GLORY II Chapter 19

Chapter 19

  After numbers were called, every fifth man was detailed as horse holder, the rest moved forward to form a line on both sides of the road and began to slowly push through the thick scrub oak and briar patches.  They could hear shots to their front where Captain Tyler was keeping the Yankees pinned to the ground.

  Shortly, the remainder of Colonel Lyon's brigade rode up.  As fast as he could, Lyon had them dismount and form lines.  He sent Lt. Colonel Holt and his 3rd Kentucky regiment forward at a fast trot.  To the right of the 3rd Kentucky, he placed Lt. Colonel Sherrill and the 7th Kentucky, and to the left of the 3rd, he hastily dispatched the 12th Kentucky regiment under Major Tate.  The 12th was part of Colonel Falkner's regiment and the unit that Laura's brothers were assigned to.  He held the 8th Kentucky regiment under the command of Lt. Colonel Shackett in reserve.

  "Put the pressure on them Hylan," General Forrest ordered.  "Move forward on a solid brigade front and push them hard until we hit their main body.  Those boys in front of us can't be much more than an advanced skirmish line."

  Colonel Lyon rode down the slope to personally check on Major Tate and the men of the 12th Kentucky, which was hidden by blackjack thickets.  Satisfied that all units were in position, he gave the bugler an order to sound the advance.

  At once all three regiments stepped off in parade ground precision, dressing to the units on their right.  This was their kind of fighting, that's why they called themselves mounted infantry instead of cavalry.  Back on the ground, moving forward in their familiar infantry assault formation, they felt comfortable and unbeatable, especially knowing they were up against Union cavalry instead of infantry.

  They slowly punched through the thick undergrowth, steadily pushing the Union units before them.  By this time ninety percent of the brigade was to the south of the Baldwyn Road and the dense thickets began to thin out a bit.  Suddenly, they ran into a fence barrier made of wooden railing with brush and small trees piled on top.  On the other side of the fence was a large, open cornfield.

  The retreating Yankees were rushing across the field to join their units stationed behind another fence on the far side of the field.  Colonel Lyon ordered the command to take cover behind the rail fence.

  "What do you make of it, Sergeant Major?" General Forrest asked Monday who had been surveying the far side of the open field with a pair of field glasses.

  "They're Ben Grierson's boys all right," Monday replied, spitting a brown stream of tobacco juice into the thick green grass.  "Those are Illinois men out front carrying those colt repeaters, and just behind them is part of the 4th Missoura and the 7th Indiana.  They're part of George Waring's Brigade.  He's got at least fifteen hundred men.  Over yonder I see part of the 3rd and 4th Iowa and some of the 7th Illinois.  That's got to be old Ed Winslow.  He's got around 1800 men. All total, I reckon we're facing General Grierson's entire division, at least 3,300, mayhap more."

  "No Infantry?"

  "None yet Bedford, but we fought these boys down at Okolona and Ivey's farm and up in Tennessee.  They're some of the best the Yanks have.  Not only that, they got them repeatin' rifles, fire ten times fastern' our boys."

  "Colonel Rucker's still a few miles back.  If old Ben Grierson figures out that we only have Lyon's brigade here, he might just catch a pail of bravery and put the skeer on us."

  "What'cha thinkin' on doin' Bedford?" Monday asked, already knowing the answer.

  "As I said before, I'll give more for fifteen minutes bulge on the enemy than a week of tactics.  Grierson's already here firstest with the mostest, but Ben don't know our strength, so we have to make him think we're a lot bigger and stronger than we are."  Turning to Colonel Lyon, Forrest continued.  "Hylan, have your boys take down every other rail from this fence, then make a recon in force across the field towards the Yankees.  We gotta keep them off balance at least until Rucker and Johnson get here.  Once they show up, I'm sure we can hold until Bell arrives.  Sergeant Major, tell Will to get hold of Captain Tyler and have him post his two squadrons over near the Guntown Road just in case Winslow tries to develop our left, then dispatch Captain Anderson as planned."

  Will was talking with Captain Henry Johnson whose unit was on security duty for General Forrest when Monday rode up.  "Bedford wants you to get hold of Captain Tyler and his two squadrons and lead them over to the Guntown Road," Monday stated, taking a small swig of water from his canteen to wash the tobacco out of his mouth.  "Be careful, I think Colonel Winslow's over that way with a couple Iowa regiments.  Post Tyler and his men, get a good look-see at what's over there, and then report back to Bedford, pronto."

  "On my way," Will replied, slapping his reigns against Squirrel's flank to get her started.

  As soon as Will left, Monday rode over to where Captain Anderson sat, trying to see through the thick undergrowth.  "Old Bedford has a mission for you, Charley," he stated, drawing his mount up next to Anderson's.  "Wants you to go back and tell General Buford to get Morton and his artillery and Colonel Bell's brigade moving this way as fast as they can.  With the roads in piss poor condition and as tired as the animals gotta be, it's going to take them some time to get here.  Tell Buford when he reaches Old Carrolville to detach Colonel Barteau with a few companies and have him follow that cutoff over towards the Ripley Road.  That'll put him close to the Yankee's rear.  With any luck we might be able to stampede the blue bellies."

  Monday could see the disappointment in the young Captain's face as he turned his mount and headed back down the Wire Road.  Like most young men, Captain Anderson was itching to get into the fight.  The thought that they could be killed never entered their minds.  It was always the other guy who bought the farm, never them.

  About fifty yards into the thick brush Will ran into Captain Tyler.  His men were hidden in the thickets behind Major Tate's 12th Kentucky cavalry, standing near their horses and ready to mount at a moment’s notice.

  "With the General's compliments, Sir," Will stated, saluting the brash young Captain.  "You are to follow me over to the Guntown Road with your unit to act as a flank guard.  General Forrest is concerned that the Yankees might notice our weak left flank and take advantage of it.  Sergeant Major Stiehl says there is likely a federal brigade in that area also, or parts of one at least."

  Captain Tyler gave the command for his men to mount up.  "Sergeant Cole, please advise Major Tate that we are moving to his left flank near the Guntown Road," he commanded.  "Then report back to your company."

  It was almost a mile ride to the Guntown road.  Most of the way was through thick underbrush and shallow depressions, but as they finally hit the road, small clearings begin to open up.  Will immediately recognized where he was, for just to their rear, perhaps two hundred yards away, was the Brysons’ farm.  To their front, perhaps two hundred yards, sitting in the middle of the road was a Union artillery battery.  Dismounted Union cavalry had taken up positions to each side of the artillery.  Captain Tyler quickly had his command spread out in an assault line on both sides of the road.  That Union sentries had spotted them was obvious from the sudden buzz of activity within their ranks.

  "They'll never know how small we are unless they front an all-out assault," Captain Tyler smiled.  "Tell the General I'll hold here until I receive orders otherwise."

  "Yes, Sir," Will replied, saluting the daring young Captain.  "The Sergeant Major wants me to get a good look at what we're facing, so I'm going to make a recon forward a bit."

  "Keep your head down, Will.  Wouldn't want to have to tell Laura you got your fool head shot off before the fightin' even started."

  Will dismounted and walked into the thick undergrowth, leading Squirrel by the reigns.  The rain had finally stopped and the hot, sticky humidity was like a suffocating cloud.  Small runnels of water seeped through the high grass to form little pools of water in the low-lying areas.  The birds were out in full force to take advantage of the earthworms forced from their holes by the incessant downpour of the past several days.

  After a few minutes of stealthy walking, Will could barely discern the rear of an old log house.  It took him a few seconds to orient himself before he finally recognized that it was the same old house he and Laura had run to during the brief shower that had disrupted the dance social.

  Peering closely, he could just barely see Brice's country store over to the left.  To his right front, a Union General sat slouched on his mount and a Yankee artillery battery was unlimbered in the middle of the road leading towards Baldwyn.

  Suddenly aware that he was much closer to the enemy than he at first thought, he cut through the thick underbrush to his right with intentions of flanking them and returning to his lines.  After fifty yards of slow progress, he came to an abrupt halt.  To his front, an entire Yankee regiment was deployed in the thickets overlooking a wide-open cornfield.  Somehow he had gone too far and managed to come up behind the enemy lines.

  Behind him he could hear enemy cavalry crashing through the thick briars and undergrowth.  He would have to move fast and to his right front if he didn't want to be trapped behind the Yankee lines.  Evidently other units were moving up to connect with the right flank of the Yankee regiment to his front.

  Unexpectedly, a fierce volley of rifle fire came from the other side of the cleared field to impact within the ranks of the Union cavalry in front of him.  Several troopers went down and Will could hear the angry buzz of rounds as they roared past him no more than a few feet away.

  To his left near the road, several mountain howitzers opened up sending high explosive rounds into the tangle of brush on the far side of the cornfield.  Will was amazed.  He was watching the enemy as they fired back at his own outfit.  He could now see Yankee cavalry dismounting to his right front, moving into line next to the unit in front of him.  He was trapped.  The woods were filled with Union cavalrymen moving forward, half of them thoroughly lost amid the thick undergrowth.

  The Union line must now extend in a semi-circle all the way from the Guntown Road to the Baldwin Road.  His only hope of escape was to push through the dense brush and pray for a spot where the Yankees were still disorganized.

  Quietly drawing himself up into the creaking saddle, Will gently urged squirrel forward.  He could hear the cursing and yelling of men all around him.  Unexpectedly, he burst into a small clearing.  There were dozens of horse holders leading their string of horses back through the thick underbrush to a holding area.  Several looked up at him with curious glances, which quickly turned into startled surprise as they finally recognized he was wearing a Confederate officer's uniform.

  Before they had a chance to react, Will slapped Squirrel hard on her flank with his reigns and she bolted forward at a fast gallop like a startled jackrabbit.  He flew past the gawking troopers and plunged into the underbrush on the other side of the small clearing.  Within seconds he ran into a line of dismounted cavalrymen and officers who were desperately trying to form them into skirmish lines.

  Bending low against Squirrel's neck to make as small a target as possible Will tore through the disorganized knots of men and urged Squirrel into greater speed.  With small limbs and briars threatening to pull him from the saddle, he gave Squirrel the lead and let her find a way through the tangled mess.  Behind him several rifle shots sounded.  He didn't know if they were aimed at him or the result of some startled troopers firing their rifles by accident.  Within minutes, he was deep into the blackjack thickets and took back control of Squirrel and headed her in the direction he was certain would bring him out behind his own Confederate lines.

  Ten minutes later he saw the large open cornfield to his left and could see elements of the Kentucky brigade as it charged across the field towards the Yankee units hidden behind the rail fencing.  As he neared the headquarters area, screened from the assault by a small knoll, Sergeant Major Stiehl looked up at him from a small campfire where he had been brewing coffee.  He acted as if he was a thousand miles from the scene of an ongoing battle.

  "Good way to get yourself kilt boy," Monday stated, pointing back towards the enemy lines.  "I said to have a look see at them, not go join ‘em for breakfast."

  "Got a little too close and almost got cut off," Will replied, standing down from the saddle to pull briar vines and pieces of limbs from his pants and Squirrel's flanks.  "Spotted General Grierson and his staff not too far east of the Brice's house.  I didn't see any infantry units, but the cavalry is forming a line all the way over to Captain Tyler's position on the Guntown Road."

  "Might as well inform Bedford," Monday said, pointing to his right with a cup of coffee.  "He's over thar sitting in the middle of the damn road waiting for Colonel Rucker to show up."

  Climbing back into the saddle, Will rode the hundred yards or so to where General Forrest sat leaning over his saddle, almost as if he had fallen asleep.  The General made no move to recognize his presence, but continued to stare off into the dense woods.

  Will reported and advised him of the brigade stretched to the Guntown Road and that Captain Tyler was in position as ordered.

  "Got to keep the pressure on," General Forrest muttered, "left flank's too vulnerable."

  No sooner had the General muttered those words than Colonel Rucker came galloping up with his brigade of 700 men.  "What's happening Bedford?" Rucker asked, fighting to keep his tired mount from bucking.

  "Yankees, Ed, and lot's of them."

  "Is it a battle?"

  "Yes it's a battle.  Never took a dare from them yet and won't do it today."

  "Where do you want my men, Bedford?"

  "Dismount the 7th Tennessee and the 18th Mississippi and have Colonel Duckworth and Colonel Chalmers move into position next to Major Tate on Lyon's left flank.  There's a big gap there and what I suspect is a full Yankee brigade.  Why old Ben Grierson hasn't hit out left flank, I'll never understand.  Nary a soul there to block him 'cept Captain Tyler.  Tell Colonel Duff to remain mounted.  I'll have young Will here take his 8th Mississippi over to beef up Captain Tyler at the Guntown Road.  He only has two companies over there."

  "Once in position, do we attack?" Colonel Rucker asked.

  "I gotta keep the pressure on Ben Grierson and keep him off balance.  He still don't know how few men we have facing him.  As soon as you're on line, I'll have Gaius sound the bugle.  I want you and Hylan both to hit the federal lines as hard as you can."

  As Colonel Rucker departed to deploy his command, Will took his que and rode over to his old regimental commander.  Colonel Duckworth was sitting in the saddle talking to an aide.  His chest-length beard was caked with dust and he looked more like one of the fearsome old time prophets than a cavalry officer.

  "I'm to guide you to the left flank to join up with Captain Tyler, Sir," Will said, saluting the stern-eyed Colonel.

  "Show Captain Matthews the way, son," Colonel Duckworth replied. "I'll join you after I've had a word with the General."

  Captain Beverly Matthews was Will's company commander.  Although detached to staff duty with General Forrest, as soon as his temporary assignment was over, he would be reassigned back to Company G, 8th Mississippi Cavalry.