Let There Be Light

by Al Lacy

  Willie shook his head. “At least I had a nice clean tent to sleep in last night. But look out there. Those shelters the prisoners have are just rude, tattered canvas tents.”

  Tyler swung a finger to a spot a little to their left. “Not even that much over there. Those shelters are made of worn-out blankets and ragged old clothing stretched on sticks.” He swung his finger a little further. “Look over there. They have no tents or shabby cloth shelters at all. They have simply dug holes in the ground and covered them with threadbare blankets.”

  Willie shook his head again. “What’s it going to be like when winter comes? I know it gets quite cold in this part of Georgia in December, January, and February, and even snows at times. I would think many of the prisoners would die of exposure to the weather with so little shelter.”

  “No doubt,” Tyler said sadly. “As you probably know, this camp was opened last February. Some of the prisoners did die during those first few weeks because of exposure to the cold weather.”

  “I was told that there have been many deaths even since then because of disease.”

  “Mm-hmm. Most of the prisoners who were brought here were already weakened from months or years of confinement in other Confederate prison camps. Some thirteen thousand men died here from February through September. That was over fifty a day. And now it’s only getting worse. Just a week ago, on one day, we had a hundred and twenty-seven men die from disease or malnutrition—or both. That’s one death every eleven minutes. I’ll show you the graveyard in a few minutes.”

  Willie wiped a palm over his face. “How many prisoners do we have here right now?”

  “Over thirty-three thousand. When the camp first opened, it had seven thousand five hundred inmates. By May there were fifteen thousand, and by July, there were twenty-nine thousand. And now, in spite of all that have died, as I said, there are over thirty-three thousand crammed into these twenty-seven acres.” He chuckled dryly. “And now, we have to make room for ninety-one more.”

  “Whew! If this war goes on much longer, the Confederacy will have to come up with another prison camp.”

  “For sure. But maybe the Lord will see to it that this war doesn’t last much longer. Well, let’s move on.”

  As they descended the low rise, Tyler pointed toward the stockade fence that surrounded the compound. Have you noticed our escape deterrent?”

  Willie nodded. “You mean the guard towers?”

  “Well, they’re there to enforce the deterrent if any prisoners decide to try to escape. See that single rail on posts?”

  Willie ran is gaze along the inside of the stockade, noting the single rail no more than four feet high, on posts. “Yes.”

  “As you can see, the wooden rail is some fifteen feet from the stockade fence. That ominous cordon is called the ‘dead line.’ Of course, that frail structure is no physical barrier, but the prisoners have all been forewarned of the consequences of venturing beyond it. They know that Captain Wirz has instructed the guards in the towers to shoot any man who dares move past the dead line.”

  “I see. Have any prisoners tried to escape?”

  “They have. Since February, more than fifty prisoners have been shot and killed who moved past the dead line in an attempt to scale the stockade wall and escape.”

  Suddenly the air was filled with loud shouts. Tyler and Botham turned to see Lieutenant Harry Fisher and a half dozen other guards forcing ill-tempered prisoners to move their crude shelters to one side or the other in order to make room for the new prisoners who would be coming in.

  Abruptly, one of the prisoners jumped a guard in an attempt to grasp his revolver. The guard wrestled with him, and at the same time, another guard cracked the prisoner on the head with the barrel of his gun, dropping him on the ground unconscious. Other prisoners stood by, poised, as if they were going to make a move while looking on with hate-filled eyes.

  Fisher’s gun was already drawn. He swung the muzzle on them and snapped back the hammer. “Forget it! The first man that makes a false move will be shot. Now settle down and get those shelters moved like I told you!”

  A wild-eyed prisoner leaped at Fisher, screaming at him. Fisher’s revolver roared, and the man went down.

  Dan Tyler shook his head. “Some of them never learn.”

  While the other prisoners looked on, their faces stony, two guards picked up the dead man and carried him toward the gate. Two others picked up the unconscious man and carried him toward his crude shelter.

  “I hope you can see that we mean business,” Fisher said. “If you rebel, you will taste of the same. Now let’s get those shelters moved like I said.”

  Dan turned to Willie. “Well, let’s go out to the graveyard.”

  They walked together to the camp’s gate and moved past three guards while a fourth opened the gate for them. They passed through the gate, and Dan led Willie north through a small patch of cottonwood trees. They soon came to a short slope, and just ahead of them was a large plot of ground with several shallow mass graves. Willie noted that four bodies were being placed in the grave by guards, along with the man who had just been shot by Lieutenant Fisher.

  They drew up several yards short of the new mass grave, which was simply a ditch hollowed out by guards with shovels. It was approximately ninety feet in length and most of it was covered with dirt, where bodies had already been placed recently.

  Willie looked around at the other graves and sighed. “Yes, Sergeant, I sure hope this war will end soon.”

  Dan Tyler’s face was grim. “Can’t come too soon as far as I’m concerned. Well, let’s head back. The tour ends here.”

  As they headed back toward the enclosed camp, Willie said, “If the War ended today, I’d be one happy man, Sergeant. I have a beautiful Christian girl waiting for me back in Knoxville. I’d love to go home and make her my blushing bride.”

  Dan looked at him and grinned. “What’s her name?”

  “Betty Sue Wilkins. And is she gorgeous! She’s blond and has big blue eyes. And of course, I’d like to go home to be with my parents and my three brothers and two sisters, too.”

  “I hope it happens real soon, Willie. And I hope it works out well for you and Betty Sue.”

  “How about you, Sergeant?” asked Willie. “Do you have a girl waiting for you back home?”

  Dan shook his head. “No one special. The Lord just hasn’t brought that special girl into my life yet. My parents are both dead, and I don’t have any brothers and sisters. So there’s not much to go home to.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. But you must have friends back home who would love to see you.”

  “Oh yes, but I have different plans. My pals Clay Holden and Joel Stevens and I have talked seriously about the three of us going out west somewhere when the War is over. We’d like to begin life anew on the frontier—possibly on a cattle ranch.”

  “Hey, that sounds great, Sergeant! I’ve heard a lot about the west. Wide open spaces. Mountains whose peaks are so high, no trees will grow up there. Deer aplenty, along with moose, elk, and antelope. I’d like to at least see it someday, myself.”

  Dan chuckled. “Well, maybe someday after you’ve married Betty Sue, the two of you could make a trip to whatever part of the west my pals and I settle in and come see me. I’d love to meet that gorgeous blonde!”

  “Tell you what, Sergeant, that sounds good to me. Maybe we can just do that. And … ah … by that time, you will have found that girl the Lord has picked out for you, married her, and settled down on some big cattle ranch out there.”

  Dan sighed. “Yeah. That sounds wonderful. And I have to tell you, Corporal Willie Botham, the girl of my dreams is also blond and has big blue eyes.”

  “Well, you can’t have Betty Sue! She’s mine.”

  Dan laughed. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to take another man’s blond, blue-eyed dream girl. The Lord has one all picked out for me somewhere. And when it’s His time, He will bring her into my life.”

  Willie grinned at h
im. “A man can’t go wrong looking at it that way, Sergeant. And like I said, when you’ve already found her and married her and settled down on that big cattle ranch, maybe Betty Sue and I can come and visit you.”

  8

  AT SIX O‘CLOCK ON SATURDAY EVENING, October 15, at Memorial Hospital in Frederick, Maryland, Lieutenant Nate Conrad opened his eyes at the sound of someone beside his bed, and found himself looking into the face of Millie Ross.

  Millie smiled down at him. “Come on, sleepyhead. Wake up. It’s suppertime.”

  Nate rubbed his eyes. “Guess I was napping a bit.”

  She giggled. “Napping? When I passed by here five minutes ago, you were sleeping like a log.”

  “Okay, okay. It gets boring lying here in this bed. Sleeping helps relieve the boredom. At least when I’m sleeping—” He looked at the bed to his right. The patient was busy being fed by one of the nurses, and they were occupied in conversation. He glanced to the bed at his left, and it was still unoccupied, as it had been since the patient who occupied it had been dismissed from the hospital that morning.

  Millie raised her eyebrows. “At least when you’re sleeping what?”

  Nate grinned. “At least when I’m sleeping, I can dream about a certain pretty redheaded nurse, and I can even hold hands with her. Something I’m not allowed to do when I’m awake.”

  Millie shook her head with a smile, turned, and drew the wheeled cart up to her side.

  Nate sniffed. “Smells good. What’s for supper?”

  “Well, since you and I are Yankees, this may be hard to get off my tongue … but it’s southern fried chicken.”

  He whispered, “Don’t tell anybody, but I love southern fried chicken! In fact, I’ve never even heard of northern fried chicken, have you?”

  “Can’t say that I have. I also have mashed potatoes with chicken gravy, cornbread, and green beans for you.”

  “Well, let’s get to it!”

  Since Nate was now able to sit up in the bed for short periods, Millie helped him to a sitting position, tied a napkin around his neck, and placed a tray on his lap. The food was transferred from the cart to the tray, and as the patient began eating, Millie said, “Has anyone told you the War news today?”

  Nate swallowed the chicken he was chewing. “No. Bad?”

  “Well, not as bad as it has been lately. No major battles. Just some skirmishes. You know we’re always about two days late getting the news.”

  He took another bite of chicken. “Mm-hmm.”

  “Let me tell you about the Maryland vote before I tell you about the skirmishes.”

  Chewing, Nate smiled and nodded.

  “Were you aware that the people of Maryland were voting Thursday to adopt a new state constitution?”

  “No.”

  “Well, they did, and the new constitution included abolition of slavery.”

  Nate’s eyebrows arched. “Oh, really? I knew that even though Maryland has a lot of Southern sympathizers, it is definitely a Union state. But I didn’t know the slavery issue hadn’t already been settled here.”

  “Well, it has, now.”

  “Do Maryland’s civic leaders expect a problem over it from the Southern sympathizers?”

  “Apparently Governor Peabody doesn’t think so. There was quite an article in the newspapers about it. He was interviewed by several newspaper reporters at the same time on Thursday evening when the votes had been counted. He says the Southern sympathizers in Maryland don’t want trouble over it. There is enough trouble with the War going on.”

  “Good. What about the skirmishes?”

  “There was one at Cedar Creek, Virginia, on Thursday. A unit of ours collided with a unit of Rebels about the same size. A total of fourteen men were killed. Also on Thursday, General Jubal Early’s troops took on Union troops at Fisher’s Hill, which is only a few miles from Cedar Creek. Eleven were killed, the newspapers said. Our troops were led by Major Leonard Saunders, who was wounded in the fight. In fact, Major Saunders was brought here, along with five other men from his unit. They arrived about an hour ago. Major Saunders is undergoing surgery right now. He will be put in this bed next to you.”

  Nate glanced at the empty bed. “Oh? Well, I’ve heard a lot about Major Saunders, but I’ve never met him. Is his wound serious?”

  “Not too serious. He took a bullet in the thigh of his left leg.”

  “Oh. Well, I’m glad it’s not life threatening.”

  As Nate was finishing his meal, Millie said, “My shift is almost up. You rest well tonight, won’t you?”

  He swallowed his last morsel of cornbread. “I will if I can manage to dream some more about that redheaded nurse.”

  Millie gave him a sidelong glance while removing the dishes and eating utensils from the tray. “Lieutenant Nathan Conrad, you are a case.”

  At that moment, Nate noticed Millie’s roommates, nurses Paula Thompson and Nancy Field, draw up. They had their coats on, and Paula was carrying Millie’s coat.

  “Millie, are you ready to go?”

  “Will be as soon as I deliver this cart back to the kitchen.”

  The nurse who was attending the patient next to Nate said, “I’ll take it for you, Millie. I have to take my own cart back to the kitchen. You go on home.”

  Millie thanked her, parking the cart where the nurse could easily take it with her. Looking down at Nate, she said, “Now, you rest well, Corporal.”

  He grinned at her with a twinkle in his eye. “I will, Miss Ross.”

  Millie shook her head, smiling. “Good night, Lieutenant.”

  “How about wishing me sweet dreams?”

  She blushed. “All right. Sweet dreams.”

  Paula and Nancy bid the Lieutenant good night, and Millie walked between them as they headed for the door. When they reached the end of the line of beds, Millie looked back. Nate smiled and waved to her.

  When the three nurses stepped out into the nippy fall air and moved down the street toward their apartment building, Paula said, “Millie, honey, I’ve noticed something lately.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It seems to me that you spend more time than is necessary with Lieutenant Nate Conrad.”

  “I’ve noticed that too,” said Nancy. “What about that, Millie?”

  Millie chuckled dryly. “You two are imagining things.”

  Paula giggled. “I don’t think so. There’s a certain light in your eyes when you look at him.”

  Millie was not ready to admit to her friends that she was definitely falling in love with Nate. She would withhold that information until Nate had declared himself in the matter. “You two are seeing things. If you’re noticing a light in my eyes it’s because I love being a nurse and taking care of my patients. You both need to put a check on your imaginations.”

  Paula and Nancy laughed heartily, but said no more on the subject.

  Nate Conrad was lying on his bed with his eyes closed when he heard activity at the unoccupied bed next to him. He opened his eyes and saw two of the night nurses preparing the bed by turning the covers down. A pair of male attendants drew up with one of them pushing a cart.

  Nate watched as the attendants carefully lifted the heavyset man off the cart and placed him on the bed.

  As the attendants wheeled the cart away, the nurses did what they could to make the major comfortable. He was still under the influence of the anesthetic. They checked his vital signs, then one of them noticed that Nate was still awake. “Lieutenant,” she said, keeping her voice low, “this man is Major Leonard Saunders. If he should awaken you at anytime during the night and you see that he is in pain, will you give us a holler?”

  “Sure will, ma’am. I’m a great admirer of Major Saunders. I can hardly wait to meet him.”

  When Millie Ross awakened the next morning with beams of the sun shining into the room, she saw Paula and Nancy getting out of their beds.

  “Good morning, Millie,” said Nancy, while putting on her robe. “Sleep we
ll?”

  “Sure did,” she said, throwing back the covers and sitting up.

  Paula giggled, swinging her gaze on Nancy. “Well, now we know, don’t we?”

  “We sure do. And we don’t need to put a check on our imaginations, because we didn’t imagine it.”

  Millie threw her legs over the edge of the bed. “You didn’t imagine what?”

  Paula giggled again. “Well, you were talking quite loudly in your sleep last night. Woke both of us up.”

  “And we now know that you are head-over-heels in love with the handsome Lieutenant Nate Conrad,” said Nancy. “You were calling him ‘Nate darling’ in your dream and pouring out such sweet words, telling him how very much you love him.”

  “You also told him that you think Harrisburg would be a nice place to live.”

  Millie blushed as a smile spread and threw her hands up. “What can I say? You heard it from my own mouth. I’m in love with the guy.”

  “And he’s in love with you, too, isn’t he?” said Paula.

  “Well-l-l, he hasn’t come out with the exact words ‘I love you,’ but I know he loves me. He is the perfect gentleman and is working up to it slowly.”

  Millie’s roommates smiled at each other, then Nancy asked, “How much longer will Nate be in the hospital?”

  “There’s no way to know exactly at this point, but the doctors are saying he will be here at least five more months, maybe six.”

  Paula laid a hand on Millie’s shoulder. “Honey, I’m glad for what’s happening between you and Nate. It’s just too bad the two of you can’t have some privacy so you could talk to each other freely and be able to show some affection.”

  “Yes,” said Nancy. “I understand why there have to be rules concerning nurses becoming romantically involved with the male patients, but when two people are genuinely in love with each other, they should be able to express it and show it.”