The Union soldiers positioned at Antietam were all geared up and ready for battle when a chorus of men singing could be heard from the road behind them. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to the tune.

Yes we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom,

We will rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!

Down with the traitors, and up with the star,

While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

We are spring to the call of our brothers gone before,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

And we'll fill our vacant ranks with a million freeman more,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!

Down with the traitors, and up with the star,

While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true and brave,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

And although they may be poor, they shall never be a slave,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!

Down with the traitors, and up with the star,

While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

So we're springing to the call from the East and from the West,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom,

And we'll hurl the rebel crew from the land that we love the best.

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!

Down with the traitors, and up with the star,

While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,

Shouting the battle cry of freedom!

Hancock's II Corps emerged from the jungles and approached the camp, at the head of the huge army was the major himself and a young boy, both laughing and singing. The men behind them marched with pride and smiles on their faces as they started to get to know and understand the song, some of the men were even singing along.

They stopped outside the camp, and soldiers after soldiers piled into ranks and files, ready to charge at the enemy. "Remember your training men! This is it!" Hancock shouted as the men formed up beside McCellan's unit.

McCellan approached Hancock. "Who's this young lad?" he asked.

"A boy I met on the road. Saved my life, killed a Confederate soldier with a dagger, so I made him a Sergeant in my staff, anything wrong with that?" replied Hancock.

"No, nothing. How old is he?"

"Ten years old but one of the bravest boy I have ever seen." Hancock said giving a gentle pat on Opie's back. "You should have seen him when we were ambushed back at camp, despite his injuries, he still managed to pull off a stunt that routed the entire Confederate army." he added.

"Really?" McCellan's eyes opened wide and he looked at the young boy from head to toe. "What did he do?" he asked.

"You should have been there sir." one of the men said giving Opie a salute. "Saved our lives, by blowing up barrels of gunpowder. But I wonder how did he avoid getting shot by the Confederates?"

"I'm small in size but that doesn't mean I wasn't targeted, I had to duck to avoid all those bullets. The best thing was I wasn't even wearing my uniform when I lighted the fuse, the rebels thought that I was just a farm boy that somehow wandered into the camp." answered Opie.

"That's enough stories for now Sergeant." said Hancock sternly. "The battle is about to start, it's time for Operation Union Storm to begin."

"Yes sir!" Opie said and saluted. He turned to the few men that were under his command. "Follow my lead if you want to stay alive! See you at the field!" he shouted and galloped away. Fifty horsemen shortly followed his lead, each of them holding the flag of the 2nd Division.

"He's going to lead a charge?" McCellan asked, half shocked and confused.

"I told you, he knows what he's doing." replied a rather annoyed Hancock. "Let's just get ready to push through the cornfield." he suggested.

"Right." McCellan nodded his head in agreement. "Fix Bayonets!" he yelled.

The battle of Antietam officially begin when the Union soldiers fired their cannon at the Confederate lines, the Unions then advanced on the remnants of the first wave of rebels. The rebels ran as fast as they could back to their lines where they fired volley after volley, killing dozens of surprised Union soldiers.

Hancock scanned the horizon for the small cavalry unit that were sent behind enemy lines, he smiled when he saw the 2nd Division flag flying behind the Confederate lines. "Charge!" he yelled and gave a war cry as the II Corps charged through the cornfields.

The rebels were shocked to find cavalry units behind them firing their Henry rifles and making hit and run attacks, and they nearly fainted when more than a few hundred Union soldiers appeared from the cornfields. The rebels did the only thing everyone would do, they ran for the hills.

Hancock watched with pride as Opie valiantly led the charge against the retreating rebels despite being small in size, he saw the boy rode Betsy to the front of the Confederates and in one quick move snatched the flag away from the bearer.

As the rebels ran towards the hills, they saw Union flags flying in front of them and they stopped, afraid that they would be run straight into an ambush. The Union soldiers caught up with them and took more than a hundred prisoners, the Confederate's were shocked that the Union could come up with such a brilliant strategy when they found out that the flags were just stuck in the mud to fool them.

McCellan was truly impressed with the brilliant strategy that Hancock has planned, and was even more shocked when Hancock told him that Opie planned everything, he just gave the word to go on with it.

"The boy deserves a medal!" he said. "Did you see what he did, he rode right in front of the rebs and just snatched up their flag and managed to get away without even being hit! I will write a recommendation letter to allow the boy to command his own division of cavalry. And, he truly deserves a medal."

"I agree." said Hancock looking at the men throwing Opie in the air and catching him again while chanting his name. The men continued to chant his name and added in the phrase Hero of Antietam. The pure joy of his men enjoying themselves made him feel proud, the boy truly had made a name for himself within the II Corps.

After the cheering have stopped, Hancock approached the boy from behind. The boy looked at him with teary eyes and the major immediately knew that the boy was homesick, he held the boy's hand tightly giving them a squeeze.

"When this war is over, we will find a way to get you home. I promise." said Hancock.

Opie didn't say anything but nodded his head silently as they watched the Union soldiers burying their dead and treating their wounded, he turned and walk away as blood dripped from his shoulder.

"By the gods!" Hancock exclaimed. "You're wounded!"

"Grazed by a sword." the boy answered with a small smile. "Dangers of war. No?" he added.

Hancock smiled and lifted the boy above his shoulders. "Perhaps but I think it's time to visit the doctor...again." he said and the boy whined.

"Aww...come on sir. It's just a scratch, it's nothing serious." Opie whined. "Tell him Welsh, tell him that it was a scratch." he said to one of the men.

"I'm sorry Sergeant Taylor." Welsh apologized. "Sir, he was wounded when we assaulted Dunker Church, he rode up to a Confederate colonel and jumped on top of him. Both of them wrestled for the sword, and the colonel won, the rebel then swung the sword which the Sergeant ducked but got grazed a little bit."

"Interesting...tell me more." Hancock inquired.

"No Welsh! Please don't! He will kill me!" Opie begged.

"The Sergeant then ran while the colonel gave chase, he picked up a musket and charged at the rebel, he managed to stab the rebel in the stomach but the sword nearly went through his eye. It was all thanks to Smith that he survived, that private pulled him back in the nick of time." said Welsh.

"All right Corporal, you are dismissed." the major said with a smile. "And you. Are in trouble young man." he glared at Opie furiously. "First we need to clean the wound before administering the punishment."

Opie hanged his head down in shame as he was dragged away. The members of the II Corps knew what was going to happen, and all excitedly followed their commander from a distance which caught McCellan's attention.

"What's going on here?" demanded McCellan.

"Sergeant Taylor is in trouble." replied one of the soldiers. "He and the commander made an agreement, if the Sergeant ever pulled off a dangerous stunt and was caught in the act, he would be punished severely."

"Is it..." McCellan said nodding his head and a little curious on how Hancock will punish the boy.

After the wound had been cleaned and bandaged, Hancock forced Opie to hold a musket in the air with both of his hands. "Now, you will jog around the entire camp three times. And each time you complete a round, you will shout 'This is what happens to boys who go against my orders.' Got that?" he said.

The boy nodded his head and held the musket tightly before jogging around the camp three times, McCellan sat outside his tent and watched as the boy ran. "This is what happens to boys who go against Major Hancock's orders!" the boy yelled when he completed his first round.

After running the three rounds, Opie lay on the ground exhausted, panting heavily. He looked at the major weakly, before standing up again and holding the musket above his head. The major smiled and took the musket away, tossing it aside.

"Learned your lesson yet?" inquired Hancock.

"Yes sir." replied Opie between breaths.

"Good, I don't want you to risk your life again, I gave my word to your pa that I will watch out for you so don't screw it up by pulling dangerous stunts." said a furious but calmed Hancock. "And tomorrow the reporters will be coming down, they have heard the tales about the Hero of Antietam and want your photo taken."

"I will go and get some shut eye...if you allow me to." replied Opie.

"You are dismissed." Hancock said. "Oh, and Opie. Make sure you look smart tomorrow, the president himself is coming down, he wants to award you the medal personally." he added.

"Aye." the boy replied.

"Abraham Lincoln personally coming down to pin a medal on my chest? Wow, I did not expect such a thing, and yet my pa told me to keep a low profile. Now, everyone knows who I am but do not know where I come from. Luckily, the major is always around to answer any questions thrown to me by people I don't know." he said to himself.

True enough, the next day, Opie was forced to stand in different positions for his photo to be taken but almost in every shot, Hancock was standing proudly behind him. He saw the soldiers lined up in full ceremonial dress, drums were played as the president strode down the row of soldiers that made a path directly to him.

The president looked down at the boy and shook his hands. "It is a great pleasure to meet the Hero of Antietam personally." he said.

"It's an honor to meet you as well, Mr President." replied Opie.

"For outstanding bravery at the Battle of Antietam and capturing Dunker Church, I hereby award the medal of honor to Sergeant Taylor of the II Corps, 2nd Cavalry Division." the president said and pinned a shiny medal on Opie's chest.

Opie gave the president a salute who nodded and patted his shoulder before walking away with McCellan and other important people which he don't know. Hancock gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You did well." he said.

"I was trying my best not to faint..." the boy replied.

"Overall, you did pretty well." the major said. "Come, should we go talk to the drummer boys? You told me that you wished to talk to them. Now it's a perfect chance."

"Lead the way." said Opie.

Hancock led Opie to a patch of grass where the drummer boys and soldiers were resting, they all stood up when they saw the major but he told them to sit. "Sergeant Taylor here, wishes to have a few words with you all." he said.

"Well, let's just say I'm always fascinated by you boys playing the drums, you know I always wanted to play one but..." said Opie who turned his small head to the major. "The major told me no."

"It's for your own good. Confederate sharpshooters will take out drummer boys during battle, to safe your sorry ass from being shot, I chose you as a mounted staff." the major replied. "Now, no more talking about this, or you will be running around the camp six times with two muskets. Each wrong move I heard or saw you committing it, I will double it, so from three it will be six, and then nine and so on."

"Got that." replied Opie. "Oh, and sir. There is something I must tell you in private later on...it is about the coming battle that we will be forced to take part in."

"I'll see you in my tent after you are done with getting to know the boys." said Hancock as he walked away, picking up a bottle of wine on the way.

"So you all know my name but I want to know each and every single one of your names." said Opie. "Let's begin with you."

"Name's Johnny Boone, but you may call me John." the first boy said.

The second boy looked shy and nervous but with further persuasion from his friends, he finally answered the question. "My name is Steven." he said with a small smile.

"Well, I do not have a name but the boys all call me Tommy." the third boy said.

Opie was curious. "You don't have a name?" he repeated.

"Yes, my parents were illiterate and dead by the time I was nine, and with no home to stay in. I stayed on the streets and wandered around the countryside, that's where I ran into the II Corps, they at first refused to take me in but the major said that if they don't take me in. The Rebels would used it as an excuse that the Union soldiers were heartless and do not care about homeless kids, so that's how I became a drummer boy." said Tommy. "And for my name. Well, you can say that the major decided on it. He told me that Tommy was a good friend of his who died during the Mexican war with America."

Opie nodded his head. "Yeah, he even gave me a horse that belonged to General Williams. You all know him?" he asked.

"Indeed." replied John. "He was a man with a kind heart, he never ever said a mean thing or scold us if one of us boys did something wrong. Instead, he just told us to not do it again. Like that time, when Tommy accidentally broke General William's sword when cleaning it."

"Of course, how could I forget that small incident." said Tommy. "Major Hancock wanted to have me punished by hanging a sign on my neck stating that I broke a general's sword, he wanted to make me embarrass. But General William came up, and told him that it was just a sword, it could easily be replaced."

"He was a good man...but at the Battle of Bull Run, he held the enemy back when we retreated. He didn't made it back only his horse, even though it was badly wounded, the horse still trotted to the main camp. It was awarded for it's bravery just like you, so I guess that you two really make a pair." said Steven.

Welsh walked up behind his Sergeant and tapped his shoulder. "Sergeant Taylor, there is something specially delivered for you, a letter of some sort and...a book?" he said holding up the two items.

"Thank you Welsh, let me just take that." replied Opie as he took the two items.

The first was indeed a sealed letter from his pa to Major Hancock, and the second was a book titled. "The American Civil War, a historical account on what truly happened." he read out loud. "Written by...Hancock and his trusted assistant Sergeant-...where did you get this?" he asked.

"I saw a blinding flash of light behind one of the bushes, and I went to investigate, and I saw the book with the letter between it's pages. I read the contents and saw that it had your name so I did what was best and delivered them to you, and don't worry I didn't read a single page." replied Welsh, confused with his commanding officer's sudden reaction.

The three drummer boys also looked up at Opie's strange reaction when he read the cover page of the book, he then clutched the book tightly and walked towards Hancock who was talking to some of the generals of other regiments and units.

"Sir...there is something you must see." he said in a low voice.

"Excuse me gentlemen." the major said and followed Opie into a secluded area where no one could find them. "What is the thing you wanted me to see so badly?" he asked.

"Here, a letter from my pa to you. And a book that you wrote in 1869, together with me? Shocking ain't it?

Hancock took the book and read the cover page and he too opened his eyes wide with shock, there were pictures of both him and Opie on every single page and writings about the Civil War. And at the back there was a small note written by Hancock himself, it says: this book is dedicated to Opie Taylor, a boy who changed my life.

He slowly opened the letter and read it's contents and he laughed when he finished reading it, Opie looked at him with curious eyes. "Your pa...he's so happy for you, he written clearly that if you ever get in trouble, I will have permission to give you a whipping." he said between laughs.

"He what?" Opie exclaimed. "He allowed you to give me a whipping?"

"Yes, indeed."

"Oh, then I better start behaving myself." the boy said with downcast eyes. "I never liked getting a whipping, the only time I got one was because of a matchstick. I played with fire and got whipped for it, though it was not that many, only three if I recall clearly."

"You going to read the book, if not I would certainly like to take it off your hands." asked Hancock, immediately changing the subject.

"Sure, go ahead take it." said Opie handing the book over. "I'd better get back to talking with the boys, especially Welsh, he's getting a little curious about me."

"What is your plan, if anyone finds out? That you are from the future?" asked Hancock.

"I'm not sure..." the boy replied when he spotted a young boy hiding in the bushes. "Someone is spying on us. Don't scare him, I think he's one of the drummer boys."

Hancock pointed his finger at the bush. "You there, come out of the bush, nice and slowly. We won't hurt you if you do. Come out!" he demanded.