Rifles for Watie

Nervously, Jeff enters the general’s tent, preparing for a reprimand. The general surprises him by asking Jeff to become a scout. Jeff tries to turn the dangerous offer down, remembering Lee Washbourne’s execution, but General Blunt insists, telling Jeff that Colonel Phillips has sent spies to gather intel on the rebel camp on the other side of the river, but none have returned. Blunt suspects that those spies have joined the Confederacy. Jeff’s job will be to cross the river with a patrol detail that will stand guard, capture two or three rebel soldiers in order to “question them separately and cross-check their stories” (247), and return with them. Blunt also instructs Jeff to gather any other useful information, such as whether the rebels expect more troops to arrive and fortify their numbers or the status of their supplies and weaponry. Jeff asks Blunt for a better horse, since his horse is much skinnier than the well-fed Confederate horses, and Blunt agrees quickly.

Jeff, with his escort detail—including Babbitt, despite his awkwardness on a horse—rides two hours down the river before wading across. Lieutenant Orff leads the mission and leads some of the party to stand guard nearby while Jeff hides and watches the road.