Brother Against Brother; or, The Tompkins Mystery.: A Story of the Great American Rebellion.Musick, John R. (John Roy)
History
Brother Against Brother; or, The Tompkins Mystery.: A Story of the Great American Rebellion.
Musick, John R. (John Roy)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction
"No," said Harry, "only that they are enemies."
"Once they were neighbors, friends and brothers. That is the company
commanded by my brother Abner and raised in and about our village. Every
shot we fire, whose aim is true, drinks the blood of one who was once a
friend."
"Once friends," said Harry, "but enemies now."
Harry, who at first could not brook to take up arms against the Stars
and Stripes, had joined the Home Guards, under the belief that they were
only to protect their homes. He found himself in the Confederate army as
many others did, and determined to make the best of it.
Blood is thicker than water, and--in spite of the fierce hatred Oleah
Tompkins had for the Northern armies--it was with a sinking heart that
he entered into combat with Colonel Holdfast's regiment.
While McClellan's main body was pressing Garnett's army closely in
front, and threatening each moment to cross the ford, a portion of two
Indiana regiments crossed about three miles above the ford and came
crashing down on the Confederate's right wing. In a few minutes the
right flank of the rebels was turned and the Union soldiers, with wild
cheers, dashed into the stream and pushed across to the opposite side.
The whole rebel line began to waver. General Garnett, seeing the danger
his army was in, rode gallantly forward, and strove to rally his
panic-stricken men. It was in vain, and, in the midst of his useless
efforts to turn the tide of battle, he was struck by a ball and fell
dead to the earth. His fall completed the panic which had already begun.
Corporal Diggs, who had displayed a vast amount of coolness, as he lay
crouched behind his tree shivering in every limb, was the first in his
regiment to determine how the battle would go. No sooner had the right
flank been struck by the Hoosier troops than, with far-seeing military
judgment, he declared the day lost and, bounding to his feet, sprang
toward his horse which was snorting and plunging in its endeavors to get
away.
"Whoa, January, you old fool!" cried the corporal.
Whiz zip, went a musket ball past his ear, clipping a twig which fell at
his feet, and causing January to prance and rear.
"Oh Lordy, I'll be killed, I know I shall! Whoa, January!" and his
trembling fingers struggled to unloose the knot of his halter.
Harry Smith, who had fought with desperate bravery, was, with Lieutenant
Tompkins, among the last to leave the field. As he was in the act of
mounting his horse, he cast a glance down toward the ford, where the
mass of Union troops were forming and beheld the Stars and Stripes
streaming above the long line of blue coats. Harry turned pale for the
first time during the fight. A shock, as of a galvanic battery, seemed
to strike his frame.
"Oh! Heavens!" he thought, "why am I in these ranks, a rebel and a
traitor, fighting against the best government this world has ever
known?"
"Mount quickly, Harry, or we shall be taken," cried Oleah, who was
already in the saddle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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