by BardWooHoo
Chapter 2
Wet wool, Reil thought, great. The only
thing she could think of that was worse than wet wool was
wearing said items during the high heat of summer. Which
was exactly what she was doing. The hard ride which had
brought them to Emmetsburg had also led them into a heavy
downpour. Add to that the fact that most soldiers uniforms
saw about as regular a washing as did the soldiers, well...Reil
made a mental note to formulate a roster rotation the next time
the unit camped near anything remotely resembling a bathtub.
At the moment, the unit was approximately ten miles from
Gettysburg, and as she rode up and down the lines of soldiers a
certainty formed within her. A good scrubbing was by far the
last thing in this world she needed to worry about at the
moment. Reil dodged in and out of conversations with her
men. Hat pulled low, she maintained an upright posture on her
mount, even though the rumors she gathered caused her heart
to sink.
“Big battle ahead, sure ‘nuf.” One burly corporal said to
a skinny, tow headed young soldier next to him. “Sure ‘nuf
you gonna see some mighty fierce fightin’ up yonder.” The
younger man turned pale, but to his credit, only a small bit. It
was hard to ignore rumors that were more than likely true, but
rather than focus on the sad truth that some might yet die
before the day was out, she instead directed her questions
towards the more mundane. Reil wanted her soldiers keyed for
battle, not mired in morbid thoughts of impending death. A
kind word here, a supportive statement there...it was difficult,
but necessary. Up and down the rank and file she rode, trying
to spot those who looked likely to turn tail and run during
battle and giving them some extra encouragement. Sometimes
they were easy to spot...stragglers, nervousness, excessive
unease. Reil knew all too well that even the man who thought
himself invincible could very well be the person to freeze up in
the heat of battle.
She wanted only to be done with this business of war,
and wondered not for the first time why it was that men could
never settle their differences with words. Well, she
thought to herself, if it took thick headed men to start this
war, no reason why a thick headed woman can’t try to set
things right. From what little she could gather, the fighting
had already started early that morning. It did not appear the
124th would arrive in time to see any fighting. It was
somewhat ironic to Reil that the battle had begun on July 1st,
just days away from what had enabled the United States to
become independent. She silently vowed that this would not
become the southerners independence day. Reil continued to
ride, listen and bolster the troops. Her one comfort was that
Emma was safe and sound, far away from the upcoming clash.
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Flo didn’t quite know what to make of all the fuss that
suddenly sprang up around her. One minute she was
comforting Emma on the back porch, the next she was
watching a very tired looking man hand a letter to Miss Emma,
jump back on his horse and leave again as quickly as he had
come. She was currently in the process of tossing clothing into
a carpet bag and searching for what else might be needed for
the trip. “Flo, did you pack the extra cloth for the bandages?
Check the sewing room...I believe there are more in there.
While your there, grab some needle and thread, can’t have too
much of that either!” The constant call came from down the
hall, and Flo was keeping a mental note running of all the
hundreds of things Emma continued to call out. So much
to do! she thought, Land sakes, but that must’ve been
something powerfully important in that letter! Flo
continued to hurry about, collecting this and that, double
checking everything. It wasn’t the first time Emma had
decided on moving so quickly. One did, after all, have to keep
on ones toes when acting as a double agent.
Emma sat on her bed, sorting piles of clothes and
running through the list of things she needed over and over
again in her mind. Hope I told Jimmy everything, so much
to do... Her mind wandered off momentarily to wonder
how Reil was faring. From what the letter had said, there had
been word that the battle was to be larger than any other yet
fought during the war. It had been a call to arms, of a sort. A
small group of women had been meeting silently for months,
not interfering, neither pro nor con for either side, discussing
issues related to the war, and how it affected them. They had
realized that this battle would be somehow different. That it
might change or determine the final outcome of the war. It
was voted upon by all active members that they would do all in
their power to help, and a call was put out to all inactive
members to do what they could as they saw fit.
Emma took the letter to heart. She could not bear to
think of losing Reil out on some horrid battlefield. Not if she
could be there to do anything about it. Knowing in her heart
that she was attempting the impossible, knowing that even if
Reil were hurt in the upcoming battle, she would likely never
find her, she still had to do something...anything. For Emma,
anything was better than sitting still, just waiting for something
to happen. She packed up the last of her things and carried her
bags downstairs. Jimmy was waiting out front with the wagon
laden down with provisions. Emma silently prayed one last
time that she had remembered everything, and helped Flo up
into the front seat. By the afternoon of July 1st, after spending
the night with friends several miles outside Emmetsburg,
Emma would have been surprised to learn that Reil had
passed that way just hours prior.
Where Reil and Rocks’ journey had been more tactical,
having to go through checkpoints, making contact with
company commanders, and then finally moving on at a much
slower pace to accomadate the infantry, Emma had made
better time since all the units had been moving forward in the
process of reaching Gettysburg. Unhampered by unnecessary
delays, the trio arrived tired but well in Emmetsburg.
As Emma rode into town that afternoon, two women
whom she recognized approached the wagon as they were
pulling up in front of the local hotel. “Well hello Mrs.
Collingsworth!” The first woman called out. She was older
than Emma by more than a decade, but looked far more fit than
any woman half her age. “So nice to see you again.” The first
womans companion said as the two moved closer to the wagon.
“I take it you’re here to join up with the other Sisters of the
Union to assist at the battlefield?” The first turned to the other
and said, “My, my, sister, but doesn’t the Lord work in
mysterious ways! Why, just the other day, wasn’t I telling you
how nice it would be to see Mrs. Collingsworth again!” Both
women were dressed in plain homespun which had been dyed
a deep black, but it was clear from their manners and speech
that they were, in fact, well bred. “Yes, sister, you were...what
a pleasant surprise!” “Why, hello there Mrs. Weston, Mrs.
chaney. How are you ladies doing today? And, please, call
me Mrs. Bardlow now...I’ve recently remarried.” Mrs.
Weston, the first who had spoken, beamed a radient, almost
childlike smile. “We do most fine today. Oh, and what
wonderful news, you’ll have to tell us all about your new
husband. I do hope you’re not planning on staying here though,
all the places in town have considerably raised their rates due
to the upcoming battle.”
It pained Emma to know that the two women lost
practically everything because of the war. While she had
heard that there was some price gouging going on, she knew
that even the original rates would have been a hardship on the
two elderly ladies. Both their husbands had died years prior,
and they each only had the other for company and comfort.
Confederate soldiers had raided their small plantation,
stripping it of most of its valuables. Had it not been for the
grace of God, and the fact that both their husbands had buried
a small amount of their earnings, the two women would have
been surely worse off than they currently were. Emma had
visited their home often before the war, and knew the two
quite well. If they couldn’t be found in their parlor knitting
lace, it was a sure thing that they could be found around back,
tending to their still. It was carefully hidden in a copse of
trees, and the rebel soldiers had never even suspected it of
existing. Between that, and their small nest egg, Emma knew
she needn’t worry about the two sisters. They sold what hooch
they didn’t drink, tended their small garden, and basically kept
to themselves. That was, of course, until the war.
After tying off the horses leads to the brake lever, Emma
climbed down from the wagon. All the while, the two sisters
batted questions back and forth. “Oh, yes,” replied Mrs.
Chaney in affirmation to her sisters statement, “and your
wagon and its contents would be gone when you awoke, no
doubt. Surely you’ll come with us and have supper, and you’ll
stay as long as necessary.” Emma smiled as she gave each
woman a brief hug. “I’ll be joining up with the Sisters of the
Union. I recieved their missive only yesterday, and packed
what supplies I had on hand. I was hoping to pick up more
here. We needn’t worry about the hotel, since we won’t be
staying the night. Time is of the essence.”
“Oh, indeed it is Mrs. Collingsworth, indeed it is. I was just telling
Sister that this morning. Wasn’t I Sister?” The two women were
still wearing their bright smiles. “Oh, yes, Sister. That is so true.
Why, we can even send along our supplies that we’ve been saving.
That would save our old bones the trouble of delivering it
ourselves.” Emma smiled to herself. She knew those ‘old bones’
had been doing an awful lot of work behind the scenes in order to
help the war effort. Supplies would show up for soldiers who
hadn’t seen a decent meal in days, bandages would arrive at field
hospitals, letters were written and things happened. All because of
these two women. It was quickly decided that they would all retire
to the home of the two sisters, clean up, rest a bit, and get a good
meal inside them before heading out again.