"I'll give 'em one dose of canister, if I die for it!" he roared, and
sighted the piece himself.

But Deck was on the alert, and while the gun was being sighted, he gave
the order, and the battalion moved out of range immediately. They darted
among the trees, and only Artie Lyon's company received the shot, which
killed one man and wounded two others. Before the cannon could be loaded
again, the first company was on the battery, and the captain went down
under a sweeping blow from Captain Abbey's sabre. Seeing their leader
gone, the drivers tried to escape on the horses, but were brought down
and compelled to surrender. Of the whole number but one assistant
escaped.

No sooner was the gun captured, than it was turned about and reloaded.
Among the Riverlawns there were a number who knew all about handling
such a field-piece, and in less than two minutes a most destructive
fire was poured into the regularly formed Confederate companies just
appearing around a bend of the forest road. The shot brought forth a
loud, defiant yell, but the command slackened its pace, and presently
came to a halt, as if the leading officer was calculating what had best
be his next move.

Between the trees and the brush and the drifting smoke--a smoke far more
dense than that emanating from the powder used to-day--but little was to
be seen of either friend or foe, and when another movement began, five
minutes later, Colonel Lyon had to exercise great care, for fear one of
his battalions might fire into another. Advance guards were sent out
wherever practicable, and not a shot was fired until the commander knew
exactly where it was going.

The Confederates had halted, but they could not do so long, for a Union
force--some Michigan infantry--was pushing them in the rear. A charge
was made on the battery and the gallant first battalion behind it. The
rush was led by a hundred cavalrymen, and twice that number of infantry,
and in the midst of it there came on two hundred additional cavalrymen
on foot--a detachment of Forrest's unmounted force operating near the
ruins of the Alexandria bridge.

The crash of the conflict was terrific, the Confederates, hedged in
front and rear, fighting with a valor born of desperation. The cannon
marked the battle-ground, and around this circled friend and foe,
blinded by dust and smoke, and deafened by the close discharge of
carbines and muskets. In five minutes Deck saw that his battalion was
being beaten