Spring Will Come (42 page)

             
Moses grabbed her close then lifted her easily.  He held her cradled in his arms for a long time, staring down into her face, before he carried her over to the newly made bed.  Never taking his eyes from her face, he lowered her carefully then sank down beside her. 

             
The stars blazed in the sky, and the full moon cast a milky shadow on the floor before they pulled away to talk. 

             
“I’m proud of you, Rose.”

             
“And I’m so proud of you, Moses,” Rose whispered back. 

             
Moses groaned.  “I know both of us are doing the right thing, but it’s so hard to be apart.”

             
Rose understood the ache in his heart - it was a pain she battled every day.  She had found the strength she needed to keep going in the love they had shared earlier.  But somehow she knew Moses needed more.  She reached over and grasped both of his hands.  “It won’t be forever.  Someday we’ll be together the way we want.  In freedom.  Knowing our children will never know the humiliation of slavery.  We’ll be helping lead the way for millions of people who are trying to figure out how to lead a new life.”  She paused. “And it will be people like you they will have to thank.  People like you who have put aside their own wants and desires so other people can have what they are already experiencing.”  She squeezed his hands tightly.  “I am so proud of you.   Keep leading the way.  We need you.  All of your people need you.” 

             
Moses gazed into her eyes hungrily.  Slowly he nodded, the shadow completely disappearing from his eyes.  “I was getting so tired,” he murmured, pulling her close again.

             
“There’s nothing wrong with getting tired.  Fighting evil is always draining.  But you’ve got to keep fighting.  That’s the only way you’re going to be happy because that’s who God made you to be.”  Rose knew.  She had wanted to flee the camps after the attack on Annie’s family.  She had not thought it possible to deal with their pain, as well as her own anguish.  God had taken her one step at a time.  

             
“I remember something your mama told me,” Moses said.  “She told me you can’t ever run from being a leader - cause you’re not going to be happy being anything else.”

             
“She was right,” Rose replied fervently.  “I believe one day we’ll be together.  Until then we both have to be what we have to be.”

             
Moses took her in his arms again hungrily.  They might only have one night, but it would be a night they would never forget. 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

             
Robert rubbed his hand across his bearded face and stared wearily into the night.  His whole body ached from fatigue and from the ever-present diarrhea brought on by a steady diet of apples and green corn.  Searing heat threatened to sap what remaining energy he had.  He raised his hand and gave the order.  “Forward - march!”

             
Granite pricked his ears forward and stepped out proudly.  Robert’s heart ached as he looked down at the once-beautiful Thoroughbred.  He still had plenty of spirit, but too little food had turned him into a bony caricature of the impressive horse that had pranced out of Richmond over two months earlier.   Robert pulled grass for him when it could be found, but grain rations had run low when the Army of Northern Virginia had left the Confederacy and moved into Maryland.  Robert was glad Carrie couldn’t see Granite.  It would have broken her heart. 

             
His face cracked a slight smile.  She would have much the same reaction if she could see him, he was sure.   It had been weeks since anything resembling a bath had passed his way.  His clothes were relatively new, but he never thought he would be thankful to be dressed in Union blues.  His own clothes had been torn and ragged when his men had found wagons full of Federal supplies after the Union defeat at Manassas.  The supplies had been welcome but had not been enough to clothe and feed his men and horses adequately.   Robert had dropped weight steadily till he had quit pulling in his belt and exchanged it for a rope to knot around his waist. 

             
His face twisted in a grimace as he looked over his men.  He had nothing to complain about.  He was riding a horse, and he still had boots on his feet.  Many of his men were plodding down the dusty roads barefoot.  Their clothes, many in rags, hung from them.  Handkerchiefs hung in odd positions while soldiers cracked jokes about the new designer fashion that kept them from exposing private areas of their body.  There was not a one of them not suffering from diarrhea brought on by their diet and the extreme heat.   More and more disappeared each day – he’d given up on taking roll call.  He had heard all the excuses. 

             
“Uh, Mitchie didn’t really figure on fighting on Yankee soil.  He figured he’d signed on to protect the South against invasion, not go after the Yankees.”

             
“There weren’t nothing left to Marley.  He just couldn’t make his beat-up body go another inch.”

             
“Well, you see, Sammie got a letter from his wife.  She’s having a right rough time feeding the kids, and the littlest one was real sick.  He went back to take care of his family.  Said he never figured on his family suffering when he came to fight.  McClellan’s army went through and wiped out all their crops.”

             
Robert knew Lee was losing thousands of worn-out soldiers on a daily basis.  He vacillated between rage and understanding.  All he knew was that the mighty Army of Northern Virginia was the weakest it had ever been.  And they were marching into Northern territory and daring McClellan to come after them again. 

             
Lee was risking everything in order to win everything.  Robert struggled to share the confidence of his commander.  He understood what the general was thinking.  Lee was not planning on capturing major Northern cities; he knew his army was not equipped to hold them - but the move into Maryland would harass the Northern government and relieve Virginia from fighting for a time.  Robert knew the general had more on his mind, however.  With a Confederate army in Maryland, the Federals would certainly move away from the fortifications of Washington to attack them.     Manassas had been a Southern victory, but the cost had been high - nine thousand Rebel casualties.  And though Pope’s army had been pushed back, they had not been destroyed.  McClellan was once again amassing a strong army to attack them.   The decisive victory Lee had been looking for might finally be won.

             
“Hey, Lieutenant, some of the men need a rest.”

             
Robert looked down at Hobbs and nodded.  They needed to make better time, but the men had almost reached their limit.  “Tell them we will rest for one hour.  Then we move on.” 

             
Hobbs nodded and moved away to report.  Robert watched him leave with great affection.  He and Hobbs had developed an even stronger bond.  It was more than his having saved Hobbs’ life.  It was more than Hobbs helping Carrie escape the plantation.  Robert had developed genuine affection for the boy who had such great love for his country and total loyalty to his lieutenant.  Hobbs was a true Rebel.

             
Robert swung down from Granite and led him over to a thick bunch of grass off the side of the road.  He looped the reins loosely over the saddle horn to give the horse plenty of stretching room to reach the food.  Then he slumped down against a tree and watched his men collapse into whatever pockets of shade they could find.  They gazed with disgust at the apples they pulled from their haversacks but began devouring them anyway.  They would need the strength to keep going. 

             
The Army of Northern Virginia was not much to look at, yet Robert knew it was something special to meet.  They might not have food and clothing, but they still had their muskets and ammunition.  Some of the old muskets had even been replaced with new smooth-bored rifles confiscated from Federal supply wagons.  The men knew how to use them.  Extreme hardship had swept away everyone but the truly dedicated men who could stand anything.  But how much more could they really stand? 

             
As the sun sank lower in the sky, Robert went over the battle plan in his mind.  He still marveled that someone of his rank would be privy to the general’s confidence. Lee was marching his army north, headed for the sheltering rampart of South Mountain.  He would take advantage of its covering to split his army, sending Jackson first south to destroy the army at Harper’s Ferry then trusting him to march  back north fast enough to join Lee in battle against McClellan.  It was a risky move but Robert knew Lee was counting on McClellan’s slowness to make such a daring move successful.  They had left Frederick that morning.  Smith Mountain was their day’s objective.   Secrecy and invisibility were paramount if they were to succeed. 

             
Robert stood and stretched.  “Prepare to march!” he called.  All around him soldiers struggled to their feet, but there was no word of complaint – they were the Army of Northern Virginia. 

             
“Forward - march!”

“Reporting for duty, Captain!”

              Captain Jones glanced up from what he was reading then put it down, his face splitting in a wide smile.  “Moses!  It’s good to see you again.”

             
“It’s good to see you, sir.”

             
“I trust your mission went well.”

             
“Yes, sir.  My sister is at the contraband camp at Fort Monroe.  Thank you.”

             
“Excellent!”  Captain Jones paused.  “The score is a little more even.”

             
“The score never needed evening,” Moses protested.  “I’m just glad my sister is free.”

             
Captain Jones nodded then turned back to what he was reading.  “I’ve just been informed of something very interesting.”

             
Moses had never seen his captain’s eyes sparkle with such excitement.  He stood quietly, knowing it was not his place to question.  Captain Jones was obviously absorbed in what he was reading.  He turned to leave.  He would receive orders when the captain had time. 

             
“Lee hasn’t got a chance!”  Captain Jones chuckled.                “You’re a spy, Moses.  You should appreciate this.”  He stared again at the note in his hand.  “Seems Lee lost something rather valuable.  His army was in Frederick just this morning.  One of our soldiers was inspecting the area his men had been when he spotted a cigar.  Of course, he picked it up then noticed something wrapped around it.”  He grinned.  “Guess what it was.”

             
Moses entered into the game.  “A love letter to his wife?” he asked, knowing he was wrong.

             
Captain Jones doubled over in laughter.  “That would be highly entertaining, but hardly the reason for his destruction.”  He sobered.  “No, it seems the general, or most likely one of his officers, left behind a copy of the orders concerning his battle plan.”

             
Moses sucked his breath in sharply, taken by surprise. 

             
Captain Jones slapped his leg in delight.  “Our men took it straight to McClellan.  One of his aides was able to identify the writing as belonging to Lee.”  He stood up and began to pace around the tent.  “Do you know what this means, Moses?  McClellan knows every move Lee is going to make.  That should make even
him
move forward with confidence.  I predict Lee will be smashed soon.  He will be lucky if he even
has
an army to take out of Maryland.”