridge, near the center of his line. Gen. Silent occupied a k.n.o.b or high point near our lines that had been wrested from the enemy in a skirmish the day before. All were anxiously waiting the a.s.sault and final result. Now and again a shot would be heard, and then a volley. There were skirmis.h.i.+ngs occasionally in different directions.

On Hord's line, as he advanced, slight skirmis.h.i.+ng was kept up, and at the base of the ridge a shot would be fired in the direction of where Papson was forming his line. Finally shots were heard on our extreme left, then more, then a piece of artillery, then a volley, then a battery opened, then commands were heard and the battle began. Sherwood was moving against the enemy's right flank.

"He attacked as ordered, but found the enemy in strong force and very stubborn. The battle continued on this part of the line without any very material advantage to either side. At about three o'clock Gen. Papson was ordered not to delay his attack any longer, so at this time the movement of the whole army against the enemy commenced. Papson attacked in double column, Gens. Anderson and Sherlin leading the a.s.sault with their divisions. In the center, at the first a.s.sault made on the rifle-pits at the base of the ridge, our forces were not successful, and falling back for a short distance they readjusted their lines, changed some of the regiments, and moved forward again to the attack. This time the movement was as if it were machinery in motion.

"When close to the enemy a bayonet charge was ordered, and against the foe they drove the instruments of death. The men who were in this deadly charge will never forget it. As they came with bayonets fixed and directed, the enemy, seeing their determination, poured a deadly fire into their ranks. Many a brave man fell, but on the lines swept over the trenches. Here the rebels were killed and wounded in such numbers that they lay one across another in great numbers. The enemy fell back, giving up the trenches to our victorious troops, and retreated to their main works on the top of the ridge.

"Our troops moved right on up the slope of the ridge, facing a shower of shot and sh.e.l.l and musketry most destructive and deadly. Anderson and Sherlin led the way. Commanders of corps, divisions and brigades vied with one another as to who should reach the crest first. For a time it seemed doubtful if any of them would succeed in accomplis.h.i.+ng it. Our artillery was in battery playing on the enemy from an eminence on the plateau east of the town and between the two lines. Finally the guns of the enemy were disabled, some dismounted, and others driven from their position. Our whole line then made one desperate effort to scale the ridge and charge the rebel works. With a mighty shout and 'Come on boys!' from Sherlin and Anderson, the heights were scaled, and amid sickening scenes of blood and death our brave boys stormed and captured their breast-works. Their center was pierced and broken. They wavered and finally retreated down the opposite slope of the ridge. Gen.

Anderson seized one of our flags, mounted the rebel works, and held it up so that our whole army might see it, and they did. The sight of the old flag on the rebel works on Middleton's Ridge, filled our men with joy and enthusiasm. They rushed forward, shouting as they went. The men who had been shut up and nearly starved, wept with joy unspeakable.

"Sherwood now doubled the enemy's flank back until they were retreating and falling back on the two divisions of Anderson and Sherlin, who turned and poured volleys into their rear. The retreat of Biggs's army now became general We captured many prisoners. Just at this moment a rebel cavalry officer on a white horse was seen das.h.i.+ng down the ridge from the direction of the rebel left. He came within a short distance of our line and took off his hat to our troops, as if he intended to surrender. Turning on his horse he drew a revolver and flred. The ball struck Gen. Anderson in the right shoulder, inflicting a severe and painful wound. Gen. Anderson turned and saw him as he escaped down the side of the ridge. Anderson recognized him, but did not say a word. Many shots were flred at him by the soldiers, but he made good his escape.

(It was Gen. Joseph Whitthorne, the fiend.) Gen. Anderson was taken by Jackson and James Whitcomb (who had been by his side during the whole of the engagement) back to the town to be cared for by the Surgeon. Gen.

Anderson inquired after Capt. Day, and upon inquiry it was found that he had been severely wounded during the last charge up the ridge, and had been carried in an ambulance to the hospital.