The Last, Long Night

by Ginny Dye

  “The evacuation should have started days or weeks ago,” another said bitterly. “Everyone would be gone and the Yankees wouldn’t have much to lord it over. If the government wanted to stay, fine, but they should have emptied the city of everyone else.”

  Another man shrugged pragmatically. “I don’t reckon it does any good to talk about what should have happened. All we can do now is deal with what did happen.”

  Jeremy agreed with all of them. He stood quietly, but grew more concerned as he felt a slight breeze whisper at his hair.

  “If the wind starts blowing,” the man standing closest to him said grimly, “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do to control these flames.”

  Unfortunately, his fears materialized as the light breeze increased to a brisk wind. Flames, fanned to burn hotter and brighter, began shooting out sparks in every direction.

  Jeremy groaned as the buildings around the warehouses began to catch fire, their flames adding to the heat and intensity. He looked down the glowing streets and feared for the whole of Richmond.

  He sprang forward with the rest of the firefighters, but it didn’t take long before everyone there understood there were not enough of them to put out the fires.

  Jeremy joined them as they ran for the center of town, looking for help.

  Carrie had convinced Janie and Clifford to join her at the hospital, knowing the bluffs would give them the best view of the city. By the time they got there the bluff was already crowded with patients and medical staff looking shell-shocked as they stared down at the burning city.

  Carrie moved over to the edge and stared down, sick at what she saw unfolding below. Flames shot up from the business district, but those were dwarfed by the raging inferno creeping toward town from the warehouse district.

  “Jeremy is down there!” she cried to Clifford, tears filling her eyes.

  She felt an arm circle her waist. “He said he would leave if it got out of control.”

  “Hobbs!” Carrie grabbed him in a fierce hug. “You’re safe!”

  Hobbs flushed with pleasure. “I reckon I am, Miss Carrie. I saw Jeremy down by the warehouses just an hour or so ago. He was fit as a fiddle then. He told me if things got out of hand he would come back to the house.”

  Carrie nodded in relief. “I left him a note so he would know we’re here.”

  Hobbs frowned. “I saw it. You reckon it’s a smart thing to leave the house with all the people looting?”

  Carrie shrugged. “From what I could tell nothing was going to stop them if they came. They may take our things, but at least no one will be hurt.” She also knew no one would find the money hidden away. She could only hope the house was far enough away from the fires. At least she didn’t have to worry about Granite locked away in the barn.

  Janie groaned. “Feel that wind,” she said with dismay. “There is no way they are going to get those fires out.”

  Carrie stared down at the orange glow. Would there be anything left of her beloved city for the Yankees to conquer?

  “They’re burning the boats,” Clifford said sharply, as he waved his hand toward the river.

  Carrie looked down at the orange blazes shimmering against the water of the James River. She could almost appreciate the beauty if she wasn’t so aware of the destruction being wrought.

  Boom!

  Carrie was thrown to the ground, perilously close to the bluff ledge as an explosion rocked the air and shook the earth.

  The initial explosion was followed by what sounded like a hundred cannons discharging at once, and the sky lit up as shells from the fired gunboat shot into the air in a huge pyrotechnic display. Into the midst of the firing missiles came three more massive explosions as other gunboats were fired.

  Hobbs still had his arm around Carrie, holding her close to the ground. “Stay down!” he yelled.

  Carrie lifted her head just enough to see the entire bluff littered with prone bodies. “Are they hurt?” she gasped, struggling to get up and go to her friends.

  Hobbs pressed her down firmly. “I don’t think so. The explosion threw everyone to the ground. You’re lucky you didn’t go over the edge,” he said grimly. “The best way to miss all those exploding shells is to stay low. It won’t last for long.”

  Carrie nodded and peeked over the edge again. “Oh, my…”

  “That’s one way to put it,” Hobbs growled. “We’re blowing up our whole fleet so the Yanks can’t get them.”

  Once Jeremy realized there was nothing that could be done to stop the fire, he was anxious to get back to the house. He thought about helping to fight the fires, but he had promised Thomas he would take care of Carrie. The streets were almost deserted now, with the exception of soot covered men trying to fight the flames. He was certain the frightened citizens would hide in their homes until morning.

  He was at the bottom of Church Hill when the explosion of the gunboats rocked the streets. He grabbed a lamp post to remain standing, listening as the tinkle of glass said windows were being shattered all over the city. He could only imagine how many buildings on the waterfront had been leveled, or how many new fires had been ignited. He stared up as missiles lit the air, but continued to move toward home.

  Would this night ever end?

  As he crested the hill and turned toward the house, he looked back, his heart surging with sadness. A stormy sea of smoke, shot through with crimson arrows of fire, covered the city. The brisk wind caught spiraling flames and sent them leaping onto the next building, and the next, and the next.

  Jeremy could hear screams from women and children rising in agony above the cloud. Crashing buildings and pounding feet added to the chaos.

  He tightened his lips and hurried on.

  He was halfway up the hill when another explosion threw him forward off his feet, slamming him into the ground violently. Jeremy lay still, his heart pounding as he tried to identify the newest explosion.

  He heard the sound of running feet coming up the hill. “They blew up the arsenal!” a man yelled frantically. “They blew up the arsenal!” The man sprinted past him and disappeared.

  Jeremy groaned. No wonder the explosion had been so violent. The arsenal stored close to three-quarters of a million shells that were now exploding into the sky, lighting it up like fireworks. The very earth seemed to be writhing in agony.

  Jeremy struggled to his feet, gaping when he saw shattered windows everywhere. Doors were torn from hinges and chimneys were caved in all around him.

  “What’s happening out there?” a woman screamed.

  “Are the Yanks destroying our city?” another screamed.

  “Mommy! Mommy! Are they going to kill us? Are the Yankees going to kill us?” A child’s shrill scream rose to the sky above the explosions.

  “They won’t need to,” Jeremy muttered. “We’re going to do it ourselves.” He gritted his teeth and continued forward, his only thoughts now of reaching Carrie and home.

  “Will this night never end?” he groaned.

  Carrie stared in fascinated horror at the scene below her. “The whole city is on fire,” she whispered, trying to control the shaking in her voice. “Is no one going to put it out?”

  Dr. Wild joined their group on the edge of the bluff, overhearing her question as he walked up. “They tried, but the fire hoses were cut.”

  “Cut?” Carrie gasped, turning horrified eyes back to the spreading orange glow beneath her. “Why?”

  “The city is being looted,” Dr. Wild said grimly. “I suspect they were cut by those who wanted the chaos to cover their stealing.”

  “Where will they take it if the whole city burns?”

  “I’m quite sure their drunken brains didn’t think through things that clearly,” he snapped, putting his arm around Carrie’s waist.

  Wedged between Dr. Wild and Hobbs, Carrie couldn’t turn her eyes away from the devastation. “The bridge!” she cried suddenly. She saw men moving across it with flaming torches.

  “The
last of the retreating troops have just crossed it,” Dr. Wild said. “They have orders to burn it now.”

  Carrie’s thoughts flew to Robert. Where was he? Was he out of Richmond? How torn he must be to see the city in flames and know he was leaving her there. For just a moment she wished he would desert and come to her, but she pushed the thought aside impatiently. One of the things she loved best about Robert was his integrity. He would never be able to live with himself if he deserted his men.

  “Burn the bridge?” Janie murmured. “What about the people still trying to get out of the city who have been waiting for the troops to cross? Waiting their turn?”

  “They will be staying,” Dr. Wild said flatly.

  Carrie watched as a golden glow joined the orange shimmer below. “The sun is coming up,” she said in wonder, hardly able to believe a new day could begin on the heels of such destruction and devastation.

  “Which means the Federal troops will be here soon,” Clifford stated quietly. “They can hardly do more damage than we have done ourselves – if there is a city left to conquer.”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Matthew was almost crazed with worry for Carrie. Word of the evacuation of Richmond had reached behind the Union lines so he was almost certain Thomas was no longer in the city. The idea of Carrie there alone, without Robert or Thomas, was causing his heart to pound. He fought to remain calm as he and Peter moved down the road on horseback.

  “It’s quite an honor to be one of the few newsmen they are allowing to come into Richmond this morning,” Peter said with a broad grin.

  Matthew nodded. “Quite a switch from the way we left it a year ago,” he replied wryly..

  “You got that right!” Peter laughed. “It’s going to make a great story. I can just see the headlines: Former Libby Prison Inmates There For the Fall of Richmond.” He glanced over at Matthew’s somber face and reached out to squeeze his arm. “We’re going to find Carrie,” he said quietly.

  They rode in a silence for a few minutes, watching the excited expressions of the black corps given the honor of being first into the city. The rest of Grant’s soldiers were in fast pursuit of the ragged remnants of Lee’s army. Major General Godfrey Weitzel, commander of all the black troops, was in charge of the occupation of Richmond. The symbolism of ex-slaves being the first to enter the conquered Confederate capitol would not be lost on anyone.

  Matthew thought it fitting that the city built on the backs of slaves would be claimed back into the Union by former slaves. He could appreciate the justice while also envisioning the bitterness of Richmonders who would be forced to accept the authority of the people they had once owned. Nothing was going to be easy about any of this.

  “At least there have been no more explosions for the last couple hours,” Matthew said with relief. The fires and explosions had kept him awake all night. Watching the growing orange glow on the horizon had been terrible. Imagining Carrie in the madness had almost driven him mad himself.

  “It didn’t take our boys long this morning to discover all Lee’s troops are gone,” Peter said with satisfaction. “You should have heard their hollering when they realized the last line of trenches are empty; evacuated sometime last night.”

  Matthew nodded, and then stiffened. “Someone is coming out of the city,” he announced. “It’s a rickety old carriage with a white flag of surrender flying.”

  “I bet it’s the mayor,” Peter said. “The same thing happened in Atlanta and Savannah. Once they realized there was no escape the mayors came out to surrender the city.”

  They watched as the leading officers, Majors Stevens and Graves, rode forward to meet the carriage bearing six men who might have looked distinguished if they weren’t so disheveled and exhausted looking. Matthew felt pity for the men who had fought so hard and so long to protect their city.

  “What will happen now?” Matthew murmured.

  “The Union commanders have been given strict orders to protect the city,” Peter said firmly. “President Lincoln met with them earlier and said they were to treat the citizens with respect and compassion; that there was to be no revenge or retribution.”

  “Thank God for Lincoln,” Matthew said fervently. “I know there are many in positions of power who feel quite differently. They believe the South should pay heavily for what has been done.”

  “And Lincoln understands they have already paid a horrible price,” Peter said solemnly. “He simply wants the country to reunite.”

  The word passed back down the procession until it reached Matthew and Peter. The man now riding with Major Stevens was indeed Richmond Mayor Joseph Mayo. He had requested the Union to take possession of the city to preserve order and also protect women, children and property.

  “Carrie!”

  Carrie, bleary eyed with exhaustion, turned away from watching the city. “Jeremy,” she murmured, moving into the strong arms he held out. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”

  They turned together to watch the scene unfolding below them as the sun topped the horizon. Now that daylight had returned, looting was once more rampant.

  “Is no one trying to put out the fires?” Carrie asked in disbelief. “Are they just going to let the city burn?”

  Jeremy shrugged helplessly. “The city is such a madhouse that I don’t think anyone knows what is going on. It all happened so fast… Things are totally out of control. A group of men tried to put out the fires, but they just couldn’t.”

  Carrie pointed down to the bridge. “Look! Our soldiers have been crossing all morning. They’ve been down there with torches for a while. Are they setting it on fire now?”

  Jeremy nodded. “And just in time,” he muttered. “That’s the last of the cavalry crossing over.”

  Carrie rubbed her eyes and stared harder. “Are those Union soldiers riding up Main Street?”

  “Yes. Mayor Mayo rode out this morning to surrender the city.”

  Carrie took a deep breath as flames began to devour the bridge. Shots rang out from the Union troops as the last of the Rebel soldiers disappeared into the woods on the other side. “I’m so glad Father isn’t here to see this. It would break his heart to watch Richmond burn.”

  She watched as the Confederate flag was lowered from the dome of the Capitol and replaced with the Stars and Stripes. Her relief that the war was closer to being over was mixed with the horror and grief she felt from a long night of watching the city burn and implode. She was simply too exhausted to know how she felt right now.

  Suddenly she wanted to be with the people of Richmond. Whatever she thought of the war, they had stood and survived together for four years. She belonged with them. “Let’s go down to the city,” she said, turning away and tugging at Jeremy’s arm. Janie and Clifford had gone back to the house earlier, and Hobbs had been called away for something. None of her patients needed her right now.

  Jeremy frowned. “It’s not safe down there. It’s a madhouse.”

  Carrie nodded calmly. “Yes, and I’m a part of this city. I want to know what is going on. I’ve watched enough from on top of this hill. Now I want to be there.”

  Jeremy opened his mouth to protest again, but closed it, obviously knowing it would do no good. He merely held out a small bundle. “I stopped by the house and May gave me some biscuits for you.” He reached into the bag he was carrying. “Along with this canteen of water. If we’re going into chaos, you need to eat something.”

  Carrie smiled and reached for them hungrily. “You’re my hero,” she sighed as she bit into the biscuit. “I guess having you for an uncle isn’t so bad after all.”

  Jeremy laughed and started down the hill.

  Matthew was close to the front of the procession as they entered the city, the regimental bands out front playing Yankee Doodle. Hordes of well-wishers, almost all of them black, lined the roads and handed them fruit and whiskey. The former slaves danced, shouted, waved their rag banners, laughed, cried and called out thanks to God. Matthew made no attempt to hide
the tears in his eyes. This was the first true day of freedom for people who had paid a horrific price.

  Following the lead of the officers, Matthew grabbed every bottle of whiskey and smashed it. The Union soldiers were under strict orders to not touch one drop of alcohol while they were in the city, and to destroy all they could. He wasn’t sure, though, how anyone could merely stand on the side of the road and watch them ride in when their whole city was in danger of burning to the ground.

  Heat seared his lungs as he coughed in the smoky air. As they neared the capitol building, he felt tears sting his eyes. He could hardly believe this was the elegant city he had visited so often. Buildings threatened to collapse from all sides. Hundreds of Richmonders were huddled on the square, their red-rimmed swollen eyes staring up at them as they sat surrounded by bedding and household items piled on the grass.

  “They must have all been burned out of their homes,” Matthew said quietly, his heart going out to them. He relaxed some when he saw the same look of compassion on General Weitzel’s face. From everything he had heard the twenty-nine year old graduate of West Point was a fair and compassionate man. He could only hope Weitzel had a plan to save the city.

  “I understand he is putting Colonel Ripley in charge of the city,” Peter said quietly, his gaze also settled on the miserable, displaced people staring up at them with fear and misery.

  “A twenty-five year old?” Matthew asked in astonishment.

  “I’d say four years of war has matured him far beyond any twenty-five year olds we’ve known,” Peter observed dryly. “He’s a natural leader. His black regiment loves him.”

  Matthew nodded quickly. “You’re absolutely right.” His attention was caught by a small train of wagons rumbling their way down the road, a contingent of black soldiers surrounding it. “What’s that?”