The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam Part 38

The issue of the battle on the left was still uncertain and with this feeling of uneasiness still prevalent throughout the regiment the men sought to rest.

In spite of the excitement through which they had pa.s.sed and in spite of the near-by presence of the dead, not many minutes elapsed before everything was forgotten and every man was asleep.

Awake early the following morning, Noel was surprised to find that his nearest sleeping comrade was Dennis. He had seen but little of the young Irishman thus far in the engagement and, indeed, he had seldom thought of his friend.

Discovering that Dennis was awake, Noel in a low voice said to him, "Dennis, how is it that any of us are left alive?"

"Indade, 'tis a wonder," answered Dennis.

"Not so great, after all," remarked another soldier who was lying near the boys and had heard Noel's question. "The waste of ammunition in a battle is something marvelous. Our colonel told us that it takes almost a man's weight in lead to kill one soldier."

"It doesn't seem so," said Noel thoughtfully, "when you hear the volleys shrieking above your head or flying close to your ears, and when men, all excited and anxious, are trying to fire just as fast as they are able. It doesn't seem possible that so many can come alive out of a fight."

"You must not forget," said the soldier, "that most of the men make no pretense at taking aim."

"And I guess," suggested Dennis, "that most of them don't. They act like they were aiming at nothin' and trying to hit it."

"It is strange," said Noel, "how still the wounded men were. I didn't hear many who were groaning or making any cry. The most of them were either limping off, or being carried to the rear, or they were lying down where they fell, all quiet and still."

"The worst shock I got," suggested Dennis, "was when I stumbled over the bodies of some of the dead boys. That shook my nerves and made me tremble like a leaf."

By this time the army was stirring once more and preparations for the approaching day were being made. The great matter for rejoicing with Noel and Dennis was the fact that there had been no attack by the enemy during the preceding night.

Hasty arrangements were made for the burial of the dead. The young soldier was marvelously impressed by the peaceful expression of most of the upturned faces which he saw.

The first question among the living, however, was, "Where is the enemy?"

In front of the fence which General Ricketts's troops were still holding there was no sign of the Confederates. Indeed, a strange, almost unnatural, silence rested over the entire region. The little stretch between the men and the cornfield seemed to be entirely free from the presence of soldiers. There was a slight mist resting on the mountain-side and through this could be dimly seen the fallen dead of the enemy.

With others Noel had been designated to care for the bodies of his comrades who had been killed in the fight. As he was moving about among the rocks and stumps, suddenly, a slight, boyish form without any weapon and clad in the customary gray uniform of the Confederate soldiers, was seen by Noel kneeling over the body of a fallen man. To his inexpressible horror Noel saw that the man was using his knife and trying to remove a ring from the finger of the dead soldier.

Startled by the approach of Noel, the man suddenly looked up, and, instantly rising, said quickly, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot me! I vas your prisoner."

The feeling of rage and disgust which had seized upon Noel's heart quickly gave way when to his surprise he saw that the approaching man was none other than the little sutler, Levi Kadoff.

CHAPTER x.x.xI

ANTIETAM

Startled as Noel Curtis was by the sight of the little sutler, whom he believed to be true to neither side, his feeling speedily gave way to a great rush of anger. Almost unmindful of what he was doing, Noel rushed upon Levi and seizing him by his shoulders shook the little sutler until both he and his prisoner were nearly breathless.

"You rascal! You little villain! What do you mean by this work? It's bad enough for you to be false to the living, but when you try to rob the dead! I'll try to see that you receive your just deserts!" shouted Noel.

"But--"

"Don't talk!" roared Noel, again shaking his prisoner. "What are you doing here? How did you come?"

Unmindful of the fact that Noel had forbidden his prisoner to speak, and yet at the same time had told him he must explain his presence and actions on the battle-field, he glared into the face of the breathless and frightened Levi in a manner that increased the latter's terror.

"I'll tell you," shouted Noel, "what I'm going to do with you! I'm going to turn you over to the boys after I have told them that you were trying to cut the ring from the finger of one of the dead soldiers! I'll leave you with them. I guess they'll know what to do with you."

"Oh, do not! Please do not! Dey vill be very angry mit me."

"Do you really think so? Maybe so. At all events, I'll turn you over and we'll see what comes."

Securing a firmer hold upon the shoulder of his little prisoner, Noel speedily withdrew from the place and soon placed the miscreant in the hands of the proper authorities.

Only a partial explanation was given by the young soldier, and as he hastened back to his place on the field his anger against the little sutler soon was in a measure forgotten in the task that still confronted him.

The division in which Noel and Dennis were fighting was on the flank of the Union army. Because of this fact they were not among the first to start in pursuit of the Confederates that Monday morning. It was necessary for the greater part of the army to cross South Mountain by one road, the turnpike.

Noel, who had been greatly depressed by the struggle through which he had gone the preceding day, was surprised to find that Dennis and many of his comrades were highly elated. They had succeeded in driving the rebels from the strong position which they had held on South Mountain, and up its steep and rocky sides they had forced their way against fearful odds. If they could do so well where rocks and steep ascents had to be overcome, what might they not be able to do in the valley beyond the mountain?

A spirit of confidence at this time, indeed, of overconfidence, as later events proved, possessed the soldiers. They had jumped to the conclusion already that General Lee had been beaten, and therefore the overwhelming defeats suffered by the Union army at Bull Run now were balanced.

The rejoicing which had come to the army was modified somewhat when the men found that no response was given to their inquiry as to the whereabouts of the enemy. They were not aware that the Confederates at this time had withdrawn beyond South Mountain.

In the task in which Noel had been engaged he had discovered how closely together the desperate charges had brought the men of the two contending armies. There were cases where not more than ten paces intervened between the fence and the place where some of the poor fellows were lying in their last sleep.

In the presence of such scenes the bitterness of the struggle was almost forgotten, and the eyes of the dead, that were staring upward so fixedly in the gray of the morning hour, neither expressed nor aroused any emotion except sorrow.

Unaware of the cause, the young soldier's feelings were somewhat numb from the tension of the preceding hours. Even Levi now was almost forgotten and the husband of Sairy Ann's sister had faded from his thoughts.

At last about ten o'clock, after many protests and much growling on the part of the boys in blue over what they were pleased to call an unnecessary delay, orders were received for the division to be marched toward Boonesborough.

Noel and Dennis were marching side by side, but the most of their comrades were unknown.

As the men advanced, Noel saw that the turnpike far ahead was filled with troops, artillery and wagons that were hurrying up the pa.s.s. The fields on either side were white with army wagons and far down the road that extended toward Frederick City a moving, living, advancing tide of men was pushing steadily forward.

Suddenly some one broke into a song, and in a moment "Maryland, My Maryland" was taken up by the soldiers, although the words frequently changed to suit the feelings of the different singers. Even Noel, heavy-hearted as he was, smiled as he heard Dennis shouting, "_My_ Maryland," with special emphasis upon the "My."

"Dennis, what are you doing?" inquired Noel as the line halted for a brief respite.

"Singin', sor."

"You call that singing, do you?"

"Shure, and what is it, if it isn't singin'?"

"That's what I wanted to find out. That was the reason why I asked my question. If you call it singing, why, I suppose I shall have to take your word for it."

"'Tis a beautiful country," said Dennis as he surveyed the scene which extended far on either side. Fertile fields and a rolling plateau that terminated in the distant hills appeared doubly beautiful in the soft light of that September day.

At their next halt, which was at the home of a family that proved to be loyal to the Union cause, the good woman of the house brought forth all the food she possessed and divided it among the soldiers.