the Negro troops up and shot them like rabid dogs.â
The idea makes my stomach lurch, and my chest feels like itâs being squeezed in a vice. âWe canât let that happen,â I mutter to Henry. Itâs hard for me to catch my breath.
âWeâll worry about that if the time comes,â Colonel Minnis says. âForrest overran Athens, five miles south of here earlier this week. Heâs picking off small forts one by one like heâs going down a row of corn.â
Itâs decided that Major Lilly will take fifty men and follow the railroad south toward Athens to have a look. Just before sunset I sound the boots and saddles call, and we mount. We leave the corral with a squad and eight additional men who have been at the fort for several weeks and know the area. We ride quietly until we face a small rise in the flat terrain.
âThatâs called Hayâs Mill,â a private says.
Major Lilly stops the line and orders the private and Sergeant Survant to ride ahead. Near the top of the rise, they stand high in their stirrups. Sergeant Survant turns and motions for the rest of us to advance. Far ahead, we see small pockets of flames, too numerous to count. They span a wide swath of land.
âMy God,â Major Lilly says in a low tone. âWeâve found the rebels.â
âHow many?â somebody asks.
Major Lilly tugs on his mustache. âSeveral thousand, Iâd say.â
We sit in silence, scanning the orange horizon. âMother calls that color of sky Indiana sunset,â I tell the major.
âItâs not the sun painting that orange wash along the bottoms of the clouds. Itâs fire,â he says.
âCan small fires cause the clouds to glow like that?â
âNo.â Major Lilly shakes his head. âCampfires, even that many, wonât reflect that high. My guess is Athens is burning.â
âWhere are the rebel picket lines?â I ask.
âTheyâre not worried about us,â Major Lilly says. âNot now.â
Tree branches snap, and suddenly pops ring out from thedirection of the fires. But a safe distance ahead. Itâs the first time Iâve been fired at.
âThereâs your answer, Gaston,â Sergeant Survant says.
âHave you ever been fired at, sir?â I ask the major.
âMany times,â he says slowly.
Knowing we are totally outnumbered and sitting ducks in the fort makes my face feel flushed. With a battle looming, I no longer want to see the elephant when it attacks in full force. âWhy would they shoot from that far away?â I ask.
âSomeone wants us to know they see us. They know we wonât attack. Thereâs too many of them. Letâs head back before they decide to get close enough to do harm,â Major Lilly says.
We ride back to the fort, store the horses in the ravine, and climb the hillside. Itâs nine p.m.
* * *
âHow will the Negro troops perform if fighting turns thick?â Major Lilly asks Colonel Lathrop when we return.
The colonel twists his head to the left as if heâs hard of hearing. âI donât understand. What do you mean, How will the Negro troops perform?â
Major Lillyâs struck a nerve, but he keeps pressing. âI estimate over two thousand rebels perhaps three miles south of here. Weâll need every able-bodied man to defend the fort and trestle. What is your level of confidence that your men will perform when the fighting starts?â
âMajor, their lives are on the line, more so than yours or mine. Every man under my command has trained like any other Union soldier. Their dark skin doesnât mean theyâll perform any differently than your men.â
Major Lilly smiles and nods. âThatâs what I wanted to hear, sir,â he says. âIâm sure weâll all make Forrestâs acquaintance sooner than later.â
* * *
Twenty minutes pass, and Colonel Lathrop
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