on the eve of battle

on the eve of battle

fiction
edward w pritchard

Tomorrow we win this war and go home says Donigan or die and spend the rest of eternity pasted to the ground here at Gettysburg, laughs Jiles.

My sergeant says tomorrow will be an important battle; a battle that will be remembered through history.

I don't like the looks of things. For once the Yankees have the right ground. About a mile of open fields across, up hill the whole way, and behind a stone wall. Old General Lee needs to come here and look at things I tell my friend Watson Brimlowe; I'll send for old Billie and the two of you can discuss battle strategy laughs Jiles. Murphy is hopping mad at Jiles; don't call General Lee Billie, you redneck farmer spits out Murphy.

Murphy comes over and puts his arm across my shoulders; I am the youngest soldier in our section. He tells me I should write to my girlfriend back in Georgia. Next to me Brimlowe is writing his name on a paper and pasting it to his undershirt so the Yankees can identify him after the battle here at Gettysburg in a few hours.

Our regiment band is playing. That's a bad sign, usually music before breakfast augurs heavy casualties. 

It's so hard to write to Molly. I don't know her anymore. She never protested at all when I joined up. It's like she wanted to get rid of me and now she doesn't write regularly.

Donigan brings us bacon. His brother is on Longstreet's staff and he lifted some bacon and biscuits for us. He hugs his brother for a long time and tells him to keep his head down. I heard him whisper to his Brother Joey Donigan he loves him. He tells us all that we will back up General Pickett today. Sometime in the next few hours we are going to charge the Yankee lines dead center, across a mile of uphill rolling farmland. Oh yeah, there's several fences and roads to cross and the Yankee's have been moving canons and canons behind the stone walls; I can hear the Yankee canons clunking around a mile and a half away over the sounds of both armies coughing in the damp morning air.

Watson is done with his paper and I paste it on his undershirt for him. Sergeant Murphy kisses the paper before I put it on Watson's shirt. Murphy is a very big guy and fought Indians for thirty years before he joined the Confederate army. I can tell he is nervous about this battle. He says the Yankees have been fighting like men the last two days. He also feels today will be an important battle. July, 3rd, 1863. It could end the War he thinks if we are successful. He looks very worried, every soldier here knows the Yankees have the good ground today.

Dearest Molly,

How I miss you my dear.

 I am at Gettysburg Pennsylvania. It looks like a huge battle shaping up. Somehow the last two days the Yankees fought us to a draw. They are fighting much better than usual under their new General, Meade. Still I have utmost faith in our cause and my fellow soldiers but these new rifles the Yankees all seem to have are a great advantage to them. They are called a Springfield repeating rifles and can fire up to eight rounds per minute. Who knows what weapons will be developed next.

How I miss you my dear.

your friend
ed williams