He has been reinforced, but Craven's men are completely exhausted2 by their long and toilsome march. They are hardly able to drag one foot after the other. Garfield knows this, but he explains to his men what he proposes to do. He orders those who have strength to come forward. Of the men under his immediate3 command seven hundred obey the summons. Of Craven's weary followers4 four hundred heroic men volunteer to accompany him.
So at noon of the 9th, with eleven hundred men, Garfield sets out for Prestonburg, sending all his available cavalry5 to follow the line of the enemy's retreat. At nine o'clock that night, after a march of eighteen miles, he reaches the mouth of Abbott's Creek6 with his eleven hundred men. He hears that his opponent is encamped three miles higher up on the same stream. He sends an order back to Lieutenant-Colonel Sheldon, who is left in command at Paintville, to bring up every available man with all possible dispatch, for he intends to force a battle in the morning.
He requires to know the disposition7 of Marshall's forces, and here the gallant8 scout9, John Jordan, again is of service to him. While a dozen Confederates were grinding at a mill, they were surprised by as many union men, who, taking them by surprise, captured their corn, and made them prisoners. Jordan eyed the miller10 with a critical eye, and a plan was instantly formed. The miller was a tall, gaunt man, and his clothes would fit the scout. He takes a fancy to exchange raiment with the miller. Then, smearing11 his face with meal, he goes back to the Confederate camp in a new character. Even if he is surprised he will escape suspicion, for the miller is a pronounced disunionist, and he looks his very image.
His midnight ramble12 enabled him to learn precisely13 what it was important for Garfield to know. He found out their exact position, and that they had laid an ambuscade for the union commander. They were waiting for him, strongly posted on a semicircular hill at the forks of Middle Creek, on both sides of the road, with cannon14 commanding its whole length, hidden by the trees and underbrush.
"They think they've got you, general," said Jordan. "They're waitin' for you as a cat waits for a mouse."
Upon a steep ridge15 called Abbott's Hill, the union soldiers, tired and sleepy, had thrown themselves upon the wet ground. There was a dense16 fog, shutting out the moon and stars, and shrouding17 the lonely mountain in darkness. The rain was driven in blinding gusts18 into the faces of the shivering men, and tired as they were they hailed with joy the coming of morning. For more than one brave man it was destined19 to be his last day upon earth.
At four o'clock they started on their march. About daybreak, while rounding a hill, their advance guard was charged upon by a body of Confederate horsemen. In return Garfield gave the Confederates a volley, that sent them reeling up the valley.
Turning The Tide Of Battle At Chickamauga
Turning The Tide Of Battle At Chickamauga
It was clear that the main body of the enemy was not far away. To determine this Garfield sent forward a body of skirmishers to draw the fire of the enemy. He succeeded, for a twelve-pound shell whistled above the trees, then plowed20 up the hill, and buried itself in the ground at the feet of the little band of skirmishers.
Noon came, and Garfield made the necessary preparations for battle. He could not have been without apprehension21, for he knew, though the enemy did not, that their force was far superior to his. He sent forward his mounted escort of twelve men to make a charge and draw the enemy's fire. His plan succeeded. Another shell whistled over their heads, and the long roll of five thousand muskets23 was heard.
It was certainly a remarkable24 battle, when we consider that a small band of eleven hundred men without cannon had undertaken to attack a force of five thousand, supported by twelve pieces of artillery25, charging up a rocky hill, over stumps26, over stones, over fallen trees, and over high intrenchments.
"The battle was fought on the margin27 of Middle Creek, a narrow, rapid stream, and three miles from where it finds its way into the Big Sandy, through the sharp spurs of the Cumberland Mountain. A rocky road, not ten feet in width, winds along this stream, and on its two banks abrupt28 ridges29, with steep and rocky sides, overgrown with trees and underbrush, shut closely down upon the road and the little streamlet. At twelve o'clock Garfield had gained the crest30 of the ridge at the right of the road, and the charge of his handful of horsemen had drawn31 Marshall's fire, and disclosed his actual position.
"The main force of the Confederates occupied the crests32 of the two ridges at the left of the stream, but a strong detachment was posted on the right, and a battery of twelve pieces held the forks of the creek, and commanded the approach of the union army. It was Marshall's plan to drive Garfield along the road, and then, taking him between two enfilading fires, to surround and utterly33 destroy him. But his hasty fire betrayed his design, and unmasked his entire position.
"Garfield acted with promptness and decision. A hundred undergraduates, recruited from his own college, were ordered to cross the stream climb the ridge whence the fire had been hottest, and bring on the battle. Boldly the little band plunged34 into the creek, the icy water up to their waists, and clinging to the trees and underbrush, climbed the rocky ascent35. Half-way up the ridge the fire of at least two thousand rifles opens upon them; but, springing from tree to tree, they press on, and at last reach the summit. Then suddenly the hill is gray with Confederates, who, rising from ambush36, pour their deadly volleys into the little band of only one hundred. In a moment they waver, but their leader calls out, 'Every man to a tree! Give them as good as they send, my boys!'
"The Confederates, behind rocks and a rude intrenchment, are obliged to expose their heads to take aim at the advancing column; but the union troops, posted behind the huge oaks and maples37, can stand erect38, and load and fire, fully39 protected. Though they are outnumbered ten to one, the contest is therefore, for a time, not so very unequal.
"But soon the Confederates, exhausted with the obstinate40 resistance, rush from cover, and charge upon the little handful with the bayonet. Slowly they are driven down the hill, and two of them fall to the ground wounded. One never rises; the other, a lad of only eighteen, is shot through the thigh41, and one of his comrades turns back to bear him to a place of safety. The advancing Confederates are within thirty feet, when one of them fires, and his bullet strikes a tree directly above the head of the union soldier. He turns, levels his musket22, and the Confederate is in eternity42. Then the rest are upon him; but, zigzagging43 from tree to tree, he is soon with his driven column. But not far are the brave boys driven. A few rods lower down they hear the voice of the brave Captain Williams, their leader.
"'To the trees again, my boys!' he cries. 'We may as well die here as in Ohio!'
"To the trees they go, and in a moment the advancing horde44 is checked, and then rolled backward. Up the hill they turn, firing as they go, and the little band follows. Soon the Confederates reach the spot where the Hiram boy lies wounded, and one of them says: 'Boy, give me your musket.'
"'Not the gun, but its contents,' cries the boy, and the Confederate falls mortally wounded. Another raises his weapon to brain the prostrate45 lad, but he too falls, killed with his comrade's own rifle. And all this is done while the hero-boy is on the ground, bleeding. An hour afterward46 his comrades bear the boy to a sheltered spot on the other side of the streamlet, and then the first word of complaint escapes him. As they are taking off his leg, he says, in his agony, 'Oh, what will mother do?'"
Poor boy! At that terrible moment, in the throes of his fierce agony, he thought not of himself, but of the mother at home, who was dependent on his exertions47 for a livelihood48. For in war it is not alone the men in the field who are called upon to suffer, but the mothers, the wives, and the children, left at home, whose hearts are rent with anxiety—to whom, at any moment, may come the tidings of the death of their loved one.
On a rocky height, commanding the field, Garfield watched the tide of battle. He saw that it was unequal, and that there was danger that his troops would be overmatched. He saw that they were being driven, and that they would lose the hill if not supported.
Instantly he ordered to the rescue five hundred of the Ohio Fortieth and Forty-second, under Major Pardee and Colonel Craven. They dashed boldly into the stream, holding their cartridge-boxes above their heads, and plunged into the fight, shouting:
But their position was most critical, for shot, and shell, and canister, and the fire of four thousand muskets are now concentrated upon them.
"This will never do!" cries Garfield. "Who will volunteer to carry the other mountain?"
Colonel Munroe, of the Twenty-second Kentucky, responded quickly, "We will. We know every inch of the ground."
"Go in, then," cries Garfield, "and give them Columbia!"
I have not space to record the varying fortunes of the day. For five hours the contest rages. By turns the union forces are driven back, and then, with a brave charge, they regain50 their lost ground, and from behind rocks and trees pour in their murderous volleys. The battle began at noon, and when the sun sets on the brief winter day it is still unfinished.
Posted on a projecting rock, in full sight of both armies, stands the union commander—his head uncovered, his hair streaming in the wind, and his heart full of alternate hopes and fears. It looks as if the day were lost—as if the gallant eleven hundred were conquered at last, when, at a critical moment, the starry51 banner is seen waving over an advancing host. It is Sheldon and reinforcements—long and anxiously expected! Their shouts are taken up by the eleven hundred! The enemy see them and are panic-stricken.
The day is won!
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1
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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7
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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miller
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| n.磨坊主 | |
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smearing
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| 污点，拖尾效应 | |
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ramble
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| v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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15
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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16
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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shrouding
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| n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 )；保密 | |
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gusts
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| 一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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plowed
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| v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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24
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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25
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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26
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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27
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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abrupt
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| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
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29
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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30
crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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31
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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32
crests
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| v.到达山顶（或浪峰）( crest的第三人称单数 )；到达洪峰，达到顶点 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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maples
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| 槭树，枫树( maple的名词复数 )； 槭木 | |
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38
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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39
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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40
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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41
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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42
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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43
zigzagging
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| v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀 | |
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44
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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45
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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46
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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47
exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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48
livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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49
hurrah
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| int.好哇，万岁，乌拉 | |
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50
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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51
starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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