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352 SHELBY AND HIS MEN; OR,
After the charge with its crimson laurels; after the two ban-
ners, plucked from the crest of battle, had been presented to the
commander-in-chief, General Shelby sent for Major Kimmel,
who came to him covered with the dust and powder of the melee.
Shelby said to him: "Major, I wish you would ride to General
Price and suggest to him for me that immediate retreat is almost
necessary to the salvation of his army. Rosecrans will arrive
during the night; the train is long and burdensome; and rapid
evolutions to-morrow in the presence of immense cavalry will be
impossible." Manifestly, Shelby had no right to do this thing.
He violated military etiquette, and he presumed to advise his
superior officer without being required to do so. But he relied
upon the perfect obedience he had rendered in all things, and he
had some hope that his reasoning, in conjunction with other divi-
sion commanders, would have the required weight. Kimmel gal-
loped back again that night.
In sight and a round the dreary heap of dead Kansans, lying
pale and distorted in the full blaze of a cold October moonlight,
General Shelby's worn and battered division kept watch and
ward for the sleeping army. The air was thick and hazy, and the
wind blew very cold. Hunger and thirst added to the misery of
the bivouac, but the men hoped to satisfy both the next day in
Westport.
The chieftains under Price had marched far and fought lit-
tle for this night's bivouac upon the plains of Missouri. The
fleet of horsemen had anchored in mid-ocean, and the sails were
all furled and the pennons were still. In the dead calm of the
admiral's slumber there was no white line of breakers seen to the
westward; and the hollow mutterings of the storm rolled no
angry waves from the North. Confidence spread a great sleep-
hunger over all the soldiers and they banqueted until sunrise. A
fitful, gusty, moaning night was half of it, too, when the elements
portend calamity and death. Grouped around the dead Kansans
were Shelby's warriors, indifferent, tired and hungry. They
neither knew nor dreaded their danger. Shelby takes us in and
Shelby can take us out, they argued, so sleep, boys, while you
may. Poor fellows, in the utterance of this simple confidence
they knew not the sorrow it gave to the impatient leader, lying
among his guns and peering out through the darkness toward
Westport. Away over to the left yonder, where a few fickle
grass fires leap like ignes fatui into light, is crouched the wary
Marmaduke, anxious, nervous, but prepared for great things to-
morrow. He, too, has seen, and felt, and argued;but nothing came
Object Description
| Title | Shelby and his men, or, the war in the west |
| Author | Edwards, John N. (John Newman), 1839-1889 |
| Subject.LCSH |
Shelby, Joseph Orville, 1830-1897 Missouri -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Arkansas -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 |
| Coverage | United State -- Missouri |
| Source |
Digital reproduction based on reprint edition republished by his wife Jennie Edwards, Kansas City, Mo. : Hudson-Kimberly Pub. Co., 1897 Originally published: Cincinnati, Ohio : Miami printing and publishing, 1867. |
| Language | English |
| Date.Original | 1897 |
| Date.Digital | 2003? |
| Type |
Books and pamphlets |
| Format | JPEG |
| Collection Name | Civil War in Missouri - Monographs |
| Editorial Note | All blank pages have been eliminated |
| Publisher.Digital | University of Missouri Digital Library Production Services |
| Rights | These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Please contact contributing institution for information. |
| Contributing Institution |
University of Missouri--Columbia. Libraries |
| Copy Request | Contact Ellis Library Special Collection, University of Missouri - Columbia at (573) 882-0076 or email: SpecialCollections@missouri.edu |
Description
| Title | civk000028p0352 |
| Description | 352 SHELBY AND HIS MEN; OR, After the charge with its crimson laurels; after the two ban- ners, plucked from the crest of battle, had been presented to the commander-in-chief, General Shelby sent for Major Kimmel, who came to him covered with the dust and powder of the melee. Shelby said to him: "Major, I wish you would ride to General Price and suggest to him for me that immediate retreat is almost necessary to the salvation of his army. Rosecrans will arrive during the night; the train is long and burdensome; and rapid evolutions to-morrow in the presence of immense cavalry will be impossible." Manifestly, Shelby had no right to do this thing. He violated military etiquette, and he presumed to advise his superior officer without being required to do so. But he relied upon the perfect obedience he had rendered in all things, and he had some hope that his reasoning, in conjunction with other divi- sion commanders, would have the required weight. Kimmel gal- loped back again that night. In sight and a round the dreary heap of dead Kansans, lying pale and distorted in the full blaze of a cold October moonlight, General Shelby's worn and battered division kept watch and ward for the sleeping army. The air was thick and hazy, and the wind blew very cold. Hunger and thirst added to the misery of the bivouac, but the men hoped to satisfy both the next day in Westport. The chieftains under Price had marched far and fought lit- tle for this night's bivouac upon the plains of Missouri. The fleet of horsemen had anchored in mid-ocean, and the sails were all furled and the pennons were still. In the dead calm of the admiral's slumber there was no white line of breakers seen to the westward; and the hollow mutterings of the storm rolled no angry waves from the North. Confidence spread a great sleep- hunger over all the soldiers and they banqueted until sunrise. A fitful, gusty, moaning night was half of it, too, when the elements portend calamity and death. Grouped around the dead Kansans were Shelby's warriors, indifferent, tired and hungry. They neither knew nor dreaded their danger. Shelby takes us in and Shelby can take us out, they argued, so sleep, boys, while you may. Poor fellows, in the utterance of this simple confidence they knew not the sorrow it gave to the impatient leader, lying among his guns and peering out through the darkness toward Westport. Away over to the left yonder, where a few fickle grass fires leap like ignes fatui into light, is crouched the wary Marmaduke, anxious, nervous, but prepared for great things to- morrow. He, too, has seen, and felt, and argued;but nothing came |
| Source | Shelby and His Men |
| Type | Books and monographs |
| Format | JPEG |
| Identifier | civk000028p0352.jpg |
| Collection Name | Civil War in Missouri - Monographs |
| Editorial Note | All blank pages have been eliminated |
| Publisher.Digital | University of Missouri Digital Library Production Services |
| Rights | These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Please contact koppk@umsystem.edu for more information. |
| Copy Request | Contact Ellis Library special collection at: SpecialCollections@missouri.edu |
