by Unknown
Harry reached over and put his huge arm around the captain. “Sir, there isn’t one decision you made that was in any way dumb. We have had a little bit of bad luck but Lucky Jack here told me we have had more good luck than bad luck. But then again he is the half full type.”
I leaned forward and handed the promissory note to the captain, “And we have more money here from the quartermaster. I think a little break in Charleston will help us all. We can actually do something with the money we have acquired since this war started.”
“There you go Jack. Half full again!”
We reached Charleston four days later. We stabled the horses at Front Royal and took a train. Charleston looked exactly the same as it always had. It was as though the war had not happened. The rich still had their luxuries courtesy of the smugglers and the poor were just as poor as they had ever been. The house still looked as magnificent as ever. Jarvis, the captain’s estate manager and former slave had kept it immaculate and it was run very much as it had been before the war. We settled back into our bunkhouse but the new men like Cecil and Wilkie had to be persuaded that this was their new home. All of us had been poor before we met the captain and for the new boys the hospitality was a little too much. They were almost afraid of damaging the grass by walking on it.
I was feeling nostalgic and took a horse down to the docks and harbour. I looked at the paucity of ships and remembered before the war when it had been a lively and bustling port. I sat on a bollard. I could almost picture the Rose of Tralee as she had sailed away that last time. My old shipmates, and my enemies, were now at the bottom of the sea. I had been saved and snatched from its jaws by Captain Boswell. I shook myself free from my sad and melancholy thoughts and walked back to the rail where I had left my horse. I was about to mount when a voice called, “Mr Hogan! Jack Hogan!”
I turned and saw a small man dressed in the clothes of a clerk. I vaguely recognised him but I couldn’t place him. “Yes I am Jack Hogan.”
“Its Michael sir, I work in the dock office. I used to see you when I came aboard the Rose.”
Suddenly I remembered him. He too was Irish and he had seemed to like me and treated me with respect and kindness. I never knew why. “Of course, Michael, and how are you keeping?”
Fine sir, can’t complain. At least we have food on the table but I have something for you sir.” He flourished an envelope. “A letter. It came last year and I knew you were in the war so I just waited until you came home on leave. I was going to call around the plantation and then I saw you stop here it is sir.”
He handed me the letter. I didn’t recognise the handwriting. It was addressed,
Jack Hogan
Sailor on the Rose of Tralee
Charleston USA
I shook my head. How had it reached me? I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out two Yankee silver dollars. I handed them to Michael. “Oh no sir. I couldn’t.”
I closed his hands around the money. “You were kind to me when others weren’t and we are both Irish. If you ever need more then just ask.”
I could see the gratitude on his face. “Thank you sir. You have become a real gentleman.”
I relished the compliment as I rode back to my home. I did not want to read the letter in the street. I would find a quiet place and discover who knew that I was in America. I took the letter to the back porch of the bunkhouse and carefully slit it open with my penknife.
April 1862
Dear Jack,
I am telling the priest here, Father Nicholas, what to write as I won’t be here much longer and I never learned how to write. I have no idea if you will ever read this letter so I am putting faith in God. The father here says that God works in mysterious ways.
After Black Bill died your sister, Caitlin, left for America to search for you. We heard she was going to New York or Boston. Is either of them places close to where you are? We heard from Fatty that you had left the ship in Charleston but he didn’t know any more. I told you sister where you were and she just left.
I meant to write sooner but, well Betty was ill for the longest time and she has recently died. I am told that I haven’t got long for this world and I wanted to speak to you again. I know it is a letter but I am talking to the priest as though he was you. That’s how you know that this is from the heart.
I liked you Jack. I would have been proud for you to have been my kin but you weren’t. I had a little money put by. Betty and me had planned on using it but we never got around to that. I want you to have it. Father Nicholas is a good man and he has given it to his bank manager for safe keeping. If you ever get back here then go to St.Patrick’s church and ask for Father Nicholas. He will see you get it. It might be enough to get you a decent berth on a ship.
God Bless you Jack and I hope you find your sister,
Your friend,
Stumpy
x
Stumpy’s mark.
P.S. This part is from me, Father Nicholas. You must be a special person Jack to have made such an influence on old Stumpy. I will be waiting for you should you ever make it over here.
Father Nicholas
The ink started to smudge where my tears had splashed on the paper. I fingered the penknife which Stumpy had given to me. It was suddenly more precious than it had been. My sister was in America. She was free from Black Bill but what was her life like now? I suddenly felt responsible and guilty. I needed to marshal my thoughts and make plans. I lay on my bed for some time. Harry came in and saw the letter in my hand. He just nodded and left. He was a good friend who knew when to leave you alone. I got up and went into the house. I sought Jarvis.
“Jarvis is there any writing paper and envelopes in the house?”
“Why yes suh. There is a writing desk with all that you will need, in the library. I will post if for you when you are done.”
I am no writer and I just wrote from the heart. I knew my writing could not compare to the priest’s but I didn’t care. I thanked the priest and told him to buy a good headstone for Stumpy and Betty. I told him to use any that was left over for the orphans and homeless children in Cork. I told him that I hoped that I would get to see him and the stone one day.
I gave the finished and addressed letter to Jarvis who smiled and nodded. “I am glad that you are with the captain sir. I feel that you are good for him. You are a good man and there’s not many of those in these parts.”
“Thank you Jarvis. Tell me,” I hesitated. “Do you ever resent the fact that you were a slave? I mean I know the captain freed you and your wife but don’t you harbour resentment that he had you as a slave in the first place.”
He smiled, “It’s like this sir, I thank the lord that it was Captain Boswell who bought me. He was a kind owner. Me and my wife were born slaves. No, I don’t resent it but I prefer being free and I wished I had been born free. But I wasn’t I was born a slave. It makes freedom taste sweeter somehow. Perhaps one day we will all be free.”
“Thank you for your honesty Jarvis and our conversation will remain private.”
“That’s what I mean sir. You may not have been born a gentleman but you are a gentleman now.”
I borrowed a horse from the stables and went for a ride. I found I could think better from the back of a horse. This was one of the captain’s finest but she was no Copper. Copper was safely in a stable in Front Royal. I needed to decide what I wanted. In a perfect world I would get a train to New York or Boston and try to find my sister. I saw, immediately, some flaws in that plan! We were at war and I had no idea where she was. And then there was the largest hurdle, I was still a soldier. I looked up and noticed what beautiful country it was. I had been so busy working when I lived here that I had missed its beauty. I found that I had ridden across many fields and emerged looking down on Charleston and its harbour. It was beautiful and reminded me in many ways of Cork with the boats, the port and the busy life around the town. What would I do if I were in Cork and not Charleston? As with many things the idea just popped u
p in my head and I galloped back to the plantation. I now knew what I wanted.
I changed my clothes and had a body wash; I knew that I would reek of horses. I hoped that the captain was in for I needed his advice and guidance. “Jarvis is the captain around?”
“Yes suh, he is in the library with Mr Murphy.” He paused and then said, “I don’t think it is private, Mr Hogan.”
He was the consummate butler and I smiled my thanks. I knocked on the door. “Come.” When the captain saw me his face broke into a smile. “Ah Jack. Your ears must have been burning. We were just talking about you.” My face must have shown concern for the captain gestured towards a seat and said hurriedly, “Nothing bad I can assure you. We were just saying that there are just a handful of the original Wildcats left; just you Harry, Jed and Dago. It gives one pause for thought.”
“Is it a bad thing that I hadn’t thought about our dead comrades until you mentioned them?”
Danny shook his head, “No, Jack, we have to think of the living. There will be a time to remember the dead when all of this is over.”
The captain saw the hesitation on my face. “You wanted to ask us something?”
“Advice and guidance sir. From both of you. You two are the men I trust most in the world and I know you will give me an honest answer to my questions.”
“Of course.”
“I have had a letter from Cork. My sister is living in New York or Boston. My friend was unclear which one. She came to America to look for me.”
Danny grinned and slapped me on the back. “Well that is grand news!”
The captain saw my expression, “I don’t think it is as simple as that, is it Jack? New York is now in another country.”
Danny’s face fell. “Of course! I am sorry, Jackie.”
“I know all that and I also understand that, until this war is over I can’t really do anything.”
“Not quite true, Jack. You can put an advert in the New York papers. She might read it.”
“She couldn’t read when we were in Ireland but you are right. It would be a way to keep in touch. What I wanted to ask, sir, is how much money have I got? I know that I have about four hundred dollars from our last patrol but we had money invested in other things.”
“You are right Jack and the money from our dead comrades has been added so you are a wealthy man. I can find out easily enough.” He leaned forwards and I could see I had interested him. “What have you in mind?”
“In Ireland my ma and da never owned their house. If you can call it a house, a hovel more like but it was a home. We knew we could be thrown off at any time. Caitlin worked for Black Bill and when he died she was thrown out. With all due respect sir but if anything happened to you then I would have no home.”
He shook his head vehemently. “I would look after you and the others.”
“And that is very kind of you sir but I was brought up to believe that a man looked after his own first.” I took a deep breath. “Have I enough to buy a house; a nice house- here in Charleston?”
“Of course. You have enough to buy a small version of this. I can ask my friends in town and we can get one before we go back. But that wasn’t your only question was it?”
“No sir. You see I would be away with you and I would want it looked after. I would like to buy Aaron from you,” I paused, “and give him his freedom. I would want him as my estate manager. Just as Jarvis is yours.”
Danny and the captain exchanged a look and then the captain said softly. “You are a deep one. You can have Aaron as a gift from me and I am delighted that you will offer him his freedom but tell me, why Aaron?”
“That first patrol in the Valley; it was Aaron who was kind to me. I know he was a slave but he showed interest in me and helped me. I was new to this life and it helped. And I remembered the others who helped me like Stumpy and Fatty. They are dead now and I can do little for them but he is alive and I would like to do something for him. Don’t get me wrong, you two have done more for me and I am really grateful but I don’t see how I can repay you, not yet anyway.”
“Jack you owe us nothing. Danny and I know that you are the heart of the Wildcats. If you were not a part of it then it would have died some time ago.” He stood up. “Well, let the three of us ride into town and begin the arrangements.”
I had thought that it would be a hard task and a time consuming quest to find a suitable house but it was not so. Captain Boswell had many contacts in the business community. I suspect that not all of them were pillars of society. We discovered a number of properties which the captain assured me I could easily afford. The one we settled on had a sad story. The last owner had mortgaged the house to finance a regiment. He had been killed at the Battle of Kernstown and the bank was selling it cheaply to reclaim its losses. Money was tight in Charleston and cash was worth more than promises. I wanted to buy it unseen when I heard that the owner had died at my first battle. The captain and Danny would hear none of it and they took me out to the house. They wanted me to see what I was buying.
It was south of the city and had a slave block, a barn and a small amount of land. There were, of course, no slaves. They had been the first things the bank had sold but I could see the potential. It was larger than the squire’s house back in Ireland. As soon as I stepped through the door I knew that I wanted it. It was already furnished and felt comfortable. It was less grand than the captain’s but still a substantial property. Caitlin would love it. I had worried that it would be filled with the ghosts of the dead. If there were ghosts then they were the friendly type.
We had the paperwork signed, sealed and delivered before nightfall. I was a landowner. “You still have money in the bank Jack. Not a fortune and now that we are no longer Partisan Rangers your income will drop but I am sure you could make money from the land.”
“But I know nothing but growing potatoes.”
“Potatoes won’t grow here Jackie boy.” Danny ruefully shook his head. “I found that out when I first arrived. Aaron is a good lad. He’ll know what will grow.”
“If he agrees to run it for me.”
Jarvis brought Aaron to the drawing room. I could see the nervousness on the young slave’s face. I suspect he thought he had done wrong.
The captain smiled, “Please stay Jarvis, we would appreciate your advice. Now Aaron you are a good slave and you are not in trouble so for goodness sake stop frowning.” The slave grinned at the words. “Now you may remember Mr Hogan here. He has just bought a house and I intend to give you to him as a house slave.” He gave a wary smile and a nod at me. “Jack?”
“How do you feel about being my slave?”
“Suh?”
Jarvis smiled, “Mr Hogan the question is a difficult one to ask of a slave.”
“Let me rephrase it. Would you like to work for me?”
“I’m your slave suh. I am a good worker.”
He was still confused. I said quietly, “Not as my slave, as a free man.” I handed Aaron the papers of manumission. “You are a free man now. Will you work for me?”
He looked at me a little suspiciously. “If I say no am I still a slave?”
I laughed and Jarvis gave an impatient snort. “No Aaron. You are free and if you choose you can leave and find a job of your own and I will advertise for someone to be my estate manager” I peered at him. “I would prefer it to be someone I could trust, like you.”
His face lit up again. “You mean I’d be like Mr Jarvis? Then yes suh and thank you Mr Hogan. I won’t let you down.”
I shook his hand. “We will go over tomorrow and you can get settled in. I imagine you will have goodbyes to say tonight. But I would appreciate it if you could find time to talk to Mr Jarvis here. I want you to do as he does and that means running the estate while I am at the front. You will have to decide what to grow and your wages will be decided by how profitable the estate is.”
“I get paid too? In that case suh we will have the best run farm in Carolina.”
Ja
rvis hurried him out but as he passed me he said, “As I said sir, a real gentleman. I will keep an eye on him but he is a good boy.”
The captain poured Danny and me a drink. “That was well done. I could see that Jarvis was touched.”
I was confused, “Why?”
“Well didn’t you know? Aaron is his son. His name is Aaron Jarvis.”
The next day we settled Aaron into the house and I gave him the small bedroom in the main house. You would have thought I had given him the keys to the kingdom. Jarvis was left with some of my money to help Aaron pay for things until he learned how to manage himself. Similarly the slaves from Captain Boswell’s plantation would work on mine until Aaron had hired men. He offered to buy slaves but I was adamant. In Ireland we had been slaves in all but name and I would not inflict that on anyone.
As we sat on the train, in the last days of December, heading to a Virginia where the Yankees had been soundly beaten at Fredericksburg, I wondered if the war might be over sooner rather than later. Of course I did not have long to ruminate as my comrades decided to mock me constantly.
“So I would have thought a plantation owner would be in First Class. What are you doing with us?”
“Now Harry…”
“Ah the thing of it is he needs all his money now to buy lace for the legs of the chairs.”
“Dago…I”
“No, he will be looking in the catalogues to buy himself a bride next. Lord Hogan of Charleston. It has a nice ring to it.”
When they had tired of their fun, they and some of the others asked me about my decision. I answered them with a question. “What will you do with your money?”
“Ah well when the war is over I’ll go to a big city and I’ll get a room in the biggest hotel…..”
“And your money will be gone in a month.”
“Aye Jack but I will have lived.”
“True Jed, but what about the men who had as much money as you did? The ones killed in the ambush. What about them?”
“Well they er… Well if you die who gets your house?”