The innocent casualty

Gracie Smith
MSMU Class of 2027

(10/2024) It was the hottest summer I’d seen in all my days. Not only were the crops feeling it, but so were the livestock and the people who occupied the small town. It had been some time since our town was what it used to be, all from the war that didn’t seem to have an end in sight. The Confederates claimed victory at Chancellorsville in May, while the Union seemed to continue their back peddling. I pushed away the thoughts of war and wrapped my hair up in my mother’s old bonnet. The soft, now off-white lace complimented my pale, soft skin.

It was my turn to run into town and gather food for the women in my house, that is, my mother and my sister Georgia who had just given birth a number of days ago. Rumor had it that the Confederates were coming here. I wondered what would make our town such a desirable location for them. We were known for hardly nothin’; why wouldn’t they head for the capital? I found myself lost in the thought of war again. I sighed, as this usually happened. I mustn’t focus on things I do not understand, that's preposterous.

As I walked to the center of town, I could sense the town had an eerie, uneasy feel to it. Where were the children running in the street? Where were the carriages hauling people around the town? Even the train station seemed bare with only two people occupying the inside. The thought did cross my mind that the rumors of the Confederates' intentions were, in fact, true. I exercised my self-discipline and refused to think anything of it. That’s when I saw the Union Cavalry.

The sound of the horses marching in the streets was enough to intimidate anyone. I turned my head and without thinking, found my legs hurrying back to the edge of the pathways, making room for the cavalry.

Why were they here? What could they want? What are they looking for? Can I trust them?

I unintentionally found my eyes glazing over all of the men in uniform. It would be unreasonable to deny their attraction. Surely, every woman felt some sort of desire for a man in a fresh uniform. By their appearance alone, I wouldn’t have taken them to be any copperheads.

I notice a particular set of eyes on me. Unfazed by it, I look up to meet his gaze. He looks rough… like he’d seen the effects of this war. But this was also admirable, it meant he was wise. Looking at his uniform, it was evident that he was of a higher rank. What rank, well I wasn’t so sure. My eyes looked back at his for a moment before I realized that he and his men had slowed their pace to all look at me. At this point… I began to feel slightly anxious.

When had they last seen a woman? Are these men married?

I decided to play coy, it’d been a long time since I’d seen a Union officer, or even a soldier for that matter.

"Is there going to be a disturbance in our town?" I say, pulling out my fan to cool myself down from the heat. My eyes glossed over the soldiers and their uniforms, only one name looked familiar, Buford. I’d seen it somewhere…

I could feel the perspiration forming on the back of my neck. The sun’s heat was not very accommodating as of late.

"Nothin’ the calvary can’t handle," A soldier, what looked to be an aid to the officer, lowered his cap to me. I nodded in return, giving a soft smile.

I watched as they rode on, pondering on the name Buford. Suddenly it clicked, I’d seen it in a letter from my fiancé who too was off fighting in this great war. Then, my thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of church bells from the seminary.

On my walk back to my sister’s home, I saw the cavalry once more talking to the bank teller. Though I couldn’t read their lips, I could read their expressions… and something told me that the war was close to home.

The next 2 days were almost unbearable.

Trapped in a home, sheltering my mother, my ill sister, and her newborn child from the war that raged just outside our door. Every few minutes the floorboards would rattle mercilessly from a nearby canon, leaving us all shaken at what could be next. Every second hearing gunshots, some louder than others indicating how close the action, the violence, was to us. Though my composure remained sturdy for the sake of my family, my insides were torn up with fear. Just because there was a battle occurring just yards outside our home, didn’t mean that our daily operations had to come to a halt. My mother and I did our part and fed the local Union soldiers what we could, mainly leftover food from our table and freshly baked bread.

Though a small contribution, my mother and I could see in the soldiers' eyes how much it meant to them. They were just as frightened by what was happening, if not more so than I. They most likely weren’t from these parts, and a part of my heart ached for them, as they reminded me of my own beloved; In unknown territory… unsure of whether or not he will ever make it home…

Thoughts such as this made it possible to keep going… for the sake of innocent, meek soldiers such as my fiancé.

On the morning of the third day, it was evident that the morale of both armies was thinning. The air was quiet, hardly a bird chirping. I took solace in this peace, for the fighting hadn’t begun yet for the day. I stood in the kitchen, enjoying normalcy for a few brief moments before the soldiers fired up their weapons again in the distance.

"Jennie," I heard my mother call from the other room, "it’s s-"