The Deadlier Bruise

The Deadlier BruiseAt a few minutes after four on the morning of August 7, 1864, Trooper Robert Gibboney of the irregularly organized brigade known as McCausland's Cavalry pitched abruptly out of his blanket roll, suddenly and completely awake. A moment before he had been sleeping dreamlessly, his body so exhausted from weeks of hard riding that he had been almost unaware of the rocky ground beneath him; now every nerve and muscle strained against the darkness. He did not know what had awakened...