The Portland daily press., 1892-06-07

Il leave as soon as IL is 0aynght, and
SO this will be our last meeting in this
place, perhaps on earth. l do not ask
for any thanks, for the little / have
done has been pleasure; but I think
Miss Campbell, that you owe it to your
self to believe hereafter that the men
who wear the blue may be as brave and
honest and manly as the men who wear
the gray. Your brother can never again
take service against the union, and so |
shall pray for his welfare and for yours"
The poor girl could make no fitting
response. She gave him her hand and
whispered, God bless you, Howard,
and FAREWELL
EARLY the next morning, although the
rain was still pouring down as if it had
only begun, Captain Forbes men were
mounted and marching out of camp
The company had to pass Miss Camp
belps quarters, and as the head of the
column appeared the men saw the slen-
der, gray clad figure of the condemned
mans sister standing in the doorway,
with her white hands clasped and her
brown head bowed. Following the
young captains example, the soldiers
raised their hats as they passed her, and
all felt for the once that .She i'll will of
/ at least one southern woman did not
follow them on their march.
Many OF Captain Forbes summer out
ings, in the happy days before the war,
had been,spent hunting in the tempest
tossed mountains or fishing in the
| streams that form an intricate mosaic of
river and hill between Grab Orchard
and Cumberland Gap. At the best it
was never rich country, and solely be-
cause the mountaineers, content with
little, had never developed the agricul-
tural wealth of the many valleys, and
were too ignorant and poor to work the
mineral deposits of the hills, even if
they had been aware of their existence.
At certain seasons the mountain roads
| had been passable, and mule driver
might have passed over most Of them
without finding unusual provocations to
his ready profanity, but since the war
all this was changed.
Between, Grab Orchard and the Gap
| the Confederates had no organized force
| at this time, but that officer would have
this fact to mean an exemption from
| danger, for the hills swarmed with
scouts and guerrillas Frequently the
| sun could be seen flashing on the rifle
barrel or uncovered canteen Of man
far in front and usually mounted, but be-
| yond strengthening the advance guard,
no change was made in the march. At
times squirt Of white smoke would ap-
| pear from hillside, far above the road;
then would follow the whistle of a bull
let, and next the report of a rifle. If
the bullet did no harm to man or beast
the line kept steadily on; if it hit, then
the best horsemen surrounded the hill
| and half the troop assembled to search
| for the guerrilla. IF he was caught he
was strung up to the nearest tree; if he
| was seen in flight he was often shot, but
| usually the chances for his escape were
| about even.
1t was not till after he had passed
through the Gap and was within hard
days march of Knoxville that Captain
Forbes heard of Longstreet's advance
| north from Chattanooga, where he had
been on Bragg's left, and discovered that
the enemy's cavalry in heavy force were
| foraging all around. From a Union man
| he learned that Burnside was besieged
| in Knoxville, and that it would be i'm
| possible for any force to reach him
which was not strong enough to alter
| all the plans of the able Confederate
leader and throw him on the defensive.
After a hurried consultation with his
| ieutenants Captain Forbes, then on the
Holston, determined to hurry back to
| the protection of the guns guarding
| Cumberland Gap, but the men and the
| few company wagons had hardly come
| to 'sright about" when clouds of gray
horsemen appeared on the surrounding
| slopes.
In an instant the captain saw that his
only chance Of escape was to abandon
| the wagons and swim the swollen river.
He ordered the wagons to the bank, set
them on fire, and sent half his men
across, while with the other half, dis
mounted and thrown forward, he re-
| manned back to check the enemy.
His men were armed with Spencer
rifles, so that the cartridges were not
| affected by the water. As soon as the
| force sent across had secured position
on the opposite side they opened fire, so
as to cover the retreat of their comrades.
The Confederates saw the move and
charged down. Captain Forbes horse
was killed, and before he could kick off
his boots and free himself from his
heavy overcoat for the plunge into the
| icy river, he and half dozen of his men
were prisoners. The others subsequent
| ly made good their escape.
| Captain Forbes had seen much de-
tached service, and up to this time he
had never lost a horse or wagon by cap
ture. The Confederates We're about to
extinguish the fires, when he called to
them that there was powder in every
wagon, powder he had carried for just
such an emergency, and the explosions
that followed his warning showed he
was right.
Six horses, with the captain and six