There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his. -Helen Keller In the woods by the small Dunker Church they had ended up stranded and unconnected. The line that they had moved with, out through the dewy fields of that early September morning, it had been hacked at hard by the enemy. Wavering and loosening, the regiment had somehow gathered the kind of steam not necessarily desired in the midst of battle. But that is the way these things sometimes come down. We can close our eyes and try to see the now: Union boys, slathered in the thick of it/ steaming like a piqued bull/ working with the unnatural swiftness of some sidewinder snake out there in the slick grass. The whole horrifying scene a concurrent face full of everything at once. More than we can ever know.
Oh, wow, I could not read this one fast enough wanting to know where this tale was going to go. Great writing, intriguing subject, and a personal connection. Awesome. I get the yearning to know these Civil War ancestors. I’ve got a few of my own, including a great-great who served on an ironclad battleship & survived the Battle of Charleston. You’ve crafted a vivid picture of Antietam. I visited there one foggy, rainy day & felt like hallowed ground. Your writing is so strong in this one. Looking forward to the next installment.
Man, it’s such a joy to follow you on your personal journey here, in your Friday essays. Your Civil War fascination reels us in. Your enthusiasm and wonder at it all becomes, for us, compelling. And the details you see and portray, the pictures you paint with your words, become something living and immediate. Already looking forward to Part 2, to hearing the next chapter. Have a good week, Serge.
Oh, wow, I could not read this one fast enough wanting to know where this tale was going to go. Great writing, intriguing subject, and a personal connection. Awesome. I get the yearning to know these Civil War ancestors. I’ve got a few of my own, including a great-great who served on an ironclad battleship & survived the Battle of Charleston. You’ve crafted a vivid picture of Antietam. I visited there one foggy, rainy day & felt like hallowed ground. Your writing is so strong in this one. Looking forward to the next installment.
Thanks a lot, Taryn. :)
Man, it’s such a joy to follow you on your personal journey here, in your Friday essays. Your Civil War fascination reels us in. Your enthusiasm and wonder at it all becomes, for us, compelling. And the details you see and portray, the pictures you paint with your words, become something living and immediate. Already looking forward to Part 2, to hearing the next chapter. Have a good week, Serge.