The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Part 3

"Noel, me boy," whispered Dennis, "I can't tell you all the details, but we're goin' to have a sham fight here between the Forty-sixth and the Fifty-first, and I shouldn't be one bit surprised if Levi Kadoff's supplies were somewhere near the middle of the battle-ground."

Noel laughed and thought no more concerning the statement of his comrade until the following day when to his surprise he discovered that there was, indeed, to be a sham battle between some of the men of the two regiments to which Dennis had referred.

An interested spectator he watched the two regiments when they formed in line near the tent of the sutler, Levi Kadoff. Nor was he the only spectator, for near by were a.s.sembled many of the men, all apparently aware that something of unusual interest was about to occur.

At last, when everything was in readiness, the Forty-sixth charged their opponents and with little effort drove them back. The Fifty-first, however, rallied, and then began to press their foes back to their former position. In the midst of all the efforts there was wild excitement and loud cheers among the spectators, whose numbers increased with every pa.s.sing moment.

When the Fifty-first re-formed, it was directly in front of Levi's tent of supplies. A few minutes later, the bugle sounded and the Forty-sixth charged again.

Down came the laughing boys like a whirlwind, every one yelling as loudly as his lungs enabled him.

Apparently the sight of the charge of the noisy soldiers brought dismay to the hearts of the re-formed regiment, and before a word had been spoken they began to fall back. The applause and laughter among the spectators increased as the howling, laughing ma.s.s of soldiers ran swiftly forward driving their "enemies" before them.

Unfortunately for the sutler, his tent and supplies were directly in the way of the retreating Fifty-first. No one afterward could explain how it had been done, but the ropes of Levi's tent somehow were cut, and in a trice the stock of the little sutler was scattered over what seemed to be a half-acre of ground. There were few of the soldiers who did not have some articles in their hands. The battle itself seemed to have been forgotten, and in a brief time all the goods had disappeared, either into haversacks or into secret pockets of the thoughtless soldiers.

Levi, almost like a madman, was fighting to save his property. At one time he seized a cheese-knife and with it strove desperately to strike some of the boys. He was quickly disarmed, however, and as he was pushed from one to another he not only found no place upon which his feet could secure a resting-place, but no other weapon came within his grasp. At last, when he was released by the howling ma.s.s of soldiers, he was at least five hundred yards from the place where his ruined store had been located.

It was manifest now that every soldier understood the purpose of the sham battle. The very location had been selected with the thought to bring dire troubles upon the unpopular sutler, who so often had taken advantage of the boys in their purchases of his supplies.

By this time, however, orders had come from headquarters which speedily dispersed the disorderly mob, and in a brief time the camp resumed its former appearance, save for the loss of the sutler's stores and tent.

It was at this time that Noel unexpectedly came upon the little sutler.

The man was almost beside himself with anger and grief.

"I vill haf the law on them!" he shouted. "They shall be shot, efery one! I vill haf mine goots vonce more!"

Not untouched by the suffering of the man, Noel said to him, "I don't think the boys meant anything very bad. They thought you had been charging them too much for what they have been buying."

"I haf not! It vas cheap! It vas all cheap! But I vill tell you. Dat fellow Dennis O'Hara, he it is who has made all dese troubles. I vill gif him no rest. He shall pay me back efery cent vat I haf lost. I shall gif him no rest."

Noel laughed lightly as he turned away, not for a moment taking the threats of the angry man seriously, and if he had been told at the time that the very lives of himself and his companions would depend upon a word of the little trader, he would not have believed the prophecy.

CHAPTER III

INTERCEPTED

In spite of the strict orders which had been issued for preventing foraging, either the memory of the feast for which the pig that Dennis had secured had provided the main course, or the restlessness due to the monotony of camp life, caused the practice to be renewed by some of the more restless spirits. Among these was Dennis O'Hara.

A few days afterward Dennis said to Noel, "Come on, lad, we'll take a walk over these hills."

"What for?" inquired Noel suspiciously.

"Shure, and 'tis to see the scenery."

"I want the walk," said Noel promptly, "and if you'll promise to behave yourself and not get either of us into trouble with any of your pranks, I'll go with you."

Accordingly, early in the afternoon leave was obtained and the two young soldiers departed from the camp at Harper's Ferry.

As yet they had no fear of an immediate approach of the Confederates. It was well known that General Lee, after his success in preventing General McClellan and his great army from advancing up the Peninsula to take Richmond, and his success in the second battle of Bull Run, or Mana.s.sas, had decided to cross the Potomac into Maryland. General Pope had been relieved of his command and General McClellan had been reinstated as the leader of the Northern armies.

The action of General Lee in deciding to invade the North produced a consternation that was followed almost by a panic. There were expectations that if he was successful he might not only take Washington, the capital of the nation, but also that he might move against Philadelphia and other Northern cities.

The soldiers of the Southern army were following Lee with a devotion and enthusiasm that at the time were without a parallel in the armies of the North. General McClellan doubtless was a more able engineer than General Lee, but his lack of prompt decision and quick action was known to his opponent, for both were graduates of West Point. Either his knowledge of the lack of decision on the part of General McClellan, or his desire for the armies of the North to withdraw from the vicinity of Richmond, because its defenders might not be able to withstand a well-directed and concerted attack, or both reasons, may have influenced him in his daring, not to say dangerous, attempt.

It was not until later in the war that a man was developed who commanded the confidence of the North and the enthusiastic loyalty of the Northern troops.

At this time, in 1862, there were divisions and jealousies among the men and almost a total lack of preparation among the bodies of troops.

With McClellan in command again there was a prompter action on his part than had been manifest throughout his Peninsula campaign. It was a critical time for his army and himself, and a time of peril for the cities of the North not far from the border.

Early in the preceding spring Noel and Frank Curtis, twin brothers, whose home had been on the sh.o.r.es of the far-away St. Lawrence, had enlisted, and had been a.s.signed to the army of McClellan. Since they had been little fellows they had been familiar with the use of the rifle and had acquired such skill that both, soon after they had joined the army, were a.s.signed to the sharpshooters.

In the battle of Malvern Hill, Noel had been wounded and sent home for a time. His brother Frank also had been home on a furlough. At the beginning of the fall campaign, Noel, now having recovered from his wound, and Frank were both ordered to rejoin the army.

For some reason, which Noel did not fully understand, his brother had been a.s.signed to a different corps, while he, together with eight thousand of his comrades, had been a.s.signed to the holding of Harper's Ferry. Another small division had been stationed at Martinsburg and at Winchester.

It was not known among these garrisons that General Lee had expected, upon his advance into Maryland, that these troops would quickly be withdrawn. It is now understood that General McClellan had written General Halleck to recall these men and attach them to the Army of the Potomac; but Halleck had decided to retain the garrisons in the Valley, and his decision has been sharply criticized on the ground that he violated every principle of sound strategy.

Among the friends that Frank and Noel had made there was young Dennis O'Hara, a bright, happy young Irishman, about twenty years of age, just two years older than the twin brothers.

The friendship had been strengthened and the intimacy increased after the brothers had been separated. Dennis and Noel now were not only tent-mates, but almost inseparable companions.

As yet there had been slight call for their labors at Harper's Ferry. It was not known that the Confederate army was near, and in their sense of security most of the men were becoming somewhat careless in the observance of their duties.

"There's one place," said Dennis, when the two young soldiers had gone a mile or more from their quarters, "where I don't want to go to-day."

"Where's that?"

"'T is where that fat nager woman lives."

"But she said she was one of the best friends you had."

"'Friends'!" snapped Dennis. "'Friends'! I think she's the first cousin, and maybe she's the sister, of ould Satan himself. You don't catch me goin' anywhere near that place again. If she thinks I came down here to set such nagers as she free, she's very much mistaken. No, sor! Niver again! If she should run after me any more, she'll only reach me through me dead body."

"But suppose, Dennis," laughed Noel, "that you found another pig somewhere. Which would you do, drop the pig or keep off the fat darky?"

"I'd keep off the darky, anyway, though I don't think I should let go me pig. 'T was good of you, Noel, to give me your word that you would niver tell anybody in the camp about it."

"About what?" inquired Noel innocently.

"About what took place the other day when that nager woman chased me."

"When did I promise?"

"Shure, you promised right there where we were whin I got away from her," said Dennis, as he stopped abruptly and looked into the face of his companion.