Storm Clouds Rolling In & On To Richmond (Books 1 & 2 in the Bregdan Chronicles) by Ginny Dye - HTML preview

Chapter Thirty-Three

Robert had been in Richmond almost a week before he was able to break away from his duties to have dinner with Thomas Cromwell. He could feel the anxiety and fear pulsating in the air as he rode his horse through the streets. It felt like a living thing he could reach out and touch. The city, once so gaily defiant, was now afraid. He shook his head grimly as he pushed his horse through the crowds and moved as quickly as he could down Broad Street. The beauty of a glorious spring day was wasted on everyone he saw. The drawn lines in their faces and the trouble in their eyes said tragedy was about to fall.

“Robert! It’s good to see you. Come in,” Thomas said when Micah announced his arrival.

Robert knew Thomas had not brought him here for small talk. There were too many serious situations brewing in their country.

Thomas turned to him as soon as he sat down. “I’m so glad you were able to come. I have been longing to talk to you. I spend hours talking to politicians, but I have found myself needing the cold logic of a military officer to balance things out.”

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to make you feel much better,” Robert replied.

Thomas shook his head. “That’s not what I want. I’m not looking for good-hearted fantasy. I simply want to hear things from your perspective.”

Robert nodded. “Where do you want me to start?”

“With Johnston’s withdrawal from Manassas. Was it really as chaotic as I have heard?”

Robert grimaced. “I’m afraid so,” he said. “Oh, Johnston tried, but he had a lot of things working against him. He discovered early, after Davis’ orders to bring the army closer to Richmond, that security had been breached. There was no telling who in the Union might know of what he had been told to do, or what they would do to stop it. Davis wanted him to bring all the artillery

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with him, but the spring rain made the roads impassable for heavy weapons. To top it all off, the railroad was unable to remove the massive amount of supplies and goods they had stockpiled around Manassas in the last eight months.”

“I understand the commissary department had rather outdone itself.”

Robert nodded. “That would be one way to put it.

There were over three million pounds of subsistence stores to be moved. Not to mention all the soldiers’

baggage.”

“Did every soldier really have a trunk to move?”

“Including Johnston himself,” Robert affirmed. “When the call was given to withdraw, there were still tons of supplies that had not been moved. Johnston got word of unusual activity among the Union troops on the Potomac.

He was afraid his worst fears had been realized—someone had tipped off the Union to his evacuation. Whatever couldn’t be carried away, was destroyed.”

Thomas closed his eyes and groaned. “A very serious loss.”

“Yes, a very serious loss.” Robert allowed himself a small smile. “It was the best smelling withdrawal of any army in the world, though, I bet.”

“What in the world do you mean?”

“You are aware of the meat-curing plant that was fifteen miles behind the lines?”

Thomas nodded. “Of course. It was the largest in the South. It had over two million pounds of bacon and salted meat.”

Robert smiled. “The cavalry rear guard torched the depots and the plant when the last columns passed. The smell of frying bacon followed us for twenty miles.” He would never forget the blue and yellow flames curling up from the huge piles of meat set aflame, but he was also aware of the tremendous loss to the army.

Thomas chuckled briefly, but his mind was intent on other things. “Johnston sent you ahead?”

“Yes. I was sent on to Richmond to help with the fortifications of the city here once again. Lee was still not

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certain what the buildup of troops at Fort Monroe meant.

He wasn’t sure which direction McClellan was headed.”

“It’s certainly obvious now,” Thomas exclaimed.

For a few minutes, both men were silent with their thoughts. McClellan had made his intentions clear when his one hundred thousand-man army had marched away from Fort Monroe and advanced on Yorktown. Richmond was his target. The cry of On to Richmond was once more being acted upon.

Finally Thomas shook his head. “What I can’t figure out—even though I thank God for it daily—is why McClellan is stalling at Yorktown. Magruder has a mere twenty thousand men to combat his one hundred thousand. What in the world is he waiting for?”

This time Robert’s chuckle was genuine. “I think our man Magruder is playing a game with McClellan. I think he should consider the theater when this war is over.”

Thomas stared at him blankly. “Would you like to explain that?”

“Magruder is well known for his ability to make things seem to be much more than they are. Some reports of his actions have come back to us here. Some of his units have been split into two parts. He has kept them traveling twenty-four hours a day, instructing them to show themselves in different places all along the line. I’m sure the poor men are exhausted, but it has worked. I’m convinced McClellan believes he is facing a much bigger army than he actually is. He is known to be extremely cautious. Magruder is counting on that.”

“Until we can get reinforcements to him.”

Robert nodded, suddenly grim again. “Not that I’m sure how much good it will do. We simply don’t have enough troops to stop McClellan when he determines to move forward. Johnston’s additional troops may enable us to slow him down, but I don’t think we can stop him.

He is simply too powerful, even though he doesn’t seem to know it yet.”

“The longer we can keep him from knowing it, the better,” Thomas replied. “The government is doing all it can to get you the manpower you need.”

“The Conscription Act?” Robert asked.

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Thomas nodded. “Congress passed the legislation last week. It conscripts every man between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. There are exceptions, of course, but we should see the numbers rise immediately.”

Robert was glad there was more manpower on the way, but he had to ask the question on his mind. “How does that sit with the rights of each state to determine their own destiny and defense?” He was aware of President Davis’ efforts to honor that principle.

When Thomas spoke, his face was as grim as his words. “Idealism does not always have its way. Without an adequate force to defend it, there will be no Confederate States to worry about their rights. You know as well as I do that the picture for us right now is bleak.”

Robert did indeed know. With the fall of Shiloh ten days before, the Confederacy had for all intents and purposes lost the middle Mississippi. The coast of North Carolina was sealed from the sea, and all the major South Carolina ports were either occupied or blockaded. Now there was a force of one hundred thousand Yankee soldiers moving toward Richmond.

Robert’s next question was one that had been bothering him for weeks. “Have you called Carrie to the city, Thomas?” He had had countless nightmares of Carrie being alone on the plantation when Union troops came through. He was not telling Thomas how sure he was that Johnston could not stop McClellan. Hope was sometimes all that kept people going.

Thomas scowled. “You know my daughter,” he said helplessly. “Of course I wrote her right away when McClellan started building up his troops at Fort Monroe.

She wrote back telling me she was too busy planting crops to come to Richmond, and besides, she had confidence in Johnston to control things.”

Robert frowned. “I see.” He wasn’t sure what to say.

He did indeed know Thomas’ strong-willed daughter. He also knew if it were up to him, he probably would have ridden out, thrown her across his saddle, and returned her to Richmond. He almost laughed at his own thoughts.

They sounded noble, but he knew how impossible Carrie was to move once she set her mind on something.

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Thomas read his face. “I don’t know what to do. I can tell you think I should force her to return. Don’t think I haven’t considered it.”

Robert smiled reluctantly. “Yes, I did think that. I also reached the same conclusion you did.” He paused. “Have you sent her more letters?”

“One a day,” Thomas said wearily. “I haven’t heard any more from her. Not even her regular letters. Of course, everything in the city is disrupted with the current crisis.

I have no way of knowing if she has actually received my correspondence.”

Robert frowned again. “I wonder if she realizes her crops may end up feeding the Union Army as they pass through on the way to Richmond,” he muttered.

Thomas shrugged. “She is convinced she has a job to do. She promised me she would leave the plantation if it became too dangerous for her to remain, but she is so isolated she may not realize the danger until it is too late.”

He shook his head. “I will go get her myself if the need arises.”

Robert shook his head. “I will make sure Carrie gets off the plantation if it comes to that, Thomas.” He paused for a moment, and then leaned forward to ask, “Does she know the secret?”

Thomas shook his head morosely. “I should have told her. I had planned to, even, but for some reason I never did. I was convinced she would come to Richmond if I asked her to. I learned the secret when my father wanted me to. Not until he died did I find the letter he wrote me shortly before. He had kept the secret since after his father died. He wanted the secret kept until I was gone, as well. Carrie knows there is a letter in the safe. I put it there after Abigail died. She also knows she is not to open it until I’m gone. I’m confident she will heed my wishes.”

Robert realized once more how desperately troubled Thomas must have been that day to reveal the secret to him. Not that his knowledge was doing anyone any good, least of all Carrie. He was too far away.

A sudden roar from the city grabbed their attention.

They jumped up and strode to the porch. From Thomas’

house, they had a commanding view of the city. They could see Broad Street, which resembled nothing more

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than a dark, moving mass. The cheers and yells of citizens created the roar floating up to them.

Robert watched for a moment. “Eight thousand of Johnston’s men were scheduled to pass through the city today. They are marching as fast as they can to join up with the rest of his troops.”

Thomas nodded. “Here’s hoping they can do some good.”

Robert continued watching for a moment before turning to his host. “Will a great many people leave the city?”

Thomas shrugged. “People with money will. There are already a lot who have left to visit relatives in the country and in North Carolina. Richmond seems to be losing its popularity,” he said.

“Will you leave?”

“Never.” Thomas proclaimed. “I have cast my lot with Virginia and Richmond. The capital must not fall.”

Robert stared into his eyes and then turned to look at the troops moving down Broad Street. He knew how tired these men were. He knew how discouraged and disheartened they were. Would they be able to stand against McClellan’s far superior force? He had said little to offer Thomas hope.

Both men stared down at the city as blackness swirled through the streets, seeking to invade every crevice and every heart. The country had carelessly allowed the dark clouds to descend. But darkness is never content with where it is. It always seeks to expand—to control everything and everyone within its ever-growing reach.

Robert was deep in thought as he rode down Broad Street. Johnston’s troops had passed, but the street was still full of the throngs of people who had come to watch and cheer on the troops. He had replayed every word of

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his conversation with Thomas in his mind more than once.

Slowly, Robert became aware someone was calling his name. He thought of ignoring the female voice. He was not in the mood for small talk.

“Robert Borden!”

This time the voice was much closer. Robert sighed and turned around. His lips tightened as he spotted Louisa Blackwell moving through the crowd toward him.

This girl meant nothing but trouble. He well remembered her catty remarks about Carrie when he had run into her at the dance the year before.

Somehow he managed to force a pleasant smile to his lips. “Hello, Miss Blackwell.” He made no move to dismount.

Louisa smiled up at him brightly. “Why, Lieutenant Borden. It’s so wonderful to see you. I thought surely you must be on the front somewhere guarding our honor.

What a wonderful surprise to find you right here in the city.”

Robert nodded pleasantly. “Duty deems I be here for a while.” He offered no more explanation.

Louisa continued to beam up at him. “I find myself in somewhat the same situation. My poor daddy couldn’t bear to think of harm coming to me on the plantation, so he insisted I come to live in Richmond with one of my aunts. I have been here for two months now. It looks as though I will be here in the capital until all this is finally over and we can return to our homes. I don’t think I have ever been so busy. My days are spent rolling bandages and knitting things to keep our soldiers warm in cold weather. It is wonderful to be able to help.”

Robert looked at her carefully. She sounded sincere.

Maybe the war was helping her grow up. She would never be his type, but he couldn’t help feeling the guy who married her would be happier if some of her selfishness was dispersed. Her next words dispelled his hopes.

“I do hope those boys who marched through today will do their job. I really don’t understand why they are taking so long to end this dreadful conflict. It really is quite inconvenient to do without so many things, and the prices have simply become ridiculous,” she said

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petulantly. “Honestly, it’s time for our soldiers to quit playing around and take this war seriously.”

Robert frowned as he thought of the suffering his men endured during the Romney campaign and of the pain he had seen so many men suffer. Somehow he managed to keep his voice even. “I can assure you, Miss Blackwell, the men are eager to end your inconveniences. They are also eager to regain their lives,” he added in a hard tone.

“I promise you each one of them is taking this war very seriously.”

Louisa seemed to realize she had gone too far. She reached out a gloved hand and laid it lightly on his horse’s saddle. “I’m sure you’re right, Lieutenant,” she said to appease him, as she flashed a brilliant smile. “Will I see you at the starvation dance for the officers at the Fielders’ mansion tonight?” Her voice became coy. “I hear they are going to allow the officers to nominate a queen.

Maybe you would like the opportunity to follow your heart instead of your convictions...” She looked up at him and allowed her lashes to droop becomingly over her eyes.

Robert struggled to control his laughter. He also fought to stuff down his anger that Louisa would so subtly snub Carrie, who was placing herself in grave danger because of her commitment to what she believed in. She might be acting foolishly, but she was acting out of the greatness of her heart. He stared down at Louisa for a long moment and decided to indeed follow his heart instead of his convictions about the proper way to treat a lady. He wasn’t sure Louisa fit in the category of a lady anyway.

He smiled pleasantly and said in a cheerful tone, “I’m usually one to follow my heart, Miss Blackwell. I’m afraid my vote tonight would do no one any good. Carrie Cromwell is too far away to be aware of it.” He stared down into Louisa’s furious eyes and pressed his mount forward. He felt her eyes boring into him. The knowledge filled him with a deep satisfaction.

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