The Rod and Gun Club

by Harry Castlemon

Some of the men held chunks of coal in their hands, but they did not throw them. No doubt there were those among them who had been in the fight the night before, and who knew that the boys would defend themselves if they were crowded upon. They passed the coal-yards in safety, and marched into the depot, where they found a portion of the 61st under arms, together with several companies of militia, which had been sent there from the neighboring towns. When they stacked arms in the rear of one of the companies which held the left of the line, every boy drew a long breath of relief, and Don hurried off to find a telegraph office.

But little duty was imposed upon the students that day, partly because of their rough experience of the previous night, and partly for the reason that the mob had threatened vengeance upon them—particularly upon Professor Kellogg, who conducted the defence, and upon Captain Mack and the boy with the stained bayonet who had so gallantly defended their leader when the rioters tried to kill him. As one of the students afterward remarked, they loafed about like a lot of tramps, eating and sleeping as they do, and looking quite as dirty. As the hours wore away the mob began gathering in front of the depot, and once when Don looked out, he could see nothing but heads as far as his eyes could reach. There were between eight and ten thousand of them, and opposed to them there were less than three hundred muskets. They were kept in check by double lines of sentries which they could have swept away like chaff if they had possessed the courage to attempt it.

With the night came more excitement. Reinforcements began to arrive. Squads of men who had been sent off on detached duty came in, followed by strong delegations from the Grand Army. There were three false alarms, the last of which created some confusion. Some uneasy sleeper, while rolling about on his hard bed, managed to kick over a stack of muskets. One of them, which its careless owner had not left at a half-cock, as he ought to have done, exploded with a ringing report that brought the different companies to their feet and into the ranks in short order. The company that created the confusion was stationed directly in front of the Bridgeport boys. Some of its members, believing that the mob was upon them, ran for dear life, deserting their arms and rushing pell-mell through the ranks of the students, knocking them out of their places as fast as they could get into them.

This was an opportunity that was too good to be lost. Here were guns, scattered about over the floor, and no one to use them. To snatch them up and remove and throw away the slings that belonged to them, thus making their identification a matter of impossibility, was the work of but a few seconds. Will Hovey was the one who set the example, others were quick to follow it, and no one noticed what they were doing. When order had been restored and the ranks formed, there were eight men in one company who could not find their weapons, and as many boys in another who held in their hands muskets that did not belong to them.

“Humph!” said Don to himself. “If our company gets into another tight place, I hope we shall have somebody besides these men to back us. They are very pretty fellows, well up in the school of the company, and all that, but they don’t seem to have much pluck.”

The night passed without further trouble, the forenoon came and went, and at three o’clock the 49th, of Auburn, came in. The train that brought them to the city was stopped by the strikers, who refused to allow it to go any further. The colonel said he didn’t care—that he had just as soon walk as ride—and ordered his men to disembark.

If the rioters had never before been fully satisfied that their day was passed, they must have seen it now. Instead of one company there were several that got out of the cars—four hundred and ninety men, in fact, who stood there with their bayonets fixed and their pieces loaded, all ready for a fight if the rioters wanted it. But they didn’t. Having been so severely handled by only seventeen boys, that they dared not pursue them when they left the field, it was not likely that they were anxious for a collision with this splendid body of men, many of whom were veterans. The leaders held a consultation, and seeing that they could not help themselves, they finally concluded that the regiment might proceed.

A short time after it came into the depot, the Bridgeport boys and two other companies marched out, directing their course toward the Arsenal, which was located on one of Hamilton’s principal business streets. Now came another test of their courage. The sound of the drums served as a signal to the mob, which congregated in immense numbers, and marched with the troops to their destination. Some of them carried clubs and stones in their hands, and loud threats were made against the students, who were repeatedly assured that not one of them would ever leave the city alive. If they had been alone they would probably have had another fight on their hands; but they had a hundred and sixty men to back them, and that number, added to their own, made a larger force than the mob cared to face in battle.

They took supper at the Arsenal, where they remained until midnight, when they were ordered to fall in without the least noise. They obeyed, lost in wonder, leaving the drill-room so silently that the men who were slumbering on each side of them did not know they were gone until daylight came to reveal the fact, and when they reached the gate they found an immense police-van waiting for them. Into this they crowded and were driven slowly up the street, Professor Kellogg and Captain Mack going on ahead to see that the way was clear.

“Where are you taking us?” whispered Don to the driver.