The Way of All Soldiers (Gone For Soldiers)

by Jeffry S. Hepple

  Lee ignored the comment. “Has there been any movement toward arming the freed slaves, Captain Mosby?”

  “No, sir. Not yet, anyway. The militia provision in the Second Confiscation Act empowers Lincoln to use them in the army, but he’s concerned with public opinion in the four Border States and he only uses slaves as laborers.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Lee said. “You have been most helpful. A man of your talents will not be forgotten by this army.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Lee waited until Mosby had left the room, then fixed his gaze on Johnny. “It is unwise to share any information, even an off-hand observation, with subordinates, Colonel.”

  “Forgive me, General.”

  “There’s no harm done this time,” Lee said. “Mosby is a very intelligent man and he has surely drawn the same conclusion that you did.”

  Johnny didn’t reply.

  Lee stood up and walked to a map. “By naming Pope’s new force the Army of Virginia, those people have told us that its purpose is to protect Washington and the Shenandoah Valley.” He looked at Johnny. “What will he do?”

  “Pope, sir?”

  “Yes. Will he entrench or join McClellan?”

  “I don’t think he’ll do either, sir.” Johnny walked closer to the map. “I think he’ll move toward the railroad hoping that we’ll follow him and draw us away from McClellan on the Peninsula, sir.” He touched the map near Gordonsville. “McClellan still hopes to take Richmond and end the war with one great Napoleonic-style battle.”

  Lee nodded. “But McClellan has proven himself to be a deliberate man who is unlikely to do anything unpredictable.”

  “Except withdrawing when he was winning,” Johnny said. “Sorry, sir.”

  “No, no. You’re quite right. That was unpredictable. But I’m not certain that we can count on him doing it again. He’s taken an enormous beating from the press, and like all of us, he needs positive public opinion. He cannot get that by retreating.”

  Johnny nodded. “He may have become so unpopular that Halleck will order him to withdraw from the Peninsula to support Pope.”

  “If that happens no guesswork is necessary. Our entire army can concentrate on Pope and McClellan. If, on the other hand, General Pope and General McClellan remain separated, we must do exactly what General Halleck wants us to do and take troops from the Peninsula to stop General Pope.”

  Johnny waited.

  “I think we know General McClellan better than General Halleck does.” Lee said, touching Richmond on the map. “Even if General McClellan moves toward Richmond we will risk reinforcing General Jackson at Gordonsville with a force large enough to destroy General Pope. Then, we will turn on General McClellan and finish him.” He walked back to his desk. “We have a few days, I think. I wonder if I might impose upon you to deliver a letter for me in exchange for a week’s leave of absence?”

  “I will most certainly deliver the letter for you, sir, but I have no need for a leave, thank you.”

  Lee handed him an envelope. “The leave is yours to use or not, as you please.”

  Johnny glanced at the address on the envelope and then looked again in surprise. “Donald Murray at Orchard Hill is my father-in-law.”

  “Really? What a coincidence. Mr. Murray, who is a large contributor to the Confederate cause, applied to President Davis for a colonelcy in the Home Guard. As the military commander in Virginia, I have granted that commission to Mr. Murray. The position has no authority in the Confederacy, but it entitles the bearer to style himself as Colonel and wear a uniform with the appropriate insignia. I think Colonel Murray will be very happy to see you. As will your wife, I’m even more certain.”

  Johnny looked excited for a moment, then looked at the letter again.

  “Turn it over,” Lee suggested.

  Johnny looked at the back where the letter had been sealed with gold foil covered wax, bearing the seal of the Confederate States of America.

  “Show that to anyone who tries to prevent you from delivering it. If that does not suffice, obtain the aid of the local sheriff or constable.”

  July 24, 1862

  Orchard Hill, Virginia

  A liveried butler opened the door. “You are not welcome here, sir.”

  “I am here on business of the Confederate States of America,” Johnny announced to the butler. He displayed the seal. “I have an official letter from General Robert E. Lee, the commander of all Confederate forces in Virginia, for the master of this plantation.”

  “I can deliver the letter, sir.”

  “I am General Lee’s Adjutant and his representative in this matter. My orders are to deliver it to the recipient.”

  The butler’s confidence was waning and he looked toward an open door from the vestibule.

  “Very well,” Johnny said. “Please inform Mr. Murray that his commission as colonel in the Confederate States of America Home Guard will be deactivated.”

  “Just a moment.” Donald Murray stepped through the open door into the vestibule. “Let me have the letter.”

  Johnny held it so Murray could see the seal. “It requires you to swear to an oath of office. I will not administer it standing in your doorway like an unwelcome peddler. Please step outside.”

  “You can come in,” Murray said.

  Johnny stepped into the vestibule and handed him the letter and a card with the oath printed on it. “Raise your right hand and repeat after me: I, state your name, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the Confederate States of America and the Constitution of the State of Virginia against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will obey the orders of the President of the Confederate States of America and the Governor of the State of Virginia, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the Office of Colonel in the Home Guard of the State of Virginia upon which I am about to enter, so help me God.”

  Reading from the card, Murray repeated the oath.

  “By the power vested in me as Adjutant General of the Army of Northern Virginia I hereby declare Colonel Donald Xavier Murray a commissioned officer and a Gentleman in the Virginia Home Guard.” Johnny offered his hand.

  Beaming with pride, Murray vigorously shook Johnny’s hand, then turned to the butler. “Don’t just stand there like a ninny. Go tell Miss Urilla that her husband is here.”

  ~

  The clock downstairs struck three as Urilla Van Buskirk arched her back and moaned softly into the hollow of her husband’s throat. “Oh Lord,” she gasped, clinging to him with both arms and then collapsing back into the pillows.

  Johnny kissed her gently. “Satisfied?”

  “Umm. For the moment. That was the best ever.”

  “You always say that.”

  “It’s always true.”

  He kissed her again.

  “How did you arrange it?” Urilla whispered.

  “I didn’t,” Johnny replied. “General Lee said it was a coincidence.”

  “Why don’t I believe that?”

  “Does it matter?” He rolled onto his side and caressed her arm.

  “No.” She snuggled closer to him. “You have no idea how many nights I’ve lain here wishing that you were beside me.”

  “Do you think your father will let us write to each other now?”

  “I think he’ll let us do anything we want to do now.” She giggled. “I’m not to tell you that he already had his uniform tailored or that he bought a great, huge sword that drags the ground when he walks.”

  “If the Yankees come, you must convince him not to wear the uniform or the sword. As a civilian, he may not be harmed, but the uniform will land him in a Northern prison or worse, and the Confederate army won’t trade a private or a mule for him. He has no value to our real army.”

  “Why do you mention that? Could the Yankees be coming?”

  “They’re not that far away and they get stronger by the month. Sooner or
later, they’ll take Richmond. It could be next month or next year or even longer – but they’ll come. The longer it takes the more violent it will be.”

  “I don’t want to be here when they come. You must warn me in time to escape.”

  “I’ll have no time to warn you, Urilla. It will happen too fast. You should let me take you and the baby to New Jersey now.”

  “My father wouldn’t understand if I went now. He believes that the Yankees will never reach us.”

  “Then you’ll have to listen for the guns and decide when they’re getting close. Tomorrow we’ll pack a small bag with everything you and the baby might need so that you can leave at a moment’s notice. We’ll also lay out a route of escape that you must memorize.”

  “Are you absolutely sure that the South can’t win?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why do you stay in the army?”

  “Because I must.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “It’s the only answer I can give you, Urilla.”

  She put her arms around him and kissed him. “I never expected to love you.”

  He laughed softly. “I loved you the moment I saw you, but I never expected it to last beyond a week or two.”

  August 8, 1862

  Washington, D.C.

  General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck waved toward a chair across from his desk. “Have a seat, Pea.”

  Paul Van Buskirk sat down and put his hat in his lap.

  “Are you sure you’re well enough to return to duty?”

  “Yes, sir. My wounds weren’t severe, but I became ill in the Rebel prison camp. Now I’m over that.”

  “Do you know that John Buford’s become a brigade commander in your absence?”

  “Yes, sir. And a better man for the job there never was.”

  “Indeed. He has a high opinion of you as well and he’s asked me to promote you to lieutenant colonel.” Halleck looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’ll grant his request, of course, but before I send you back to him I need you to deliver a message to General McClellan.”

  Paul was surprised and displeased, but he knew better than to protest.

  “On August third, I directed McClellan to withdraw from the Peninsula and return to Northern Virginia to support General Pope. McClellan protested to me and then to the President and he has, as yet, made no move to withdraw.” Halleck handed an official message pouch across his desk to Paul. “This is a denial of his protest signed by me and the President. I want McClellan to know that he’ll be relieved if he doesn’t comply, but I don’t want it put in writing.”

  “Telling that to a major general is going to be very awkward for me, sir.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find a way, Colonel.”

  Paul looked at the packet in his hand. “I’ll do my best, sir. Do you want me to report back to you before rejoining my brigade?”

  “Yes. I’ll be interested in hearing what General McClellan has to say.”

  Paul saluted and left Halleck’s office. As he walked down the hallway, he heard a familiar voice and stopped to look in the open door. Nancy Vreeland Van Buskirk, who had her back to him, was arguing vehemently with a severe-looking woman. Paul moved away from the door to wait for her.

  Five minutes later, Nancy stormed out of the room and nearly collided with Paul before she recognized him. “Oh dear.” She put her hand to her throat. “Did you hear me in there?”

  “I heard your tone,” he replied, “not what you were saying.”

  “Thank goodness.” She took his arm. “Let’s get out of here before I decide to go back and wring her scrawny neck.”

  Paul allowed her to pull him toward the exit doors. “Who is she?”

  “Dorothea Dix. She’s the Superintendent of Army Nurses. I wanted to apply as a nurse but she said that, in spite of my advanced age, I was still too attractive and sexually stimulating.” Nancy looked back with a humph and a toss of her head. “The silly old cow.”

  Paul held the door for her, then followed her onto the sidewalk. “I thought you were in Illinois.”

  “I was, but Robert was always somewhere else, so I thought I’d come back here and do something useful. I guess that was another of my bad ideas.” She looked up at him. “How’s the leg?”

  “Good. Thanks to Aunt Anna and Ginger.”

  “I’m having lunch with Anna at the Willard. Do you have time to join us?”

  “I wish I did.”

  “Then can I have a kiss before you go?”

  He bent and pecked her on the lips. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Nancy wiped a tear from her cheek. “This damned war.”

  August 12, 1862

  Near Gordonsville, Virginia

  Without getting to his feet, General James Longstreet answered Johnny Van Buskirk’s salute. “If General Lee’s sent you after us, we must be moving too slow.” He extended a small stick into the camp fire and used it to light his pipe.

  “No, sir,” Johnny said. “General Lee wanted me to brief you about the events of the last several days.”

  “Good. I’m getting conflicting reports from everyone. Have a seat.”

  Johnny sat down in the offered canvas chair. “On the eighth, General Jackson was attacked by General James B. Ricketts’s division at Cedar Mountain. A counterattack by General A.P. Hill pushed Banks back across Cedar Creek.”

  “Yeah, I knew that much. Why’d Jackson stop advancing and withdraw to Gordonsville?”

  “When his advance was stopped by General Ricketts’s division, General Jackson realized that he was facing General Nathaniel Banks’s corps and that all of General Pope’s corps had joined together. His original plan had been to engage each corps in a separate action, not Pope’s entire army.”

  “It’s a shame when the enemy won’t do what you want them to do,” Longstreet said, puffing on his pipe. “Stay there a minute.” He got up, walked to the closed flaps of his tent, stuck his head in, said something to someone inside and came back to resume his seat. “There’s somebody here that you might want to talk to.” He used the same stick to relight his pipe and blew out the flame.

  “Well, well,” Thomas Van Buskirk said as he ducked out through the flaps of Longstreet’s tent. “Look who’s here.”

  “Dad.” Johnny jumped up and rushed toward Thomas, then caught himself and stopped. “I mean, General.”

  Thomas grabbed him and hugged him, then turned him around, and with his arm around Johnny’s shoulders walked him back to the campfire. “General Longstreet and I were just reminiscing about the battle of Chapultepec. He was a major then, and he led the Eighth Infantry up the hill carrying the colors.”

  “Until I got shot in the leg,” Longstreet said. “I had to give the colors to George Pickett. He reached the top and got all the credit. Typical. I do the work, Pickett gets the glory.” He pointed toward the tent. “Get one of those other chairs, Johnny, and join us.”

  “I wish I could, sir,” Johnny replied. “But General Lee will have my hide if I don’t get right back.”

  Thomas took his arm off Johnny’s shoulders and shook his hand. “I’m proud of you, John. Very proud.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Johnny hesitated. “I hope we’ll have a chance to talk soon.”

  “Sure thing. I’m still with John Bell Hood’s Texans but on loan to General Longstreet for a while.”

  “I hadn’t heard that. Good night, Dad.” He saluted. “General Longstreet.”

  “Good night, Johnny,” Longstreet said.

  The two older men watched Johnny mount and ride off, then Thomas said, “Strange that Lee didn’t tell him I was here with you.”

  “Not really,” Longstreet replied. “He probably thought Johnny knew. He’s got half his family here and he figures that’s just normal for everybody else.”

  “I guess you know my other son’s over there with Buford.”

  “Paul.” Longstreet nodded. “Yeah, I tangled with him at the swamp. Tough war. I keep w
orrying that I’ll have to face Hancock.”

  “Yeah. I can imagine.”

  “Lo Armistead has nightmares about that. He and Hancock were like brothers. You know them both, don’t you?”

  Thomas nodded. “Did Lo have something going with Almira Hancock?”

  “No,” Longstreet said in a scoffing tone. “Lo had buried two wives and several kids before he was stationed in California with Hancock. Allie and the Hancock children got to be like Lo’s substitute family. I’d like to find the bastard that started those filthy rumors.”

  “The one I heard wasn’t filthy,” Thomas said, “but it was troubling.”

  Longstreet relit his pipe. “Allie’s not a particularly beautiful woman, but for some reason she attracts a load of gossip.”

  “When Hancock was transferred from Texas to Fort Myers he took Almira and his children with him. She was the only woman on the post. That’s probably where most of the gossip started.”

  “Army life,” Longstreet said. “You should have stayed out.”

  “Couldn’t. Once Texas seceded I had to take sides.”

  “Yeah. I know the feelin’.”

  August 14, 1862

  Harrison’s Landing, Virginia

  General George McClellan read the orders, then looked up at Paul Van Buskirk. “Did Halleck discuss this with you, Pea?”

  “Not exactly, sir. But he told me what was in the orders and talked about your protest of them.”

  “What did he say in particular?”

  “He said that you’d be relieved of your command if you didn’t begin to withdraw immediately.”

  McClellan shook his head. “I should refuse just to call his bluff.”

  Paul didn’t reply.

  “You don’t think it’s a bluff, Colonel?”

  “I really have no opinion, General. I was on medical leave and was eager to rejoin my unit, but General Halleck ordered me to deliver that first.”

  “You’re still with Buford?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “He’s a brigadier, I hear.”