Chapter 23: A Night in the Union Camp
Dib and Tak sat at a small folding table in the small house that served as General Hancock's headquarters. Dib ate from a bowl of beans that had been boiled with salted pork. It was actually quite delicious, and he more than enjoyed the fresh-baked bread. An officer on Hancock's staff had brought in a hatful of apples and peaches, and Dib eyed a fresh green apple that sat next to his plate, saving it for dessert. Tak ate a piece of hardtack with a strange sweet sauce the officer had called apple butter. It was yet another earthen food Tak discovered she could tolerate, and it wasn't bad at all.
"You kids were pretty hungry." The officer who had brought in the feast said with a smile. "Fighting takes a lot out of you."
"Mmmhmm." Dib agreed, chewing a chunk of the warm bread. Hancock entered the room with two more officers, one of which was carrying a large bundle.
"Are you two faring well?" He asked.
"Yes sir." Tak and Dib both answered.
"Well I'm glad to see you two are recovering from the day." Hancock commented. "Oh, lieutenant." One of the officers stepped forward, and laid his load on a table. He held up two dark blue jackets with two light blue stripes on each sleeve. Dib stood from his chair and hurried over like a child given a new toy. The coats had beautiful blue piping on the front, almost like a marching band jackets, and shiny brass buttons. Tak rose and walked over.
"Thank you, sir…" Dib said. Hancock smiled.
"Well, you two earned it." The general said. "And Dib?"
"Sir?"
"Your friend General Buford heard about your brave charge. He was impressed." Hancock smiled.
"How did he hear about it, sir?" Dib asked.
"Oh, I may have had a hand in telling the story of my brave messengers." Hancock replied. Dib and Tak smiled. "He sent you something. He said…" Hancock cleared his throat and tried to imitate the gruff voice of Buford. "…well, if he's gonna charge the enemy, he'd better have something to do it with." The other officer held out a short rifle. "I think you're still a might bit young for a weapon, but there's no arguing with John." One of the lieutenants chuckled a bit. Dib took the weapon, and the leather box that contained the ammunition.
"It's a cavalry carbine." The lieutenant said. "Breechloading. It's a fine weapon indeed."
"Yes…" Dib agreed, looking the rifle over. "Tell General Buford that I love it. Tell him I said thanks!"
"I will do that." Hancock said. He pulled out a pocket watch and gave it a long, seemingly mournful look, like a man who hates time. "Well, it's getting late now. Nothing more will happen today for sure. Tomorrow, no doubt…yes, tomorrow." He sighed.
"It's going to be bad, sir?" Tak asked, seeing her general's apprehension. He nodded gently.
"I do not know, young lady, but I believe it will be so." The officers in the room gazed down at the floor quietly, as if a feeling of foreboding had suddenly permeated the room. Dib and Tak could feel it too, and almost like a premonition, they saw in their minds cannons firing, and men laying dead everywhere. Fortunately, the feeling passed as quickly as it had come.
"May we walk about a little?" Tak asked. "You know sir, get a little fresh air before 'extinguish lights'?"
"I don't see why not." Hancock replied kindly. "You two can go show off your new uniforms around camp. If I need you, I'll send Lieutenant Adams here to track you down."
"Thank you sir." Tak saluted.
Dib and Tak walked along the rows of tents of the Union Camp, resplendent in their new uniforms. Campfires burned every so often, and clusters of men gathered around them, talking, laughing, eating, and writing letters. The two held hands as they walked, inducing a few stares from some of the soldiers. They turned and walked forward, out to the low stone wall at the edge of the ridge. Across the wide field, they could see the small orange dots of enemy campfires.
"Seems a bit strange, huh?" Tak said softly. Dib glanced over at her. She stared out toward the other side of the field. "The enemy so close…"
"Yeah…" Dib said. "I wonder if Zim is over there?" Tak looked at him a moment, then back out at the distant fires.
"I…I don't know…maybe." She replied.
"And if he is?" Dib asked in a meditative tone. Tak sighed.
"I don't know." She said.
"Could you…I mean, if we were face to face with him…"
"Maybe…" Tak answered. She shook her head. "You?" There was a long silence.
"I don't think I could." Dib admitted. Just then, four horses pulling a strange wagon with a large box on it moved by slowly. Two men sat atop the wooden crate in the front, one of them holding a lantern. They stopped next to the two.
"You there, you mind giving us a hand with this caisson? My two privates are down with the heat, and we gotta get the guns ready before it gets too late. I'm getting' awfully nervous having to hold this lamp with me sitting on about 200 rounds of ammunition" Dib and Tak looked at each other and shrugged.
"Sure." Dib said. "What do you want us to do?" The man who had spoken, a thin man wearing a blue coat with red corporal stripes motioned to the back of the wagon.
"Hop on, we're going right up there." The man pointed ahead. Dib and Tak sat on the rear of the wagon, and the drivers steered the caisson forward, finally stopping behind six enormous cannons, their five foot barrels pointing across the field like sentinels. They hopped off, and waited for the drivers to climb down.
"What do we do?" Tak asked.
"Grab that box there, and take it back there where those men are." Dib and Tak peered through the darkness, and saw a cluster of men. They dragged the heavy box off the back of the wagon. It felt like it weighed a ton, but they managed to half-carry, half-drag the box to the spot the driver had ordered, the drivers passing them, carrying the larger box with relative ease. Reaching their destination, they sat the box down, and Dib sat on it, panting.
"A little heavy, eh son?" A man said.
"You got that right." Dib replied. He looked up. A young officer wearing a neat blue uniform with red piping stood over him. Dib stood and saluted. "I mean, yes sir." The man laughed.
"It's all right." He said. "Thank you two for the help. I'll be repaying it when we're giving you infantry lads a few less rebs to shoot at."
"That's our job, sir…" A sergeant in a red cap commented. "Making the infantry's job easier."
"We're not really…infantry." Tak corrected. "We belong to General Hancock's staff. We're messengers, sir."
"Oh." The lieutenant replied. "Well give General Hancock my regards, young lady. Tell him that Cushing's Battery is set up and in position."
"Yes sir." Tak said. "Are you…Cushing, sir?" The lieutenant took off his hat and bowed slightly.
"Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing, Battery A, Fourth U.S. Artillery."
"Good to meet you, Lieutenant Cushing sir." Tak said. "I'm Corporal Tak, and this is Corporal Dib."
"Uh…huh." The Artillery commander said, slicking back his brown hair and replacing his hat. "Rather odd names, no offense. But I'm sure Alonzo isn't quite the common name either." Dib and Tak smiled. "Ah, well, you two had better be going. I'm sure it's nearly time to turn in for the night." He saluted, and the two corporals saluted the likable cannoneer. They jogged back toward the small house to get a little rest. They couldn't shake the feeling though, that tomorrow would be bad.
I really don't know what the point of this chapter was, except maybe to spend a little time on the Union side during the night of the second day. I did get to introduce Lt. Cushing though. Cushing and his battery play into the events later on, and as an artillerist myself, I've been searching for a spot in this story to place some guns and spend a little time with some fellow red-legs (Civil War term for artillerymen). I'll probably introduce Colonel Alexander too in an upcoming chapter, seeing as he played a big part in day three. Well, I'd better stop before I go into a poetic tirade about Alexander's tactics, the skill of the Washington Artillery, my preference to howitzers over guns (true cannon), and all that…so, please review, and I'll try to get the next chapter or two up soon.