Drummer Boy at Bull Run

by Gilbert L. Morris

  Is a plant we have all often met,

  And when cooked in the old army style

  It has charms we can never forget!

  “’Tis the bean that we mean,

  And we’ll eat as we ne’er ate before;

  The army bean, nice and clean—

  We’ll stick to our beans evermore!”

  The song had barely ended when Sergeant Mapes said, “You fellows better pile in. You’re going to be going on another little pleasure walk tomorrow.”

  A groan went up.

  One of the men said, “Don’t Old Blue Light ever take a rest? All he wants to do is hear preaching and kill us on forced marches!”

  Jeff privately agreed but didn’t say much. Finally he got up. “I hope we hear from Pa soon, Tom. It’s going to drive me crazy if we don’t.” He left his brother with the squad and found Charlie Bowers already in their small tent.

  “Hey, Jeff,” Bowers said. “You better get on to sleep. I heard we’re going on another march tomorrow.”

  When Jeff only grunted and finally settled himself down on his blankets beside the smaller boy, Charlie asked tentatively, “I guess you didn’t hear nothing about your Pa yet, huh?”

  “Not yet.”

  Charlie studied the brief answer. “Well, I’m going to pray that he’s all right. I’ve been doing that anyhow.”

  Jeff lifted his head, placed it on his palm, and stared at the dim figure beside him. “You really think praying does any good? My ma always said that it did—but I’ve asked for a few things, and sometimes I got ’em, and sometimes I didn’t.”

  “Why, sure it does good!” Bowers seemed astonished at the question. “You ought to know better than that, Jeff. The Bible says we have to ask and we’ll receive.”

  Jeff lay down in the darkness, thinking about what Charlie had said. The last thing he did before drifting off to sleep was to make a vow. Well, I don’t know if prayer does any good or not, but I’ve tried everything else, so I’ll try that.

  He hesitated, then said, God, I don’t know how to pray except just to say I sure would appreciate it if You would take care of Pa. He may be beyond help, but if Ma and people like Charlie are right, then You’re able to do anything. So I’m asking You to take care of Pa and keep him safe.

  A bugle sounded a sad tune far off in the distance, and then Jeff wearily closed his eyes and went to sleep.

  * * *

  When Jeff awakened the next morning, the first thing he thought was, Well, I’ve done the praying; now let’s see if God will come through. At once he was ashamed and shook his head. Can’t think about God like that!

  As the sergeant had promised, they made a hard march that day. When they got back, Jeff was so tired he barely had enough strength to go down and wash off at the creek. Then he joined his squad in the supper they had thrown together. Though it was only hardtack and biscuit, he gobbled down his share.

  Charlie Bowers came over to say, “Jeff, General Jackson’s asked everybody to come to a special service tonight. Let’s go over and hear the preaching.”

  “Aw, I’m too tired,” Jeff protested. But as Charlie attempted to persuade him, he finally said, “Well, if I’m going to learn how to pray, I guess that’d be a good place to do it.” He nodded reluctantly. “All right, Charlie. I’m wore out and will probably go to sleep during the sermon, but I’ll go with you.”

  They made their way over to the parade ground where they found hundreds of men already seated on the grass. There was a platform where the chaplain would stand. It was lit by two bonfires on each side.

  “Look, there’s General Lee. See him standing right beside our general?” Charlie Bowers whispered. “He sure is a fine-looking man, ain’t he?”

  The two boys sat down, and soon the singing began. After that, the chaplain preached. Jeff was so tired he could hardly sit up. Several times his head nodded, and he came to with a snap. Looking around, however, he saw that he wasn’t the only tired one.

  Finally the sermon was over, and, as he expected, some of the soldiers went forward when the chaplain invited them.

  A thought came to Jeff. He said, “Charlie, I’m going to go talk to General Jackson. This may be the only chance I’ll get.”

  “About getting saved, you mean?”

  “No, about my pa. You wait here, Charlie, or go on back to the camp.”

  “I’ll wait,” Charlie said. “You go on and see the general.”

  Jeff moved through the men, noticing that some of them were on their knees and had their eyes closed. Then he stood off on one side, close enough to see General Jackson go to one, then another, putting his hand on their shoulders at times, leaning over to whisper to them.

  Jeff thought, He sure is different than on the battlefield. He’s a wild man out there, and now, why, he’s just as gentle as any woman I ever saw!

  He waited patiently until the last soldier had left, then he went to the general and said, uncertainly, “General Jackson … uh … could I speak to you, sir?”

  Jackson turned. “Why, it’s young Majors, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir.” Jeff hesitated, then said, “I know you’re real busy, General, but I came to ask you to do me a favor.”

  “What is it, my boy?”

  “Well, Pa was captured after Bull Run, you know?”

  Jackson nodded. Compassion was on his long face. “I know. I miss him greatly. But not as much as you do, of course. What is it you want me to do, my boy?”

  Jeff said, “Well, last night I did something I haven’t done much of. My ma, she was a praying woman, but she’s dead. And I didn’t know anything to do, so last night I prayed that God would take care of my pa.”

  Jackson’s face lit up. “Why, that’s exactly what you should have done, Jeff.”

  “Well, there’s one more thing. I thought maybe you would see about getting my pa exchanged. I hear that we’ll swap some of the Yankee officers we took for some they took. So I was wondering if you couldn’t let my pa be one of those.”

  Jackson studied the boy’s face. “Do you know the Lord, Jeff?”

  Jeff was an honest young man. He shook his head. “No, sir, not very good. My ma did, though, and so does Pa, and my brother, Tom, too, I reckon.”

  “Well,” Jackson said, “it would be easier for you to pray if you could go to God as a loving Father.” He talked with Jeff about becoming a Christian, until the boy felt nervous. He finally said, “Well, I will do what I can, but you must have faith in God.”

  Jeff blurted out without thinking, “I’ve got faith in Stonewall Jackson!”

  Jackson laughed but then shook his head. “‘Put not your trust in princes,’” he admonished. “The Bible says that. However, I will do what I can to see about getting your father exchanged.”

  Jeff beamed. “Thank you, General Jackson.” Then he turned and left.

  When he found Charlie waiting, he said, “Well, I talked to the general, and he’s going to try and get Pa exchanged.”

  “I told you prayer would work.”

  Jeff looked after General Jackson, who was disappearing into the darkness with his staff. “I don’t know,” he said doubtfully. “I’ve got a lot of faith in General Jackson, but I don’t guess I’ll believe it until I actually see my pa set free from the Yankees!”

  16

  Back to Kentucky

  Tom! Tom! Look what I got!”

  Tom Majors looked up from the musket he was cleaning and, seeing joy on his brother’s face, leaped to his feet. “Is it a letter from Pa?”

  “Yes, I think so,” Jeff said. “It just came. Look, it’s addressed to both of us.” He held up the envelope.

  Tom stared at it and frowned. “I don’t know that handwriting. It’s not Pa’s, though.”

  “No, it’s Leah’s.” Jeff was almost jumping up and down with excitement. “I didn’t open it because I wanted us to read it together.”

  “Well, open it now,” Tom said quickly. He watched nervously as Jeff tore open the
envelope and then moved to stand beside him. “You read it aloud, Jeff, while I look over your shoulder.”

  “All right.” And Jeff began to read:

  Dear Jeff and Tom,

  You will be surprised to hear from me, but you will be glad when you hear the news. Your father is well! He’s a prisoner in a hospital in Washington. My father and I were visiting the Confederate prisoners there, and I couldn’t believe it when we found him.

  That’s the good news, but I’m afraid he is still suffering greatly from the wound he received. It got infected, and for some time he had a serious, real high fever. Father and I came to see him every day and did what we could to make things better for him. He didn’t have any appetite at first, but he is doing better now, and the fever seems to be going down.

  I don’t have time to write any more because I want to get this in the mail. I know both of you are worried about him, and he says to give you his love and that he will write you a letter himself, and I will mail it for him. Try not to worry too much about him. Pa and I will take care of him as best we can. Pa and I have been worried about both of you, and I hope that neither one of you was injured in the battle.

  I received a letter from home just yesterday, and Esther is fine and healthy. We will be leaving here shortly to make a trip home, and I will write you from there.

  Your friend,

  Leah Carter

  Jeff looked up, and relief washed across his face. “Boy, that’s a relief, isn’t it, Tom?”

  “It sure is.” Tom pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead. “I couldn’t help worrying and wondering, and it’s great to hear that he’s all right.”

  Jeff looked at the letter again. “But it doesn’t sound like he’s doing too well, does it?”

  “No, he would have been all right by now if it had been a simple wound.” Tom’s brow furrowed. “We’ve got to get him out of that hospital somehow. Did General Jackson say anything to you? You seem to have an inside track with him.”

  “No, I only talked to him once, and he said that he had turned Pa’s name over to the commission that takes care of prisoner exchanges. He said he recommended that one of the Yankees be exchanged for Pa as soon as possible.”

  Tom nodded eagerly. “It’s a good thing you went to him, Jeff. I would never have thought of going to a general and asking a favor like that.”

  “Well, I hope the job gets done. But you know the general warned me that they’d be more likely to exchange one of the Union prisoners for a healthy man. We need all the active soldiers we can get. Of course, with General Jackson’s name on it, that ought to mean something.”

  “I think it will, and we’ll just have to pray that it’ll go through and that Pa will be back with us soon.”

  * * *

  By the end of August both Tom and Jeff had lost hope of an early exchange for their father. They went about their duties, and the army seemed to have settled down into a routine.

  However, one day Tom found Jeff while he was practicing on his drum. He looked excited. “Jeff, I’ve got some good news—at least I think it is.”

  Jeff put down the drum. “What is it, Tom–something about Pa?”

  “Well, not exactly. Captain Brandon told me about a herd of horses that were to be had over in Kentucky—in Boone County. He wants me to take a few men and go bring them back.”

  “Why, that’s the county next to ours,” Jeff said. His face lit up. “You’re taking me, aren’t you, Tom?”

  “Why, who else would I take? There’ll be a pretty good herd, so the Captain said to choose three men, and you’re one of them. Get your stuff together, because we’re going to leave right away.”

  “Will we have time to go by home?”

  “Sure, it’s right on the way.” Tom grinned suddenly. “This way we’ll have a chance to see our baby sister. Get yourself ready now. We’ll be leaving in a couple of hours.”

  Jeff gave him a fond look. “I wish we could just go on to Washington and get Pa out of that prison hospital.”

  “Well, we can’t, but at least we can go see how Esther is doing,” Tom said and then left quickly.

  * * *

  “I declare, you two certainly look fine!” Mrs. Carter met the boys as they came into the yard and dismounted.

  They had sent on the other two soldiers to begin gathering the horses and took a shortcut to the Carter household.

  Jeff looked around anxiously. “The place looks just the same, Mrs. Carter. It sure is good to see it again and you too.”

  Sarah came out to stand beside her mother. She was wearing a light blue dress that went with her dark blue eyes, and Tom could not take his eyes off her.

  “I’m glad to see you, Tom—and you too, Jeff,” she said quietly. “I guess I’m surprised to see you in civilian clothes, although I should have known better.”

  “No, it wouldn’t be very smart to wear our uniforms here in Kentucky. I guess it’s still kind of a no-man’s land here, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it is, Tom,” Mrs. Carter said. “Our people still are divided, so it’s better you just wear what you’ve got on.” Then she said, “Come on in now and see that fat, old baby sister of yours.”

  Eagerly the two young men went into the house.

  Mrs. Carter went over to a cradle and picked up the baby, who began screaming at the top of her lungs.

  “Here,” she said, thrusting the squalling infant on Tom. “She’s glad to see you. That’s why she cries so hard.”

  “I’d hate to hear how much she hollered if she wasn’t glad to see me.” He held the baby awkwardly and looked down at her.

  Suddenly Esther stopped crying and looked up at the face above hers. Her eyes were very blue, and her hair was fine and blonde.

  “Why, she looks like Ma,” Tom murmured and put his finger out to touch her soft cheek. “I don’t know much about babies, but this one seems especially fine to me.”

  “She is! She’s the most beautiful baby in the world,” Sarah said.

  Morena, who had been standing to one side, joined them.

  When Jeff spoke to her, saying, “Hello, Morena,” she gave him a bright smile.

  “Morena loves the baby,” Sarah said. “She will sit and hold her for hours. She’ll have that child spoiled to death.”

  “Here, let me hold her, Tom,” Jeff said. “I have more experience than you have.” He took the baby, held her so that he could see her face, and then smiled down at her. “You and me—we’ve already done some traveling together, haven’t we, baby sister?”

  “You come in,” Sarah said. “We’ll have something fixed for you to eat in no time.”

  “That sounds good to me, Sarah.” Tom smiled at her. “I think I could eat a hawk.”

  “Well, we don’t have any of those, but we do have a chicken ready to fry and some sweet potatoes like you always liked.”

  “Oh,” Tom groaned. “Don’t talk about it! I’ve eaten so many beans and hardtack, I believe I’ve lost my taster.”

  “I doubt that.”

  Sarah was obviously very glad to see Tom, and all during the meal she kept her eyes on him as if she couldn’t bear to look at anything else.

  As they ate, Jeff did most of the talking. “I don’t know what we’d a-done if it hadn’t been for Leah and your husband, Mrs. Carter,” he said. He stuffed his mouth full of sweet potato, swallowed, and started to talk again.

  But Mrs. Carter interrupted him. “I declare, Jeff Majors. I don’t think you ever taste anything. You shove your food back and swallow it in one gulp like a snake or something. Eat slowly—you’ll enjoy it better.”

  Jeff grinned, unabashed. “I can’t help it! This food is so good after what we’ve been eating. I just want to gobble it down like a bluetick hound.”

  “Well, there’s plenty of it, and you’ll have time to eat all you want,” she said. “How long can you stay?”

  “It’ll take two or three days to gather the herd together,” Tom said. He glanced at Sarah. “I
hope we get to spend most of it here, though we’ll have to help the other fellows collect the horses.”

  “We’ve got plenty of room now. You can sleep in the attic room upstairs.”

  “Did you know that Leah and her father are on their way back from Washington?” Mrs. Carter asked.

  “I didn’t know when,” Jeff answered, “but she said in her letter they were coming back. I sure hope they come before we leave. I’d like to see them both again.”

  “And you and Leah will go out hunting birds’ eggs, I expect.” Sarah laughed. “You ought to have enough birds’ eggs collected to fill this house.”

  Jeff was a little embarrassed at the reference to the hobby he and Leah had developed, but he grinned. “That’d be more fun than having our legs walked off by Stonewall Jackson.”

  The two sat and enjoyed their meal.

  That afternoon Jeff and Tom walked over to their old home place and visited with the family that had bought it.

  “It makes me a little homesick,” Jeff said as he and Tom came back to the Carter house, “seeing strangers living in our house.”

  “It’s not our house anymore. Virginia’s our home now. I guess it always will be.”

  His words depressed Jeff. He decided to go off to fish in the creek.

  * * *

  Tom looked for Sarah. “Come for a walk with me?”

  “Shall we bring your sister along?”

  He saw the mischievous look in her eyes and shook his head, “No, I have to get used to having a baby in the family. Right now I just want to stretch my legs. That was a long ride, all the way from Richmond.”

  They left the house and walked along the pathways Tom knew so well. They crossed the creek, then followed its winding down to the woods. It was quiet there. Only the trickling of water over stones and the soft crying of birds was heard as they made their way through the forest.

  Once there was a scurrying in the brush ahead of them, and Tom reached out to take Sarah’s arm. “Wait a minute,” he whispered.

  They stood and watched as a very young deer stepped nervously from behind a thicket. He seemed to be searching the forest, and Tom knew that as long as they stayed absolutely still, he would probably not see them. Then, with a startled snort, he bounded into the air and disappeared into the woods.