Confederate Star Rises (Confederate Star Trilogy) by Richard Small

Author:Richard Small
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Signal Star Publishing
Published: 2012-05-24T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

At the conclusion of General Heth’s recounting of the battle, he raised the obvious question that Pettigrew had been patiently waiting for him to ask.

“So, General Pettigrew, what brings you here? What news do you have?”

“Sir,” began Pettigrew, “as you know, Colonel Chambliss passed through our line early this morning on the way to Hummelstown. No more than half an hour ago I just received a report from messengers sent by the Colonel that he was under heavy attack from several thousand enemy troops coming down from Hummelstown. Colonel Chambliss requested immediate reinforcements, stating that he would not be able to hold out for long.

“Upon hearing this alarming news, I immediately ordered the 47th North Carolina directly under my command to advance on the double to the aid of Colonel Chambliss.”

Pettigrew paused a moment to allow the news to sink in before continuing. Another volley of artillery fire boomed, shaking the ground under them. Even though somewhat removed from the guns, the noise emitting from their smoking cannon was deafening. Pettigrew raised his voice several decibels before continuing.

“General, my first order after arriving at our position north of Port Royal last evening was to send out a scouting party to explore the countryside ahead of us while there was still enough light to see. What they found was a bridge across the Swatara about two miles north of Port Royal. Upon hearing that news, I sent a company to spend the night guarding the bridge. Being now completely dark, I felt reasonably assured that the Yanks would not try anything at night, and that a company of men would be adequate to defend the bridge against them. My confidence was further bolstered when Colonel Chambliss passed through our lines.

“However, with this new report from Chambliss, I am very concerned about the bridge falling into Yankee hands. Sir, if the enemy were to gain control of this bridge, there would be nothing to stop what appears to be at least a brigade, maybe even a division of Yankees from crashing into the rear of the army. I therefore request that you give me the rest of my brigade to defend this bridge so that we can retain control of it and eliminate this threat to our rear.”

General Heth silently pondered the news from Pettigrew while watching a rather boisterous Negro teamster urging a team of mules on. The braying animals, voicing their displeasure at the cursing driver for being forced to perform hard labor, nonetheless were reluctantly pulling an ambulance filled with wounded troops fresh from the grinding battle front, passing by the generals on its way back towards Middletown. As the wagon bounced along the well worn and bumpy road, a chorus of groans from some of the more seriously wounded greeted Heth’s ears, being heard even above the din of battle. The scene produced a sobering moment in the heart of General Heth. Unlike those protesting mules, the men under his command willingly obeyed his orders, knowing full well they could be walking into injury or death.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.