The Last, Long Night

by Ginny Dye

  “I understand we’re going to Lynchburg. The Federal administration will go to Danville.”

  “And if the Federals follow you to Lynchburg?”

  Thomas shrugged. “I don’t know. I do know I have no desire to spend time in prison, and I suspect that would be my reward for what I’ve done for Virginia.” He paused and then shook his head. “That’s not important now. Are all of you still determined to stay?”

  Carrie nodded. Janie and Jeremy exchanged looks with her as they gave their own affirming nods.

  Thomas sighed and ran his hand through his white hair. “I know better than to try to talk any of you out of it. All I can do is try to prepare you.”

  “Prepare us for what?” Carrie asked unsteadily, dreading the thought of her beloved father on the run.

  “We have to make plans now while we have the time to do it,” he said firmly.

  Only the strain on his face and in his voice told Carrie how much this was costing him. She knew how devastating it would be to him to leave her behind, but he also respected her enough to understand why she couldn’t - wouldn’t leave. The only thing she had left to give him was to make this time as easy as possible. “Then let’s do it,” she said equally as firmly, smiling when his eyes met hers with relief.

  “You must keep Granite in the stable,” he said quickly. “Ever since Sheridan destroyed a huge chunk of the James River Canal, it has been almost impossible to get food into the city. It was horrific before. Now it will get worse. Butter is up to twenty dollars a pound.”

  Carrie opened her mouth to ask what the cost of butter had to do with Granite…

  “Listen to your father,” Jeremy warned. “The government is so desperate for horses they are snatching them off the streets. Farmers are refusing to bring food into the city because they’re afraid they will lose the horses pulling their wagons.”

  “How horrible!” Janie cried.

  Carrie tightened her lips and stared in the direction of the stables. “They will not get Granite for any more of this war.” Then she thought of the Union army taking Richmond and was quite sure how they would feel about her beautiful Thoroughbred. He was thin, but it was easy to tell what a remarkable animal he was. “Father, how will you get out of the city?”

  Thomas shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. Trains will take some of us. Others will go in wagons. I’m sure some will ride on horseback because it won’t be possible for the train to carry everyone.”

  “Take Granite,” she said firmly.

  “Carrie, I…”

  “Take him,” she repeated, blinking back her tears. “I’ll know you have a horse that can help you get away, and I’ll also be sure the Union army won’t get their hands on him.”

  Thomas nodded slowly. “Thank you,” he said softly, his eyes saying he knew how much this meant to her. “I’ll bring him back to you.”

  Carrie forced a smile. “I’m counting on it,” she managed to say lightly, swallowing back her fear and pain. “What’s next?”

  Matthew stared around the massive Union encampment. Men, artillery, and cannons poured in from what seemed every direction. The feel of battle hung heavy in the air. He had arrived the day before. He’d seen a lot of battle camps but never one that had quite this feeling of finality.

  “It won’t be long,” Peter said grimly. “Sherman’s sixty thousand soldiers just arrived. Sheridan is already here. His cavalry did massive damage outside of Richmond and then crossed the James River to join Grant.”

  “There are close to two hundred and fifty thousand troops here,” Matthew said, shaking his head as he looked in the direction of Richmond.

  “To take on an army of less than fifty thousand men who are starving to death,” Peter acknowledged. “It will be hard to call it a battle.”

  “Lee has pulled off miracles before,” Matthew said, though he knew this time nothing would stop the inevitable.

  “Not this time,” Peter predicted flatly. “Richmond will fall within the next few days. Lee may stretch it out. If he’s as smart as I think he is, he’ll run. He knows he can’t win, but I do think he might believe he can continue fighting if he gets out of those trenches. He was trying to get away when they attacked Fort Stedman. My guess is he was trying to join up with General Johnston so he would have more of an army.”

  Peter stopped talking, to confer with a messenger that ran up, and then turned back to Matthew. “Why are you here?”

  Matthew looked at Peter for a long moment, respecting their friendship too much to give him the line that he had a job to do and he was here to do it. “I’m worried about Carrie,” he admitted quietly. “If I can be one of the first into the city, I can possibly help her.”

  “You still love her,” Peter said, a note of sympathy in his voice.

  “I reckon I always will,” Matthew replied. “It runs in my family. Once a Justin man falls in love, it seems to stick for life. I just happened to fall in love with a woman who is now married to one of my closest friends,” he said ruefully.

  “Wouldn’t it be easier to stay away?”

  “Maybe, but it wouldn’t change how I feel, and Robert knows I would never do anything to betray our friendship. And, besides, I couldn’t live with myself if I had a chance to help her and didn’t take it.” He looked hard at Peter. “Without Carrie, you and I would probably still be rotting in Libby Prison - hauled back with others that tried to escape, but were recaptured.”

  “You’re right. That’s why one of the first things I planned to do when I reached Richmond was to make sure she was okay,” Peter admitted with a smile.

  Matthew smiled in return, grateful to have such a good friend. “We’ll find her,” he said firmly. “When the Union takes Richmond, we’ll go in and find her.”

  “It won’t be long,” Peter stated. “My source just told me the battle will start in the morning.”

  Carrie and the rest had stood up from the dinner table after a long session of planning when Hobbs entered wearily, his face caked with sweat-streaked dust, fatigue making his limp more pronounced. “What happened, Hobbs?” she exclaimed. “You didn’t get all that dirt on you from the hospital.”

  “No, Miss Carrie, I reckon I didn’t,” Hobbs agreed as he gave her a tired smile. “General Ewell figures there should be some men to protect Richmond even if Lee has all the regular soldiers out on the lines.”

  “They’re calling you to fight again?” Carrie asked sharply.

  “I volunteered, Miss Carrie. I reckon Richmond is pretty ripe for cavalry attacks from the likes of Sheridan. Them boys been out wreaking some mighty bad havoc. A bunch of the hospital attendants and patients who can still shoot a gun have been assigned to battalions. There’s a pile of rifles and ammo stacked up between the wards now.” He pulled himself up proudly. “While we were marching, a bunch of clerks and stewards came out to join us. We ain’t going to just lie down and let them Bluecoats run over us. We intend to protect what is ours.”

  Too sick at heart to know what to say, Carrie stared at him. “Stay safe,” she finally managed as she turned to go upstairs.

  Her father stopped her with a hand on her arm. “I know you’re tired but can you come up to my room for a few minutes?”

  Carrie, exhausted to the bone, started to shake her head and ask whether they could talk in the morning, but then caught the look in her father’s eyes. Swallowing her refusal, she nodded and hooked her arm through his. As they walked up the stairs together, she wondered whether there would be many more times they could do something so simple. Suddenly it became very important to savor every moment with this man she loved so much.

  Thomas turned to her as soon as he had closed the door firmly. “I’m going to be broke, Carrie.” He waved a hand at the sumptuously decorated bedroom with its high four-poster bed and elegant wardrobe. Beautiful pictures adorned the light blue walls, and a soft breeze had the soft white curtains puffing back from the window. As beautiful as it was, it still held a distinctly male feel that su
ited her father. “All of this may be gone soon. I will have no money.”

  “You’ve spent it all?” Carrie asked faintly, wondering why this eventuality hadn’t dawned on her.

  “No, but all I have is worthless now. I converted it all to Confederate currency when the war started. It will have no value when the war is over.”

  “I see,” Carrie murmured, her thoughts spinning. “The plantation?”

  “It belongs to us free and clear,” Thomas said firmly, then scowled. “Assuming it’s still standing and the federal government doesn’t take it as retribution.”

  Carrie stared at him with burning eyes. Such a thought had never entered her mind. She had been so worried about its burning; she had never stopped to think about what would happen after the war. “You can’t go back home, Father?”

  “I’ll be a man on the run,” he said shortly. “I don’t know what will happen.”

  “I’ll go back to the plantation and wait for you,” Carrie said instantly, knowing it was the right thing to do as soon as the words passed her lips.

  Thomas smiled tenderly. “Your husband may be eager to get back home to Oak Meadows,” he reminded her.

  “His mother is there,” she insisted. “He will not want you to lose the plantation, and I certainly don’t want to lose it. We’ll wait for you, and then we’ll go to Oak Meadows.” She wondered briefly when her plans would include medical school, but she knew the country would have to settle down first.

  Thomas reached for her hand. “Thank you. No one knows what will happen, but I appreciate what you want to do. I’m afraid there is nothing but darkness ahead for us.”

  “Perhaps,” Carrie acknowledged gently, “but the darkness always ends, and the light always shines again.” Her eyes glittered with confidence. “This long, dark night will end.”

  Thomas stared into her eyes and then shook his head. “I wish I had your confidence. I’ve leaned on you so much in the last four years since your mother died. I don’t know how you have borne the weight.”

  Carrie squeezed his hand tightly. “There have been many more times you’ve been there to help me bear the weight,” she replied softly. “It’s what family does.”

  “Yes,” Thomas agreed, a catch in his voice as he gazed at her lovingly. “I am indeed a lucky man… but I’m also a man running out of time.” He walked over to the wardrobe and beckoned her to join him.

  Carrie watched as he pushed a button hidden at the back of the wardrobe and then stared in astonishment as a small door swung slowly open to reveal a cavity in the wall.

  Thomas smiled at the look on her face. “Not nearly as impressive as the tunnel, but it’s come in handy. I want you to know it’s here.”

  “What’s here?” Carrie asked, still bemused as she stared into another hidden place she’d had no idea existed.

  “Gold,” Thomas replied. “It’s too heavy for me to take with me to Lynchburg, so I’m entrusting it to you. I want you to know it’s here. If you have a chance to get it out to the plantation and hide it in the tunnels, it might be enough to help me get started again. If something happens to me, it will be yours.”

  “Gold?” Carrie echoed, choosing to block out the suggestion her father would not return.

  “There’s not much;” Thomas admitted, “certainly nothing that would replace the fortune I’ve spent these last four years, but it might be enough to survive and start over.”

  Carrie stared at the glistening bars and then nodded, tears shining brightly in her eyes. “I’ll do the best I can, Father. Your job is to stay safe and come home. I will not go to Oak Meadows with Robert until I know you are safe.”

  “And then?” Thomas asked, fixing her with his eyes. “Your dream is not to be a plantation wife. You’ve spent the last three years working as a doctor. What are you going to do about that?”

  Carrie looked at him as he asked the question that had been pounding in her heart and head for weeks, and then she shook her head. “All we can do is take one day at a time and see what happens,” she said, the exhaustion completely swamping her as she faced a question she had no answer to.

  Thomas squeezed her hand, his eyes saying he understood the struggle she was enduring. “He loves you, Carrie. The two of you will find your way together.”

  “All I care about is my two favorite men coming home to me safely,” Carrie said firmly, willing away the tears she knew would fall as soon as she was back in her room.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Matthew sipped hot coffee while he stared in the direction of Richmond, fog blanketing the ground and floating up into the cool air. Heavy smoke from the night’s bombardment mixed with the fog and stung his lungs. He nodded briefly as Peter strolled up to join him. “I’ll be glad when this war is over and I don’t have to get up at two o’clock in the morning,” he grumbled, feeling the ache of sleeping on hard ground, “especially when all the bombing didn’t stop until midnight.”

  Peter blinked his bleary eyes and reached for the coffee pot. “You and me both,” he growled. He stared out over the battle preparations happening in every direction. “I wonder whether Lee knows what is about to happen?” he mused.

  “I’d be surprised if he doesn’t,” Matthew murmured. “The question is whether he is pragmatic enough to realize he doesn’t stand a chance, or if he is foolhardy enough to fight back and risk his entire army.” He looked northward again. “Quite a concert last night,” he commented, wanting to think about something other than war.

  Peter smiled. “I was thinking last night that it might be the last concert I hear on the battlefield. These have been going on for the last four years – each band, Yankee and Rebel, trying to outdo the other with their renditions of Dixie, Hail Columbia, and My Maryland

  “Don’t forget The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem,” Matthew said, mesmerized as always that war could produce such moving music. “My most vivid memory is a battle of the bands last winter on both sides of the Rapidan River that finally ended in both bands playing Home Sweet Home. I watched Union men cry, and I’m quite sure there were tears on the Rebel side, as well.”

  Peter nodded. “I remember. I also remember wondering how many of the men on either side of the river were related, and whether they would kill their brother or father the next day.”

  Matthew tightened his lips as he stared at the Confederate lines. He was certain Robert was standing in one of those trenches right now - if he had lived through the night. He was grateful, as he had been throughout the war, that he would never have to shoot a gun at his friend. Now he just hoped Robert would live through what was coming. “I’m wondering whether there are any Rebels left after the bombardment last night.”

  “It was after midnight before the shelling stopped,” Peter said grimly. “I’m sure it was the heaviest exchange of artillery since the battle for Petersburg began. Grant is serious about taking Richmond.”

  “It felt like an earthquake from all the explosions. I don’t know how there can be any Rebels left to fight us.” He glanced back at the masses of men taking their position in the early morning darkness and then stared toward Richmond and thought of Carrie.

  “The Rebels are there,” Peter replied as he took Matthew’s arm. “Time for us to get behind the lines,” he said. “The battle should start soon. I’d rather be behind the bullets instead of in front of them.”

  Robert woke up coughing, his lungs burning from heavy smoke as he struggled to take deep breaths. It had been after midnight before the barrage of artillery shells had finally stopped. He had no idea how many had been killed; but he was certain it had been only the prelude to a much bigger battle. Every quivering nerve, still exhausted after just a couple hours of sleep broken by coughing fits, told him this would be the day. A mist combined with darkness completed a curtain that Robert felt separated his position from the rest of the world.

  “They’re coming ain’t they, Captain?”

  Robert glanced at Alex staring over the top o
f the trench. “I believe they are,” he agreed quietly.

  “I’ve been watching the last few days,” Alex said nervously. “They’ve sure been getting a lot of reinforcements.” He squatted down beside Robert. “We don’t stand a chance.”

  Robert wanted to deny that statement, but he opted for honesty. “I believe you’re right.”

  Alex took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was both hard and vulnerable. “I heard Pickett’s boys took a mighty beating yesterday from that Yankee Sheridan.”

  Robert hesitated; he wasn’t sure truth was the best option this time. “There was a battle,” he agreed, searching for words.

  “You can tell me how bad it was, Captain,” Alex said quietly. “I was sure hoping our boys could whup Sheridan and make up for everything he did up in the Shenandoah, but I’m thinking that didn’t happen.”

  Robert could hear a maturity in the battle-hardened youth that demanded his respect. “It was a complete rout,” he admitted. “Close to five thousand prisoners were taken.”

  A long silence gripped the night. “You really think them Yankees can get past all our fortifications?” Alex finally asked.

  Robert knew every inch of the ground in front of their trenches. He could envision the layers of wooden barricades that protected them, but he knew the brute force of far superior numbers could overwhelm them. He remained silent.

  Alex interpreted his silence and swallowed hard. “You reckon we gonna live through this one?”

  Robert laid his hand on Alex’s thin, muscular shoulder. “That’s the plan,” he said confidently. “Lee will try to hold them off, but his bigger plan is to allow all of us to evacuate and move out of these trenches.”

  “We’re getting out of here?” Alex asked with almost pathetic hope in his voice.