ranks
of the loyal army, and in one way or another surmounted the obstacle of
their tender age.

The youth of the hero of this volume is not contrary to the facts set
forth in the official records of the States; neither does his
appearance in a squadron of cavalry constitute an improbability, nor
his promotion from the rank of second lieutenant to that of first
lieutenant, nor even his appointment on the staff of a brigadier-general.
In the rosters of three regiments of cavalry, preserved in the archives
of a certain State, the name of a young man of seventeen is given as a
first lieutenant; two of eighteen as captains; one of the same age as
first lieutenant; and three more of that age as second lieutenants.
Deck Lyon's rank, therefore, is not exceptional.

Since the close of the war many high schools in the larger cities, and
many other educational institutions, have taught military drill and
evolutions in their regular courses; and the students have been
organized as companies, battalions, and regiments, and are thus trained
in actual practice as officers, from a corporal to a colonel, and as
privates, for service in the field if we should again unfortunately be
involved in a war with a foreign or domestic enemy.

The important battle of Mill Springs, or Logan's Cross Roads as it is
indifferently called in the official reports of the government, is
introduced in the story, though not in its minute details. The
Riverlawn Cavalry are present, and take part in the action, and the
command of the principal character renders important service on the
outskirts of the battle-field; and the squadron, either as a whole or
in detachments, was busily employed. The State was overrun by lawless
hordes of ruffians, of which Shaler, the latest historian of the State,
writes as follows:--

"Deserters from both armies formed bands of outlaws called
guerillas. These wretches, without commanders from either army,
sheltered in the great forests that abound in nearly all parts of
the State, were often strong enough to overcome the domestic
forces, and were guilty of many outrages. They brought back to
Kentucky the evils of its struggle with the Indians. Men again
tilled their fields with their muskets by their sides, and slept in
expectation of combat. During this and the following year these
parties were hunted down, and, when captured, hanged without mercy.
Still their numbers, their daring,