CHAPTER 7

Young Miles Patterson, the quiet, soft-spoken, clean-cut 23-year-old who was recruited into the Army along with George Stanton and James Sanders, was homesick. He had never gotten over the shock of what had happened to him since leaving home. He had not volunteered to make the trip to Rolla in the first place. He had simply attended the meeting along with his father, and someone in the group suggested him as the third person to make the trip.

Under the circumstances, what could he do? So he agreed to go. But he could never have imagined what would happen to him as a result. He had always believed that slavery was wrong since learning about it, but never would he have believed he would find himself in hand-to-hand combat over it as he now was.

Here he was, miles and miles from home, with a group of men from all walks of life, all ages, many of them of a type he wouldn’t have chosen to associate with for any length of time ordinarily.

Incredibly to him, he had noticed that a few of the men actually seemed to get a thrill out of rushing to battle, like little boys playing war. It sickened him. To him it was inhumane. Nothing was worth all this killing and maiming. There had to be a better way to solve the country’s problems.

He disliked the sounds of battle: the guns being fired, the large cannons, the smoke, the shouts, the smells, the screams of the injured and seeing them lying in pain, waiting, hopefully, for some medical help.

He hoped that things were better for James and George, whom he hadn’t seen since they were separated. Right away he had been assigned to an infantry group that left to join forces battling close to the Arkansas border.

He was so tired. The weather was miserable. A cold mist had been falling most of the day.

There had been a lull in the action for about fifteen minutes, and they had the luxury of lying still. He knew it wouldn’t last long. As he lay there, he thought about home, as he had so many other times.

Oh, how nice it would be to be home in his warm, dry bed after eating a delicious meal his Ma had fixed. He missed them all so much – his mother and father, brothers and sisters, and his new friend Betsy Cooper, who had recently moved to the territory with her parents. He thought she was so pretty and he liked her a lot. In fact, he liked her so much that he decided to propose to her as soon as he got back home….before some other guy beat him to it.

His eyes closed, and against all the rules he dozed off.

He was suddenly awakened to shouts and stamping of feet as they were attacked from the rear by a small contingent of Confederate soldiers. He and the half-dozen others close to him had, because of their fatigue, failed to be alert.

It is doubtful if any of them lived long enough to realize what had happened.

* - * - * - * - * -

The next morning, Effie and Sarah woke, feeling in their bones that it would be soon be the last day on the trail. They just had to be nearing their destination. Although Sarah was still resolved to find James, it was obvious to Effie that she was becoming weary. Effie tried to help her with the baby as much as possible, especially during stops. During their walks she couldn’t be much help. Since the little scare they had back down the road, she felt compelled to carry the rifle at all times on her shoulder as she guided the mule along.

Along about mid-morning, they rounded a bend in the trail, and there stood a little shack with smoke coming faintly from a small chimney. As they got closer they saw that the yard was littered with trash here and there and the rail fence, what was left of it, was falling down. Other than the small log house, there were no other structures except a small outhouse building and a shed of some sort. The house was close to the trail, unlike most of the buildings on farms they had passed.

As they stood looking at it, Effie couldn’t decide if they should go up to the door and say hello. She would like to inquire if there was fresh water on the property to refill their jugs and to give Lizzy a fresh drink. But she didn’t know whether to go to the door, not knowing what she would encounter, remembering the sheriff’s advice. Except for the small bit of smoke coming out of the chimney, there was no sign of life at all.

Sarah was in favor of passing it by and being on their way, but something about it bothered Effie. She just had a feeling that something must be wrong. She said to Sarah, “You sit down over there on that nice grassy spot and rest. I’m goin’ to go up to the door and see what’s what. I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later, Sarah could hear Effie calling her name. She got up and walked toward the fence just as Effie was coming out the door. She was saying, “Sarah, I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t know what we should do.”

She continued, “There’s a poor little old lady lying on a pallet on the floor and is obviously sick. It doesn’t look as though there is much to eat in the place and nobody else is around. There’s very little furniture – a small table and chair. I asked her if she was alone and she said she was. The place looks as though it hasn’t been cleaned in ages.

“You go back over to your spot across the road and sit down. I have to decide what to do about this. In the meantime, since it’ll soon be noontime and time for us to eat, I’m goin’ to make a fire here and start cookin’ the rest of the rabbit I caught last night. We can make extra for the woman. Then I’ll try to find out more about the situation.”

After getting the fire made and the stew simmering, Effie went back into the shack. She came out later and said, “All I can determine is that she has a son who was taken away. When I tried to find out why or when, all she would say was ‘the war, the war.’ When I suggested that she shouldn’t continue to stay there alone, asking if there was someplace else she could go, she shook her head back and forth saying, ‘No, I have to be here when my son Cecil gets back.’ When I take her food in to her, I’m going to find out if she can get up.”

Sarah said, “Effie, we should’ve never gotten involved here. Should never have stopped. We probably can’t do anything about it, and besides our time is runnin’ short. We need to get to Rolla because we have to start our trip back home before it gets much later in the year. The days are startin’ to get a little cooler, you know.”

“But Sarah, it’s the humane thing to do, and we had to stop somewhere to rest, eat, and tend to Lish anyway. I promise we’ll be back on the trail soon after we eat.”

Entering the shack again later with a hot bowl of stew, Effie said to the woman, “OK, now if you’ll just get up and sit over here, I have some hot food for you.”

“Why are you doin’ this? Who are you?” the woman said.

“My name is Effie. My cousin and I were just passin’ through and wanted to help you. Do you have any kinfolk around close by?”

“No,” she said.

“But how can you stay here by yourself? You appear to be sick. How can you manage?”

“Don’t worry about me. I ain’t sick. I’m OK. I don’t need any help. My son will be back soon,” she said as she managed to sit up and reach for the bowl of food.

“Well, what more can I do?” Effie thought to herself. Walking back outside to eat her own lunch, she said, “It seems wrong to leave her here, but I don’t know what else to do. She insists she isn’t sick and won’t leave this place ‘til her son returns. But who knows when that will be, if ever, especially if he’s involved in the war. If they came and took him away, it sounds like he might have been a runaway of somethin’, and could now be a prisoner.”

Sarah said, “Effie, you just can’t worry about it. You’ve done all you can do. If you want, we can leave her a few of your vegetables since we’ll soon be in Rolla and can get more. We might also inquire at any houses we might pass and see if they know anything about her. Maybe they could look in on her. Try to find out her name, and if nothing else, maybe we could report it to a sheriff or somebody.”

“A good idea, Sarah. And then we can stop by and check on her on our way back home, assuming we’ll pass this way again.”

After getting themselves ready to take up the trail again, Effie went in to say goodbye to the woman, who was back on her pallet. Effie was able to learn that her name was Mandy Simmons. Just before going out the door, Effie thought to throw another small log on the fireplace, telling Mandy they would look in on her on their return trip.

That night, lying in their bedroll, they heard a low mourning sound, a continuous din like wheels turning far in the distance – and then it dawned on Effie that it was the new train on its way to Rolla! Neither of them had ever seen a train, so the thought of it was exciting and it was encouraging knowing they were that close.

* - * - * - * - * -

Following Clara’s directions, they were finally in sight of their destination. They had many questions. How would they approach the camp? Should they stop to make inquiries? The only thing they were certain of was that they did not intend to be discouraged or turned back after making it this far. They decided to pitch their makeshift tent a short distance away, and then leave Elisha with Effie. Sarah would walk over to the camp and see what she could find out.

At first glance, from across the road, she wasn’t terribly impressed with the looks of the place. She could see lots of tents of various sizes and a number of men standing around talking in groups of two or three. A few were posted as guards around here and there. The only evidence that there was a war going on was a little ragtag group of men, probably new recruits, in the process of going through a drill of some sort.

There was much smoke coming from one of the larger tents and a lot of activity, so she assumed it was the mess hall and that a meal was being prepared. The aroma drifting her way across the road made Sarah realize how hungry she was. She thought, “Wouldn’t it be great if James is there and they will invite us to eat with them?”

The first person she encountered wearing an Army uniform wasn’t very helpful. In fact, he told Sarah that the officers wouldn’t allow her to speak with or otherwise interfere with personnel on duty. He said that she was wasting her time and his. He tried to discourage her by saying that she would probably have to apply with the Adjutant General to get permission to even approach one of the officers.

“Who or what is an Adjutant General?” Sarah asked.

“See what I mean! You don’t know anything about the Army, do you? The AG is assistant to the top guy and runs the whole thing. You couldn’t get to him unless you had important business – and if you’ll pardon me, Miss, while your business may be important to you right now, I’m sure it isn’t to the Union Army. You’d best forget about the whole thing and get on back home where you belong.”

“But, sir, you don’t understand,” she told him. “I’ve traveled many miles for eight days on foot along with my cousin and my 3-month-old baby just to see my husband. I want him to know he has a fine, healthy son.”

He said, “You mean to tell me you came all that distance thinkin’ you could just barge right in the middle of a war with a baby? You must be crazy.”

“But, sir, I just had to. I knew he would want to know and see his son. Isn’t there any way you can get word to him that we are camped close by? His name is Pvt. James Sanders. Maybe he could slip away tonight and come over.”

The man kept looking at her and gradually the frown on his face disappeared. He thought, “she seems so sincere”, and he began to feel sorry for her. “How old are you, miss?” he said.

“I’m nineteen years old,” she replied.

“My goodness, you’re not much more than a baby yourself.”

After thinking about it for a while, he said, “Well, I could get in trouble by even talkin’ to you, but I’ll look into the matter and see if I can learn anything about where your husband might be at the moment.

“But you can’t hang around here, though. You’ll have to go across the road and wait at the edge of that group of trees. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll let you know what I find out. And I don’t know how long it will be before I can get word to you. Now go before one of the officers shows up here and we both get in trouble.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll do just what you say. I’ll wait as long as necessary. By the way, what is your name, sir?”

“I’m Sgt. Percy Crabtree, but don’t tell anyone about me ‘cause I could get in trouble and then I wouldn’t be able to help you, would I?”

“Oh, no, I won’t tell.”

As the soldier turned away, she quickly ran across the road and found a spot under the trees where she could watch the activity in the camp. But first she ran to tell Effie what had happened and where she would be waiting in the grove of trees.

Trembling with excitement, she told Effie what had just happened, saying that she must get back out to her spot across from the camp in case the soldier came back. She took time only to feed Elisha, and then prepared to start back. Effie promised to later bring her some of the soup she was making from the vegetables Clara had given him.

“Just think of it, Effie, I might be seein’ James in a little while,” she said as she started back to the grove of trees where she had been waiting.

The time slowly dragged and Sarah was about ready to give up, thinking that Sgt. Crabtree probably had no intention of doing what he said. She wondered whether she should approach the camp again and try someone else. But just then she saw him coming her way. As he walked up, he said, “Well I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that your husband isn’t in camp right now. He’s with a group that was sent to chase some Rebs back down south.”

“Oh, no, I can’t believe it,” Sarah said.

“Now, now, wait a minute, just a minute. Remember I said I also had some good news, and that is they finished the job and will be back in camp tonight or early in the mornin’. So the thing for you to do, Miss, is to run back over to where you are campin’ and as soon as your James shows up, I’ll send him over to look for you. You just have to be patient.”

“All right, Sergeant, I’ll do exactly what you say. I feel I can trust you, so I’ll wait. And I want you to know that I’m so very grateful to you for all your help.”

“Well, I must get back to camp. It’s possible I won’t see you again, so good luck to you and your little one.” And with that, he turned and started walking back toward the base.

Sarah ran to tell Effie the latest development.

“Well, Sarah, it looks very much as though you may see James before long,” Effie said. “That’s just great.”

There was nothing for them to do except relax and rest up from the last few days on the trail. Effie, in particular, was pleased to have to opportunity to just sit. She considered walking to the general store to buy a few supplies they could use, but decided she could do that while Sarah and Elisha visited with James.

She also wanted to try to find the sheriff or a deputy to tell them about Mandy Simmons, the sick woman living alone in the shack down the trail. Effie couldn’t get the lady out of her mind, her being so ill. There must be something someone could do.

Sarah didn’t hear anything from Sgt. Crabtree that evening and James didn’t put in an appearance; so after eating more of the soup and dried peaches, they prepared their bedrolls for the night.

As soon as they were settled down, Effie tried going to sleep after making sure her rifle was close at hand. After the quiet of the trail, she was concerned about being this close to so much activity – dogs barking and the sound of voices occasionally in the distance. She finally drifted off and managed to get some sleep, but woke at the crack of dawn still feeling tired and thankful she didn’t have to start on the trail that day. She was also relieved to see that everything was OK.

After breakfast, Sarah busied herself with the baby while Effie found some fresh water to fill their jugs and to water Lizzy. Lizzy seemed well content to just relax and munch on the still-green grass, no doubt pleased to be free of her pack for a bit.

The sun was well up when Sarah heard someone calling her name. She ran toward the road and there striding toward her was James. Her beloved James. At last! She ran toward him and fell into his arms. James held her close, saying “Oh my gosh, Sarah, I can’t believe this. How good it is to see you. The Sergeant just told me this mornin’ and I ran as fast as I could to get over here. There’s so much I want to know about. So much to talk about.”

“First come with me, James. There’s someone I want you to meet. We’ve come a long way, walkin’ all the way from home. I wanted you to see your beautiful baby boy, Elisha.”

“You mean to tell me you walked all the way here? How did you manage it?”

“With a lot of help from Effie Smith, who came along with me. You remember her, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” he said as they walked to where Effie was holding Elisha. “How are you, Effie? It’s good to see you too.”

“Hello, James, you’re lookin’ well. And here is your sweet boy. If you-all ever decided you don’t want him, I’ll be glad to take him off your hands. I’ve become pretty attached to him on this trip. And now I have some errands to run in this town, so I’m goin’ to leave you-all alone.”

As she was about to leave, she suddenly turned back and said, “Oh, by the way, James, do you ever see the other two men, George Stanton and Miles Patterson, who left with you? I know both their families and was just curious.”

“Yes, we were separated, but George and I managed to get together a couple of times. He fell into a pretty good deal. He was assigned to a calvary unit, convincin’ them he was an expert horseman. You know George, he’s got quite a gift of gab. He told me he thought he might as well ride through the war if he could.

“I haven’t seen Miles since we were separated, but George thinks he was assigned to a large infantry division down near Arkansas.”

“Well, thanks for the information. When I get home, I’ll pass that on to the families.”

After they were alone, James couldn’t take his eyes off Sarah long enough to look at his son, but he agreed that he was a fine looking young one. “But he’s so small!”

“If you think this is small, you should’ve seen him when he was born. He’s gained about ten pounds, and the doctor says he’s really doin’ great.”

They just sat and looked at each other for a while. With tears in her eyes, Sarah said, “Oh, James, you look so good to me. I think everyone thought I was out of my mind to do this, but I just had to. I’ve missed you so much and felt it just wasn’t right that you couldn’t see and hold our sweet boy.”

“Well, I know it must have been quite an undertaking for you to do this and I still can’t believe you did it. I can’t tell you how many times I have felt like walkin’ away and comin’ back home because they wouldn’t give me leave. But I knew they’d just come after me and probably lock me in the brig.”

After they had talked for another hour or so, and Sarah told of their adventures on the road, James said he should get back to camp to report and see if he could get leave for the rest of the day and possibly overnight. He said, “In fact, I just decided to take you and Elisha over to meet the lieutenant in charge of the group, so he can actually see that you are here.

“Could you get ready to go now, Sarah? I don’t want to wait much longer to get official leave. As of now, I’m officially off the base.”

So Sarah made a couple of last-minute preparations and in five minutes was ready to leave.

They got a lot of attention as they walked into the camp area and proceeded to officer headquarters. While Sarah and the baby waited a short distance away, James went up to the door and requested permission to have a word with Lt. Boley. Right away the lieutenant appeared at the door and said, “Pvt. Sanders, what is it?”

“Sir, could I ask you to step outside for a minute? There’s something I want to show you.”

“Well, Sanders, this is a bit unusual. What do you have on your mind?”

“Sir, if you will look over there, you’ll see my wife Sarah and baby son, Elisha, who have walked over a hundred miles so that they could be with me for a while if the Army will allow it. They are camped over across the road along with a cousin who made the trip with Sarah. So I’m asking permission to leave for the rest of the day and, hopefully, overnight to be with my family. I’ve had no leave since ‘joinin’ – and wasn’t permitted to return home to prepare them for my being inducted.”

“Well, Pvt. Sanders, under the circumstances I hardly see how we could turn down your request without having a mutiny on our hands.” Lt. Boley noted all the soldiers standing around watching and listening. “To the best of my knowledge you’ve been a loyal hardworking member of our forces, so you have my permission to take the leave you requested. But don’t forget to check out with your group sergeant.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate it very much.”

“And I might add, Sanders. You have a family to be proud of.”

“Thank you, sir,” said James as he turned to join Sarah and Elisha. And on the way out of the camp, other than to acknowledge the smiles, whistles, and waves from his buddies, he stopped just long enough to leave word with the officer of the day about his permission to leave.

They returned to camp and found everything just as it was. Fortunately no one had walked off with the gear or Lizzy. They prepared to have some lunch, and later just sat talking. James was so hungry for news about everyone at home, the farm, the neighbors, etc.

An hour or so later, Effie reappeared carrying an armload of purchases. She reported finally locating the sheriff and reporting their concern about Mandy. She said he listened to her story and promised to send a deputy out to check right away.

“I thanked him and told him we would stop by on our way home. My, it’s so good seein’ you, James. I’ll tell you, this crazy girl you’re married to thinks you’re the greatest. She got this idea in her head, and there was no talkin’ her out of it. When she first mentioned it to me, I thought she was kiddin’! But it sure has turned out OK so far.

“So, do you think this war is ever going to be over?” she said.

“I’m afraid it has a ways to go yet, Effie. Right now it’s lookin’ good for the Union here in Missouri, but that’s just Missouri. Who knows how long the battle will drag on in all the other states. I’m already sick of it. Sick of seein’ so many wounded and maimed carried off to the base hospital, and we are always short of supplies – medicine, bandages, hospital beds, doctors, proper clothing, shoes, everything. I don’t know if they are just disorganized or short of money or what it is.”

“Well, we can only hope it won’t last much longer.”

“By the way,” Effie said. “Why don’t you leave Elisha with me, and the two of you go for a long walk in the area? You’ve been away from each other for so long, I’m sure there’s so much you want to talk about. Take all the time you want. He’ll be happy to stay here with me.”

“Are you sure you won’t mind, Effie? It would be nice,” said Sarah.

“Not a bit. I‘m perfectly content to just sit here with my little friend, watch him sleep, and listen to the birds sing. Besides, after my day in the big city, I’m tired and would welcome the rest. You go on.”

As Effie watched them walk away hand in hand, to where she never knew and never asked, she could only imagine what a great joy it was for them to be together again.