Civil War Miracle

Civil War Miracle

Chapter 1

William saw the scout’s messenger stumble as he raced into the camp and directly to the commander’s tent. The boy’s countenance was that of one being pursued by the devil himself. William felt in his heart that things were about to change, and not for the better. He quickly ran into his tent and woke his best friend, Ted. “I think you better wake up, Ted. They haven’t signaled yet, but I have a feeling we are about to head into battle.”

Ted woke up, rubbed his eyes, then jumped to his feet and slipped his boots on. Both men were ready to head over to the corral when they heard the first notes of “Boots and Saddles.” Immediately the camp swung in to action, every man grabbing his equipment and preparing his mount for battle. It was only a few minutes before everyone was mounted and the major called forth orders to move out.

William’s heart was beating so hard he could see the front of his jacket moving as they rode to the top of the hill. As they crested the hill in one long line he looked between his mount’s ears and could see the Confederates ready for battle. As the bugle signaled ‘charge’ he lowered his saber and urged his mount forward. He glanced over and saw Ted was to his right, intent on defeating this enemy.

Suddenly he heard a strange whistling sound. He looked up just in time to see a cannon ball before the ground in front of him exploded. The horse was tossed upwards but managed to twist and catch its balance, but not before William felt himself flying through the air. ‘God, help me,’ was his last conscious thought before a sharp pain shot through the back of his head.

“William,” Ted was calling to him and shaking his shoulder. “Come on, buddy. You have to come with me now. They are waiting for us.”

William shook his head and looked around. It had gotten really foggy since he had fallen asleep. What was really strange was that he was not in their tent. “Hey, man, where are we?” He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at his friend.

“North of Gettysburg, don’t you remember?”

William closed his eyes for a second. “It’s weird. I remember cresting the hill, and the command to charge, but I can’t remember what happened after that.” William looked more closely at Ted’s face. “Ted, are you all right? Are you injured? You don’t look too good.”

Ted squatted by his side and put his hand on William’s shoulder. “I don’t know, man. I think I remember a really sharp pain in my neck and then I woke up in this horrible, thick fog. I keep getting this awful feeling that we are dead.”

William felt his heart start to slam, but didn’t want to appear to be a chicken to his friend. “Ted, we can’t be dead. We are talking to each other, looking at each other and I can feel your hand on my shoulder. Anyway, if we were dead do you think we would still be together? I mean, I don’t have a halo, do I?”

Ted chuckled. “I guess you’re right.” He turned as they both heard a bugle call to line up on foot. “That’s strange. I wonder why we aren’t taking our mounts. Maybe the fog is just too thick. Let’s go see if we can find the rest of the unit.”

William slipped on his boots, got up and rolled up his blanket, then grabbed his equipment. “OK, let’s go. But stay close, ok. I don’t want to be alone with the Rebels in this stuff.”

“Me either,” Ted responded.

They had only gone a few steps when both of them tripped over something. “Oof,” the wind was knocked out of his lungs even though William landed on something soft. He felt something wet on his hand. When he brought his hand near his face he saw that it was covered with blood. He lifted himself onto his knees and looked down at the body he had fallen on, and then looked toward the head. Bile rose in his throat when he realized the soldier’s head was missing. “Ted, do you see this poor guy? Any idea who he is so we can let someone know?”

Ted did not answer. “Aw, come on, Ted. You better not have knocked yourself out when we fell. I really do not want to be alone right now.” William felt around for Ted but did not feel him lying nearby. He decided to check the soldier’s pockets and see who he was before he looked for the rest of their unit. He reached into the man’s shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was a sketch a buddy had drawn of he and Ted together. Ted always carried where ever they went. He felt like he was going to pass out but steadied himself. ‘Maybe Ted dropped it and this guy picked it up.’