again postponed over another weary period of probation.
All around was intense enthusiasm, growing stronger every instant. It
was the first battle tha the victors had been engaged in, and they felt
the tumultuous joy that the first triumph brings to young soldiers.
It was the first encounter upon the soil of Kentucky; it was the first
victory between the Cumberland Mountains and the Mississippi River, and
the loss of the victors was insignificant, compared with that of the
vanquished.
The cold drench from the skies, the dreary mud--even the dead and
wounded--were forgotten in the jubilation at the sight of the lately
insolent foe flying in confusion down the mountain side, recking for
nothing so much as for personal safety.
The band continued to play patriotic airs, and the cannon to thunder
long after the last Rebel had disappeared in the thick woods at the
bottom of the gloomy gorge.
A detail of men and some wagons were sent back after the regiment's
baggage, and the rest of the boys, after a few minutes survey of the
battle-field, were set to work building fires, cooking rations and
preparing from the branches and brush such shelter as could be made to
do substitute duty for the tents left behind.
Little as was Harry's normal inclination to manual labor, it was less
than ever now, with these emotions struggling in his mind, and leaving
his comrades hard at work, he wandered off to where Hoosier Knob, a
commanding eminence on the left of the battle-field seemed to offer the
best view of the retreat of the forces of Zollicoffer. Arriving there,
he pushed on down the slope to where the enemy's line had stood, and
where now were groups of men in blue uniforms, searching for trophies of
the fight. In one place a musket would be found; in another a cap with
a silver star, or a canteen quaintly fashioned from alternate staves of
red and white cedar. Each "find" was proclaimed by the discoverer,
and he was immediately surrounded by a group to earnestly inspect
and discuss it. It was still the first year of the war; the next year
"trophies" were left to rot unnoticed on the battle-fields they covered.
Harry took no interest in relic-hunting, but walked onward toward
another prominence that gave hopes of a good view of the Rebels. The
glimpses he gained from this of the surging mass of fugitives inflamed
him with the excitement of the chase--of the most exciting of chases, a
man-hunt. He forgot his fears--forgot h
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