The Way of All Soldiers (Gone For Soldiers)

by Jeffry S. Hepple

  That the executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States, and part of States, if any, in which the people thereof respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof shall, on that day be, in good faith represented in the Congress of the United States, by members chosen thereto, at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.

  That attention is hereby called to an Act of Congress entitled ‘‘An Act to make an additional Article of War’’ approved March 13, 1862, and which act is in the words and figure following:

  ‘‘Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter the following shall be promulgated as an additional article of war for the government of the army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such:

  Article —. All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the United States are prohibited from employing any of the forces under their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or labor, who may have escaped from any persons to whom such service or labor is claimed to be due, and any officer who shall be found guilty by a court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service.

  Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect from and after its passage.’’

  Also to the ninth and tenth sections of an act entitled ‘‘An Act to suppress Insurrection, to punish Treason and Rebellion, to seize and confiscate property of rebels, and for other purposes,’’ approved July 17, 1862, and which sections are:

  ‘‘Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be engaged in rebellion against the government of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army; and all slaves captured from such persons or deserted by them and coming under the control of the government of the United States; and all slaves of such persons found (or) being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards occupied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves.

  ‘‘Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That no slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or some offence against the laws, unless the person claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawful owner, and has not borne arms against the United States in the present rebellion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto; and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretence whatever, assume to decide on the validity of the claim of any person to the service or labor of any other person, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service.’’

  And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the military and naval service of the United States to observe, obey, and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, the act, and sections above recited.

  And the executive will in due time recommend that all citizens of the United States who shall have remained loyal thereto throughout the rebellion, shall (upon the restoration of the constitutional relation between the United States, and their respective States, and people, if that relation shall have been suspended or disturbed) be compensated for all losses by acts of the United States, including the loss of slaves.

  In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

  Done at the City of Washington this twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-two, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

  Abraham Lincoln

  September 30, 1862

  Van Buskirk Point, New Jersey

  It was a cold, crisp morning. The leaves on the New York side of Kill Van Kull were a brilliant blend of gold and red as Robert Van Buskirk led the rented horse from the ferry onto the dew-covered grass and mounted. There was no smoke coming from any of the chimneys at the Home Place, so instead of taking the path across the bog, he rode along the pebbled beach toward the point.

  ~

  “Rider comin’,” one of the lookouts called.

  “I’ll be right there,” Abe Van Buskirk shouted. He picked up his coat and Spenser rifle, then hurried out the back door. “Where?”

  The lookout pointed. “White man. Soldier suit.”

  Abe shaded his eyes. “I know him. He’s from the big house.”

  “Should we hide?” a woman asked.

  Abe shook his head. “He’s my friend. Or he used to be, anyway.”

  “Who is it?” Ginger asked, coming out behind Abe.

  “Robert,” Abe replied. “Go back in where it’s warm. If he’ll accept an invitation, I’ll bring him in.”

  “Why’s he riding down there?” Ginger asked.

  “He must know that Nancy and Anna are in Washington,” Abe said.

  Ginger shivered. “Do you think he knows that we sold the place?”

  “It doesn’t matter. It was ours to sell.” He looked at her over his shoulder. “Go wait in the kitchen. I’ll walk down to meet him.”

  ~

  Directly ahead, Robert saw a colored woman pull a child, who had been peeking from the boathouse, back out of sight. As Robert turned the horse uphill toward Abe and Ginger’s house, he saw Abe starting down toward him. Behind Abe, six colored men and a woman were watching. Four of the men were carrying rifles or muskets. When he was about a hundred yards from the house, Robert saw several other men in the trees; all were armed. One was aiming at him. He dismounted, moved behind the horse and waited for Abe.

  Abe trudged toward him, trying to read Robert’s expression. “Hello, Robert.” He raised his hand in greeting.

  “Hello, Abe,” Robert called back. He gestured toward the woods. “Have you raised your own militia?”

  “That would be illegal,” Abe answered.

  “There’s a man up there who has taken a bead on me.”

  Abe turned around and waved his arms angrily, then resumed walking toward Robert. “Keep yourself in my shadow. They’re not likely to shoot me.”

  Robert waited until Abe stopped in front of him, and then offered his hand. “You’re having more trouble than I was aware of.”

  Abe shook Robert’s hand. “Not yet.” He looked across the water, then back at Robert. “There’s no way to break it to you gently so I’m just going to say it. Ginger and I sold the place and we’re going to use the money to take as many colored people as we can someplace safe.”

  “Is that set in stone?”

  “The sale’s been closed. I’m renting the buildings from the new owners until next spring. I know that I should have offered it to you first but – well, I didn’t want you to talk me out of it.”

  “I wouldn’t have tried,” Robert said. “But I did come here to talk to you about something that still may interest you.”

  Abe looked back toward his house. “I’m not sure that I trust everybody up there at my place not to take a shot at you. Some of them are pretty desperate.”

  “Desperate?”

  “There’s a lot of fear that there’ll be a massive roundup of runaways and free colored between now and January when the emancipation proclamation becomes effective.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Supply and demand,” Abe said. “The price of colored people in the South is going higher and higher.”

  Robert shook his head s
adly. “I never would have even imagined anything like that could be possible.”

  “Nor would I have a scant two years ago. In fact, I didn’t really understand slavery. It was something that affected poor savages that had been captured in Africa and had nothing to do with me. Now I’ve seen the light.”

  “The light you’re seeing may be a little out of focus, Abe. There are white men dying every minute of every day to right that wrong.”

  “Because you are who you are, I won’t argue with you, Robert. But I don’t believe those men are dying to end slavery.”

  Robert hesitated. “Maybe we could go up to the big house. That is, if you want to listen to my offer.”

  “I’ll listen, but Anna let the housekeeper go and closed it up. The doors and windows are all boarded over.”

  “Well then, let me just tell you the high spots and if you’re interested we’ll figure out some way to work out the details.”

  “Okay.”

  “In July, President Lincoln authorized the Union Army to recruit fugitive slaves. They’ve been arriving in Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi by wagon loads. General Grant has authorized me to offer you the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major in the United States Colored Troops.”

  Abe shook his head. “The United States Colored Troops is a sham. They’re unpaid or underpaid laborers, not soldiers. If you or General Grant were to offer me a commission in the United States Army, I’d accept. But I’m not interested in supervising wood cutting and ditch digging.”

  Robert shook his head. “I think giving you a commission would take an act of Congress. What about a civilian position in the administration?”

  “Who’s to head it?”

  “That’s yet to be decided.”

  “Would I be seriously considered for it?”

  Robert thought a moment before answering. “My guess is that, even if you were told that you were being considered, you’d have no chance. The position will go to a white man. Grant already has a clergyman in mind.”

  “Then we have nothing to discuss. If I can’t be treated equally with whites, I’m not interested.”

  “Okay.” Robert looked around at the once-familiar place that now seemed alien. “Nothing’s ever going to be the same, is it, Abe?”

  “No. But it might be better some day.”

  “Where did you think you’d go to start your new life?”

  Abe shook his head. “I don’t honestly know. Mexico, maybe. I took a trip to Canada, but that’s worse than here. I have to find a place where there’s no prejudice against being black.”

  “There may be no such place on this continent.”

  “We’ll just have to find the best place we can, then, because we’ll never be able to get passage for the runaways on a ship.”

  “My mother inherited a big farm and ranch in what was, until recently, the Arizona Territory of the Confederate States of America. Before the Mexican War, it was Mexico. For a while it was part of Texas, then the New Mexico Territory then the Arizona Territory. Right now, it’s nowhere. The indigenous population is Mexican and Indian. There may be a few white settlers there, but they’re a minority. Colored people would be an oddity. I’m the executor of Mother’s estate. I’ll sell the property to you for a dollar.”

  “If I decide I want it, I can pay whatever you ask,” Abraham said.

  “Good. I’m asking for a dollar. My mother would have wanted it to stay in the family. You’re the only member of our family that can use it.”

  “That’s very generous, but I have to think about it.”

  “Fine. I’ll sign the deed and bill of sale and leave them at Liberty Hall. You can pick them up and pay the dollar to one of the Livingston lawyers, or you can leave them there and forget the whole thing.” He walked around his horse and mounted. “If you decide to go to Mother’s place, send me a wire so I can arrange for a military escort part of the way.”

  Abe walked closer and held his hand up toward Robert. “I know this all seems unfair to you. Your family has been nothing but decent to us for our whole lives but…”

  Robert took Abe’s hand. “We could have done more - should have done more. But it’s too late now.”

  October 3, 1862

  Washington, D.C.

  Nancy Van Buskirk opened the hotel suite door, squeaked excitedly and jumped into her husband’s arms.

  “Easy,” Robert chuckled. “I’m not as young as I used to be and you’re not as light as you once were.”

  “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.” Nancy caught his hand, pulled him inside and closed the door. “Let me look at you.” She held his face between her hands. “Your beard almost covers the scars.” She kissed him on the mouth. “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.” She led him into the living room.

  “It didn’t take me as long as I expected it to in New Jersey.” He looked around the room. “Is Anna here?”

  “No. She’s rented an office over on Pennsylvania Avenue. She spends most days there.” She kissed him again, but longer this time. “The walls are almost soundproof here. Would you like to hear me squeal?”

  “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do.”

  ~

  Anna rubbed her eyes. “Yes, of course I agree with you, Robert, and I’m sure that Thomas and Jack will too. What would we do with a bean farm on the Rio Grande? But I wish Abe had given us an opportunity to buy his land. There’s no telling what the people he sold it to might do with it.”

  “I can tell you,” Robert said, “but you’re going to wish I hadn’t. Abe sold it to a company called Andrews, Clark and Rockefeller. They’re going to build an oil refinery there.”

  Nancy held her nose. “Whale oil refining stinks worse than a paper mill.”

  Robert shook his head. “Not whale oil, petroleum. They’ve found a way to make a cheaper lighting fuel. But it probably stinks too.”

  “What will happen to Abe and Ginger’s house?” Anna asked.

  “They intend to knock down all the buildings, cut down the trees and flatten the ground with steam shovels,” Robert replied. “They’ll also have to build a railroad trestle from Long Island across the Kill to accommodate their heavy equipment. Oh, and they’re going to dredge near the shore and build piers to accommodate oceangoing transports.”

  Anna looked stunned. “But the woods. And the view of New York. And the trees. All the beautiful trees.”

  “And the noise, the smell, the trash, the trespassers,” Nancy added.

  “I offered them twice what they paid Abe for it,” Robert replied. “But they refused.”

  “Offer them more,” Nancy said. “I’ll give you my whole inheritance.”

  Robert shook his head. “We don’t have enough money between all our families to buy them off. The location, right in the center of Manhattan, Long Island and Newark, is just too attractive.”

  “To raise more money we could sell all the vacant land to the north,” Anna suggested.

  “And then when the buyer puts in a steel mill or a rendering plant, what would we do?” Robert asked.

  “We have three hundred years of history in the Home Place,” Anna protested.

  “We can keep it another three hundred years too,” Robert said. “But it’s going to be next to an oil refinery so it’s never going to be home again to anyone.”

  “Who did you talk to at Andrews, Clark and What’s-his-name?” Anna asked. “Maybe we can go over his head or put political pressure on him somehow.”

  “Andrews, Clark and Rockefeller,” Robert said. “I spoke with Rockefeller. He was in New York on business and I caught him.”

  “What’s his full name?” Anna asked.

  “John Rockefeller,” Robert replied.

  “Not John Davison Rockefeller from Ohio,” Anna groaned.

  “Yes. I think that’s right.” Robert nodded. “Wait. I have his card in my coat.” He fished for the card and came up with it. “Yes. It says John D. Rockefeller. And the business addres
s is in Ohio. Do you know him?”

  Anna nodded. “Yes. He’s one of the biggest contributors to the Republican Party and to the Lincoln Reelection fund.”

  “Do you know him well enough to change his mind about Abe’s property?” Nancy asked.

  Anna shook her head. “No. He’s very religious and barely tolerates me. When he’s around, I hide.”

  “I suppose bribing him or blackmailing him’s out of the question,” Nancy grumbled. “How old is he?”

  Anna shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. A boy. In his early twenties.”

  “Too young for either of us to seduce,” Nancy grumbled

  Robert raised his hand. “That’s enough of that kind of talk. Abe’s land is lost and that’s that. We’ll keep the Home Place boarded up until after the war, then we’ll decide what to do with it.”

  “We can never sell it,” Anna said.

  “Why not?” Robert asked. “It’s just a big, old house without steam heat or gas lighting.”

  “The graveyard,” Anna replied. “Every generation of Van Buskirk and most of the close neighbors including the Vreelands are buried there.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Robert sighed. “Well, hell. I don’t know what we’ll do then.”

  “How long can you stay here in Washington?” Anna asked.

  “I have to be here for the court-martial of Fitz John Porter,” Robert replied. “It starts on November 25th and could last into next year. But I really should go back to help Grant until that starts.”

  “Why do you have to go back?” Nancy said in a whining tone.

  “After the Battle of Luka, Grant’s been under attack from the newspapers again,” Robert said. “Haven’t you read about it?”