Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Balls

Confederate John Singleton Mosby and two other scouts, riding behind Union lines along Virginia's Pamunkey River in the area of Hanover and King William counties, came upon a Union supply wagon, which they promptly captured.  Mosby left one man to guard the wagon and its team, and rode on with the other.  Further upriver, after discovering two Union supply schooners at dock, he sent the other scout back to inform Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, and rode on alone.

Mosby soon came upon a company of Pennsylvania cavalry, mounted and drawn up in a line across the road. 

Evening was drawing nigh and Mosby's horse had tired from the daylong ride.  He knew if he turned to flee, the Union riders could overtake him with their fresh mounts.  He pulled up at the crest of a hill, made a show of drawing his saber and turned in the saddle, waving it in the air as if beckoning followers.  "Come on, boys!" he shouted, "Come on!"

The Pennsylvania troopers executed a smart wheel-around and vanished in a cloud of dust down the road. 





From the book If the Woodsman is Late 

2 comments:

  1. Battle of New Orleans

    Music and lyrics by Jimmy Driftwood



    Well, in eighteen and fourteen we took a little trip
    along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
    We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,
    And we caught the bloody British near the town of New Orleans.

    We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
    There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
    We fired once more and they began to runnin'
    down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

    Well, I see'd Mars Jackson walkin down the street
    talkin' to a pirate by the name of Jean Lafitte (pronounced "Zhahn La-feet")
    He gave Jean a drink that he brung from Tennessee
    and the pirate said he'd help us drive the British in the sea.

    The French said Andrew, you'd better run,
    for Packingham's a comin' with a bullet in his gun.
    Old Hickory said he didn't give a dang,
    he's gonna whip the britches off of Colonel Packingham.

    We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
    There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
    We fired once more and they began to runnin'
    down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

    Well, we looked down the river and we see'd the British come,
    and there must have been a hundred of 'em beatin' on the drum.
    They stepped so high and they made their bugles ring
    while we stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

    Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
    if we didn't fire a musket til we looked 'em in the eyes.
    We held our fire til we see'd their faces well,
    then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave a yell.

    We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
    There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
    We fired once more and they began to runnin'
    down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

    Well, we fired our cannon til the barrel melted down,
    so we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
    We filled his head with cannon balls and powdered his behind,
    and when they tetched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

    We'll march back home but we'll never be content
    till we make Old Hickory the people's President.
    And every time we think about the bacon and the beans,
    we'll think about the fun we had way down in New Orleans.

    We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin,
    But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
    We fired once more and they began to runnin'
    down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

    Well, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
    And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
    They ran so fast the hounds couldn't catch 'em
    down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

    We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
    But there wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
    We fired once more and they began to runnin'
    down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

    (Nothing to do with your post, but I always liked this.)

    ReplyDelete