The Opelousas courier., 1885-10-10
A T OF ROCKETS.
Ned Buntline Recites q Story
OF the War.
The Strange Confederate Battery and
How It Was Captured.

Third Artillery, and two b~attalions of
cavalry. Eleventh Pennsylvania and
First New York Mounted Rifles, all
under Gen. Vessels, made IL reconnais-
sance out from Suffolk, Va, on the
Franklin road.
The mud was hub deep to the gun
carriages and they had no double
teams to get the guns along at all.
The infantry spreading through the
fields off the roads got along a little
better; but it was hard marching and
GROWERS were in the majority. About
ten or twelve miles out the cavalry
drove into a Confederate picket ahead
Of us, and soon after we were checked
by a heavy batt)c-line of the men in
gray.
The brigade was at once deployed
and skirmishers were thrown out to
feel the enemy while we waited for
the guns to come up. They were far
in the rear, and there was no telling
when they could be got to the front.
Suddenly from a little knoll in front
of the Confederate position a rocket
battery, a recent Importation OF an
English blockade-runner, opened sharp
upon us. The huge rockets, tearing
and Kissing through the trees and I'M
derbrush, scared the cavalry horses fear
fully, and the men were scared about
as badly. Not one in a hundred of
them had ever seer a rocket, except
such as are used in fireworks, and the
horrible missiles appeared worse than
they really were.
The writer had seen Congreve rock
cts used to repel a Seminole attack on
Fort Dallas, nea Key Biscayno, in
1889, and probably he was about the
only one in the command who knew
what such IL battery could do. Gen.
Vessels was furious. We could only
reply to the rockets with musketry.
A deep stream and a muddy fat ahead
of us made cavalry charge next to i'm
possible, and the Internal rockets were
rally demoralizing the men.
Suddenly an old Sergeant, who sat in
his saddle at the head of twenty scouts.
rode up to Gen. Vessels, saluted, and
said:
General, if you will let me try it l
think l can get in ON the flank of that
rocket battery under cover of these
woods and take it, il you'll keep up a
fire front till [ charge, and then sup
port me by a forward movement"
TRY it, Sergeant, try it," said the
General earnestly.
ain a minute the mounted scouts
filed off to the rear, led by the Ser
geant, and were soon out of sight.
The whole line now opened a heavy
fire, and the men in the rocket battery
had a shower PLEAD sent in among them
at long range. to which they answered
as fast az they could work their rock
cts. Twenty minutes passed by and
then, through his glass. Gen. Vessels
saw the scouts in the edge of the
woods, not 800 yards from the rear of
the battery. ready to charge, every
man with his rifle at present.
The next instant, swift as a flight
of arrows, they We're seen plunging
forward owe dry ground upon the
rocketmen, and at the same instant.
ceasing to fire, Vessels ordered his
whole line forward with the bayonet.
The surprise was so sudden and
complete that the battery and the men
who worked it were in the hands of
the scouts in less than a minute, and
with a cheer our whole line crossed
the creek and held the ground on the
other side with thegcaptGred battery in
their midst. The Confederates were
driven back nearly half a mile before
they rallied and made it so hot for us
that we had to slow up and skirmish
while our guns rel coming forward.
We had the rocket battery now, but
none of our men knew how to work it
to advantage, SO we could not use it on
the enemy. So we had to keep pepper
ing away with rifles and muskets till
near night and then our guns were
ap. The Confederates then fell back
to their fortified lines near Franklin
and we drew off and returned to
Suffolk, pretty well worn out with
Virginia mud.
And that is the brief history Of the
only rocket battery ever fell in with
from 81 to '65. 1t was rough, but not
half SO dangerous as it seemed, for it
could not be handled like shot and
shell and sent where it could do the
most harm.-Ned Bttatli1ae.
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