When Johnny Came Marching Home

by William Heffernan

  I took the neckerchief from around my neck and carefully wrapped up the awl and placed it in a side pocket of my jacket. "I'll take it to Doc Pierce," I said. "I need you to keep this between us. Just between us, nobody else."

  "I unnerstan'," Josiah said.

  * * *

  I walked over to Doc's office. From the road I could see two women sitting in his waiting room, so I went to the rear door and let myself into his kitchen. When he ushered a local farm boy out of his office he saw me sitting at his kitchen table, and I heard him tell the next patient that he'd be just a minute or two. A moment later he took a chair across from me.

  "You got a problem, Jubal?"

  I took the neckerchief from my pocket and slid it across the table and watched as he carefully exposed the awl. He looked it over; then picked it up using the ends of the neckerchief and headed back to his office. "Come with me," he said.

  I watched him as he placed the awl under a microscope and carefully examined it. He leaned back in his chair. "Looks like you'll be riding back into Burlington," he said.

  "Blood?"

  "Definitely, and my guess would be that it's Johnny Harris's blood. From the look of this weapon, the shape, the length of the blade, it's my bet that if we exhumed Johnny's body—which we may have to do—we'd find that it matches the wound in his chest and heart."

  I stared at the awl but said nothing.

  "Where did you find it?" he asked.

  "Josiah found it while he was working in Walter Johnson's barn," I said.

  Doc pursed his lips. "You think Josiah might have put it there, to throw suspicion off himself?"

  I shook my head. "If Josiah killed Johnny he would have taken that awl out in the woods and lost it for good."

  "I guess maybe the gossip was true," Doc said at length.

  "What gossip is that?"

  "Just remember this is gossip. It's nothing that I know for sure, but a few months back I overheard two women in my waiting room talking about Mary Johnson. They were talking about her marrying Walter, and her being only a few years older than Rebecca. Then one of them said that maybe Mary had found herself a younger man as well. She said Mary seemed to spend a lot of time talking to Johnny Harris."

  I didn't respond. I just stared at the awl. A panicked woman might hide a murder weapon in her barn, hoping to get rid of it later, or believing that no one would ever find it. So might a cuckolded husband.

  "I had a talk with Walter this morning," I said. "I asked his permission to speak to Rebecca, to ask her to marry me."

  Doc leaned back in his chair. "Son of a bitch," he said. "What are you going to do, Jubal?"

  "I'm going to ride into Burlington and show this awl to Dr. Evers."

  * * *

  Before I left town I stopped back at the store and told Walter Johnson that something had come up that made it necessary to ride into Burlington. "I'll have to put off speaking to Rebecca," I explained.

  Walter looked at me with a hint of suspicion. "Must be somethin' pretty important," he said.

  "Yes, it is." I hesitated, watching him for a reaction. "It's about Johnny's murder."

  "Oh." He shifted his weight as if suddenly uncomfortable. "Well, it can't be helped, then," he said.

  * * *

  I reached the medical school shortly before noon. Dr. Evers was teaching an anatomy class in a large, elevated lecture hall, and I slipped inside and took a seat in the rear. There was a detailed drawing of the human body on the wall behind Dr. Evers, and a cadaver lay on a table set out before him. The cadaver had been opened from neck to pubis, the ribs pulled back to expose the vital organs. Evers was lecturing on the functions of the human heart. Using a pointer and the drawing behind him, he enumerated the various chambers of the heart, then invited the students to come up to the cadaver and view the atrium and ventricles.

  I very much wanted to join them as they filed past the cadaver, but knew it would be inappropriate. So I waited patiently, taking what I could from the lecture and enjoying every moment of it.

  When the class ended Dr. Evers waved me down. He was smiling broadly when I reached him. "You looked like you wanted to participate," he said.

  "I did. Perhaps I'll be able to do so after I finish my degree."

  "I hope so," Evers said. "Tell me, Jubal, do you have a family?"

  "No sir, but I plan to ask a young woman to marry me."

  "Good. I find married students are often more dedicated. We try to find work for them at the hospital and here at the school. They don't live well on what we pay, but they can get by if their needs aren't too great. We try to find work for the wives as well. Some people don't approve, but it's a bit easier if a medical student has a wife who's willing to help in that way."

  I motioned at my empty sleeve. "And this?"

  "There are artificial arms," Evers said. "They're not attractive and they're somewhat uncomfortable, but they do help to a degree. You just have to learn to overcome the handicap." He covered the cadaver and turned back to me. "Are you here about your murder?"

  "Yes sir." I reached into my pocket and withdrew the wrapped awl.

  Evers uncovered it and examined the blade closely. "Definitely blood," he said. "Let's go into the laboratory and see if it's human."

  * * *

  Doc Pierce sat at our kitchen table next to my father. I sat across from them. The awl lay between us on top of my open neckerchief.

  "So Evers told you it was definitely human blood," Doc said.

  "Yes, he said there was no question."

  "An' if we dig Johnny up ya think y'all be able ta tell if this here awl was the weapon that kilt him," my father said.

  "We could be ninety percent sure that it was," Doc said. "Or we could rule it out completely."

  "We better talk to Virgil," my father said. "See if we kin git his permission ta dig up his boy without an order from the court. We wait too long an' the ground freezes, there won't be any diggin' till spring."

  "I agree," Doc said. "I'll go with you and explain why it's necessary."

  "That'd be good," my father said, then turned to me. "What'r ya gonna do, son? 'Bout Rebecca, I mean?"

  "I'm still working that out." I tapped the side of my head. "Up here. I know what I want to do."

  "Ya don' think it coulda been her, do ya?"

  "No, I'm sure it wasn't," I said, a bit too vehemently.

  My father and Doc looked at me, but said nothing.

  "Maybe ya should wait," my father said. "I could talk ta Walter an' tell 'im that I axed ya ta wait, jus' till ya got yer college plans worked out."

  "No, I'm going to see her tomorrow. I'll know what I want to do by then."

  "Are ya gonna tell her what ya found?"

  I stared at my father, trying to read his expression. "No," I said. "Not until I have to."

  He looked relieved.

  * * *

  Spotsylvania County, Virginia, 1864

  Lee's troops arrived at the Wilderness at the beginning of May. My men and I were out on patrol when another squad came toward us, moving fast.

  I pulled their sergeant aside. "You look like you saw the devil himself," I said.

  "Pretty near," he responded, "if General Lee counts fer the devil."

  "Where'd you see him?"

  "A way back, a few miles west of Chancellorsville. He's got fifty, sixty thousand of his Rebs diggin' in fer a fight, him ridin' up an' down the line on his big, white horse."

  I grabbed his arm. "You better get on back and tell the officers so they can get a balloon up."

  "What'r you gonna do?" he asked.

  "I'll go and get a peek at them too. Our officers don't believe anything until they get at least three reports. I'll be an hour or two behind you."

  * * *

  Two days later General Meade moved his army across the Rapidan River at three separate crossings and converged on the Wilderness Tavern. The Rebs had used that site a year ago to launch their devastating attack on Union forces at Ch
ancellorsville. General Grant, who was still in overall command, planned to set up his camps west of the old battle site and then move south, drawing Lee away from the quagmire of the Wilderness.

  But Lee refused to comply. His forces were massively outnumbered—60,000 to 100,000—and he could not match the Union's artillery in either reliability or number. He desperately needed the near impenetrable terrain of the Wilderness to make the odds more equal.

  The armies clashed for five days, first one and then the other pushing the opposing force back. In the last skirmish a brushfire broke out on the battlefield and we were forced to again listen to the wounded scream out in horror as they were burned alive.

  Abel and I had pulled dozens to safety, to a small degree with Johnny's help, and when we awoke in the morning we found that the Rebs had pulled back. As I searched the abandoned battlefield the charred skeletons of those we had not saved were strewn about.

  Abel crawled up beside me. "Johnny took off," he said.

  "What do you mean, took off?"

  "He ain't here. Neither is Suggs an' his boys. I checked jus' ta be sure."

  I had started a small campfire and handed Abel a fresh cup of coffee.

  Josiah crawled in and squatted next to us. I poured him a cup as well.

  "I hear ya say Johnny took off?" Josiah asked.

  "That's what Abel says."

  "Well, he better git his ass back real smart-like. I jus' heard some officers talkin' over ta the hospital. They says Lee's army is headin' ta a place called Todd's Tavern, an' our boys'll be headed after 'em soon. Johnny's ain't back, they gonna say he deserted, an' he's gonna find hisself standin' in front of a firin' squad."

  "Whatcha gonna do?" Abel asked.

  I thought if over before answering. "The lieutenant likes to send out patrols," I said. "I'm gonna see if he'll let me take a small squad to see where the Rebs have gone. He agrees, we'll see if we can find Johnny and drag his ass back here."

  "An' if we can't find him we kin say he was on patrol with us an' we jus' got sep'rated somehow," Abel offered.

  Josiah started to laugh. "You white boys is a sneaky bunch. I better go witcha jus' so's you be a lil' bit honest."

  * * *

  We headed south, keeping to the edge of the Wilderness to give ourselves some cover. To our left were open fields, laid fallow with their mostly abandoned farmhouses and plantations largely deserted. I had told the lieutenant that I'd take three men with me, Abel and Josiah and supposedly Johnny, and move south until we located the Rebel force we'd been fighting.

  By midday we were several miles from the battlefield, and farther into the woods I could hear movement; at one point I thought I saw a flash of gray uniform. I had been warned to expect rearguard Reb patrols keeping track of our troop movements, as well as isolated howitzer batteries set up to slow any Union pursuit. We stopped at a large stone outcropping and Abel took my long glass and began scanning a small farm just east of us.

  "There's blue uniforms in the yard outside that house," he said, handing me the glass.

  I raised the glass and confirmed what he had seen. The field between us and the farmhouse was heavily overgrown and would offer decent cover. "Stay low crossing the field," I said. "We'll crawl up and see what's going on. But be careful. It could be a legitimate patrol. It could also be some of our boys out looting."

  * * *

  We could hear the woman begging when we got within fifty yards of the farmhouse. The words: "No, no. Please no," repeated over and over again, a man's gruff voice telling her to shut up.

  We rose up from the weeds and high grass and rushed to the rear of the house, then moved cautiously to the side. From the open windows we could hear glass shattering and heavy objects being thrown. We came around to the front yard. The woman we had heard was laying on the ground with a man on top of her, his hand covering her mouth. He was raping her, while three other Union soldiers stood by and cheered him on.

  We moved up on them, guns leveled, and I kicked the rapist in the side. He grunted and rolled off the woman. She was no more than seventeen, a fair-skinned mulatto girl, her face swollen and bruised where the man had beaten her. The soldier I'd kicked started shouting at me that I'd broken his ribs, and he was soon joined by the others who'd been urging him on.

  "Shut your goddamn mouths," I growled. One man started reaching for his sidearm and I leveled my Spencer rifle at his chest. "Just one more inch toward that Colt and I'll send you straight to hell," I hissed. "Where's your sergeant?"

  "Sergeant Riddle's dead," one of the men said. "Got hisself burnt up in the Wilderness."

  Three men burst from the house, their rifles pointed straight at us. "You better be droppin' yer weapons," one said. "If ya don' yer the one's goin' ta hell."

  "Put those rifles down," I barked. "I'm a Union sergeant and that's an order. Who's in charge here?"

  Bobby Suggs came out behind the three men. He grinned at me and slowly drew his Colt sidearm. "I'm in charge, Foster. An' far as I kin tell you don' look like yer in any position ta be threatenin' my boys." He raised his pistol so it was pointed at my head. "So I think y'all better drop them rifles right quick."

  The three of us stood our ground, and Bobby cocked his pistol. "I'll give ya ten seconds ta do like I said and git yer asses outta here. Ya kin take yer sidearms with ya, but yer rifles stay here. We ain't gonna have ya poppin' us off from that there tree line."

  Johnny came out of the house holding a padlocked cashbox in his hands. "I found it," he said. "But that damn ol' man won't gimme the key." He glanced up and saw us for the first time. "Wha's goin' on?"

  "We're 'bout ta shoot yer boys from Vermont, they don' drop them rifles an' git their asses outta here," Suggs said.

  "You better do like yer told, Jubal."

  "Johnny, what the hell's wrong wit ya?" Abel shouted.

  "Shut up, fat boy," Suggs snarled.

  "I can't help ya," Johnny said. "We got a right ta take what we find. An' you ain't got no right ta stop us. These people been feedin' these Rebs an' givin' 'em money fer ammunition. We're takin' what's left so they can't give 'em no more. There ain't nothin' wrong wit that. Ya better drop them rifles an' git on outta here, or these boys'r gonna shoot yer asses fer sure."

  I stared at Johnny, dumbfounded. "You can live with this? Raiding houses, raping women?"

  He glared at me. "Yeah, I kin live with it, Jubal. Now git yer goddamn ass outta here."

  We dropped our rifles and backed away toward the field. We were maybe forty yards back in the overgrown field when the young girl started screaming again.

  I saw an elderly man and woman pushed from the house. Johnny and Suggs were shouting at them, and the old man was shouting back defiantly. I couldn't understand what they were saying over the girl's screams, but Johnny was holding up the padlocked cashbox. Suggs pulled his Colt and cocked it, and moments later Johnny did the same. The old man shouted again and Suggs opened fire, spinning the man around. Johnny fired and hit him again; then they both opened up on the woman and I saw her body fly back.

  Suggs then motioned to us out in the field. He shouted to his men and they leveled their rifles at us.

  "Hit the ground!" I yelled as their first shots whistled over our heads.

  The first howitzer shell hit thirty yards behind us and grapeshot cut through the weeds like a scythe. From the sound I could tell it was coming from south of us, and I screamed at the others to get back to the cover of the woods.

  "There's too much field between us an' the woods!" Abel shouted back. "The house would be better cover!"

  "Suggs and his men will kill us if we try for the house," I stammered. "Our only chance is the woods."

  "Jubal's right," Josiah said.

  "Stay low," I ordered.

  The shooting from the house had stopped as Suggs and Johnny and their comrades took cover inside, and we stayed low to the ground and moved toward the woods, hoping the Reb artillery spotters would lose sight of us.

 
That hope ended as another shell hit, almost on top of us, and I saw Abel's body rise up in the air. I started toward him when another shell hit and I too was flying above the ground. When I hit back down all the air rushed from my lungs and I gasped for breath as I dragged myself toward Abel. He was on his back, his face ashen, his eyes filled with terror. There was a gaping wound in his belly and his intestines were spilling out of his tunic.

  "Oh God, Jubal. Oh God, I wanna go home. I wanna see my momma an' my daddy an' Rebecca. Don' let me die here. Don' let me die." Abel began to cough and blood gurgled in his throat and started pouring from his mouth, and he took another gasping breath and his body bucked twice and then settled.

  Josiah was next to me. "He gone, Jubal. An' yer hurt bad."

  I peered down and saw that my left sleeve was covered with blood, and beneath the blood mangled flesh and bone were pushing through the fabric.

  I ignored it and grabbed Josiah's shirt. "He's not dead!" I shouted. "We've got to get him back. Help me! Help me get him into the woods!"

  "Ain't no use," Josiah said. He was tying a tourniquet around my arm and my vision began to cloud and the sky began to spin. The last thing I remember was Josiah hoisting me on his shoulder and beginning to run.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Jerusalem's Landing, Vermont, 1865

  I went to the Johnsons' store shortly after lunch and found Rebecca working behind the counter with her father.

  Walter Johnson glanced at me cautiously. "You be needin' somethin', Jubal, or are ya jus' here ta see Rebecca?"

  "I was wondering if I could steal Rebecca away for a few hours," I said. "It feels like a touch of Indian summer outside, probably the last we're going to have, and I thought we could take a buggy ride."

  Walter's face broke into a wide smile. "Why sure, Jubal. That's if Rebecca's willin', of course."

  Rebecca smiled at me. "Just let me get my bonnet," she said.

  Jezebel was hitched up to the buggy and tied outside the store, and when Rebecca came out she stopped and put her hands on her hips. "So you had the buggy all hitched up and ready to go?" She turned to me and cocked her head to one side. "Pretty confident I'd say yes, weren't you?"