The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1896-01-08

Among The top branch We obtained
nae view OF the country We could |
see the hot road winding away for |
mi'ee in the swamp, and up towards
the uplands. | could even see the roof |
of my own house.
The Federal troops were all in their
positions, and only their ad'conYer-
sation coud be heard. One could not |
see solitary soul in the road or swamp,
ard he ambush seemed well-nigh per-
feet.
We waited for two hours in our
cramped positions. The heat up the |
tree seemed more intense than any
where, and we tried to get under the |
shade of the branches RS much as pos.
sible. | grew faint and tired and my
head ached severely, Then the thought
of Banks at the foot Of the tree oc-
Cured to me. Poor Bqnksl In our
fright we had forgotten him thought
| could hear his whine at the fcot OF
the tree.
" Pm going down to comfort him."
| said, peerng through the branches
from my dizzy perch
Better not" responded my old st
faithful bodv-guard. Somebody's
comm down de road, fur surel"
| looked towards the upa lds. Yes,
two or three horsemeD were hurrying
towards us, and as they drew nearor l
could see that they wore blue uniforms
too. They were the sentrie3 running
in to give the word of warning. In a
few minutes they had concealed them
selves in the forest with he others.
felt that the cri ical moment was
arriving. The Confederate troops had
been discovered and the an bush was
ready to receive them. A thrill OF ex-
element passed through me. forgot
Banks and my determination to go
down and comfort MIN.
Then far up the road / caught sight
of other hoIsemen dressed in the
regimentas of the Confederate army.
The sight of them recalled my brother
and his companions. Suppose they
were with these troopers.
AS they drew nearer, riding care
lessIy along, unconscious of any danger,
/ pitied them. Nv loyal feeling for the
South asserted itself for the first time.
| wanted TO do something to warn the
troopers of their danger. How could l
remain passively up the tree aud see
them plunge into the swamp of death2
Many of them were young, beardless
fellows, full of spirit and soldierlv dash,
just the ones to plunge into the thick of
the fight until killed.
In my sympathy for them l waved
my handkerchief over my head and
made frantic signs to attract their at
tention. But no one seemed to glance
up at the forest trees. Now they had
reached the turn in the road and were
near the edge of the swamp. Another
one hundred yards and they would be
hemmed in on all sides.
My desire to see battle suddenly
deserted me and for the first time l
heartily wished myself one hundred
miles away. felt that l would drop
from the tree at the first alarm of a
rifle report. My two companions were
likewise conscious of the impending
conflict, and they breathed heavily as
they cluDg to the tree.
The head of the column had reached
the edge of the swamp, and the horses
plunged down into the soft, miry road
bed. The rear of the column was Just
iE sight around the road-bend. | ex-
pected any moment to see a puff Of
smoke from the swamp to announce the
beginning of the battle.
But suddenly the loud barking of
Banks broke out startling upon the
stiffness Of the air. With sudden
rush he scampered through the swamp
toward the road and plunged headlong
toward the advance column. A Fed
eral trooper made dash at him as he
passed, but missing his aim, he plunged
headiOng into The bushes. The barking
OF the dog and the crashing of the un.
derwOod brought the leaders of the
Confederates to a sudden halt.
Banks, ss if desiring 20 warn the
men of their danger. hurried up to theiI
sides with frantic barking and wagging
of his tall The whole column soon
came to standstil. Would this tenn.
porary halt give the soldiers the alarm?
From nv position in the tree | could
see enc of the Confederates move
towards the dog, and dismounting,
pattGd him. In NV heart l thaukeI
him for the caress. Then looking up
he addressed The commander and
pointed towards the woods as he spoke
10 few moments half a dozen mer
started forward To reconnoitre.
L scarcely know boH the next ter
minutes passed 1t WAS the most heart
rending scane that l ever witnessed
Before the soldiers had moved doz"r
yards farther down the road, the sharI
crack of a rifle broke out upon the air
followed by Others in quick succession
In short space of time the WOO d.
seemed 10 be full of puffs OF smoke
and th9 whizzing of bullets mingled
with the rattle of the musketry. Al
most the first shot made me cry will
pain, for, With a short, sharp yelp
Banks leaped up into the air and fel
over wounded or dead. Another on
Frustrated the young soldier who hat
caressed him. Then the blaze of fir
ard clouds of smoke hid the combat
ants from me. From my position
, could just realize that the Confederate
were retreating slowly and in order
They were returning the fire steadily
but they were outnumbered, and re
treat was their only hope.