Partisan Life with Col. John S. Mosby baixar o livro de graça

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: side could not be recognized. Soon a voice from the front ordered us to halt, and when Nelson and Williams replied that they were friends, they were allowed by the vedette to approach nearer. But when he saw them he fired his carbine and retreated rapidly, closely pursued. Our commander at once ordered a charge, and we dashed forward through the mud and snow, ever keeping Nelson and Williams in sight. The reserve were sleeping in an old house on the roadside a short distance off, and toward them the vedette directly retreated. When we arrived at the house the Yankees were under arms to receive us, and poured a volley into our ranks. The men wavered for an instant, till reassured by the voice of their chief. Close on them, men, he shouted. The command dashed forward, and the Yankees, fifty in number, fled and scattered in the pines. The time had come at last for Sergeant Ames to settle all doubts and suspicions with regard to his loyalty to his new commander. All unarmed as he was, he rushed on a mounted soldier, seized him by the collar, and threatened him with immediate death if he did not surrender. He surrendered and delivered up his revolver, his carbine, his sabre, with which Ames plunged into the woods in pursuit of the flying enemy. From that time Big Yankee has been a great toast with Mosby's men, and no man doubts now either his loyalty or his courage. The enemy lost in this midnight encounter a lieutenant and three men killed, five prisoners, besides several wounded. We also trotted off thirty-nine fine horses, which stood saddled and bridled in the pines, and were soon on the return march to Fauquier. The outpost at Thompson's Corner was but a short distance from the camp of the First New York Cavalry, from which a heavy detail was sent out to intercep...