CHAPTER VII
SHERIDAN'S ATTACK
More days passed and the army of Sheridan lay waiting at the head ofthe valley, apparently without any aim in view. But Dick knew that ifLittle Phil delayed it was with good cause. As Colonel Winchester washigh in the general's confidence Dick saw the commander every day. Hesoon learned that he was of an intensely energetic and active nature,and that he must put a powerful rein upon himself to hold back, when hehad such a fine army to lead.
Many of the younger officers expressed impatience and Dick saw by thenewspapers that the North too was chafing at the delay. Newspapersfrom the great cities, New York, Philadelphia and Boston, reached theircamp and they always read them eagerly. Criticisms were leveled atSheridan, and from the appearance of things they had warrant, but Dickhad faith in their leader. Yet another period of depression had comein the North. The loss of life in Grant's campaign through theWilderness had been tremendous, and now he seemed to be heldindefinitely by Lee in the trenches before Petersburg. TheConfederacy, after so many great battles, and such a prodigious roll ofkilled and wounded, was still a nut uncracked, and Sheridan, who wasexpected to go up the valley and turn the Southern flank, was restingquietly in his camp.
Such was the face of matters, but Dick knew that, beneath, great planswere in the making and that the armies would soon stir. The more hesaw of Sheridan the more he was impressed by him. He might prove to bethe Stonewall Jackson of the North. Young, eager, brave, he never fellinto the fault some of the other Union commanders had of overestimatingthe enemy. He always had a cheery word for his young officers, andwhen he was not poring over the maps with his lieutenant of engineers,Meigs, he was inspecting his troops, and seeing that their equipmentand discipline were carried to the highest pitch. He was the veryessence of activity and the army, although not yet moving, felt at alltimes the tonic of his presence.
Cavalry detachments were sent out on a wider circle. Slade and his menhad no opportunity to come so close again, but Shepard informed Dickthat he was in the mountains hemming in the valley on the west, andthat the statement of his having formed a junction with a band underSkelly from the Alleghanies was true. He had seen the big man and thelittle man together and they had several hundred followers.
Shepard in these days showed an almost superhuman activity. He wouldleave the camp, disguised as a civilian, and after covering a greatdistance and risking his life a dozen times he would return withprecious information. A few hours of rest and he was gone again on alike errand. He seemed to be burning with an inward fire, not a firethat consumed him, but a fire of triumph. Dick, who had formed a greatfriendship with him and who saw him often, had never known him to speakmore sanguine words. Always cautious and reserved in his opinions, hetalked now of the certainty of victory. He told them that the Southwas not only failing in men, having none to fill up its shatteredranks, but that food also was failing. The time would come, with thesteel belt of the Northern navy about it and the Northern armiespressing in on every side, when the South would face starvation.
But a day arrived when there were signs of impending movements in thegreat Northern camp. Long columns of wagons were made ready and orderswere issued for the vanguard of cavalry to start at an appointed time.Then, to the intense disappointment of the valiant young troops, theorders were countermanded and the whole army settled back into itsquarters. Dick, who persistently refused to be a grumbler, knew that acause must exist for such an action, but before he could wonder aboutit long Colonel Winchester told him, Warner and Pennington to havetheir horses saddled, and be ready to ride at a moment's notice.
"We're to be a part of General Sheridan's escort," he said, "and we'reto go to a little place called Charlestown."
The three were delighted. They were eager to move, and above all inthe train of Sheridan. The mission must be of great importance or thecommander himself would not ride upon it. Hence they saddled up infive minutes, hoping that the call would come in the next five.
"Did Colonel Winchester tell you why we were going to ride?" askedWarner of Dick.
"No."
"Then perhaps we're going to receive the surrender of Early and all hismen."
Dick laughed.
"I've heard that old Jube Early is one of the hardest swearers in theSouthern army," he said, "and I've heard, too, that he's just as hard afighter. I don't think he'll be handing us his surrender on a silverplatter at Charlestown or anywhere else."
"I know it," said Warner. "I was only joking, but I'm wondering why wego."
In ten minutes an orderly came with a message for them and they were inthe saddle as quickly as if they intended to ride to a charge.Sheridan himself and his staff and escort were as swift as they, andthe whole troop swept away with a thunder of hoofs and the bloodleaping in their veins. It was now almost the middle of September, andthe wind that blew down from the crest of the mountains had a coolbreath. It fanned Dick's face and the great pulse in his throatleaped. He felt that this ride must portend some important movement.Sheridan would not gallop away from his main camp, except on a vitalissue.
It was not a long distance to Charlestown, and when they arrived therethey dismounted and waited. Dick saw Colonel Winchester's face expressgreat expectancy and he must know why they waited, but the youth didnot ask him any questions, although his own curiosity increased.
An hour passed, and then a short, thickset, bearded man, accompanied bya small staff, appeared. Dick drew a deep breath. It was GeneralGrant, Commander-in-Chief of all the armies of the Union, and Sheridanhastened forward to meet him. Then the two, with several of the seniorofficers, went into a house, while the younger men remained outside,and on guard.
"I knew that we were waiting for somebody of importance," said Warner,"but I didn't dream that it was the biggest man we've got in the field."
"Didn't your algebra give you any hint of it?" asked Dick.
"No. An algebra reasons. It doesn't talk and waste its time in idlechatter."
The young officers with their horses walked back and forth a long time,while Grant and Sheridan talked. Dick, surprised that Grant had leftthe trenches before Petersburg and had come so far to meet hislieutenant, felt that the meeting must be momentous. But it was evenmore crowded with the beginnings of great events than he thought.Grant, as he wrote long afterward, had come prepared with a plan ofcampaign for Sheridan, but, as he wrote, "seeing that he was so clearand so positive in his views I said nothing about this and did not takeit out of my pocket." It was a quality of Grant's greatness, like thatof Lee, to listen to a lieutenant, and when he thought his plan wasbetter than his own to adopt the lieutenant's and put his own away.
In that memorable interview, from which such stirring campaigns dated,Grant was impressed more and more by the earnestness and clearness ofthe famous Little Phil, and, when they parted, he gave him a free reinand an open road. Sheridan, when they rode away from the conference,was sober and thoughtful. He was to carry out his own plan, but thefull weight of the responsibility would be his, and it was very greatfor a young man who was not much more than thirty.
But Dick and his comrades felt exultation, and did not try to hide it.Now that Grant himself had come to see Sheridan the army was bound tomove. Pennington looked toward the South and waved his hand.
"You've been waiting for us a long time, old Jube," he said, "but we'recoming. And you'll see and hear our resistless tread."
"But don't forget, Frank," said Warner soberly, "that we'll have a bigbill of lives to pay. We don't ride unhurt over the Johnnies."
"Don't I know it?" said Pennington. "Haven't I been learning it everyday for three years?"
Action was prompt as the young officers had hoped. The very next dayafter the meeting with his superior, Sheridan prepared to march, andthe hopes of Dick and his friends rose very high. They did not knowthat daring Southern spies had learned of the meeting of Grant andSheridan, and Early, judging that it portended a great movement agains
thim, was already consolidating his forces and preparing to meet it.And Jubal Early was an able and valiant general.
Dick did not sleep that night. All had received orders to holdthemselves in readiness for an instant march, and his blood tingledwith expectancy. At midnight the Winchester regiment rode off to theleft to join the cavalry under Wilson which was to lead the advance,moving along a pike road and then crossing the little river Opequan.
Dick rode close behind Colonel Winchester and Warner and Penningtonwere on either side of him. Not far away from them was SergeantWhitley, ready for use as a scout. Shepard had disappeared already inthe darkness. They joined Wilson's command and waited in silence. Atthree o'clock in the morning the word to advance was given and thewhole division marched forward in the starlight.
They had not gone far before Shepard rode back telling them that thecrossing of the Opequan was guarded by Confederate troops. The cavalryincreased their speed. After the long period of inaction they wereanxious to come to grips with their foe. Dick still rode knee to kneewith Warner and Pennington, as they went on at a rapid pace in thestarlight, the fields and strips of forest gliding past. Men onhorseback talk less at night than in the day and moreover these hadlittle to say. Their part was action, and they were waiting to seewhat the little Opequan would disclose to them.
"Do you think they'll have a big force at the river?" asked Pennington.
"No," replied Dick. "I fancy from what we've heard of Early's armythat he won't have the men to spare."
"But we can look for a brush there," said Warner.
The night began to darken as a premonition of the coming dawn, a veilof vapor was drawn before the stars, trees blended together and the airbecame chill. Then the vapor was pierced in the east by a lance oflight. The rift widened, and the pale light of the first dawn appearedover the hills. Dick, using his glasses, saw a flash which he knew wasthe Opequan. And with that silvery gleam of water came other flashesof red and rapid crackling reports. The Southern sharpshooters alongthe stream were already opening fire.
A great shout went up from the cavalry. All the forces restrained solong in these young men burst forth. The dawn was now deepeningrapidly, its pallor turning to silver, and the river, for a longlength, lay clear to view before them. Trumpets to right and left andin the center sounded the charge, the mellow notes coming back in manyechoes.
The horsemen firing their own carbines and swinging aloft their sabers,galloped forward in a mighty rush. The beat of hundreds of hoofs madea steady sound, insistent and threatening. The yellow light of thesun, replacing the silver of the first dawn, gilded them with gold,glittering on the upraised blades and tense faces. The bullets of theSouthern sharpshooters, in the bushes and trees along the Opequan,crashed among them, and horses and men went down, but the mighty sweepof the mass was not delayed for an instant.
Dick was flourishing the cavalry saber that he now carried and wasshouting with the rest. Nearer and nearer came the belt of clearwater, and the fire of the Southern skirmishers increased in volume andaccuracy. No great Southern force was there, but the men were full ofcourage and activity. Their rifle fire emptied many of the Northernsaddles. A bullet went through the sleeve of Dick's tunic and grazedthe skin, but he only felt a slight burning touch and then soon forgotit.
Then the whole column started together, as they swept into the Opequan,driving before them through sheer weight of mass the skirmishers andsharpshooters, who were hidden among the trees and thickets. The wateritself proved but little obstacle. It was churned to foam by hundredsof trampling hoofs, and Dick felt it falling upon him like rain, butthe drops were cool and refreshing.
Still at a gallop, they emerged from the river, wet and dripping, somuch water had been dashed up by the beating hoofs, and chargedstraight on, driving the scattered Southern riflemen before them.Dick's exultation swelled, and so did that of Warner and Pennington.The young Nebraskan was compelled to give voice to his.
"Hurrah!" he shouted. "We'll gallop the whole length of the valley!Nothing can stop us!"
But Warner, naturally cautious, despite his rejoicings, would not go sofar.
"Not the whole length of the valley, Frank!" he exclaimed. "Only halfof it!"
"All or nothing!" shouted Pennington, carried away by his enthusiasm."Hurrah! Hurrah!"
Before them now lay a small earthwork, from which field pieces began tosend ugly gusts of fire, but so great was the sweep of the cavalry thatthey charged directly upon it. The defenders, too few to hold it,withdrew and retreated in haste, and in a few minutes the Northerncavalry were in possession.
"Didn't I tell you," exclaimed Pennington, "that we were going togallop the whole length of the valley! We've taken a fort withhorsemen!"
"Yes," said Warner, "but we'll stop here a while. Listen to thetrumpets sounding the halt, and yonder you can see the main lines ofthe Johnnies."
It was obvious that it was unwise to go farther until the whole armycame up, as they heard other trumpets calling now, and they were nottheir own but those of their enemies. Early had not been caughtnapping. The dark lines of his infantry were advancing to retake thelittle fort. The cavalry was reduced in an instant from the offensiveto the defensive, and dismounting and sending their horses to the rear,where they were held by every tenth man, they waited with carbinesready, the masses of men in gray bearing down upon them. Dick wonderedif the Invincibles were there before him. Second thought told him thatit was unlikely, as the advancing troops were infantry, and he knewthat the Invincibles were now mounted.
"Now, lads," said Colonel Winchester, going down the ranks, "ready withyour rifles!"
The Southern infantry came on to the steady beating of a drumsomewhere, but as they drew near the fort a sheet of bullets pouredupon them, and drove them back, leaving the ground sprinkled with thefallen. Again and again they reformed and returned to the charge alwaysto meet the same fate.
"Brave fellows!" exclaimed Warner, "but they can't retake this fortfrom us!"
After the last repulse Colonel Winchester drew out his men, mountedthem, and charging the infantry in flank sent them far down the roadtoward Winchester, where heavy columns came to their support. But theWinchester men had time to breathe, and also to exult, as they hadsuffered but little loss. While they remained at the captured fort,awaiting further orders, they watched the battle elsewhere, flaring ina long irregular line across the valley.
The rifle fire was heavy and the big guns of Early were sweeping theroads with shell and grapeshot. As well as Dick could see through hisglasses, the only success yet achieved was that of the cavalry at thefort. Sheridan himself had not yet appeared, and the hopes of thethree sank a little. They had seen so many triumphs nearly achievedand then lost that they could believe in nothing until it was done.
But the morning was yet very young. While the east had long been fullof light, the golden glow was just enveloping the west. The riflescrashed incessantly and the heavy thunder of the cannon gave the steadysound a deeper note. The fire of the defending Southern force made ared stream across the hills and fields.
"It's too early to have a battle," said Warner, looking at the sun,which was not yet far above the horizon.
"Too early for us or too early for the Johnnies?" said Pennington. "Ithink, Dick, I see those rebel friends of yours. Turn your glasses tothe right, and look at that regiment of horses by the edge of thegrove. I see at the head of it two men with longish hair. Apparentlythey are elderly, and they must be Colonel Talbot and LieutenantColonel St. Hilaire."
Dick turned his glasses eagerly and the officers of the Invincibleswere at once recognizable to his more familiar eye. He could notmistake Colonel Leonidas Talbot and Lieutenant Colonel Hector St.Hilaire, both of whom were watching the progress of the battle throughglasses, and he knew that the four young men who sat their horses justbehind them were Harry, St. Clair, Dalton and Langdon.
As no further attack was made on the fort, and Colonel Winches
ter'stroop remained stationary for the time, Dick kept his glasses bearingcontinually upon the Invincibles. The glasses were powerful and theytold him much. He inferred from the manner in which the men were drawnup that they would charge soon. Near them a battery of fourConfederate guns was planted on a hill, and it was firing rapidly andeffectively, sending shell and shrapnel into advancing lines of blueinfantry.
A singular feeling took hold of him, one of which he was not thenconscious. He knew six of the officers who sat in the front of theInvincibles, and one of them was his own cousin, almost his brother. Hedid not know a soul in the blue columns advancing upon them, and hishopes and fears centered suddenly around that little group of six.
The wood was filled with Southern infantry, as it was now spoutingflame, and the battery continued to thunder as fast as the men couldreload and fire. The Invincibles who carried short rifles, much likethe carbines of the North, raised them and pulled the triggers. Manyin the blue column fell, but the others went on without faltering.
Dick knew from long experience what would follow, and he watched italike with the eye and the mind that divines. Either his eye or hisfancy saw the Invincibles lean forward a little, fasten their rifles,shake loose the reins with one hand, and drop the other hand to thehilt of the saber. It was certain that in the next minute they wouldcharge.
He saw a trumpeter raise a trumpet to his lips and blow, loud andshrill. Then the column of the Invincibles leaped forward, the necks ofthe horses outstretched, the men raising their sabers and flashing themabove their heads. Dick drew deep breaths and his pulses beatpainfully. Had he realized what his wishes were then he would haveconsidered himself a traitor. In those swift moments his heart waswith the Invincibles and not with the blue columns that stood upagainst them.
He saw the gray horsemen sweep forward into a cloud of fire and smoke,in which he caught the occasional flash of a saber. The combat behindthe veil lasted only a minute or two, though it seemed an hour to Dick,and then he saw the blue infantry reeling back, their advance checkedby the charge of the Invincibles. A cheer rose in Dick's throat, buthe checked it, and then, remembering, he trembled in a brief chill, asif shaken by the knowledge that for a few moments at least he had notbeen true to the cause for which he fought.
"A gallant charge those Johnnies made," said Warner, "and it's beeneffective, too. Our men are falling back, while the Johnnies arereturning to their place near the wood."
Dick was straining his eyes through the glasses to see whether any oneof the five whom he knew had fallen, but as the Invincibles returnedfrom their victorious charge in a close mass it was impossible for himto tell. A number of saddles had been emptied, as riderless horseswere galloping wildly over the plain. He sighed a little and replacedhis glasses in their case.
"Here come more of our cavalry!" said Warner.
They heard the heavy beat of many hoofs and in an instant many horsemenswarmed about them. It was Sheridan himself who led them, his faceflushed and eager and his eyes blazing. He was a little man, but hewas electric in his energy, and his very presence seemed to communicatemore spirit and fire to the troops. The officers crowded about him,and, while he swept the field with his glasses, he also gave a rapidcommand.
The Southern resistance, despite inferior numbers, was valiant andenduring. Their heavy guns were pouring a deadly fire upon theNorthern center. Beyond the taking of the fort by the cavalry the Armyof the Shenandoah had made no progress, and the Southern troops wererapidly concentrating at every critical point. Old Jube Early, mightyswearer, was proving himself a master of men.
Dick could not watch Sheridan long, as the cavalry were quickly sentoff to the left to clear away skirmishers, and let the infantry andartillery get up on that front. There were many groups of trees, andfrom every one of these the Southern riflemen sent swarms of bullets.It seemed to Dick that he was preserved miraculously. Many a bulletcoming straight for his head must have turned aside at the last momentto seek a target elsewhere. To him at least these bullets weremerciful that morning.
But they cleared the ground, though some of their own saddles wereemptied, and the infantry and the artillery came up behind them. Thebig guns were planted and began to reply to those of the South. Yetthe Confederate lines still held fast. Clouds of smoke floated overthe field, but whenever they lifted sufficiently Dick saw the gray armymaintaining all its positions. He looked for the Invincibles again butcould not find them. Doubtless they were hid from his view by thehills.
"It's anybody's fight," said Warner, surveying the field with his cool,mathematical eye. "We have the greater numbers but our infantry arecoming up slowly and, besides, the enemy has the advantage of interiorlines."
"And the morning wanes," said Dick. "I thought we'd make a grand rushand sweep over 'em!"
"Oh, these Johnnies are tough. They have to be. There's not muchmarching over the other by either side in this war."
A heavy battle of cannon and rifles, with no advantage to either side,went on for a long time. Dick saw Sheridan galloping here and there,and urging on his troops, but the reserves were slow in coming and hewas not yet able to hurl his full strength upon his enemy. Noon came,the battle already having lasted four or five hours, and Sheridan hadno triumph to show, save the little fort that the cavalry had seizedearly in the morning.
"Do you think we'll have to draw off?" asked Pennington.
"Maybe we'll have to, but we won't," replied Dick. "Sheridan refusesto recognize necessities when they're not in his favor. You'll now seethe difference between a man and men."
Colonel Winchester's regiment was sent off further to the left toprevent any flanking movement, but they could still see most of thefield. For the moment they were not engaged, and they watched thethrilling and terrific panorama as it passed before them.
Colonel Winchester himself suddenly broke from his calm and pointed tothe rear of the Union lines.
"Look!" he exclaimed. "All our reserves of artillery and infantry arecoming up! The whole army will now advance!"
They saw very clearly the deepening of the lines in the center.Sheridan was there massing the new troops for the attack, and soon thetrumpets sounded the charge along the whole front. The Northernbatteries redoubled their fire, and the South, knowing that a heaviershock of battle was coming, replied in kind.
"Here we go again!" cried Pennington, and the horsemen rode straight attheir enemy. It seemed to Dick that the Southern regiments cameforward to meet them and a battle long, fierce and wavering in itsfortunes ensued. The wing to which the Winchesters belonged pressedforward, driving their enemy before them, only to be caught when theywent too far by a savage flanking fire of artillery. Early had broughtin his reserve guns, and so powerful was their attack that at thispoint the Northern line was almost severed, and a Southern wedge wasdriven into the gap.
But Sheridan did not despair. He had a keen eye and a collected mind,infused with a fiery spirit. Where his line had been weakened he sentnew troops. With charge after charge he drove the Confederates out ofthe gap and closed it up. A whole division was then hurled with itsfull weight against the Southern line and broke it, although thegallant general who led the column fell shot through the heart.
But Early formed new lines. It was only a temporary success forSheridan. An important division of cavalry sent on a wide flankingmovement had not yet arrived, and he wondered why. Perhaps the thoughtcame into his own dauntless heart that he might not succeed at all,but, if so, he hid it, and called up fresh resources of strength andcourage. It was now far into the afternoon but he resolved neverthelessto win victory before the day was over. Everywhere the call for a newcharge was sounded.
The Winchesters had a good trumpeter, a deep-chested young fellow wholoved to blow forth mellow notes, and now as his brazen instrument sangthe song that summoned men to death the young men unconsciouslytightened the grip of the knee on their horses, and leaned a littleforward, as if they would see the enemy more clos
ely. To the right thefire grew heavier and heavier, and most of the field was hidden by athick veil of smoke.
Dick saw other cavalry massing on either side of the Winchesterregiment, and he knew their charge was to be one of great weight andimportance.
"I feel that we're going to win or lose here," he said to Warner.
"Looks like it," replied the Vermonter, "but I think you can put yourmoney on the cavalry today. It's Sheridan's great striking arm."
"It'll have to strike with all its might, that's sure," said Dick.
He did not know that the force in front of him was commanded by ageneral from his own state, Breckinridge, once Vice-President of theUnited States and also high in the councils of the Confederacy.Breckinridge was inspiring his command with the utmost vigor andalready his heavy guns were sweeping the front of the Union cavalry,while the riflemen stood ready for the charge.
The great mass of Northern horsemen were eager and impatient. A thrillof anticipation seemed to run through them, as if through one body, andwhen the final command was given they swept forward in a mighty,irresistible line. In Dick's mind then anticipation became knowledge.He was as sure as he was of his own name that they were going to win.
Again he was knee to knee with Warner and Pennington, and with thesegood comrades on his right and left he rode into the Southern fire,among the shell and shrapnel and grapeshot and bullets that had sweptso often around him. In spite of the most desperate courage, theSouthern troops gave way before the terrific onset--they had to giveground or they would have been trampled under the feet of the horses.Cannon and many rifles were taken, and the whole Confederate divisionwas driven in disorder down the road.
Warner's stern calm was broken, and he shouted in delight "We win! Wewin!" Then Dick and Pennington shouted with him: "We win! We win!"and as the smoke of their own battle lifted they saw that the Unionarmy elsewhere was triumphant also. Sheridan along his whole line wasforcing the enemy back toward Winchester, raking him with his heavyguns, and sending charge after charge of cavalry against him. Unableto withstand the weight hurled upon them the Southern troops gaveground at an increased rate.
Yet Early and his veterans never showed greater courage than on thatday. His brave officers were everywhere, checking the fugitives and,his best division turning a front of steel to the enemy, covered theretreat. Neither infantry nor cavalry could break it, although everyman in the Southern command knew that the battle was lost. Yet theywere resolved that it should not become a rout, and though many werefalling before the Union force they never shrank for a moment fromtheir terrible task.
The Invincibles were in the division that covered the retreat, and theywere exposed at all times to the full measure of the Union attack.Dalton had joined them that morning, but the bullets and shells seemedresolved to spare the four youths and the two colonels, or at least notto doom them to death. Nearly every one of them bore slight wounds,and often men had been killed only a few feet away, but the valiantband, led by its daring officers, fought with undimmed courage andresolution.
"I fear that we have been defeated, Hector," said Colonel LeonidasTalbot.
"Don't call it a defeat, Leonidas. It's merely a masterly retreatbefore superior numbers, after having inflicted great loss upon theenemy. As you see, we are protecting our withdrawal. Every attack ofthe enemy upon our division has been beaten back, and we will continueto beat him back as long as he comes."
"True, true, Hector, and the Invincibles are bearing a great part inthis glorious feat of arms! But the Yankee general, Sheridan, is notlike the other Yankee generals who operated in the valley earlier inthe war. We're bound to admit that."
"We do admit it, Leonidas, and alas! we have now no Stonewall Jacksonto meet him, brave and capable as General Early is!"
The two colonels looked at the setting sun, and hoped that it would godown with a rush. The division could not hold forever against thetremendous pressure upon it that never ceased, but darkness would putan end to the battle. The first gray of twilight was already showingon the eastern hills, and Early's men still held the broad turnpikeleading into the South. Here, fighting with all the desperation ofimminent need, they beat off every effort of the Northern cavalry togain their ground, and when night came they still held it, withdrawingslowly and in good order, while Sheridan's men, exhausted by tremendousmarches and heavy losses, were unable to pursue. Yet the North hadgained a great and important victory.
* * * *
Darkness closed over a weary but exultant army. It had not destroyedthe forces of Early, and it had been able to pursue only three miles.It had lost five thousand men in killed and wounded, but the results,nevertheless, were great and the soldiers knew it. The spell ofSouthern invincibility in the famous valley, where Jackson had won sooften, was broken, and the star of Sheridan had flashed out withbrilliancy, to last until the war's close. They knew, too, that theynow held all of the valley north of Winchester, and they were soon toknow that they would continue to hold it. They commanded also a greatrailway and a great canal, and the South was cut off from Maryland andPennsylvania, neither of which it could ever invade again.
Although a far smaller battle than a dozen that had been fought, it wasone of the greatest and most complete victories the North had yet won.After a long and seemingly endless deadlock a terrible blow had beenstruck at the flank of Lee, and the news of the triumph filled theNorth with joy. It was also given on this occasion to those who hadfought in the battle itself to know what they had done. They were notblinded by the dust and shouting of the arena.
Dick with his two young comrades sat beneath an oak and ate the warmfood and drank the hot coffee the camp cook brought to them. They hadescaped without hurt, and they were very happy over the achievement ofthe day. The night was crisp, filled with starshine, and the cookingfires had been built along a long line, stretching away like a seriesof triumphant bonfires.
"I felt this morning that we would win," said Dick.
"I've felt several times that we would win, when we didn't," saidPennington.
"But this time I felt it right. They say that Stonewall Jackson alwayscommunicated electricity to his men, and I think our Little Phil hasthe same quality. Since we first came to him here I haven't doubtedthat we would win, and when I saw him and Grant talking I knew thatwe'd be up and doing."
"It's the spirit that Grant showed at Vicksburg," said Warner,seriously. "Little Phil--I intend to call him that when I'm not in hispresence, because it's really a term of admiration--is another Grant,only younger and on horseback."
"It's fire that does it," said Dick. "No, Frank, I don't mean thismaterial fire burning before us, but the fire that makes him seeobstacles little, and advantages big, the fire that makes him rush overeverything to get at the enemy and destroy him."
"Well spoken, Dick," said Warner. "A bit rhetorical, perhaps, but thatcan be attributed to your youth and the region from which you come."
"It's a great pity, George, about my youth and the region from which Icome. If so many youths in blue didn't come from that same region thewhole Mississippi Valley might now be in the hands of the Johnnies."
"Didn't I tell you, Dick, not to argue with him?" said Pennington."What's the use? New England has the writers and when this war isended victoriously they'll give the credit of all the fighting to NewEngland. And after a while, through the printed word, they'll makeother people believe it, too."
"Then you Nebraskans and Kentuckians should learn to read and write.Why blame me?" said Warner with dignity.
Colonel Winchester joined them at that moment, having returned from abrief council with Sheridan and his officers. Dick, without a word,passed him a plate of hot ham and a tin cup of sizzling coffee. Thecolonel, who looked worn to the bone but triumphant, ate and drank.Then he settled himself into an easy place before one of the fires andsaid:
"A messenger has gone to General Grant with the news of our victory,and it will cert
ainly be a most welcome message. The news will also besent to the nearest telegraph station, and then it will travel onhundreds of wires to every part of the North, but while it's flashingthrough space we'll be riding forward to new battle."
"I expected it, sir," said Dick. "I suppose we advance again at dawn."
"And maybe a little sooner. Now you boys must rest. You've hadeighteen hours of marching and fighting. I've been very proud of myregiment today, and fortunately we have escaped without large losses."
"And you sleep, too, sir, do you not?" said Warner, respectfully. "Ifwe've been marching and fighting for eighteen hours so have you."
"I shall do so a little later, but that's no reason why the rest of youshould delay. How that coffee and ham refreshed me! I didn't know Iwas so nearly dead."
"Here's more, Colonel!"
"Thank you, Dick. I believe I will. But as I say, go to sleep. Iwant all my regiment to sleep. We don't know what is before ustomorrow, but whatever it is it won't be easy. Now you boys have hadenough to eat and drink. Into the blankets with you!"
He did not wait to see his order obeyed, but strode away on anotherhasty errand. But it was obeyed and that, too, without delay. Theyoung warriors rolled themselves in their blankets and hunted a softplace for their heads. But their nerves were not yet quiet, and sleepdid not come for a little while. The long lines of fires still glowed,and the sounds of an army came to them. Dick looked up into thestarshine. He was still rejoicing in the victory, not because theother side had lost, but because, in his opinion, it brought peace muchnearer. He realized as he lay there gazing into the skies that theSouth could never win as long as the North held fast. And the Northwas holding fast. The stars as they winked at him seemed to say so.
He propped himself upon his elbow and said:
"George, does your little algebra tell you anything about the meaningof this victory?"
Warner tapped his breast.
"That noble book is here in the inside pocket of my tunic," he replied."It's not necessary for me to take it out, but tucked away on the 118thpage is a neat little problem which just fits this case. Let x equalthe Army of Northern Virginia, let y equal the army of Early here inthe valley, and let x plus y equal a possibly successful defense by theSouth. But when y is swept away it's quite certain that x standingalone cannot do so. My algebra tells you on the 118th page, tuckedaway neatly in a paragraph, that this is the beginning of the end."
"It sounds more like a formula than a problem, George, but still I'mputting my faith in your little algebra book."
"George's algebra is all right," said Pennington, "but it doesn'talways go before, it often comes after. It doesn't show us how to do athing, but proves how we've done it. As for me, I'm pinning my faithto Little Phil. He won a great victory today, when all our otherleaders for years have been beaten in the Valley of Virginia, andsometimes beaten disgracefully too."
"Your argument is unanswerable, Frank," said Dick. "I didn't expectsuch logic from you."
"Oh, I think I'm real bright at times."
"Despite popular belief," said Warner.
"I don't advertise my talents," said Pennington.
"But you ought to. They need it."
Dick laughed.
"Frank," he said, "I give you your own advice to me. Don't argue withhim. With him the best proof that he's always right is because hethinks he is."
"I think clearly and directly, which can be said of very few of myfriends," rejoined Warner.
Then all three of them laughed and lay down again, resting their headson soft lumps of turf.
They were under the boughs of a fine oak, on which the leaves were yetthick. Birds, hidden among the leaves, began to sing, and the three,astonished, raised themselves up again. It was a chorus, beautiful andstartling, and many other soldiers listened to the sound, so unlikethat which they had been hearing all day.
"Strange, isn't it?" said Pennington.
"But fine to hear," said Warner.
"Likely they were in the tree this morning when the battle began," saidDick, "and the cannon and the rifles frightened 'em so much that theystayed close within the leaves. Now they're singing with joy, becauseit's all over."
"A good guess, I think, Dick," said Warner, "but isn't it beautiful atsuch a time and such a place? How these little fellows must beswelling their throats! I don't believe they ever sang so well before."
"I didn't think today that I'd be sung to sleep tonight," said Dick,"but it's going to happen."
When his eyes closed and he floated away to slumberland it was to thethrilling song of a bird on a bough above his head.