The Young Sharpshooter at Antietam

by Everett T. Tomlinson

In a brief time the nervous animal once more was under control and was speeding forward at a pace which the rider was confident would soon leave his pursuers far behind him.

In his flight Noel hastily glanced over his shoulder to discover whether or not the Confederate soldiers had abandoned the chase, or were still determined to overtake him.

He plainly saw that they were not gaining upon him, although they still held doggedly to the pursuit. Just why they should do this, now that several miles had been covered, the young soldier was unable to understand, nor was it until afterward that he came to know the reason why the men, in spite of their failure to gain upon him, were unwilling to turn back.

Noel was unarmed. His rifle had been taken from him when he had first been made prisoner. Although he had a place, as we know, among the sharpshooters of McClellan's army, it had not been until after his return from his furlough that he had found himself fully able to do the required work.

Now with all his heart he longed for a rifle. If it were only in his hands he was convinced that the two men who were so doggedly hanging to the pursuit would abandon their efforts.

The mud in places in the road was thrown up in lumps by the hoofs of his horse as he thundered on his way. As yet the animal was not displaying any marked signs of distress, and in the hope of wearing out his pursuers, Noel still kept him at his full speed.

The splotches of mud and the heat of the warm September day soon made the appearance of the young rider as distressing as that of the animal upon which he was mounted. The great black flanks of the latter were now reeking with sweat and discolored by the red-brown mud of the road. As far as Noel himself was concerned, his most intimate friend might have had difficulty in recognizing, in the perspiring, dirt-covered young soldier the Noel Curtis whom they had known. Streams of perspiration had poured down his face and left furrows in the coating of Maryland mud and dirt. The exertion was telling upon the rider as well as upon the horse, and he was well aware that such violent efforts could not long be continued.

Glancing once more anxiously behind him, Noel was unable to see his pursuers. He was aware, however, that it was only the bend in the road that hid them from his sight and that not yet was he freed from his peril.

Slackening the pace at which he was riding, the young soldier removed his coat and folding it placed it in front of him on the pommel. The relief was instant and again speaking encouragingly to his horse, which now was breathing loudly, he continued his flight.

It became manifest in a brief time that the pursuit was still maintained, although the distance between the young soldier and the two Confederates comparatively was unchanged. Why they should continue to follow him became increasingly a perplexing problem. There were no prospects of his being overtaken, and now that five or six miles must have been covered in his flight Noel was unable to understand why the men did not turn back and join their comrades. He himself was not of sufficient value to warrant their severe labors. Of that fact he was well assured. Why, then, did they still follow him?