Freedom (Gone For Soldiers)

by Jeffry S. Hepple

  “She must have gotten tied up at the White House.”

  “Or else she’s avoiding me.”

  Nelson’s reply was interrupted by the waiter serving their coffee.

  Quincy looked around at the busy restaurant. “Being here makes it hard to imagine that there’s a war going on just a bit to the south.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t think my mother realizes that.”

  Nelson gave him a puzzled look.

  “The trip to Richmond that she’s planning is dangerous.”

  “Oh.” Nelson bobbed his head. “Yes. I told your mother that, and she said that everything’s dangerous. Even a simple thing like asking the chief of the New York Police to look after some orphans.”

  Quincy sighed, then took out his watch again. “It doesn’t look like she’s going to make it.”

  “If you’d rather not see her, I’ll make some excuse for you,” Nelson said.

  Quincy started to argue, then nodded. “We’re not close, you know.”

  “I know.”

  Quincy took out his wallet.

  “I’ll get the bill,” Nelson said.

  “Are you sure?”

  Nelson chuckled. “I’m not a wealthy man, Quincy, but I can afford two cups of coffee.”

  “Of course you can.” Quincy stood up. “I don’t know why I said that. It was stupid. I apologize.” He offered Nelson his hand.

  Nelson shook hands with him, released his hand and then clapped him on the back. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect your mother with my life.”

  March 26, 1864

  Culpeper, Virginia

  Anna lifted the curtain of the coach and momentarily recoiled from the wintery blast of cold air and swirling snow. “Is this General Grant’s headquarters?” she shouted.

  A shivering guard on the porch of the house pulled his woolen scarf down to answer. “Yes, ma’am, but he ain’t here.”

  “Do you know where I can find General Van Buskirk?” Anna asked.

  “Gone to Tennessee,” the man replied.

  “No. I meant General Paul Van Buskirk. I was told that he’s General Grant’s new adjutant.”

  “Oh. That General Van Buskirk. Yes, ma’am. Sorry. He’s over across the street at the public house. I just seen him go in.”

  “Thank you.” Anna closed the curtain and turned to Charles Nelson, who was sitting beside her. “Maybe we should consider staying here until this weather breaks.”

  “It’s entirely up to you.”

  “Let’s go talk to Pea, and then we’ll decide.”

  Nelson pulled his hat down tightly on his head, opened the coach door, jumped down and offered his hand to Anna.

  She slipped on the icy road and would have fallen without Nelson’s hand. “Woops. Thank you.”

  Nelson took her arm. “What should I tell the coachman?”

  Anna thought a moment. “Tell him we won’t be long.”

  ~

  Paul Van Buskirk was seated at a table near the fire with a steaming cup of tea between his hands. He glanced up as Anna and Nelson approached, then, as recognition dawned, he jumped up, spilling his tea across the table. “Aunt Anna? What in the world are you doing here?” He snapped his fingers at the barmaid and gestured to the spilled tea.

  Anna hugged him, then stepped back. “Paul, this is Charles Nelson. Charles, may I present my nephew Paul Van Buskirk, known to the family as Pea.”

  “General.” Nelson offered his left hand.

  Paul hesitated a moment, then shook Nelson’s left hand with his right.

  The barmaid arrived with a towel, dried off the table and took orders for hot drinks.

  “You didn’t say why you’re here,” Paul said as the barmaid hurried away.

  “We’re on our way to Richmond to see Johnny,” Anna replied.

  “I’m not sure what you think you can accomplish,” Paul said. His tone was abrupt and disapproving.

  “I’m not either,” Anna replied, “but your mother asked me to see him, so that’s what I intend to do. Whether you like it or not.”

  Paul looked at Nelson for a moment, then back at Anna. “Mr. Nelson’s lost arm is hardly comparable to Johnny’s injuries. I won’t deny that Johnny’s feeling a bit sorry for himself, but…” He shook his head. “It’s just a bad idea.”

  Anna looked annoyed and perplexed. “What’s a bad idea?”

  Nelson chuckled. “General Van Buskirk thinks you’ve brought me along as a prop to teach his brother how to cope with his war wounds.”

  “Oh.” Anna looked at Paul for a moment to see if he’d contradict Nelson’s remark, then she shook her head. “Charles and I are friends. He offered to accompany me to Richmond and I accepted.”

  “I see,” Paul said to Anna. “A new friend. How cozy.”

  “Keep your opinions to yourself,” Anna snarled. “My life is my business.”

  Paul was unaffected by her anger. “Yes, well, I still think that having Mister…” He wrinkled his brow and turned toward Nelson. “Sorry. I’ve forgotten your name.”

  “Nelson,” Anna supplied in an even angrier tone.

  “Yes,” Paul said. “I still think it’s a bad idea to have Mr. Nelson tagging along with you, Aunt Anna. Civilians can’t really relate to soldiers. A lost limb may seem to be a common bond but it can’t exist because of the circumstances…”

  “Stop talking,” Anna snapped. “Until a few days ago Charles was Colonel Nelson. He lost his arm at Gettysburg.”

  Paul looked surprised by her vehemence.

  “Just shut up, Pea,” Anna said. “Shut up.”

  “How was I expected to know?” Paul asked.

  “You weren’t,” she replied, angrily wiping away a tear that had rolled down her cheek. “But you are expected to forgo your arrogant and boorish opinions until you know the facts. Or, at the very least, keep them to yourself.”

  “I’m sure you don’t remember me,” Nelson said quickly, before Paul could reply, “but I was an engineering instructor at West Point.”

  Paul looked more closely at Nelson. “You do look familiar, now that you mention it.”

  “We need a pass to get through the Union lines,” Anna said abruptly.

  “Why are you so angry at me, Aunt Anna?” Paul asked.

  “Because you’re too full of yourself,” Anna replied. “Will you help us or not?”

  Paul took an order form and a lead pencil from his coat pocket. “I’ll have an escort organized to take you as far as the Reb command post.”

  “Just the pass, thank you,” Anna said. “We can manage the Confederates by ourselves. I still have my press pass signed by Jefferson Davis.”

  “My advice is to tell the truth to any authorities who might challenge you – Union or Confederate. Trying to use a fake cover story and press credentials, like some spy, is likely to get you hanged as a spy.” He wrote out the order and handed it to Anna. “Or is it too presumptuous of me to give you advice?”

  Anna read the order, folded it in half, gave it to Nelson and got to her feet. “Thank you, Pea.”

  “You’re leaving already?” Paul asked. “At least wait until the tea’s served. It’s cold out there and a blizzard’s on the way.”

  “A blizzard is preferable to your company,” Anna replied.

  Nelson stood up. “Please sit down, Anna. In wartime, we never know when a conversation with a loved one might be our last. Harsh words make bad memories.”

  Anna glared at each of them for a moment, but then resumed her seat.

  “I remember you now,” Paul said as Nelson reclaimed his chair. “You resigned during my plebe year. To become a civil engineer, if memory serves.”

  “Yes,” Nelson said. “I was a full-time civilian and an occasional engineer until George Meade convinced me to join his brigade in August of sixty-one.”

  “Why did you choose to resign this time?” Paul asked. “There are any number of officers serving who’ve lost limbs.”

  “I de
cided that I’d run out of luck at Gettysburg,” Nelson replied.

  Paul raised an eyebrow and then shook his head.

  “How dare you, Pea?” Anna’s face was red. “Charles was wounded during the second battle of Bull Run. His regiment, on Henry House Hill, permitted the Union army, including you, to escape annihilation. He was also wounded at South Mountain, at Antietam, and at Fredericksburg. He has a right to decide when he’s given enough of himself to his country.”

  “Anna, please,” Nelson begged.

  “No.” Anna stood up again. “I don’t want to stay here.” She glared at Paul. “And I don’t want any Goddamned tea.”

  ~

  “I think you may have overreacted,” Nelson said, as the coach began to move back onto the icy road.

  Anna pulled the rug up over her lap. “I know. Pea always rubs me the wrong way.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “It’s fifty miles to Richmond.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to explain in a thousand miles.”

  “Okay.” Nelson folded his arms.

  “Pea is like my brother Jack was when he was young,” Anna said after a short silence. “Very judgmental. Holier than thou.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Don’t be patronizing.”

  Nelson raised his hands in surrender.

  “Did you see the look on his face when he first saw you with me?” she asked.

  Nelson shrugged. “Yes. He first looked surprised, then happy to see you and finally puzzled. I never saw disapproval until he started worrying that I was going to try to give his brother my ‘one-armed-man’ speech.”

  “How about when he accused you of cowardice for resigning your commission?”

  “He wasn’t quite that blunt. In fact, he didn’t even say anything.”

  “But it was what he meant with all his dramatic stage poses. His facial expression was contemptuous.”

  Nelson smiled. “All right. I’ll concede that he’s a bit judgmental.”

  “Good.” Anna moved closer to him and shared her rug. “I like a man who can surrender gracefully.” She put her hand under the rug and on his thigh. “Would you like to surrender a bit more of yourself?” She eased her hand higher.

  He caught her hand. “Anna.”

  “Nobody can see. Just close your eyes and relax.”

  He let go of her hand. “You’re a wicked woman.”

  “Umm.”

  ~

  “Halt.” The man’s disembodied voice came from the swirling snow.

  “I’ll handle this,” Nelson said as the coach driver reined in his team. Nelson had to bump the door hard with his shoulder to break it free from the ice that coated the exterior of the coach. “We’re civilians traveling to see a wounded relative near Richmond.” Nelson waited, but there was no reply. “Hello? Sentry?” He drew a revolver from inside his coat. “Who’s there?”

  Anna jumped down into the knee-deep snow. “What is this?”

  “Could be bandits. Get back inside.” Nelson waded forward and looked up at the driver. “Are you armed?”

  “Yes, sir.” The man was wrapped in layers of frozen blankets that crackled as he moved. “But I don’t see no one.”

  “Get back in the coach, Anna.” Nelson put the pistol in his pocket and reached up to find a handhold. He was halfway up to the driver’s seat when two shots rang out in quick succession.

  Anna saw the muzzle flashes in her peripheral vision but had no idea how close the two gunmen were. Cautiously she moved forward. Nelson was on the ground. The snow around his head was turning black in the dim light. She knelt and felt for a pulse. Finding none, she stood up and tried to see the driver. The seat was empty.

  “They both dead?” a voice asked.

  “Don’t know for sure,” another answered. “Think so.”

  “Move in.”

  “The woman clumb down and I can’t see her.”

  “Go ahead on. Move in. I gotcha covered.”

  Anna stepped into the deep drift beside the road and walked backward, covering her tracks as best she could.

  “Both men is dead,” one voice called out. “No sign of the woman.”

  “Never mind her. She’ll freeze to death in a hour or two.” The other voice was coming closer.

  “She’s prob’ly wearin’ jewelry.”

  “The birds’ll find her come mornin’. We’ll follow them and get whatever’s worth gettin’.”

  “She might be givin’ us a little fun while she’s still warm.”

  “Look inside the coach and then search them bodies while I unhitch the team. If you want we can look for her after that.”

  Anna could see the second man now as he climbed up into the coach.

  “This here’s a mighty fine coach,” he called through the window. “We could get a fair amount for it.”

  “Too easy to trace,” came the answer. “But there might be some valuables in the luggage.”

  “I’ll take a look-see, then I think I’ll track that woman. I can smell her in here and she smells real good.”

  Anna stopped when she backed into the snow-laden boughs of a pine or yew tree. She knew that the tree would provide both shelter and concealment but the risk of disturbing the branches and starting a snow slide that would attract attention was too great. She pulled up her coat collar and crouched down in the snow.

  ~

  Anna awoke as an avalanche of snow fell on her from the tree. Her hands and feet were numb and her vision was clouded.

  “Here she is,” a man shouted. “She’s movin’ too.”

  “Drag her on over here,” the other man replied.

  Anna felt a hand close around her ankle. She tried to wriggle free but the man was very strong and he dragged her through the snow. Her dress went over her head so that she couldn’t see the man or the coach. She tried to kick the hand that held her ankle but it did no good.

  The second man was seated on Anna’s valise next to a fire near the empty coach. “What’s she look like?”

  “Kinda old but not too bad. Good legs, anyhow.”

  “Cut them clothes off of her and let’s have a look at her titties.”

  “Wait,” Anna said, as the first man pulled a long knife from a scabbard. “Don’t cut my clothes off, please. I’ll undress for you and I’ll cooperate.”

  The man standing over her chuckled. “Who wants cooperation? The kickin’ and screamin’s half the fun.” He fell on her, pinned her arms and then rolled her face down in the snow.

  “No. Please,” she begged, as a knife sliced through the back of her dress.

  “Yeah, that’s it.” The man laughed. “I like that. But I likes it better a little louder.” He wrapped her hair around his fist and pulled her head back.

  “I’m a Federal spy,” Anna shrieked. “You can get money for me from the Confederate government.”

  “We does business with ‘em all the time.” The man sawed off her hair. “As long as you can still talk, they’ll pay.”

  March 28, 1864

  Orchard Hill Plantation, Virginia

  “Leave me alone,” Johnny snarled.

  “There’s a telegram here from Paul,” Urilla shouted through the door.

  “From who?”

  “Your brother.”

  “What’s he say?”

  “He wants to know if your Aunt Anna got here safely.”

  Johnny maneuvered the wheelchair closer to the door and unlatched it. “That’s all he says?”

  “Read it yourself.” Urilla handed him the form.

  Johnny read the brief message, then looked up at his wife. “Did you know she was coming?”

  “Yes. But I didn’t know when.”

  He looked at the message again. “According to Pea, she should have gotten here the day before yesterday.”

  “The weather’s been awful. She may have been forced to stop somewhere along the way.”

  “She would ha
ve sent us a message.”

  “Do you want me to send somebody to look for her?” Urilla asked.

  “Who? A slave? The overseer? Your father?”

  “Well, I don’t know,” Urilla replied angrily. “Who do you suggest?”

  “Have the surrey or the buggy hitched for me. I’ll need blankets, food, tools – never mind. I’ll do it myself.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You can hardly manage your crutches in the house. If you have to use them in the snow you’ll fall and break your good arm and that’ll be the end of you.”

  “You can come with me.”

  “Me?” Urilla squeaked. “I’m not going north. Did you forget that the Yankees have a price on my head?”

  “Then I guess I’ll just have to do it alone.”

  “Why?”

  “Because without Aunt Anna you and my father would be in Yankee prison camps and Jefferson would be somewhere far away from us. I owe her, even if you don’t.”

  Urilla sighed. “Okay, you win. But I’m going to need to borrow some of your clothes.”

  “You’ll never pass for a man.”

  “No, but I’ll pass for a boy. I’ve done it before.”

  He gave her a strange look. “I’d like to hear about that some time.”

  April 3, 1864

  Richmond, Virginia

  The Castle Thunder Confederate Prison compound on Cary Street consisted of three buildings joined by a high, iron barb-topped, common wall to create an enclosed courtyard. Formerly Gleanor’s Tobacco Factory, Whitlock’s Warehouse, and Palmer’s Factory, the three attached buildings housed over three thousand Union prisoners – more than double the intended inmate capacity.

  “You’re quite fortunate to have arrived here now, Mrs. Lagrange,” Commandant Dennis Callahan said to Anna. “Recently, after former Commandant George Alexander’s extreme brutality to prisoners was discovered, our Congress replaced Alexander with me. I am decidedly more humane.”

  “Yeah, lucky me,” Anna replied. She was filthy, dressed in rags, what little hair she had was no more than clumps, her left eye was swollen closed and her face, arms, legs and torso were covered with bruises.

  “Before we enter your name into the system I need you to sign a statement acknowledging that the men who did this to you were not Confederate soldiers or connected to the Confederate Government in any way.” He pushed the release toward her.