Horrible Harvest

Evers and Yates was struck dumb by the command, same as me, but they wasn’t as charmed as I was by the idea of dying from the Captain’s stupidity.

“He’s lost his ever-loving mind,” Yates said.

“I heard a whole mess of Yankees headed our way back there,” Evers said. “He’ll have us not even a hundred strong going up against at least a regiment – Hell, could be a whole corps entire – ”

“Can’t go by sound,” I said. “Captain’s crazy as a loon. You ain’t wrong about that, but army says he’s the fool in charge, and we’s the fools that follow him. We got no choice.”

“We got choice,” Evers responded. “We could kill the Captain right here and right now, and just dump him in the woods somewheres. Won’t nobody care. Won’t nobody ask no questions.”

“It ain’t the worst idea I’ve heard,” I said. “But the Captain ain’t dumb as all that. He will come to his senses if the numbers are against us.”

Liddle appeared out of the darkness. “Captain says to get on your double time. We’re going stars up.”

“We ain’t got no idea where their camp’s at,” Evers said.

Liddle pointed North. “It’s that-a way.”

“Well, then,” Yates said. “You better get going that-a way, boy.”

“Captain sent me for you – ”

“We’s coming. Get on and go ‘for I crack your skull,” Evers said.

Liddle give pause before disappearing back into the darkness from which he come.

“What’s got the captain all riled?”

“A black bluebelly shot a civilian,” I said.

Evers and Yates looked at one another.

“So,” Evers said.

“The way the Captain figures that weren’t just a black Yankee. That’s a slave gone insurrectionist.”

“You mean to tell me the captain’s gone off half-cocked because some woman got herself shot by a nigger fella. We’re to die because of that?”

“We’re to die because that’s what soldiers do,” I said.

“Look here, I didn’t say nothing before,” Evers continued. “But this whole charge we’ve been given is just pure nonsense. Coloreds have been fighting in this war for better than a year now.”

“Unofficially,” I said. “Weren’t ‘til recent that ol’ Abe says they was free. That put an extra stir into the whole goddamn thing. It’s a call to arms that’s likely to burn us from the inside out.”

“Been months since that proclamation, and we ain’t seen but one black Yankee.”

“One’s too many far as the Captain’s concerned.”

“So, you’re for this?”

“Not even the tiniest little bit. I’m just telling you what’s running through command’s mind. Jeff is playing chess with ol’ Abe, and we’re the pawns getting moved about can cut down.”

“Ain’t never liked chess.”

We groused and grumbled amongst ourselves as we made our way through the darkness and joined the columns already formed and ready to head north. The captain had sent a scout ahead to gather intelligence on what actually awaited us.

I could’ve saved him the manpower and time. Hell awaited us.