musket prologue: chapter 2
#3 of musket
this is chapter 2. nothing else to say. is any one there?
joshua
union, 7th regiment, Minnesota,
Fort ridgely,
september 23, 1862
dear susan,
i have killed an anthro. i have asked god for forgiveness and i hope he accepts. i now know that when in a battle, your reflexes directly connect to your ear and your mind creates a metal shell, blocking all other thoughts. it all happened so quickly yet not quickly.
sibley was leading us from fort ridgely, to put down an uprising from the santee. when we reached wood lake, we were ambushed by indians, i later found out that the indians were sioux led by a man named little crow. the indians did not fight like johnny reb did. if we were to fight them, it would not turn out the same way. the indians were as likely to use their fists as they were to use their guns. we were able to hold them off and push them away.
however, not without a price. do you remember that bear i told you about, the man whose father was a doctor? well since then we have became great friends, talking about anything that came to mind such as politics, religion, or the latest in the battles against lee. he was always the humor around the fire as well as the one another soldier would turn to when they had problems, have found out about a family death, or they couldn't deal with the army anymore. he was also a strong soldier, who would do anything his commander asked him without hesitation. but now he is gone, statistically he was just another casualty, a price of war. but to us, the regiment, we lost a saint, a good bear, a good soldier. there is no one that could replace him or fill his shoes. i know god will take him in his arms.
another thing, they have not payed us yet but when they do i want you to do me a favor. i want you to get a simple box and when i send you my pay, please put the box in the ground next to the tree that we always spent our days at together. i would like to see a full box when i come back home. when i come home home, i am going to use the money i have to find us a nice home to settle and then i will marry you the next chance i get. we would have a settlement of land where we would grow our own crops and have a horse for you and me with which we could take midnight strolls together under a full moon. we could have fresh lemonade during those hot summer days from the lemon tree we own. we would have a place where we would be able to bring up our children and they would go to school and learn things the same you do now. we would grow old together and be happy for all the time we were together.
with love,
joshua