Encounter at Cold Harbor (2 page)

Jeff said instantly, “I’m as old as some of them, Pa—Colonel.”

“Now don’t you start on me, Jeff! You’re not joining the Regulars! You’re going to be a drummer boy at least a few more months. Let’s hear no more of it!” Colonel Majors looked down at his map. “Not much question about what’s going to happen next, is there, Captain?”

Dawes bit his lower lip. “Reckon not, sir. I hear Grant’s got an army of a hundred thousand men ready to feed into this here war. I wish we had half that many!”

“Then we’ll just have to do better. Every man will have to cover a little more ground and fight a little harder. We knew all this would happen when the war started.”

Then the two men talked about the battle that was to come.

Throughout the early years of the war, the South had won battle after battle, but the superior weight and the manufacturing power of the North were now ready to roll. Every time a Southern soldier fell, he left a gap in the ranks. When a Northern boy was taken, all General Grant had to do was reach into the city and pick up a recruit. Many in the North were tired of the war, but President Lincoln was now sure he had found a fighting general.

“I’ve heard about Grant,” Colonel Majors said. “They say he’s merciless!”

“Yes, sir, and now that we’ve lost Stonewall Jackson, it’s going to be harder. After Gettysburg, we’re down mighty thin! Where do you think they’ll hit?”

“Right up in this area, and we’ll be moving out soon, Captain Dawes, so get these men trained as quick as you can! That’s all!”

“Yes, sir!”

Colonel Majors waited until the captain had left the tent, then said, “It’s going to be mighty tough, Jeff.”

“We can whip ’em, sir!”

A smile flashed across Colonel Majors’s lips, then he said slowly, “You know what I’ve been thinking about? Kentucky.”

“Oh, and I just got a letter from Leah. Wait’ll you hear what she says about Esther!” Jeff handed the letter to his father and waited until he had finished reading. “She sounds like a beauty, doesn’t she? Says she looks just like Ma!”

A frown creased the colonel’s brow, and his lips drew down tightly. He moved uneasily in his chair, then finally got up and walked to the tent flap. He stared out for such a long time that Jeff wondered what he could be thinking.

Finally his father turned back and said, “Jeff, I think so much about Esther—and about your mother.”

“Well, I do too, and I know Tom does.”

“I don’t feel right about letting the Carters do all the raising of my daughter. It just seems like I’ve let your mother down somehow.”

“But you couldn’t help it, Pa!”

After Mrs. Majors’s death, it had been the Carters back in Kentucky who volunteered to raise baby Esther until such time as the Majors men could get settled. That meant, of course, when the war was over, but being separated from the child had been hard on all of them.

“Maybe after this next battle the Yankees’ll quit and go home. Then the war will be over, and we can get her back again.”

Jeff’s words did not seem to reach Colonel Majors. He returned to his chair and said thoughtfully, “It’s hard not being able to have your child. I think about it all the time. I wish there was some way that we could take her, but I guess there’s not.”

Uncomfortable, Jeff moved toward the tent door. He did not like to see his father so downcast.

After bidding the colonel good-bye, he went to his own unit, where he was surrounded by his squad and took part in the activities that went on, including cooking supper. But after eating, he sat by himself for a long time in the tent that he shared with the other young men. Finally he clamped his jaw and said, “There’s
got
to be a way! Lord, please show me what to do!”

He waited for a moment as if he expected the Lord to speak out of heaven. Then he laughed aloud at himself. “Well, I
know
what I’m going to do! I’m going to write Leah!”

He found a scrap of paper that had already been used for a letter, crossed out the used side, and then with a stub of pencil began to write:

T
he lanky, blue-nosed mule that stopped in front of the Dan Carter home was straddled by an equally lanky rider. Pete Mangus pulled back on the leather reins, saying, “Whoa, Clementine, hang on there just a minute, will ya!”

Leah Carter emerged from the white frame house to see Pete peer past the picket fence and touch his hat with his left hand. “Well, howdy there, Miss Leah!”

“Hello, Pete!” At sixteen Leah had grown out of the gawky stage. She still saw herself, however, as a tall, awkward girl, though her mother had told her many times, “You’re going to be a beautiful woman. Don’t mind it—just think about how awkward the colts look until they get their full growth.” Leah’s eyes were sea green, and she allowed her long blonde hair to fall down the back of the simple blue-and-white dress that reached almost to her ankles.

Pete Mangus kept his eyes fixed on her with evident pleasure. “Wal,” he said casually, shifting his weight on Clementine’s back, “don’t you look pretty now!” At that moment he spotted a huge grasshopper crawling along the ground and expertly loosed an amber stream of tobacco juice that drowned the insect. Pete nodded, satisfied with his aim, and then turned back to Leah. “You expectin’ a letter, are ya, Leah?”

Leah knew that he loved to tease her about her letters from Jeff. She was accustomed to this and said eagerly, “Yes, and I bet you got one from Jeff, haven’t you?”

“Well, that might be.” Pete fumbled through the letter sack that hung beside his leg, finally coming up with an envelope. He peered at it as if he had never seen it before. “Well, dog my cats, sure enough!” He held the letter close to his eyes, and his lips moved as he read the words. “‘Miss Leah Carter, Pineville, Kentucky.’ Yep, I reckon it’s for you, all right!” He looked down and saw Leah reach for it but did not hand it to her at once. “I expect you and that young man are gettin’ mighty serious, Leah.”

“Oh, Pete, give me the letter! Please!”

Pete, however, held onto it. “That sister of yours and that young Rebel, they ain’t aimin’ to marry up, are they?”

This was a question that came up often. Tom Majors had been brought back to Pineville to recuperate after losing his leg. He and Sarah Carter had been practically engaged when the war broke out, and many were speculating on whether or not Sarah would have him now.

Pete said, “I expect she didn’t calculate on no one-legged man. That might change things, don’t you think, Leah?”

Knowing Pete could be the most terrible gossip in Kentucky, Leah refused to get into a discussion. “I don’t know, Pete. That’s their business. Now, let me have the letter, please!” She took the envelope as he reluctantly extended it, and began to walk away.

Pete called out after her, “I’d be glad to hear what Jeff has to say, Leah.” When she paid him no attention, he kicked his heels against the mule and
sighed. “Come on, Clementine, we can’t stand here all day! We got the mail to deliver!”

Leah considered going to her own room to read the letter, but news was so precious that she thought it was only fair to share with the family. Her parents, Sarah, Morena, and Tom were seated around the table when she entered the dining room and held up the letter. “It’s from Jeff!”

Tom Majors, sitting across the table from Sarah, looked up quickly. He was a tall young man, dark complected but still pale from the ordeal of losing his leg. He had the same dark hair and hazel eyes as his father and had a rather sad look about him. “What does he say, Leah? Are they all right?”

“I haven’t read it yet. I thought you’d all want to hear it.” Leah opened the letter.

They watched as she scanned the letter. Her father, Dan, was a thin, sickly looking man. Her mother, who had the same blonde hair and green eyes that one saw in Leah, was holding three-year-old Esther on her lap. Sarah had dark hair, dark blue eyes, and a beautiful complexion. From time to time her eyes went across to Tom. Leah’s sister Morena sat next to Sarah. Morena was a beautiful young girl—but one who had never developed mentally. She could do simple things such as dress herself, but she never spoke and was like a small child in her mind.

“Well, what does he say?” Sarah asked. “Is he all right? Is Colonel Majors all right?”

“Yes,” Leah said slowly, “but it’s not what I thought.” Looking around the table, she saw their anxiety and added quickly, “Oh, they’re both all right. Neither one of them has been wounded or
anything like that, but Jeff says his father’s got a problem.”

“Well, can you read it to us, or is it too private?” her father asked.

Leah hesitated, then said, “March the twentieth is when it was written. I’ll read it out loud.” She began:

The letter went on about how bad Nelson Majors felt being separated from his daughter.

Finally Tom said abruptly, “I know he’s always felt bad. All of us feel bad about it!” Then he seemed to think about how that sounded, and he quickly glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Carter. “Not that we aren’t grateful for all you’ve done. Nobody could’ve done more, but—”

“I know how it is,” Dan Carter said sympathetically. “A man wants to have his children around him. I know how I’d feel if one of my young ones was growing up and I couldn’t have nothin’ to do with ’em.”

“That’s exactly right!” Mrs. Carter said. She shifted Esther around to where she could look into the child’s face and smiled gently, touching the rosy
cheek with a forefinger. “And Esther needs to see her pa, too. Why, I bet she’d know him in no time!”

“Well,” Leah said, “that’s exactly what Jeff says.” She continued reading:

A moment of silence ran around the table, and Mrs. Carter reached over and stroked Morena’s hair. Then she said, “I’ll help you pray for that, Leah. I know Colonel Majors needs to see his little girl.”

A frown crossed her father’s face. “Well, there ain’t no doubt that it would be a good thing, but I don’t see how in the world it could happen! With a war going on, just
gettin’
to Richmond would be a chore. And to get a small child down there? Why, the trains ain’t runnin’ most of the time, and some of ’em not at all! I just don’t hardly see how it could be done.”

“But with God all things
are
possible,” Leah said. “That’s what you always said, Pa.”

Grinning, Dan Carter smoothed his thinning hair. “Well, if you’re gonna start throwin’ Scripture back at me, I ain’t got no answer for that. I guess we’ll all just have to pray for it.”

“I could take her to Richmond,” Leah said abruptly.

“All by yourself? Don’t be foolish, child!” Her mother shook her head sharply. “It would be no trip for a young girl like you to take!”

“Ma, I’m almost grown!”

“I could take her,” Sarah said, glancing at Tom.

“No, you couldn’t!” he said. “Remember how you were warned to stay out of Richmond after they accused you of being a spy?”

Sarah sniffed. “Why, they’ve forgotten all about that! It was all made up by that Confederate officer anyhow!”

“No, I reckon Tom’s right, Sarah,” her father said. “It wouldn’t do for you to go back.” He toyed with his fork, making a design on the tablecloth. “We’ll all just have to pray that God will open up a way.”

For the next few days, Dan Carter found himself the target of many pleas from Leah, which he steadfastly refused. She insisted she was old enough and mature enough to make the trip. He insisted that it would be too dangerous for her.

“It would be dangerous for Esther too!” he said, as Leah for the tenth time asked for his permission. The two were sitting on the front porch as the sun went down. They had been admiring the sky’s red glow tinged with pink and orchid tones, and now the sun, a big yellow globe, seemed to be sinking into the side of the mountains to the west.

Leah had used every argument she had. In desperation she said finally, “But, Pa, think about if it was you and you hadn’t seen me or Sarah or Morena. Wouldn’t you want Colonel Majors to send us to you if things were turned around that way?”

“Of course, I would! But …” Her father teetered on the back two legs of his chair and whittled slowly on the long piece of red cedar in his hands. The razor edge of the knife sliced off a thin, curling piece of the fragrant wood, and it fell onto a small pile that lay at his feet. Looking up at Leah, he added, “I’d do it myself in a minute, but I’m not able to go. I wish I was. And your ma can’t go. There just ain’t no way—unless God does it Himself.”

This was all Leah could get out of her father, and she reluctantly determined not to say anything more to him about it.

Sarah thought Tom grew even more withdrawn after the news came that his father wanted Esther in Richmond. She watched him hobble around on his wooden leg, never complaining, although she knew it pained him at times.

She figured he knew he’d behaved abominably about the leg. He’d sat around the farm for weeks, refusing to even speak, and would not listen to anything about an artificial leg. Only Ezra Payne’s persistence, along with hers and Leah’s, had persuaded him. Then he kept to himself, thinking dark thoughts, even after mastering use of the wooden limb.