So, when I first started this story, I had no intentions of posting this chapter on the 162nd anniversary of the battle of Wilson's Creek, but once this chapter began to be written and I realized it was the beginning of August, well, I may or may not have pushed myself to finish it by this date. Thank you for indulging my obsessive researching and determination to make most details of the battle as accurate as possible. Is this a fanfiction story or is it just an excuse to write a Civil War novel? The world may never know...

Y'all let me know if you're enjoying this story so far, or if I've bogged it down with so many historical details that it's just become slow. I'll understand if that's the case. I appreciate each and every person who is reading this story!

However, it seemed the Union forces had not heard about General McCulloch's decision to postpone his attack. They had made very different plans.

The first thing Jess knew, he was woken by a sound that seemed to be the most unearthly thing he had ever heard. Outside of his tent, just as the world was starting to turn light, he heard sloshing and gurgling, but not like any he had ever heard. This sounded like a great sea beast was wallowing in the mud right outside of his tent. And he could never be sure if he imagined it or not, but there seemed to be a faint singing mixed with the uproar. However, even as understanding began to dawn on him, a cry ran through the camp.

"The Yankees! They're attacking!" Jess threw his blanket off of himself and grabbed a pair of boots, tugging them on frantically as the terrible beast bore down upon their camp. Rowdy stumbled from his tent at the same time. Even as they grabbed their muskets and pistols, they spied the Union forces marching towards their camp, not more than two hundred yards away. Jess hurried to shrug on his jacket, even though he could already tell it was going to become an unbearably hot day. As he slung a canteen over his shoulder and buckled his belt, he looked beside him and saw an officer still sitting next to a campfire, seemingly unconcerned with the approaching enemy.

"Sir, the Yanks are comin'!" Rowdy shouted at him. "You better get your horse and get out of here!" The officer looked at the young private irritably.

"I can finish my breakfast before any Yankee gets here." Just then a messenger galloped up to the officer.

"Sir, move your troops out immediately to meet General Lyon's men!" His horse pranced nervously in place. The officer looked him stubbornly in the eye while asking,

"Is that official?" He took another bite of his bacon. However, it was to be the last bite of his breakfast that he would get, for at that moment a Union shell crashed into a tree just to his left.

"Well, by God! That is official," quipped the officer as he sprang from his seat and finally abandoned his food. Rowdy had already run to his waiting horse, throwing saddle and bridle on as quickly as his shaking hands would allow him. But Jess had paused, waiting to see what would happen to the officer. When the shell exploded, he jumped back and then hurried with the officer to the picket line. They were passing Jess's tent when another shell landed not ten yards away, exploding and sending shrapnell in every direction. One chunk flew through the air and slashed a gaping hole in the side of his tent. On top of the surprise and the fear, Jess now felt anger pulsing through him at the destruction of his property.

After recovering their wits from the close call, they made it to the picket line. Rowdy had been quick, and he sat on his prancing horse, holding the reins of Jess's horse which he had also saddled.

"Come on, Jess!" he called with urgency. Jess didn't even put his foot in the stirrup but swung himself up onto his horse Indian-style. They galloped away from the approaching blue army along with many of the other Confederates from their camp. Even as they did, Jess looked back to see a shell explode near Jim Farr. Shrapnel exploded into him and his horse accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream. Both were thrown to the ground in a pile of blood and neither would ever rise again.

Jess found himself frozen in the saddle, so benumbed that he didn't even feel horrified at the sight. With Rowdy's horse galloping at his side, Jess's horse followed suit, and like a machine Jess gripped his saddle with his legs and grabbed his reins, staying aboard out of habit. They rode south towards the larger group of their own army that was encamped around a house which was inhabited by a family called Sharp. The entire field was a mass of chaos. Confederate soldiers ran every which way, disorganized and still trying to wake up. As Jess and Rowdy's group rode up, they became just another part of the confusion. After several minutes, they saw the rest of the Third Texas to their north across a small creek. They had turned their horses and were beginning to ride towards their company when Jess looked back.

That's when General Benjamin McCulloch rode up. His heavy wool clothes were extremely unsuited to the heat which was already stifling, but he sat tall in his saddle, unbothered by such a small thing as discomfort. Seeing the chaos that was ensuing, he shouted above the din of the battle,

"Come, my brave lads, I have a battery for you to charge, and the day is ours!" Rowdy also stopped his horse and looked towards him at these words, and Jess found himself in awe of this specimen of a soldier. The General whirled his horse around and began to lead the men towards a Union regiment, heedless of his own safety. With such a leader the mostly untried soldiers couldn't help but follow his example. Jess and Rowdy knew that they should join their own regiment, but something inside them begged to join this unafraid commander. Their better sense caught up with them, though, and with an effort they continued on to their own men.

Captain Chisolm rode up to them as they approached. "To the lines, boys! We need every man!" He knew that most of the young men he was leading had not been in a battle before, and any wavering from their commanding officer could be the means of their undoing. Hisi strong confidence had its effect on the many young men around him, including Jess and Rowdy. They hurried to fill in the gaps in the line.

Musket and rifle shots were coming their way, as well as dangerously close cannonballs. In a moment of panic, Rowdy saw a cannonball coming his direction. He jumped to the side as it hurtled past and decimated a grove of trees behind him. He threw a side glance at Jess, and the shorter boy looked back at him with wide eyes. Many other soldiers were doing the same. Captain Chisolm's strong voice came through the haze of smoke.

"Boys, you mustn't dodge." Another deafening cannon shot resounded through the woods, and Jess watched as the cannonball soared through the air, right in the direction of Captain Chisolm. The cannonball flew right at the captain's face, and against his own words, he ducked to avoid it. Once he had straightened back up in the saddle, he looked at all the young boys who were watching him, and he cracked a grin while saying, "Except when the big ones come." Even in the midst of the horrors of battle, the humor was not lost on the boys and men, and Jess found a small smile stretching across his face.

However, the smile quickly disappeared as the captain ordered the men to hold their positions against whatever may come at them. Jess's mare, who was already prancing and jumping at every shot, could feel the tension in his legs and she tossed her head with an anxious whinny.

"See you when this is all over," Rowdy said to him in a low, strained voice. As the Union soldiers advanced, the men of the Third Texas waited nervously.

Very soon, Jess had lost sight of Rowdy in the midst of the blue smoke and haze. It was amazing how his body had already become numb to the countless shots that whizzed past him. The ringing in his ears blocked out everything but the cannons. All he knew was that he was supposed to hold his position, and hold he did. At one point his mare jerked her whole body to the side, and his heart clenched for fear that she had been shot, but it was only fear of the cannons that had caused the movement.

Suddenly a shape loomed up in front of him, and quick as a thought he jerked his pistol up and fired. The shape tumbled at his feet and materialized into a young Union soldier. Jess was grateful that the soldier had fallen on his face and Jess didn't have to look at his lifeless eyes. The line of soldiers also materialized, and Jess saw another soldier taking dead aim at him. However, before Jess could react another bullet found him and sent him sprawling backwards.

Shot after shot was exchanged between the two lines, until the Union line, having been thinned to almost nothing, retreated back into the mist in order to regroup. Heaving a sigh of relief, Jess pulled his mare to the side and sat heavily in the saddle, breathing in and out with great effort. Though the action had paused for a moment, his body was still tensed for action.

Just then, Sergeant Johnny Yuma galloped down the line. "To your left, men! We are storming the Yankee line!" Jess was cheered by the presence of a familiar face in the midst of the battle, and he wheeled his mare around to follow. The other men did the same, but as green and undisciplined as they were, it was a disorganized mess that charged up the hill, led by Colonel Elkanah Greer. As they emerged from the haze, Jess spied Rowdy some yards from him, and the taller boy threw a tight grin at him, obviously thrilled at seeing his best friend unharmed.

They charged the Union line with a bloodcurdling Rebel yell, and the charge, after such a barrage as they had sustained, finally had its last effect. The army in blue scattered back across the cornfields of Missouri. After the devastation that they had witnessed, Jess and Rowdy were cheered immensely by the victory. There was still some scattered skirmishing going on throughout the battlefield, but for the Third Texas, the conflict had ended.

The battle of Wilson's Creek was over.