"
There was a good moon now, and, using his glasses, Harry saw many details
of the battle. The attack was being pressed with great vigor and
courage. He saw in a valley numerous bodies of cavalry, firing their
carbines, and he saw two batteries, of eight light guns each, move
forward for a better range. Soon their shells were exploding near the
hill on which Harry stood, and the fire of the rifles, unbroken now,
grew rapidly in volume.
But the men under Sherburne, youthful though most of them might be,
were veterans. They knew every trick of war, and columns of infantry
swept forward to meet the attack, preceded by the skirmishers, who took
heavy toll of the foe.
"If they'd been able to make it a surprise they might have rushed us,"
said Harry.
"Nobody catches Sherburne sleeping," said Dalton.
"That's true, and because they can't they won't be able to overcome him
here. Now there go our rifles! Listen to that crash. I fancy that
about a thousand were fired together, and they weren't fired for nothing."
"No," said Dalton, "but the Yankees don't give way. You can see by their
line of fire that they're still coming. Look there! A powerful body of
horse is charging!"
It was unusual to see cavalry attack at night, and the spectacle was
remarkable, as the moonlight fell on the raised sabers.
Pages:
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87