-1CHAPTER SEVEN
1870 November 1st…
Having made it to Boston safely, the troops disembarked from the Ernestine, and marched through the city. John could tell right away that things were not wonderful in America, and by the looks on the civilians faces; people were frightened. His uniform impeccable, his blue campaign hat shone darkly in the sun. John was marching with other members of the 501st, Nathan Hockley marched alongside him. Today, they were meeting General Peter Bradford Creedon Junior. John had heard the stories, as did Nathan. They came to a campsite in the town of Milton. Milton looked like a massive bomb had gone off.
"With our continued barrage, we'll have the rebels on the run. Word is, is that they are running, albeit into the hills." Said John. The camp was marked by the flag of the republic. Sitting in a chair in a dark, almost black uniform sat General Creedon.
"So this is what they sent me. I hope to god they're willing to fight. My men are tough. I want to see how tough these men are." Said the general.
General Creedon stood up from his chair and inspected the men.
"You two, what are your names?" He asked, his voice calm and collected.
"I'm John DeWitt sir." Said John.
"I'm Nathan Hockley sir." Said Nathan.
"Good. I want you to be my personal escorts. I meet with President Grant in a few weeks in Washington, as to update the progress on the war. America is far too weak to fight this on her own. That is why we stepped in, and we won't leave until all the rebellion has been squelched."
"That sounds like a splendid plan sir." Said John.
"Our first plan is to take Randolph. There's a rebel stronghold near the town center. They have cannons, and Gatling guns from what we've gathered. It won't be easy, but I trust that you will be able to take them out. All of them." Said the general.
"We'll do our best, we have some of the greatest officers." Said Nathan.
"Good. All right, move out." Said Creedon.
The formation moved on. They reached their campsite, and went to work setting up their pup tents. It took no time in setting up the campsite, and immediately men were assigned to watches. John took third watch, Nathan took the first. Gunshots were heard in the distance, and this made the men uneasy. Several hours later, it was finally John's turn to take watch. The night was quiet, too quiet. Suddenly, he heard rustling in the woods. He readied his rifle, pulling the bolt shut. He waited for what seemed to be an eternity. Finally, the source of the rustling was found: three of the enemy were walking towards camp. He called out, alerting the campsite of their presence.
"Put your hands up where I can see them!" Shouted John.
He looked at these "men." In reality, they could have been no more than sixteen years of age.
"Who sent you?" asked John in a stern voice.
"We're surrendering. We've had enough of this conflict. We want you to take us as prisoners."
John looked at one of them.
"You ought to be in school." He said.
"School is pointless. It gets you nowhere. This is where my future is." Said the leader of the three.
"All right, come along." He marched them into the camp, where he met General Creedon.
"I see you have captured three of them. I want to get information out of them before we send them away to be interned." Said the general.
John saluted him, and was dismissed to go back on watch. A few hours later, he was relieved. As he walked back to his tent, he caught up with Creedon.
"Don't you ever sleep?" He asked the general.
"Not on nights like this, we've gathered information from those three boys who surrendered. I cannot tell you what I found out, out here. Come back to my quarters and I'll tell you." Said Creedon. John followed the general back to his tent.
"I'll tell you what I've found out." Creedon said.
"What did you find out general?" Asked John.
"Not only do those bastards have a stronghold in Randolph, but also in Canton. I want all of you to carry a spade. We may have to dig in. They're too stupid to use the railroads. You'd think that you'd want to use a railroad to move your supplies around, but no. These idiots decide to use the standard road system. With that aside, tell me about yourself DeWitt." Said the general.
"Where do you want me to start?" Asked John.
"Are you married?" Creedon asked.
"Yes. She is my second wife. My first wife died after giving birth to our daughter, Ruth." Said John.
"Your first wife, what was she like?" Creedon asked again.
"She was beautiful. She was my world, she was taken away from me. Her name was Jessica. Her father, is Thaddeus Brownell." Said John.
This hit Peter like a ton of bricks. Quickly, he replied;
"Jessica Brownell. General Brownell wanted me to marry her. She flat out refused. She said I was in the military, like her father. She wouldn't want that for anybody." Said Peter.
"I didn't know she was anti military. Did she despise her father? I know she was extremely intelligent, perhaps too intelligent for her family."
"She didn't like how controlling he was. You didn't hear this from me, but Brownell needs to go. He was good during our civil war, but now senility is catching up to him. He would never let Jessica do anything. She was anti-war, and was quite progressive. She believed in Republicanism, like myself; but unlike her I believe in the military. We can talk about your daughter if you'd like. Perhaps your second wife. I don't want to get too personal. She was your wife, and I respect that."
"Thank you general. My daughter, Ruth is almost nine months old. She has her mother's hair and eyes. She's quite boisterous."
"What about your second wife?" Asked the general.
"Her name is Edith. She's from Britain. I met her shortly after Jessica's death. We had a brief courtship, and at the insistence of her father we married. Our wedding was nothing spectacular. A few short days after we wed, I joined the army and here I am." Said John.
"So, your wife is British? That's interesting. Have you written to her at all?" Asked Peter.
"Not yet. I'll write in a few days. Let me get some battle experience in first. Looks like we'll need all the help we can get." Said John.
The men parted, and John went to his tent. Sleep wasn't that far off for him. He dreamt that this war was over and that he could see his daughter once again. He wanted to hold her, see her take her first steps, hear her say her first words. In his mind, Jessica was watching over him and Ruth. He didn't know it yet, but Jessica would "visit" him several times over the course of the conflict. He felt at peace when she was there.
It was going to be a long time before he came home.