Another battery on their far left also raked them with a cross fire,
and so terrible was their reception that they were compelled to abandon
some of their own cannon and seek shelter.
The Winchester regiment, except the officers, were not mounted in this
march, as Grant would not wait for their horses, which were on another
transport. The very fact saved from death many who would have made a
more shining target. Dick's own horse was killed at the first fire,
and as he leaped clear to escape he went down to his waist in a marsh,
another fact which saved his life a second time as the new volleys swept
over his head. The horses of other officers also were killed, and the
remainder, finding themselves such conspicuous targets, sprang to the
ground. The frightened animals, tearing the reins from their hands,
raced through the thickets or fell into the marsh.
All the time Dick heard the shells and bullets shrieking and whining over
his head. But, regaining his courage and presence of mind, he slowly
pulled himself out of the marsh, taking shelter behind a huge cypress
that grew at its very edge.
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