On to Richmond (6 page)

             
Coming for to carry me home

             
Swing low

             
Sweet chariot

             
Coming for to carry me home.

             
I looked over Jordan

             
And what did I see

             
Coming for to carry me home

             
A band of angels coming after me

             
Coming for to carry me home.

              Carrie smiled and snuggled deep into her covers.  No unbidden thoughts would bother her tonight. 

CHAPTER 3

             
Robert Borden had a smile on his face as he trotted his gelding away from the bustling area of the Richmond fairgrounds.  What
had
been the fairgrounds, he said to himself wryly.   The citizens of Richmond could hardly recognize their city anymore.  In a matter of weeks, its ordinary population of forty thousand had exploded.   What had been a peaceful town was now suddenly an armed camp.  Soldiers were everywhere - walking the streets, filling the taverns, marching with drums and fifes, arriving in swarms at the train station.   It was both exhilarating and disconcerting. 

             
Robert had reason to smile.  For the first time in three weeks, he had been given permission to leave the Camp of Instruction - now referred to as Camp Lee - and go into town.  A message sent to him earlier that day as he was leading his unit in drills had confirmed his dinner engagement with Thomas Cromwell.  He looked forward to seeing his friend and welcomed the possibility of hearing news of Carrie.  At the thought of Carrie, the smile left his face.  In its place was a mixture of pain, exasperation, and anger.  He could only hope her father could give him some understanding.  Shaking his head, he tried to force thoughts of the beautiful girl he loved out of his head.  There were other things he needed to think about.  He knew Thomas would have many questions for him. 

             
As Robert rode on toward the middle of town, he barely noticed the cloud of dogwoods that fairly blanketed the gentle slopes of the city.  He could hardly believe it had been a month since Virginia had seceded from the Union.  He’d had barely a moment to himself since that fateful day.  His return to the city from gathering military information in Charleston during the battle of Fort Sumter had resulted in the rank of lieutenant in the Confederate Army.  He knew the amount of work to be done before Virginia would be able to defend herself against the enemy perched on her northern border.  He had thrown himself, heart and soul, into the effort. 

             
Robert’s mind traveled back now to the units he had left for the evening.  Every aspect of the transformed fairgrounds stood crystal clear in his mind.  He could see the tents rising in long lines around the permanent buildings.  Endless tables and racks for food stretched out beside them.   Many a man had nothing but a bedroll and the ground.  And still they poured in.  

             
He could still faintly hear the shouted commands of the Virginia Military Institute cadets who had been brought in to establish some semblance of order and discipline in the swelling ranks of volunteer soldiers.    Both days and nights had become an endless siege of drills, marches, and orders.  Some of the new soldiers complained, but most of them had thrown their hearts into formulating an army able to repel the northern troops of aggression. 

             
As the sounds faded into the distance, Robert was finally able to focus on the city unfolding before him.  Though his heart remained entrenched in his beloved plantation, Oak Meadows, he had a genuine love for the city.  He also knew he was preparing to fight to defend everything he held dear.  On a daily basis, he pushed away his longing for home and concentrated on what it would take to make it
remain
his home. 

             
As he rode up the street leading past the Capitol Square, he smiled as the Capitol came into view.  Stunning from the river, it lost a little of its glamour as he drew nearer.  The columned front was commanding, but the dirtiness of its rather drab stucco exterior stole some of its allure.  Tonight, though, it seemed magical.  The setting sun, slipping down behind the forested slopes of the turbulent James River, cast a pinkish glow that turned it into a splendid palace.   Spreading dogwoods changed from white to rose-colored as the departing sun kissed the blossomsgently.  For just a moment, if he focused on nothing but the verdant park surrounding the Capitol, Robert could pretend nothing had changed.   His fantasy had no hope of lasting, however.
 
Into the brief flicker of peace the setting sun offered, exploded the cacophonous sounds of a city gearing for war.  Carriages rattled down the brick and cobblestone streets of the city.  Swarms of people - gaily dressed ladies out to catch a glimpse of newly arrived troops, businessmen out to hawk their wares to a burgeoning city, scampering children eager not to miss one single thing that happened - filled the streets to capacity.  And everywhere were the troops. 

             
By train, horseback, or on foot, they had poured into the city.  At first it was just the volunteers eager to defend the state they loved.  They had been joined by soldiers from every state in the Confederacy once word had been received that Richmond was the new capital of their splendid nation.  They came armed with shotguns, bowie knives, muskets or squirrel guns.  They came in fancy militia uniforms or dressed in the homespun muslin of the hills.  All of them came with the confidence that soon they would be home again - laughing all the way about how the North had tucked its tail between its leg and run home when it realized what it was up against. 

             
Robert had agreed with them, until.......  Looking up, he realized he was almost to the door of the Spotswood Hotel.  Thomas Cromwell now owned a home on Church Hill, but they had arranged to meet here so that both of them would be closer to their work.  Robert dismounted, handed the reins over to a servant, and strode eagerly into the hotel.  Once inside, he stopped short in surprise. 

             
“Doesn’t look quite the same as it did a couple of months ago, does it?”

             
Spinning around to meet his friend, Robert exclaimed, “Mr. Cromwell!  How are you, sir?”

             
“Fine, fine.  We have a table waiting for us.  That’s a rare commodity these days, so we’d best claim it before it disappears.”  Thomas gave Robert a warm handshake and then turned and led the way into the well-appointed dining room.

             
Robert followed him closely genuinely glad to see the older man.  He was also relieved to see how well Thomas Cromwell looked. His wife’s death had almost destroyed him - seeming to rob from him any caring for life.  Being in Richmond, far from the memories of the plantation had been good for him. Thomas looked once more like the vital man Robert had met the year before.

             
Thomas led the way to a small table in the far corner.  Nestled between two twelve-foot windows, that spot gave them the illusion of being in the midst of Main Street, while it afforded the two men a sense of privacy.  Once again Robert looked around.

             
“Like I said, it doesn’t look much like it did a couple of months ago, eh?”

             
Robert chuckled.  “I should say not.” 

             
The Spotswood had long coveted its reputation as one of the focal points of Richmond society.  It was a sign of prestige to be listed among its clientele.  Even when it was full, it had managed to maintain its elegance and decorum.  The coming of war had changed all of that.  Richmond was not prepared for the influx of people pouring into its confines.  The dining room was a mass of people, with harried waiters dashing around trying to meet the needs.   Bedrolls leaning against the far walls gave credence to the rumors that said when the dining room was empty it became a bedroom for those not lucky enough to find regular boarding in the city. 

             
Thomas looked around for a long moment and then turned back to him.  “This one is pretty mild.  There are hotels where every chair in the lobby has become a bed, as well as the surrounding floor, and even the pool tables.  The Spotswood has set some limits, especially upon learning that President Davis and his family will be residing here until they have a home ready for him.”

             
“You sound rather excited about it, sir.”

             
“About President Davis being here?  Of course I am!”

             
“No, sir.  That’s not what I meant.  You sound rather excited about the crowded condition of our cities.  I understand most Richmonders are doing their best to adjust, but they do feel a sense of intrusion.”

             
Thomas shook his head.  “There are those in Richmond who still doubt the wisdom of all that has happened recently.  But mark my words, young man, the vast majority of our fair city is solidly behind the crusade we have embarked on.  And those who are lagging behind will stand with us soon when they understand the treacherous plans of the North to subjugate us.”

             
Thomas stared off into the dining room, deep in thought, before he turned back to Robert.  “Making Richmond the capital was the best decision our new government could have made.”

             
Robert nodded.  “I agree.  At first, I thought it was foolish - putting the capital of the Confederacy so close to Washington…”

             
“I know what you mean,” Thomas said, interrupting him.  His eyes snapping, he continued, “In the final analysis, Richmond was the best choice.  The security of our industrial potential is essential to the Confederacy.”

             
“And Lee convinced me that the five-day march between Washington and Richmond could be made extremely costly to Northern troops trying to invade us,” Robert added.

             
“Very costly,” Thomas said grimly.  “We are counting on our shore batteries and the navy to keep Union gunboats out of our rivers.  If they can hold the line on the coast, the distance and terrain between here and Washington favors a determined defense.  Our dense forests, rivers, and swamp land are a tremendous benefit.”

             
Robert nodded, his face intense, as he thought through the strategy that had been discussed so much in the previous weeks.  “Our troops can choose their battlefield and strike the North anywhere in the hundred-mile corridor between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Chesapeake Bay.”

             
“The Union’s cry of
‘On to Richmond’
may very well prove to be a siren’s call luring them onto a killing ground.”  Thomas’ deep voice sounded very satisfied. 

             
Robert gazed at the older man for a long moment.  Finally he said, “You have come full circle, sir.”

             
Thomas frowned fleetingly.  “Yes, I suppose I have.”  Then he paused and looked at Robert.  “I, too, remember the first day we met:  Our dreams for keeping the Union together, our insistence that secession would be disastrous for the South.”  Ruefully he shook his head.  “In the end, union was no longer an option.  Lincoln was foolish to believe Virginians would take up arms against their fellow Southerners.  He pushed us into a position many of us had resisted for a long time.” 

             
“Do you have doubts, sir?”

             
“Doubts?  Perhaps doubts that the action we have taken is in all ways the wisest one.  Doubts as to whether there was any recourse left open to us?  None,” he said firmly.  “Virginia has been pushed into a corner.  I learned a long time ago that people can be most dangerous when that happens.  They feel trapped and feel as if they have nothing to lose so they might as well give their all.”  He took a breath and smiled up at the waiter who appeared beside their table with drinks.  Reaching up, he took his whiskey and spoke briskly.  “This will be all for now.  We will order our meal shortly.” 

             
He took a drink of his spirits and turned back to Robert.  “Mark my words, my boy.  Virginia is prepared to give its all.”  His eyes flushed with excitement.  “And I will stand with my state.  The North will rue the day they tried to subjugate the people of Virginia - the people of the South.”  Then his exuberance dimmed and the careful caution Robert had grown to know so well reasserted itself.  “I meant what I said last year, Robert.  The South will be victorious in this war, but it will not be without great loss and suffering on both sides.  There will be a high price to pay for our independence and the right to live our lives the way we choose.  People don’t want to believe that, but the time will come when reality will have to be faced.”