The Tender Flame

by Al Lacy

  “Enough war talk, Billy,” Beverly Reynolds said. “I’d like to hear if your sister and her intended have discussed a wedding date.”

  Grant and Lydia looked at each other and smiled.

  “We have, Mrs. Reynolds,” Grant said. “We’ve decided that we’d like to marry on Sunday afternoon, June 7. Since graduation at the academy is May 1, this will give us time to make final preparations for the wedding after graduation.”

  “Probably the best thing would be to talk to the pastor about it,” Scott said. “Make sure the date is all right with him.”

  Grant smiled. “We already did that, Dad. Just this afternoon. The date is set.”

  “Well, great!” Scott swung his gaze to Marjorie. “Just think, honey. As of June 7 we’ll have us another daughter!”

  “Yes!” exclaimed Sharon, who was now a maturing eighteen-year-old. “Theresa and I have wanted Lydia for our sister for a long time.”

  “Well, we’ll have us another son too,” Duane said. “And we’re mighty proud of him.”

  “And I’ll finally have a brother!” Billy said. “And Grant is the one I would choose if I had been given a choice.”

  Grant reached over and mussed Billy’s hair. “And I’d choose you too, Billy!”

  “So what about your orders upon graduation, Grant?” Duane asked. “Do you have any idea where the army is going to send you?”

  “Yes, sir. I received that information just before the semester closed. They gave us opportunity to choose the fort where we would like to be stationed. They don’t always meet our requests, but they did mine. I asked to be stationed at Fort McHenry, and they granted it.”

  “Well, praise the Lord! You and Lydia won’t be very far away.”

  “Lydia and I will be living in the married officers’ quarters. General Wexford has seen them and told me they’re fairly new and quite comfortable.”

  Lydia smiled at him. “Even if they weren’t comfortable, I’d gladly live there with you.”

  Scott chuckled. “It’s good that you have that attitude, Lydia. Many of the forts around this country aren’t so nice.”

  “No matter, Mr. Smith. As long as I’m with Grant, it’ll be a little bit like heaven.”

  On December 30, the newspapers reported that the strained relations between the United States and Mexico were growing worse. The previous day, the Republic of Texas had become the country’s twenty-eighth state. Antonio López de Santa Anna viciously and publicly denounced President James K. Polk and declared the act would forever alienate Mexico from the United States.

  When Grant and Lydia got together at the Reynolds’ house on New Year’s Day, 1846, they couldn’t hold in their excitement. They were now in the year that would bring them together as husband and wife.

  Grant was scheduled to leave on Monday, January 5. On January 2, the newspapers carried the story that President Polk had dispatched a large number of troops to south Texas, under General Zachary Taylor’s command. Taylor would occupy the disputed area between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers. Polk had declared that any move on this territory by Mexican troops would constitute an act of aggression against the United States. Such a move would mean war.

  On the same day Grant Smith boarded the train to return to West Point for his final semester, the newspapers reported a message from President Santa Anna. He and his countrymen were demanding that the statehood of Texas be rescinded and that President Polk make a public apology for leading his country to annex Texas.

  Two days later the newspapers carried Polk’s curt reply, an open letter to Santa Anna:

  My dear sir,

  Be it understood that Texas will remain the twenty-eighth state of the United States. I emphasize the word “United.” The Texas-Mexico border is the Rio Grande, not the Nueces. If Mexican troops cross the Rio Grande, it will be considered a direct act of aggression, and will be met with deadly force and resistance by the UNITED States army.

  James K. Polk

  President, UNITED States of America

  THE STRAIN BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES and Mexico continued as the months passed. President Santa Anna continued his verbal attacks from his balcony in Mexico City as great crowds gathered around the presidential palace. His harsh words were reported almost daily in newspapers throughout the United States and kept the American people on edge. There was more and more talk in Washington, and in military installations all over the country, about war.

  President Polk delivered a speech in Washington attempting to settle the country’s dread of impending war with Mexico. Polk said there was still hope for peace, since it was now mid-April and as yet no Mexican troops had been ordered across the Rio Grande. Polk believed that the Mexican government didn’t really want war and that peaceful negotiations could end the hostile feelings. To that end, he was sending John Slidell and a team of negotiators to Mexico to talk to Santa Anna and his military leaders.

  The American people were filled with hope by the president’s speech, and many were praying for the success of the negotiators.

  During these same months, letters flew back and forth between Grant Smith and Lydia Reynolds as they planned their wedding, now only weeks away. They did not mention the Mexican problem in their correspondence. Their letters were filled with love, hope, and the anticipation of becoming husband and wife.

  Hopes for a peaceful settlement between the United States and Mexico were shattered when, on April 22, the U.S. negotiators were turned away from the presidential palace in Mexico City. Santa Anna told them that until Texas was removed from statehood, there would be no peace negotiations.

  Polk received word of it on April 24, and the next day, General Zachary Taylor and his regiments, occupying Point Isabel on the Rio Grande River, were attacked by Mexican troops who had sneaked across the Rio Grande under cover of darkness. The Mexicans had been driven back across the river, but not before sixteen of Taylor’s men were killed and several others wounded.

  James Polk learned of the attack four days later. He was furious but kept it from the press. He wanted to meet with Congress before the bad news reached the American people.

  Secret emergency joint sessions of Congress were held beginning on Friday, May 1.

  On that same day, at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, some two thousand people were seated on the wooded academy grounds, attending the open-air graduation ceremonies. In the crowd were Scott and Marjorie Smith, along with their daughters, Sharon and Theresa, and Duane and Beverly Reynolds, Lydia, and Billy.

  The academy military band played an exhilarating march while the graduates filed from the main building in perfect step, then onto the platform to join the academy’s faculty and administration, along with several army dignitaries. The ceremonies began, and after several brief speeches it was time to call each graduate to the podium to receive his diploma and commission as a lieutenant in the United States Army.

  Lydia’s golden brown hair glistened in the sun. She had it styled in Grant’s favorite way … in an upsweep with long, dangling curls on the back and tiny ringlets across her forehead and at her temples. She wore a cool pale yellow dress sprinkled with light green leaves and a pattern of trailing vines. Lydia sat tall and proud, waiting eagerly for Grant’s name to be called. Her mind strayed to her wedding, and she pictured herself in the long, flowing white dress, walking down the aisle on the arm of her father, with the pump organ playing. She saw Pastor Britton standing on the platform, wedding manual in hand, looking distinguished in his black suit with his thick head of silver hair.

  At the altar, tall and handsome in his officer’s uniform, stood Grant, smiling at her.

  She pictured Grant and herself rushing up the aisle after taking their vows to enter their new life as Lieutenant and Mrs. Grant Smith. Mrs. Grant Smith. She mused over the title for several minutes, feeling the warmth and joy it brought to her heart.

  The list of graduates finally reached the Ses, and Lydia’s attention came back to the ceremo
ny. Lydia was seated between her parents, and each one took her by the hand as Grant’s name was called and the tall, broad-shouldered young man strode across the platform, halted before General Forrest Wexford, and offered a snappy salute.

  Tears moistened Lydia’s eyes when General Wexford congratulated Grant on being in the top five of his class scholastically and announced that his fellow classmates had voted him the 1846 graduate “most likely to succeed” in his army career.

  When Wexford handed Grant his papers and saluted him, Grant proudly returned the salute, pivoted military style, and headed for his seat. He glanced down at Lydia, gave her a wide smile, and winked at her. Lydia gave a tiny wave and smile in return.

  In Washington, D.C., the joint sessions of Congress continued into the next week. On May 5, however, President Polk released the story, knowing that he could keep it a secret no longer.

  While newspapers across the land reported the Mexican attack on General Taylor and his troops, Congress and the president were carefully deliberating the course of action to take.

  The joint sessions were finished on May 6. Polk took the opinions and suggestions of the congressmen to the Oval Office, and there met with his secretary of war and top military advisers.

  Early in May, Lydia Reynolds moved into the house of Captain and Mrs. Nathan Daniels at Fort McHenry. The captain and his wife were friends of Pastor John Britton, who had told them that Lieutenant Grant Smith and his bride-to-be were members of his church, and that Grant would be living in the married officers’ quarters with his new bride after they were married on June 7. When Captain Daniels learned that Grant was moving into the apartment upon his arrival from West Point and Lydia wanted to do some fix-up work on it before the wedding, he and his wife gladly offered their spare bedroom to Lydia so she could be at the fort.

  The apartment was completely furnished but a bit cramped for space. Lydia decided that a fresh coat of white paint would work wonders at making the place seem larger, and Grant agreed. As they painted, scrubbed, and rearranged furniture, they spun their dreams of a wonderful life together.

  Word came to Washington that on the night of May 3, Santa Anna’s army had shelled Fort Texas on the Rio Grande from across the river. No one in the fort was killed, but United States property was severely damaged. The U.S. troops fought back, and the Mexicans lost some men as their troops retreated with their cannons.

  On May 9, President Polk sat in the Oval Office alone and began to carefully prepare a war message to Congress. The next day, the flag-draped coffins of the American soldiers killed at Point Isabel arrived in Washington, and great crowds of irate citizens gathered to look upon them. The newspapers named the dead men, and the people of the United States felt sure President Polk would ask Congress to back him as he declared war on Mexico.

  On Monday morning, May 11, Polk met with Congress and delivered his war message. In the stirring address, Polk stated that Mexico had “boldly and contemptuously invaded United States territory at Port Isabel, and shed American blood on American soil.” He further decried the act of aggression at Fort Texas.

  Grant and Lydia had just finished polishing the apartment to perfection when there was a tap at the open door. Duane Reynolds was there to pick up his daughter and take her home, where she would remain until after the wedding.

  Lydia rushed to the door. “Hello, Daddy! We’ve got it all done. Come in and take a look.”

  Duane embraced his daughter, grinned at his future son-in-law, and said, “Looks like this place is just about ready for a happy young couple to occupy.”

  “Sure is,” Grant said. “It’s a rather lonely place when I’m here by myself, but that’ll change in a little less than a month.”

  Through the open door, Grant saw Captain Nathan Daniels approaching. Duane turned around as the captain stepped up to the door.

  “Lydia and I will be right over to pick up her things, Captain,” Duane said.

  Daniels forced a smile. “Anytime is fine, Duane.” He looked at Grant. “Lieutenant, we just received news that President Polk delivered a war message to Congress this morning. It doesn’t look good. Colonel Marsh has called for an assembly of all men of the fort at four o’clock. There are a couple of corporals assigned to advise every man of the assembly, but I thought since I was close, I’d let you know.”

  Grant glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 3:35. “All right, sir. Thank you. I’ll be there.”

  When the captain was gone, Lydia gripped Grant’s hand, concern evident in her eyes. “Darling, what does this assembly mean?”

  “Colonel Marsh wants to explain the status of the fort. There are certain steps to be taken when we know the president has delivered a war message to Congress. We will remain in an averred state of readiness to further prepare ourselves should war be declared. If that happens, we’ll be put on alert.”

  “And that means?”

  “Well … that any number of us could be sent to south Texas, or even to Mexico, to do battle with the Mexican army, and we must be ready to move out on a moment’s notice.”

  “Oh, Grant, this is terrible. Our plans … the wedding—”

  “I know. But we have to leave these things in God’s hands … let Him work His will in our lives. Please. Keep your pretty little chin up and trust the Lord to take care of it all.”

  “He’s right, Lydia,” Duane said. “We have to put our lives and our plans in the nail-pierced hands.”

  Lydia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You’re right, I know. I just wish sometimes it wasn’t so hard.”

  On Tuesday morning, May 12, 1846, President Polk made a grim announcement in Washington that war with Mexico was inevitable and unavoidable. All attempts at a peaceful settlement with the Mexican government had failed.

  The next day, Congress overwhelmingly approved a declaration of war, which was called for by President Polk. The country was now officially at war with Mexico. General Zachary Taylor and his troops would be the first to move into Mexican territory. Other troops would follow as quickly as possible.

  At military posts all over the twenty-eight states and many territories, the United States Army was put on alert.

  At Fort McHenry, the troops and officers were assembled for a briefing of the situation and for assignments. Lieutenant Grant Smith was assigned to General Winfield Scott’s battalion, and Scott informed him in a special meeting that the battalion would head southwest for Mexico on Friday morning at dawn. Those officers who lived within a short distance of the fort would be allowed to ride home and tell their families good-bye, as long as they could be back by Thursday at 1:00 P.M.

  Lieutenant Smith was given an army horse to ride, and he put the animal to a gallop as he headed for home. About three hours later, he rode into Montgomery Village. While trotting toward the Reynoldses’ home, he was hailed by friends and questioned about the alert. He told them a battalion was leaving Fort McHenry at dawn on Friday, then hurried on, wanting to get to Lydia.

  Grant dismounted in front of the house and saw Billy’s face in the parlor window. The front door stood open, and he could hear Billy calling loudly to his sister that Grant was here.

  Billy was first out the door. Grant hugged him, then saw Lydia behind her brother. There was apprehension in her eyes as she opened her arms to him, breathing his name. Lydia clung to the man she loved, her face partially buried against his chest, and his strong arms held her tight.

  “We heard about the alert, darling. What’s happening at the fort?”

  Grant leaned back so he could look into her eyes. “Sweetheart, I’ve been assigned to General Winfield Scott’s battalion, Company C, under Captain Nathan Daniels. The entire battalion is pulling out and heading for Mexico at dawn on Friday.”

  The breath caught in Lydia’s throat, and tears rushed to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

  Grant cupped Lydia’s chin in one hand and said softly, “Sweetheart, we have to trust the Lord in this. I know it will mean postponi
ng the wedding, but probably not for long. This war shouldn’t last but a few months at most. We have so much more firepower, and a much larger army than Santa Anna. It’ll be over in short order.”

  Lydia drew another deep breath and wiped away her tears. “Darling, I’m sorry. I know I’ve got to keep my chin up. You’re a soldier and duty calls. I must learn to live with that. And I must allow the Lord to give me the strength and faith I need to trust Him to keep you safe and to bring you back to me.”

  “That’s my girl.” Grant folded her in his arms once more. “I hate postponing the wedding, but we’ll get through this and be married before the snow falls.”

  The Smiths and the Reynoldses were told of Grant’s assignment to General Winfield Scott’s battalion and of the plan to pull out for Mexico on Friday morning. Both families felt apprehension that Grant would be leading a unit of men into combat. Marjorie invited the Reynolds family and Pastor and Mrs. Britton to supper that evening. She wanted to have the pastor lead them in a special time of prayer for Grant’s safety.

  Late that evening, after the meal and the time of prayer for Grant, the engaged couple sat in the porch swing at the Reynolds house. The moon was full and cast a silver spray of light in the yard and on the porch.

  The fragrant, warm air carried a heady aroma of May flowers. But the heavyhearted couple were immune to the night’s charming atmosphere as they held hands and talked of their future together, trying to keep their minds from the reality that tomorrow they must part.

  Grant and Lydia whispered tender words of love and comfort to each other, making the most of their last evening together, not knowing how long they would be separated. Finally, at midnight, they walked to the front door. Grant gently took Lydia’s face in his hands and placed soft kisses on her lips.

  She fought to keep from breaking down as she told him good night, but once inside the house, she dashed to her room, closed the door, and flung herself, sobbing, onto the bed.