Chapter 2: Starting From Scratch
That first night was uneasy for Emma. All night she lay awake in her bed, thinking of the young Prussian she was beginning to fall in love with. This was a chance for a fresh start. Could that mean that she could tell Christian how she felt? Christian thought the same thing. A fresh start might mean a chance to tell Emma that from that one moment on All Saints' Day, that one dance, he fell in love with her. He decided that he would let that sink in while he was at work at the barracks.
At about five o'clock, Emma was out of bed, staring out into the distance. She was thinking about the night before; the night when she and Christian nearly locked lips. They probably would have if it hadn't been for the immaturity of Andrew and John. She knew that moment wouldn't have sparked if they didn't have mutual feelings for each other. She finally surrendered and began to tell herself that it was true; she was in love with Christian von München. And why not? She began to think about what Anna and Margret had told her. There was nothing to be ashamed of in loving Christian. He was honest, hard working, and even she agreed that he was a handsome young man. She loved him and she couldn't wait for him to say it first. She left her room and went to Christian's door intent on telling him how she felt about him, but when she reached the door, it was already open and Christian was gone. She also noticed that not only was he gone, but so were his uniform, musket and ammunition. She then heard a bugler playing Reveille outside. She went to the window and saw the troops lining up outside. At that point she discerned that Christian must have gotten up early to begin work at the barracks.
She witnessed the soldiers snap to attention and the commander called all men to a salute or 'present arms' position as the bugler played 'To The Colors' as the flag was raised. As soon as the flag was raised, the men were dismissed and Christian took command of his new brigade. Many of the soldiers in the brigade were fairly new recruits. "Alright gentlemen," Christian started, "welcome to the 52nd Brigade. My name is Sergeant Christian von München. I want to start you men off by having you show me what you are physically capable of; shooting, melee, and physical strength." Christian then led them to the combat range out in the back of the barracks. He formed them into ranks and set up hand-to-hand training dummies for them to practice on. "You there," he said, pointing to a soldier, "let me see what you've got. Go on and give that decoy what for." The recruit jogged up and barely hit the dummy, knocking it to the ground. "No! Not like that! That's your enemy, man! Make sure he's dead." The recruit did the exact same thing. "Right. Never mind." Christian grabbed another recruit and gave him the same orders, generating the same result. "Oh, we have so much work to do." he sighed to himself. That day, he exposed his men to the kind of military training that his father gave him; the kind of training that shaped who he was; Prussian training.
"Form ranks!" he shouted and the men took their positions. "First rank, charge bayonets!" and they did so. "Charge!" The men charged but did the same as the other two recruits did. Christian shook his head and ordered the other ranks to charge, generated the same results as Christian buried his face in his palm. "Warum Gott? Was habe ich getan um das zu verdienen?" he muttered. He decided to start from scratch and tested their physical capabilities first. They were the saddest group of soldiers he had ever met in his life. Many of them could barely accomplish ten pushups. At this point, the Prussian training method was introduced. Prussian training basically worked like this: Week one) Separate the men from the boys. Week two) Separate the men from the fools. Week three) The fools are sent into battle first. Christian ordered the men to step forward one at a time for pushups. He had them assume the pushup position and then began to push down on their back with his foot. The men struggled but Christian's only response was "Auf! Schneller! (Up! Faster!)" He kept shouting and shouting until they finally collapsed. When one boy finally collapsed, Christian had had enough. "Disgraceful." he said to the boy. "These are the soldiers they sent me? In your current state, you men couldn't fight off chipmunks, let alone the British!"
The boy then stood up. "Sir, we are capable of being soldiers!"
"I'll believe it when I see it!" Christian shouted.
"We can show you!"
"Then do it!" The boy took the pushup position again and Christian placed his foot on his back. The boy struggled to get up but Christian kept shouting "Auf! Schneller!" Soon, the boy proved stronger than his sergeant and pushed himself up. He did it again, and again, and again, and again. Christian smiled and helped the boy to his feet. He looked at the rest of the men. "If this man can do it," he said, pointing to the boy, "then the rest of you can do it too. Line up!" The men took their positions one at a time as Christian placed his foot on their backs. They struggled at first, but soon, like the boy, they managed to best the strength of their Prussian commander. He led them outside to work again on their prowess with the musket. "Form ranks!" he shouted, and the men did so. However, when ordered to charge, Christian got the same result as before. "No!" he shouted. He went up to a soldier and seized his weapon. He then ran up to the practice dummy and thrust his bayonet through its midsection, knocked it to the ground, and stabbed it again.
"That is your enemy, men. Do not show any mercy, because you sure as hell won't get any from the British. Reform your ranks!" The men formed up and Christian ordered them to charge their bayonets. "This time, give no mercy. First rank, charge!" the first rank moved forward and destroyed the practice dummies that were set up before them. The following ranks did the same. For the rest of the morning until noon, it was intense training; pushups, sit-ups, melee, shooting, and everything to help the men prepare for the harshest battle conditions. At noon the bugle sounded for lunch. "Excellent job today, men. How long do you usually have for lunch?" Christian asked.
"About five minutes." one of the soldiers replied.
"That's it? Well, you men had to go through Prussian training, so I'm going to go ahead and give you an hour and a half. You men earned it." The men looked at each other in amazement. A break of that length was very rare. This also allowed Christian to have a little relaxation as trying to get these men in shape in just one day was both mentally and physically exhausting. He decided to go and take a short walk before heading to one of the brothels for lunch. While on his walk he bumped into the girls. "Hey, Christian. How's training going?" Margret asked.
"Very well. The men are doing fine."
"Well, that's good." Emma said. "Are they being treated well?"
"Yes, they are. I just gave them a ninety minute break, which is eighty-five minutes longer than usual."
"That's nice of you. We were just on our way to see our boys. Well, that is Margret and me." Anna said in a bit of a suggestive tone. Emma knew that she was trying to drop Christian a bit of a hint. Unknown to her, Christian knew this too and sent them on their way, leaving just him and Emma.
"Well…uh…" Emma stuttered. Christian chuckled a bit and offered his arm to the girl that he loved. (Quick footnote: In the 1700s, the word 'like' wasn't used like it is in today's world. Back then, they just said 'love'. This footnote was just to clear up any potential confusion or anything like that.)
The two walked along just talking. Emma talking about where she came from originally, as Christian never really learned that, and Christian talked about his father's service in the Prussian Army. Then Emma asked, "Christian, do you think we'll ever see our parents again?" Christian looked down at Emma and gave her a small hug. "Hard to say. I suppose we'll just have to leave it in His hands." Emma smiled and returned Christian's hug. Just then, the bugler for the 52nd Brigade sounded the end of their lunch break. "Well, I'd better get going, Emma. I'll see you guy's later this evening."
"Okay, Christian. We'll see you this evening." Before leaving, Emma gave Christian a quick kiss on the cheek. Christian watched as Emma walked away, smiling at her. He then returned to the barracks to put the men through more training. As he entered the barracks, he was happy to find that they were already lined up and ready to go. They were put through more of the same training as earlier. Near 4:30, Christian decided to test their skills with the musket.
"Form ranks!" he shouted and the men lined up into five ranks. He decided to set up a scenario for the men; their line had been broken by the British and Christian wanted to give the enemy one last parting gift before retreating. He then had the bugler sound 'Retreat'. The bugler began to play and Christian gave his orders. "First rank! Fire!" and they did so.
"Second rank! Fire!
Third rank! Fire!
Fourth rank! Fire!
Fifth rank! Fire!" To finish off the exercise, Christian pulled out his flintlock pistol and shot the dummy that represented the enemy officer.
"Excellent job, men. At this rate you'll be exactly where I want you within a week. Dismissed."
As Christian began to pack up, he was approached by the boy that stood up to him. The boy must have been only twelve or thirteen years old.
"Ah, is there anything I can do for you?" Christian asked.
"Yes, sir. Is there any way to load a musket faster?" the boy asked.
"I'm afraid not. Don't worry. You'll learn how to load faster over time."
"Thank you, sir."
"Absolutely. I hope I wasn't too hard on you this morning. Believe me, my intention isn't to be cruel. I'm trying to prepare you to fight the British and they are the ones who are truly cruel."
"I'll be fine, sir. I understand what you want from us and I'll do my best."
Christian smiled and patted the boy's head before dismissing him. Christian then headed back to his living block where the group was waiting for him. All of the boys were exhausted.
"How's everyone?" Christian asked.
"Tired." John replied and Christian chuckled. "How about you?" John asked.
"Same."
"How was training?"
"Good. Very good. The men are doing fine."
"Good."
"How was farm work?"
"It went pretty well. I caught the others trying to sow a field of strawberries."
"What's so bad about that?" asked Margret.
"The field would've failed due to the summer heat. That would have lost a whole crop."
"So what are you planting there now?" Christian asked.
"We're going with tomatoes."
"What about you, Andrew?" Christian asked.
"It was alright. You guys should be getting a new supply of bayonets tomorrow."
Christian laughed at Andrew's remark. "That's good to know." The group sat around the fire, talking about their day. Emma then walked into the room to see Christian sitting there. Christian looked around to see her and smiled.
"Hi, Christian. I'm glad you're home." she said.
"Good to see you, Emma." Christian replied. Andrew and John looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Christian then allowed Emma into the conversation. The talking continued until about 6:30, that is Emma and Christian talked until about 6:30. The others left about 15 minutes earlier, leaving the two alone.
"It sounds like you've really got your hands full at the barracks." Emma laughed.
"Well, these men are doing very well."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Christian laughed a bit.
"Christian?" Emma said.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think we're safe here? I've been hearing some things from the others that the British are going to attack us any day. Honestly…I kind of scared."
Christian went over to Emma's side and put his arm around her waist. "I'm sure we'll be fine here. Even if the British do attack, I'm going to be up on those walls defending this place. And if my men keep it up at this pace, we'll give the Brits something to be afraid of."
Emma leaned her head against Christian's shoulder and he wrapped his other hand around her.
"Christian, can you promise me something?"
"Anything."
"…Just be safe out there."
Christian smiled at her and the two locked eyes and again began to lean toward each other. Just before they kissed, they were interrupted again, this time by a knock on the door. Christian looked up and thought Really, God? Really? He stood up and answered the door to see a corporal was standing there.
"Ah, Sergeant von München. You're on guard duty for tonight."
"Very well. I'll be there." he said and closed the door. "Well, I guess I should get ready."
He came out of his room a few minutes later in his uniform. Once again, Emma thought he looked very handsome and gave him a little smile. "I'll be back shortly, Emma. I won't be gone as long tonight."
"Okay. I'll be here when we get back." Before Christian left, he walked over and gave her a little kiss on the cheek; a repayment for hers. "I'll see you later tonight."
"I'll see you later." Emma replied. As Christian walked out the door, she whispered "I love you."
Later on the wall, Christian was lost in thought about the girl that he loved so much. While he was thinking, one of the others came up to him. "Well, I've seen that kind of a face before." said the soldier. He was a tall soldier, a bit round and had a strong voice. "You've got someone on your mind, don't you?" Christian smiled and nodded. "My name's James, James Watson." he said as he held out his hand to Christian. "My name's Christian von München."
"Von München? That's a German name isn't it?"
"Mm-hmm. I was born in Hildesheim, Prussia."
"Interesting. Cigarette?"
"No. I don't smoke."
"So who is she?"
"Who's who?"
"This girl you're thinking of."
"Her name's Emma Chamberlain."
"Hmm. Well, I can tell your whole story just by the look on your face. You've fancied her for a long time."
"Two years."
"You've never had the courage to tell her yet but I can see a look of conflict on your face. Your thinking that since this is a new start, you may be gaining the confidence to tell her."
'You ever thought about being a palm reader?" Christian joked.
James laughed at this. "I tell you what, I was just like you. The girl's name was Victoria. She's now my girlfriend, but before that, I was exactly like you. But when we came here a year ago, it was a new start so I decided, what the hell do I have to lose."
"I suppose so."
"Just give it some thought."
"I'm just afraid of what she thinks."
"What do you think? More importantly, what do you feel?"
Christian thought for a while before thinking about those two occasions when he and Emma nearly met lips. "I think she does." James smiled and nodded.
"Well, good luck with Emma."
"Thanks. Well, my time's up. I'll talk to you later."
"You going to tell Emma?"
"She's probably asleep, but maybe tomorrow. What the hell do I have to lose?"
"Well, good luck."
"Thanks. It's been a pleasure meeting you."
"Likewise." And with that, Christian left for his housing block feeling better than ever.
