as usual, it seemed to the boys of the 200th ind. that they had only lain down when the bugle blew the reveille on the morning of may 3, 1864.
the vigilant orderly-sergeant was at once on his feet, rousing the other "non-coms" to get the men up.
si and shorty rose promptly, and, experienced campaigners as they were, were in a moment ready to march anywhere or do anything as long as their rations and their cartridges held out.
the supply of rations and cartridges were the only limitations sherman's veterans knew. their courage, their willingness, their ability to go any distance, fight and whip anything that breathed had no limitations. they had the supremest confidence in themselves and their leaders, and no more doubt of their final success than they had that the sun would rise in the morning.
vigorous, self-reliant manhood never reached a higher plane than in the rank and file of sherman's army in the spring of 1864.
si and shorty had only partially undressed when they lay down. their shoes, hats and blouses were with their haversacks under their heads. instinctively, as their eyes opened, they reached for them and put them on.
that was a little trick only learned by hard service.
the partners started in to rouse their boys. as soon as these were fairly awake they became greatly excited. they had gone to sleep bubbling over with the momentousness of the coming day, and now that day had opened.
there was a frantic scrambling for clothing, which it was impossible for them to find in the pitchy darkness. there were exclamations of boyish ill-temper at their failure. they thought the enemy were right upon them, and every instant was vital. monty scruggs and alf russell could not wait to dress, but rushed for their guns the first thing, and buckled on their cartridge-boxes.
"gid mackall, you've got on my shoes," screamed harry josyln. "i can't find 'em nowhere, and i laid 'em right beside me. take 'em off this minute."
"hain't got your shoes on; can't find but one o' my own," snorted gid in reply. "you helter-skelter little fly-up-the-crick, you never know where your own things are, and you lose everybody else's."
"there's my shoe," exclaimed harry, as he stumbled over one.
"no; that's mine. let it alone—give it to me," yelled gid, and in an instant the two were locked together in one of their usual fights.
si snatched them apart, cuffed them, and lighted a bit of candle, which he kept for emergencies, to help them and the rest find their things. he improved the occasion to lecture them as to the way they should do in the future.
after awakening him, shorty had calmed down the excited little pete, found his shoes and other clothes for him, and seen that he put them on properly.
"have everything all right at startin', pete," said he, "and you'll be all right for the day. you'll have plenty o' time. the rebels'll wait for us."
"aint them them, right out there?" asked pete nervously, pointing to the banks of blackness out in front.
"no; them's the same old cedar thickets they wuz when you went to bed. they hain't changed a mite durin' the night, except that they've got some dew on 'em. you must git over seein' bouggers wherever it's dark. we'll build a fire and cook some breakfast, and git a good ready for startin'. you must eat all you kin, for you'll need all you kin hold before the day's over."
si was employed the same way in quieting down the rest, seeing that every one was properly clothed and had all his equipments, and then he gathered them around a little fire to boil their coffee and broil a piece of fresh beef for their breakfast. he had the hardest work getting them to pay attention to this, and eat all they could. they were so wrought up over the idea that the battle would begin at any minute that the sound of a distant bugle or any noise near would bring them up standing, to the utter disregard of their meal.
"take it cool, boys, and eat all you kin," he admonished them. "it's generally a long time between meals sich times as these, and the more you eat now the longer you kin go without."
but the boys could not calm themselves.
"there, ain't that rebel cavalry galloping and yelling?" one exclaimed; and they all sprang to their feet and stared into the darkness.
"no," said shorty, with as much scorn as he could express with his mouthful of the last issue of soft bread that he was to get. "set down. that's only the double canister battery goin' to water. their dutch bugler can't speak good english, his bugle only come to this country at the beginning o' the war, and he's got a bad cold in his head besides. nobody kin understand his calls but the battery boys, and they won't have no other. they swear they've the best bugler in the army."'
"set down! set down, i tell you," si repeated sternly, "and swaller all the grub you kin hold. that's your first business, and it's just as much your business as it is to shoot when you're ordered to. you've got to lay in enough now to run you all day. and all that you've got to listen for is our own bugle soundin' 'fall in!' don't mind no other noise."
they tried to obey, but an instant later all leaped to their feet, as a volley of mule screechers mixed with human oaths and imprecations came up from a neighboring ravine.
"there! there's the rebels, sure enough," they ejaculated, dropping their coffee and meat and rushing for their guns.
"come back and set down, and finish your breakfast," shouted si. "that ain't no rebels. that's only the usual family row over the breakfast table between the mules and the teamsters."
"mules is kickin' because the teamsters don't wash their hands and put on white aprons when they come to wait on 'em," suggested shorty.
the boys looked at him in amazement, that he should jest at such a momentous time.
"there's the 'assembly' now," said si, as the first streak of dawn on the mountain-top was greeted by the bugler at the 200th ind.'s headquarters, filling the chill air with stirring notes.
"put on your things. don't be in a hurry. put on everything just right, so's it won't fret or chafe you during the march. you'll save time by takin' time now."
he inspected the boys carefully as it grew lighter, showed them how to adjust their blanket-rolls and canteens and heavy haversacks so as to carry to the best advantage, examined their guns, and saw that each had his full allowance of cartridges.
"here comes meat for the rebel cavalry," shouted one of the older members of the company, as si brought his squad up to take its place on the left of co. q.
"i wouldn't say much about rebel cavalry, if i was you, wolf greenleaf," si admonished the joker. "who was it down in kentucky that was afraid to shoot at a rebel cavalryman, for fear it would make him mad, and he might do something?"
the laugh, that followed this old-time "grind" on one of the teasers of new recruits silenced him, and encouraged the boys.
as the light broadened, and revealed the familiar hills and woods, unpeopled by masses of enemies, the shivery "2 o'clock-in-the-morning-feeling" vanished from the boys' hearts, and was succeeded by eagerness to see the redoubtable rebels, of whom so much had been said.
the companies formed up into the regiment on the parade ground, the colonel mounted his horse, took his position on the right flank, and gave the momentous order:
"attention, battalion—right face—forward—file left—march!"
the first wave rolled forward in the mighty avalanche of men, which was not to be stayed until, four months later, sherman telegraphed north the glad message:
"atlanta is ours, and fairly won."
as they wound around and over the hills in front, they saw the "reserves," the "grand guard," and finally the pickets with their reserves drawn in, packed up ready for marching, and waiting for their regiments to come up, when they would fall-in.
"there's a h—l's mint of deviling, tormenting rebel cavalry out there beyond the hills," they called out to the regiment. "drop onto 'em, and mash 'em. we'll be out there to help, if you need it."
"the 200th injianny don't need no help to mash all the rebel cavalry this side o' the brimstone lakes," si answered proudly. "much obliged to you, all the same."
"capt. mcgillicuddy," commanded the colonel, as they advanced beyond where the picket-line had been, "deploy your company on both sides of the road, and take the advance. keep a couple hundred yards ahead of the regiment."
"hooray," said si, "we're in the lead again, and we'll keep it till the end o' the chapter. co. q, to the front and center."
they advanced noiselessly over the crest of a ridge, and the squad, which gained a little on the rest, saw a rebel videt sitting on his horse in the road some 200 or 300 yards away. the guns of the nervous boys were up instantly, but si restrained them with a motion of his hand.
"what's the matter with him?" he asked shorty, indicating the rebel.
"him and his hors's wore out and asleep," answered shorty, after a minute's study. "look at his head and his hoss's."
"kin we sneak up on him and git him?" asked si.
"scarcely," answered shorty. "look over there."
a squad of rebels were riding swiftly up the road toward the videt.
"shan't i shoot him?" asked the nervous little pete, lifting his gun to his face.
"no, no; give him a show for his life," answered shorty, laying his hand on pete's gun.
"it'd be murder to shoot him now. gi' me your gun, pete. run down the road there apiece, and hit him or his horse with a stone and wake him up."
the boys, to whom a rebel was a savage wolf, to be killed any way that he could be caught, looked wonderingly at si, who responded by a nod of approval.
"won't he chop me with his sword?" asked pete, still full of the terrors of that weapon.
"we'll look out for that. go ahead, quick, pete," said si.
poor little pete, looking as if he was being sent to lead a forlorn hope, rushed frantically forward, picking up a stone as he ran, and hurled it with a true aim squarely against the rebel's breast, who woke with a start, clutched his carbine, and stared around, while little pete dashed into the brush to avoid his dreaded saber.
"look out for yourself, reb. we're a-coming," shouted si.
the rebel whirled his horse about, fired his carbine into the air, and sped back to his friends, while the squad rushed forward and took position behind trees. the rebels came plunging on.
"fire!" shouted si.
the guns of the squad crashed almost together. the bullets seemed to strike near, but without taking effect on any one of the rebels, who seemed to catch sight of the rest of co. q coming over the crest. they whirled their horses around, and started back on a sharp trot, while the boys were reloading.
"go ahead. sergeant," shouted capt. mcgillicuddy, from the rear. "follow them up. we're right behind you. push them back on their reserves."
"all right, cap. back they go," shouted si, leading forward his squad in a heavy-footed run down the road. they soon came to an opening of somewhat level ground, made by the clearing around a cabin.
the rebel squad halted beyond the cornfields, turned about, and opened fire.
"holy smoke, look there," gasped monty scruggs, as a company of rebel cavalry came tearing over the hill in front, to the assistance of their comrades.
"them ain't many for cavalry," said shorty, as he and si deployed the boys behind fence-corners, and instructed them to shoot carefully and low.
"sargint, see there, and there," shouted alf russell, as other companies of rebels came galloping through over the crest, while the first arrivals began throwing down the fences, preparatory to a charge.
"yes, there's about a rijimint," si answered coolly. "we'll need the most o' co. q to 'tend to them. here they come."
"sergeant, what's all this disturbance you're kicking up in camp?" said capt. mcgillicuddy playfully, as he deployed co. q. "can't you take a quiet walk out into the country, without stirring up the whole neighborhood?"
"they seem to've bin at home and expectin' us, capt," grinned si, as he pointed to the augmenting swarm of horsemen.
"there does seem to be a tolerably full house," answered the captain with a shrug. "well, the more the merrier. boys, shoot down those fellows who're tearing down the fences. that'll stop any rush on us, and we'll develop their force."
"it's developing itself purty fast, seems to me. there comes another rijimint," remarked si.
the firing grew pretty noisy.
si was delighted to see how naturally his boys took to their work. after the first flurry of excitement at confronting the yelling, galloping horde, they crouched down behind their fence-corners, and loaded and fired as deliberately as the older men.
"what sort of a breach of the peace is this you are committing, capt. mcgillicuddy?" asked col. mcbiddle, coming up at the head of the 200th ind. "and do you want some accomplices?"
"i believe if you'll give me another company i can make a rush across there and scatter those fellows," answered the captain.
"all right. take co. a. push them as far as you can, for the orders are to develop their strength at once. i'll follow close behind and help you develop, if you need me."
an instant later the two companies rushed across the field, making a bewildering transformation in the rebels' minds from charging to being charged. the rebels were caught before they could complete their formation. there was a brief tumult of rushes and shots and yells, and they were pushed back through the woods, with some losses in killed and wounded and stampeded horses.
si had led his squad straight across the field, against a group engaged in pulling down the fence. they were caught without their arms, and two were run down and captured. palpitating with success, the boys rushed over to where the regiment was gathering itself together at the edge of the woods on the brow of the ridge.
"why don't they go ahead? what're they stoppin' for? the whole rijimint's up," si asked, with a premonition of something wrong.
"well, i should say there was something to stop for," answered shorty, as they arrived where they could see, and found the whole country in front swarming with rebel cavalry as far as their eyes could reach.
"great scott," muttered si, with troubled face, for the sight was appalling. "is the whole confederacy out there on hossback?"
"o, my, do we have to fight all them?" whimpered little pete, scared as much by the look on shorty's face as at the array.
"shut up, pete," said shorty petulantly, as a shell from a rebel battery shrieked through the woods with a frightful noise. "git behind this stump here, and lay your gun across it. i'll stand beside you. don't shoot till you've a bead on a man. keep quiet and listen to orders."
a rebel brigade was rapidly preparing to charge. it stretched out far beyond the flanks of the regiment.
"steady, men! keep cool!" rang out the clear, calm voice of the colonel. "don't fire till they come to that little run in the field, and then blow out the center of that gang."
the brigade swept forward with a terrific yell. si walked behind his squad, and saw that every muzzle was depressed to the proper level.
the brigade came on grandly, until they reached the rivulet, and then a scorching blast broke out from the muzzles of the 200th ind., which made them reel and halt.
yells of "close up, alabamians!" "this way, tennesseeans!" "form on your colors, georgians!" came from the rebels as the boys reloaded. then all sounds were drowned in the rattling musketry, as the rebels began a hot fire from their saddles, in answer to the union musketry.
"captain, they are moving out a brigade on either flank to take us in the rear," said col. mcbiddle calmly to capt. mcgillicuddy. "we'll have to fall back to the brigade. pass the word along to retire slowly, firing as we go. the brigade must be near. you had better move your company over toward the right, to meet any attack that may come from that direction. i'll send co. a toward the other flank."
it was a perilous movement to make in front of such overwhelming force. but the smoke curtained the manuver and the rebels only discovered it by the diminution of the fire in their front. then they and the flanking brigades came on with ringing yells, and it seemed that the regiment was to be swept off the face of the earth. the 200th ind. was not to be scared by yells, however, and sent such a galling fire from front and flanks, that the rebel advance lost its rushing impetus. the regiment was reaching the edge of the woods. the clear fields would give the rebel cavalry its chance.
the whole command advanced, the moment the rebels began to break under the fire, across the fields and through the woods to the crest where the 200th ind. had first tried to stop the swarming rebel horsemen. from there they could see the broad plain rapidly vacated by their enemies, hurrying away from the pursuing shells.
the colonel's clear, penetrating tones rang above the tumult:
"attention, 200th ind.! every man for himself across the fields. rally on the fence beyond."
shorty, whose face had been scratched by a bullet, took little pete by the hand. "now, run for it, my boy, as you never run before in your life. hold on to your gun."
there was a wild rush, through a torrent of bullets, across the cleared space, and as he jumped the fence, si was rejoiced to see his squad all following him, with shorty dragging little pete in the rear.
they had scarcely struck the ground beyond, when it shook with the crash of artillery on the knoll above, and six charges of double canister tore wickedly into the surging mass of rebel cavalry.
"the double canister battery got up jest in the nick o' time," gasped shorty, as he shoved little pete down behind a big log. "it generally does, though."
"i'm glad the brigade wasn't a mile off," puffed si, listening with satisfaction to the long line of rifles singing tenor to the heavy bass of the cannon.
"capt. mcgillicuddy," said the colonel, "i ordered you to develop the enemy's strength. has it occurred to you that you somewhat overdid the thing?"
