Spring Will Come (10 page)

Thomas was the first to ask questions when dinner had been served.  “Is it true the North regained their lost ground?”

              Robert nodded.  “About the best you can say of the last two days is that it was a draw.  We pushed them back yesterday.  They pushed us back today.  Everything is exactly where it started two days ago.”

             
Not exactly
, Carrie thought.  
There are now thousands of men, both Southerners and Northerners, who are dead or wounded.
    She and Janie exchanged long looks, each knowing what the other was thinking. 

             
“How did General Smith handle himself today?”  Thomas asked. 

             
Robert shrugged.  “He was in a rough position,” was all he said.  Then his face cleared a little.  “President Davis commissioned General Lee this afternoon.   He is now in charge of the army.”

             
“You seem pleased.”

             
“Yes, sir.  I am very pleased.   General Johnston was a fine man, but Lee holds my complete confidence.  I believe President Davis will find this may be the best decision he ever makes.”

             
Thomas nodded.  “He has my confidence as well.”  He paused and then pushed on to the matter pressing him the most.  “What will happen to the city?”

             
Robert paused.  “It’s too soon to know.  One thing I know for sure.  It’s not over yet.  Not by a long shot.”

CHAPTER FOUR

              Robert whistled cheerfully as he quickly slung his saddle on Granite’s back and cinched the girth tight.  He double-checked his rations, repositioned his hat, and swung into the saddle.  He didn’t know for sure what this mission was that General Lee was sending him on, but from the casual shine in his commander’s eyes, he held out hope it was going to be different from what he had experienced so far.  Looking back toward Richmond, he gazed at the steeples poking their heads above the distant tree line.  It was all that could be seen in the bright moonlight, but it was enough to pull his thoughts to Carrie.  Resolutely he pushed them away.  They had said their good-byes earlier that night.  Both knew each goodbye might be the last - it was one of the cruel realities of war.  Right now he had a job to do. 

             
It was close to midnight when he rode up to the tent of Brigadier General J.E.B Stuart.  Robert had never met the twenty-nine year old Virginian commanding Lee’s cavalry brigade, but he knew the stories that had already made him something of a legend - just from the way he dressed for battle.  With his gold-braided jacket, yellow sash and cavalry cape, his gauntlets, jackboots, and ostrich plumed hat, he cut an impressive figure.  General Lee had also told him the genius Stuart had for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.  According to Lee, no other intelligence source the South claimed could surpass Stuart’s eye for seeing and evaluating a military landscape or an enemy’s strengths and dispositions.  From what Robert gathered about Stuart, he could only surmise their mission was connected with reconnaissance work.

             
“Who goes there?” a soldier barked into the night.

             
Robert pulled Granite to a halt.  “Lieutenant Robert Borden.”

             
A figure materialized from the shadows.  “General Stuart is expecting you, sir.  You may go in.”

             
Robert nodded and ducked into the tent’s opening.  

             
Poring over maps and charts, Stuart sat at his table.  He pushed them away and leaned back in his chair.  “Hello, Lieutenant.”

             
Robert liked him immediately.  Stuart’s compact, muscular body spoke of great strength.  His florid face, with its broad forehead and prominent nose, was covered with a thick, reddish-brown, curled mustache and spreading beard.  But it was his eyes that pulled Robert in - they were a brilliant and penetrating blue that burned with the intensity of his concentration.  He was a man to be trusted.  “Hello, General.”

             
Stuart wasted no time on pleasantries.  Once he had waved Robert to a seat, he turned back to his papers.  “My men have no idea what is about to take place,” he said.

             
“I don’t find that difficult to believe, sir.  Neither do I,” Robert commented drily.

             
“Good!” Stuart laughed.  “Lee requested secrecy.  I believe it has been accomplished.”

             
Robert said nothing. It was obvious Stuart was comfortable with his being there.  He was content to wait and watch developments.   Which, as it turned out, was exactly what he did.  Not another word was spoken for almost two hours.

             
Finally, at two a.m. Stuart rose from his chair and moved to the door of his tent.  He spoke briefly to the aid outside the tent and then turned to Robert with a smile.  “I believe it’s that time, Lieutenant.  Your horse is ready?”

             
“Yes, sir!” Robert said, springing up from the chair where he was fighting sleep.  All thoughts of rest had flown.  Whatever Stuart was planning, Robert was sure it was going to be eventful.

By daybreak, a long cavalry column stretched along the turnpike leading out of Richmond.  Twelve hundred men strong, it had gotten underway with no bugle call or fanfare.  Secrecy was a primary concern, so the men moved on unaware of their destination.

              Robert listened as the men around him, talking in low voices, tried to guess where they were going. 

             
“We must be going to join up with Stonewall Jackson in the valley,” one rough looking soldier from Mississippi said.  “I heard he won a dazzling victory up there.  Maybe they’re sending us up there as reinforcements.”

             
The man riding next to him shook his head.  “I reckon we’re heading for McClellan’s flank,” he said in an excited voice.  “I think we’re about to see some more action.”

             
Other voices joined the argument and threw in their suspicions and guesses.  Robert was content to ride along quietly.  They would find out when Stuart was ready for them to find out.   It was good to be in the saddle again.  Granite stepped out proudly, tossing his head in the cool morning air.  The sky exploded with orange and purple as the sun edged its way onto a new day.  

             
The first day passed rather uneventfully.  By the time they made camp about three miles outside of Ashland, Robert figured they had ridden twenty miles or so.   The most exciting thing all day had been the local people rushing out to greet them and excited to see Confederate gray.

             
Back in the saddle early the next morning, the line of cavalry moved off again.  All the guessing ended when the long line turned east.  There was no more speculation of joining with Stonewall Jackson.  It was now clear McClellan’s flank was their objective. 

             
“By jove! We’re finally going to get a crack at those Yankees!” the man nearest Robert exclaimed. 

             
“I knew that’s where we were headed,” another said firmly.  “It’s high time we got to meet them head on.”

             
“Son-in-law against father-in-law,” another said laughing.  “This should be some show.”

             
That caught Robert’s attention.  “What are you talking about?”

             
“You don’t know?” the soldier said, still laughing.  “General Cooke is the commander of the Union cavalry.   Our General Stuart is his son-in-law.”

             
Robert smiled but didn’t join in the laughter as he once more realized the ironic brutalities of a war that pitted family against family. 

             
“Lieutenant Borden!  General Stuart wants you at the front.” 

             
Robert galloped past the long line and joined the other members of Stuart’s staff as they circled around him in the field. 

             
“By now you realize what our objective is.  Or at least you have a good guess.  General Lee needs information on the strength of McClellan’s right flank.  Our job is to get it for him.”

             
Robert listened intently as Stuart went on to explain they were to push as far as they could, put down any resistance they found, take prisoners if need be, and destroy what they could of supplies.  Excitement pulsed through his body as he contemplated what was to come.  He was mounted on the finest horse he knew, with a commander he could trust.  A quick look around told him the other men felt the same way.  

             
“I’ve been waiting for this!”  Colonel Rooney Lee, General Lee’s son, exclaimed.

             
“Those boys are going to be mighty surprised to find us on their side of the lines,” his cousin, Colonel Fitz Lee, agreed with a grin. 

             
The line of cavalry moved forward quickly, easing through woods and past open fields where young corn pushed toward the sky.   They were greeted warmly by citizens who had not seen Confederate gray for over a month. 

             
“Billy!  Billy, it’s you!”

             
Robert watched as a young soldier broke from the ranks, sprang from his horse, and wrapped a laughing woman in his arms.  The reunion lasted just for a moment, though.  After kissing her cheek, he turned, vaulted back into the saddle, and galloped to retake his place in line.

             
“I love you, Billy.  Take care of yourself, son!” the weeping woman called after him. 

             
The rest of the morning passed rather uneventfully.  The few Federal outposts they discovered were easily overrun.  The Yankees seemed to have no desire to take on an outfit so much more powerful than their own.  They either scattered or were taken as prisoners. 

             
Robert was in front with a unit as they neared Haw’s Shop.  Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of blue.  At the very same moment, a surge of Federals came forward with a roar.

             
“Form fours!  Draw saber!  Charge!”  Stuart commanded.

             
Granite sprang forward at Robert’s command as the Confederates swept forward.  Robert watched, a little bemused, as the Union soldiers dashed almost to the front of the column, fired a shot or two and then veered off.  

             
The only result was a few captured Yankees who had been dismounted when the attack took place.  The rest of the soldiers had made good their escape.  Robert ground his teeth in frustration even though he knew the mission was going extraordinarily well.  He longed for a confrontation that would result in a glorious victory, not these aborted skirmishes by the Union.  A ruckus over to the side drew his attention.   “What’s going on?” he asked a man watching the proceedings with a grin.