Lincoln's Special Horses Team, Mission Sheri Lynn, a silent film

Lincoln's Special Horses Team

Mission Sheri Lynn

***

These days, folks are well aware of elite Special Forces units. Few people are aware of President Lincoln's covert Special Horses Team and their early martial arts training. One team specialized in covert Congressional oversight. During my time at the National Archives, I discovered, buried deep in the basement, a report from a Black Ops Unit penned by Captain "Doc" Elijah Humphries. The sole report referencing the team, I assume, was misfiled from its proper place in the President's archives.

This story is based on an after-action report of the hostage rescue mission of Sheri-Lynn, one of the unit's elite warriors. What fascinated me was the team's practice of control and capture, superior forms of warfare compared to killing one's enemies. This operation exemplifies this oriental philosophy put into practice. To ensure accuracy from the report, I summarize the operational actions, excluding any presumptuous dialogue. I found this best accomplished as a silent film.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FADE IN:

EXT.DAY-APPALACHIAN RANGE-SEPIA

MUSIC: Beethoven’s Adagio Rondo

AUDIO: HAWK CALL

A RED-TAILED HAWK soars in a clear blue sky with scattered cumulus clouds. Seen from below, then from above.

POV-HAWK

A slow flyover reveals a vast Appalachian Range in spring. Below, we pass over scattered 1860s-era log cabins and small family farms widely scattered along the isolated mountains. WOMEN and CHILDREN are seen working in the fields.

A canvas wall tent stands and horses graze in a high meadow.

EXT.DAY SPECIAL HORSES CAMP

MUSIC: Beethoven’s Adagio Rondo (as the piano kicks in)

AUDIO: BIRDS and a BABBLING BROOK

LONG ZOOM IN-CAMP

A stream winds through a secluded meadow camp. Along the stream, a canvas wall tent stands near a cooking fire with a large cast-iron steaming kettle. Meat strips dangle, smoking by the fire.

Eight Government line Morgan horses graze in the meadow within an old-growth hardwood forest. Eight hammocks hang between the trees—each outfitted with Civil War Era equipment: saddle, duffel bag, and rifle.

EXT.DAY-WOODS ADJACENT TO CAMP

MUSIC: Beethoven ALLEGRO

Eight athletic men—Lincoln's covert Special Horses Team of “WARRIORS”—in 1800s-era wool pants, thermal tops, and boots, exercise: perform pull-ups, then hand-over-hand climb a rope up to another rope attached between two trees. One after another, they cross overhead, rappel down, and then sprint uphill. Their physical strength and abilities are backdropped by natures critters. Squirrels scamper and bird's flutter.

EXT.DAY-CAMP

WIDE-

An exhausted mounted man—our “MESSENGER”—dressed in 1800s country attire, races into the camp, dismounts, falls, and recovers. He sprints to the canvas tent.

ZOOM IN: TENT AND MESSENGER:

Notable is his right shoulder bloodstained shirt. The canvas tent flap opens. He delivers a stiff salute, then disappears inside.

INT.DAY-VICTORIAN MANSION – HALLWAY

MUSIC: Beethoven Adagio Allegro Vivace

In an ornate, softly lit hallway, a woman, SHERI-LYNN, methodically arranges fresh flowers in a vase atop an ornate table. Off to the side, through a slightly ajar door, she secretly observes the two men.

INT.DAY - VICTORIAN MANSION – DESK ROOM

Inside a study room, a Southern Civil War MAJOR and a well dressed GENTLEMAN stand facing each other by a large desk. The gentleman discreetly hands over two satchels to the major.

HALLWAY-CON’T

The Major and Gentleman exit the room, closing the door behind them. The gentleman’s hand rests reassuringly on the Colonel’s shoulder. As they pass, the woman still arranging flowers, Sheri-Lynn avoids eye contact.

CLOSE-GENTLEMAN:

The gentleman glances back over his shoulder. In slow motion, his expression reveals a deep, questioning suspicion.

INT. VICTORIAN MANSION – DESK ROOM CON'T

Sheri-Lynn enters the room. She carefully reads a note left on the desk and discreetly peeks into a concealed satchel.

POV–SHERI-LYNN:

Inside the satchel are loaded Liberty Head twenty-dollar gold coins and bundles of large denomination cash notes.

Sheri-Lynn walks to the window.

POV-SHERI-LYNN:

Through the window, outside in the flower garden, the Colonel and Gentleman shake hands and then part ways as the sun sets in the distance.

Sheri-Lynn hastily tidies the desk area, picks up a Bible, and exits the room.

INT. VICTORIAN MANSION – HALLWAY – CON’T

Sheri-Lynn enters the hallway from the desk room. Moments later, the major enters through the front hall door. Sheri-Lynn, Bible in hand, kisses him on the cheek, smiles, then departs through the front hall door.

The Major hesitates, looking at the closed door, cocks his head, and with a questioning look, turns. He halts, looking at the desk room's ajar door.

INT. VICTORIAN MANSION – DESK ROOM

The Major, now alone, looks at the arrangement on his desk, then into the two satchels. With furrowed brow he picks up the note, then walks to the window.

POV–Major:

Through the window, Sheri-Lynn is seated on a garden bench, reading a Bible and writing as dusk deepens.

FADE OUT:

INT.DAY-CAMP TENT

Back to the camp. The Messenger approaches the Warrior Team’s LEADER, a Major. The Messenger hands over a folded note. The Leader opens it, quickly glances at its contents, then places it on a crude split-log table.

OVER THE SHOULDER: LEADER

On the desk is an inkwell, a quill pen, paper, and an open Bible, and the note containing sets of numbers, a sequence of three each. The Leader looks from the Bible to decode the cryptic note and writes a letter above a set of numbers, then methodically repeats the task.

WIDE - TENT CON'T

A quartermaster is cleansing the Messenger’s wounded shoulder. It is a linear superficial wound.

CLOSE-TABLE

The deciphered note reads:

“J Johnson financial middleman via Breckenridge for N S trades.

Expect 367 132 689 . . .”

EXT.NIGHT-MOONLIT WOODS

MUSIC: Beethoven Allegro con brio, interwoven with Manontropo and MaNonTroppo Un Poco Maestoso

WIDE:

A risen moon reveals Sheri-Lynn in the woods handing a note to a mounted, country-style-dressed man—the Messenger.

Off to one side, the Southern Colonel lurks behind a tree, keeping a watchful eye. The mounted man then rides off into the darkness. Sheri-Lynn remains and watches.

EXT. MOONLIT WOODS – CON’T

MUSIC: Suspenseful orchestral underscore

POV – SHERI-LYNN

AUDIO: GUNFIRE-BANG

The mounted messenger is thrown forward, clutching his shoulder. He quickly looks back.

CLOSE-UP – SHERI-LYNN

She turns sharply.

CLOSE-UP – THE COLONEL

He stands, pistol raised.

WIDE – COLONEL AND SHERI-LYNN-FIGHT

Her eyes narrow as the Colonel hastens up to Sheri-Lynn, who, with her right lower forearm, comes down on the Colonel’s pistol-wielding upper forearm. The firearm drops to the ground. She continues her forward momentum and throws a left-handed punch to his upper mid-abdomen. He bends at the waist and grabs his knees. The fearful man gasps for breath. She pushes lightly down on his head. The Colonel falls to his knees. Wide, anxious eyes gaze up at her. Sheri-Lynn smiles pleasantly as she blows him a kiss goodnight.

CLOSE-UP – THE COLONEL

The man manages a brief display of anger as his lips mime ‘bitch’. His head droops, and his eyes roll back. Unconscious, the Colonel falls forward onto his head.

POV – SHERI-LYNN

The messenger, pistol in hand, turns back—then abruptly halts.

POV – MESSENGER

Four Southern militia men rush forward, surrounding Sheri-Lynn and the Colonel.

WIDE – SHERI-LYNN & THE MILITIA

Sheri-Lynn gives a hand signal: "Go!"

CLOSE-MESSENGER

The messenger again wheels his horse and bolts North.

WIDE – THE MILITIA

Two men aim their weapons at Sheri-Lynn. The other two target the fleeing messenger.

CLOSER– SHERI-LYNN

Balanced on one foot, Sheri-Lynn pivots sharply—her right foot kicks one pistol upward as her left hand deflects the other sideways.

AUDIO: GUNFIRE

Both weapons explode bang, bang.

The two remaining militiamen back away, aiming at the woman warrior. They cock their pistols and hold them at arm’s length.

The Colonel stirs.

CLOSE-UP – SHERI-LYNN

She looks toward the North, smiling.

FADE OUT:

EXT.DAY - OPENING IN WOODS

MUSIC: Beethoven’s Allegro

Back to the camp. A Shaolin monk, "MASTER", oversees the warriors practicing hand-to-hand combat.

Suddenly, their ears perk looking downhill. They turn sharply downhill, then bow to the Master and trot toward camp.

INT.DAY - CANVAS TENT

Seven warriors sit at the table. The Major stands, on the table: a map, two photos, and a note spread before them.

CLOSE-UP - CAPTAIN "DOC"

He carefully patches the messenger’s shoulder wound.

The Leader passes two photos down the table. Each man views and nods before passing them onward.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP - PHOTOS

Photos show: One is a Southern Civil War officer—flip side: "Colonel Beaumont."

The second is Sheri-Lynn—flip side: "Sheri Lynn."

WIDE-DOC

Doc wipes blood from his hands.

The Leader hands note to him.

EXTREME CLOSE-UP – NOTE

"J Johnson financial middleman via Breckinridge for N S trades. Arms money moving south. Cover compromised. Returning tonight. SL"

WIDE - TENT

The Leader points across the map. Doc picks it up, folds it, and places it in his pocket.

The warriors stand, salute, and exit the tent.

EXT.DAY - CAMP – DUSK

Audio: Fast Didgeridoo and Drum

Intercut slow-motion shots:

Warriors don black leather, gloves, and boots.

McClellen Saddles placed onto Eight Black Government Line Morgan Horses.

Horses' actions: eyes wide, nostrils flaring, hooves pounding dust.

WIDE – THE MASTER AND WARRIORS

He hands each warrior a ration pack, bows.

The warriors bow in return.

They mount, then exit the camp at speed.

EXT.NIGHT - MOONLIT

Audio: Didgeridoo syncs with pounding hoofbeats

Intercut fast and slow-motion:

Warriors riding through forests, jumping obstacles, racing uphill and downhill.

Hoofbeats splashing through creeks.

Warriors silhouetted against the moon: Twelve moon position shots as it moves across sky throughout the night.

EXT.NIGHT - COUNTRY ROAD – MOONLIT

A horse-drawn carriage. A cloth strip flutters out the window.

INT.NIGHT - COUNTRY ROAD – MOONLIT

Inside, Sheri-Lynn is handcuffed and legs tied, accompanied by Major J. Johnson. As the major sleeps, Sheri-Lynn drops a cloth strip out the window.

EXT.DAWN - BRUSHY MOUNTAIN

WIDE – THE TEAM

They halt at a fork in the road.

CLOSE-UP – DIRT ROAD

Carriage tracks and a torn fabric scrap lay in the road.

WIDE – THE TEAM

Captain Doc picks up the cloth strip and smells it. He smiles.

CLOSE-UP – MAP

A finger traces a road to a fork then taps on a "Camp" by a LAKE.

EXT. SKY

A flock of geese fly overhead.

WIDE – THE WARRIORS

Captain Doc points skyward, then South. The other warriors nod in agreement. The warriors dismount and walk their horses into the woods following the geese's flight direction.

Well off the road, the horses are hidden in thick brush. Two warriors remain with them and six of Lincoln's elite warriors strap on backpacks and sprint into, then through a large stand of old-growth trees and disappear

EXT.NOON - MOUNTAIN RIDGE

WIDE – THE WARRIORS

The six warriors run along a ridgeline. Stop and eat a quick snack as they examine the map.

CLOSER – DOC

Captain “Doc” Elijah pulls out a telescope and peers through and points to the valley below.

POV – VALLEY BELOW

A Civil War skirmish rages on.

DOC HAND SIGNALS

He circles his pointed finger, then gestures forward.

WIDE – THE TEAM

The elite team shoulder their packs and take off running.

EXT. LAKE SHORE – SUNSET

WIDE – THE TEAM

The six men secreted within the Laurel brush sit above a lake. Looking across the water.

DOC – TELESCOPE POV

Across the lake: Sheri-Lynn is escorted into a log cabin by Major Johnson.

WIDE – SECRETED IN BRUSH

The team observes Southern sentries patrolling the shoreline below.

HOSTAGE INTERVIEW

INT.DAY - CABIN

MUSIC: Tense orchestral underscore

A Southern colonel paces before Sheri-Lynn, who is tied to a chair. She shakes her head defiantly, "No." He slaps her. Fuming, the colonel resumes pacing. The major watches silently.

RECONNAISSANCE AND PLANS

EXT.SUNSET - ABOVE LAKE SHORE

Captain Doc and his team observe and rest.

CLOSE-UP – DOC SLEEPING

Doc’s face blurs into a dream scene of Sheri-Lynn and the team sitting in a bar laughing. Then the dream fades to Doc and Sheri Lynn sitting with President Lincoln “chatting” at a dinner party.

HOSTAGE RESCUE MISSION

EXT.NIGHT - LAKE SHORE

The team slips into the lake, quietly swimming toward the cabin.

EXT.NIGHT - CABIN'S SHORELINE

WIDE POV – SWIMMING TEAM

Emerging silently from the lake, two warriors move behind a tree. Two southern sentries walk past the tree. The two warriors in black emerge from behind the tree, capture the sentries, then gag and hogtie them.

The remaining four warriors exit the lake with bags in tow. They strip the sentries and two disguise themselves in the southern uniforms.

EXT.NIGHT - CABIN

CABIN CQB

WIDE – TREES AND CABIN

Six warriors' approach from the two-story cabins' West side, four in black, two disguised in Southern uniforms.

They position themselves 30 yards away from the cabin.

Two sentries stand as guards at the cabin door.

CLOSE-UP – WARRIOR I & WARRIOR II

Two warriors, in ninja-style black, hide with crossbows ready.

CLOSE-UP – WARRIORS

The warriors release their blunt-tipped bolts.

CLOSE – TWO SENTRIES GUARDING THE CABIN

THUD!

Blunt bolts strike the side of their heads. Simultaneously, they drop. The two southern warriors take their places. The other four warriors in black drag the bodies into the woods, gagged and tied, to join their southern comrades. Two warriors peer inside through the cabin windows.

POV – THROUGH CABIN SOUTH WINDOWS

Six northern officers sit at a table, drinking and playing cards.

EXT.NIGHT - CABINS WEST REAR

Two warriors return to the back of the cabin. One hoists the other to peek in the upstairs window.

EXT.NIGHT - CABINS EAST FRONT

The two warriors in southern uniforms escort their two “hostages”, with their hands behind their backs, through the front door.

CQB DOWNSTAIRS

INT.NIGHT - CABIN

WIDE – CABIN DOOR

The four warriors enter-the two disguised leading their "captured" teammates.

WIDE – TABLE AND OFFICERS

The drunken officers glance up, nodding approvingly.

One officer slowly stands, eyeing the newcomers. His expression shifts to suspicion.

The officer fumbles for his pistol.

The warriors RUSH the officers!

FAST ↔ SLOW MOTION – HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT

A fluid sequence of close-quarters combat.

Bone-jarring punches and throws rapid control

Wrestling knives away

Pistol grabs

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

INT. CABIN UPSTAIRS – NIGHT

The Colonel runs to the door, still in his long johns, grabs his pistol and peeks out the door.

Sheri-Lynn is gagged with her hands tied to the bed.

POV – COLONEL

The colonel sees the downstairs fight.

WIDE – COLONEL

He shuts the door and turns back.

CLOSE-UP – DOC & COLONEL FACE TO FACE

The Colonel freezes, then falls back against the door. Doc grins.

WIDE-DOOR

Captain Doc strikes first. He grabs the pistol's hammer, then throws a sub-xiphoid punch.

The Colonel folds at the waist—gasping.

The Captain chops his neck—the Colonel drops, unconscious.

WIDE – SHERI-LYNN

Doc slashes her ties in a Zorro-like fashion, a quick swish-swish. She jumps free.

Sheri-Lynn startles— then a grateful smile.

She hastily dresses..

Doc slices and twists the bed sheet fabric into a makeshift rope, gestures toward the Colonel.

Sheri smiles, nods.

She ties one end to the bedpost, the other around the colonels ankle.

CLOSE-WEST WINDOW

Doc grimaces with the weight as he tosses the two satchels out the upstairs west window, walks to the door, then glances back.

POV-DOC

The Colonel, groggy, is propped on the North window ledge.

Sheri-Lynn stands before him.

WIDE-BEDROOM WINDOW AND BED

The colonel comes to dazed confusion, turns to realization as he eyes his predicament.

Sheri-Lynn cocks her head, smiling.

The Colonel attempts to fall forward—back into the room

Sheri salutes him farewell—then KICKS HIM in the chest.

CLOSE-UP – DOC

Doc WINCES.

WIDE – UPSTAIRS NORTH WINDOW CON’T

The Colonel is gone.

Sheri-Lynn leaps.

Behind her, the bed violently jerks toward the window—then stops abruptly against the wall. She lands on the bed.

INT. CABIN DOWNSTAIRS – NIGHT

WIDE –

The Northern officers are all tied to the chairs and gagged.

Some unconscious, others seething with anger.

Three are in long johns. All four warriors are disguised in Northern uniforms.

A WARRIOR watches through the window—

POV – OUT SOUTH WINDOW

Southern militia approach the cabin from a distance.

INT. CABIN – NIGHT

Sheri-Lynn and Captain Doc waltz down the stairs.

The window-watching warrior turns sharply, signals four fingers, and points out the window.

Two warriors walk outside, then in a few moments, drag in two more southern militiamen. They are gagged and tied.

The elite warrior team exits, saluting the tied-up officers as they back out the door.

One officer struggles in his chair and tips over.

EXT. OUTSIDE CABIN – NIGHT

WIDE-TEAM

The disguised warriors slip around the northern lakeside of the cabin

IN THE BACKGROUND:

The colonel, struggling, hangs by one ankle below the window.

CLOSER – TEAM

Five warriors exchange smiles as two warriors walk up to join them with seven fine Saddlebred horses.

Sheri-Lynn takes one and strokes the mares face. She looks to the men as she points to her chest.

The men smile and nod their heads.

They evenly transfer the heavy recovered Northern gold and currency into the fourteen saddlebags.

Lincoln’s Special Horses Team mounts and bolts away, North, disappearing into the foggy early morning.

FADE OUT.