“Almost there. Leroy knows a special place where he wants to take us.”
Just then multiple shots rang out, and the sound stopped them in their tracks.
Their maw swung around and blurted, “What’s goin’ on back there?”
Samuel hesitated but then decided to tell her the truth. “Maw, we didn’t want to trouble you none, but the Yanks are comin’, and we thought it best to head fur the hills.”
“Are they the ones doin’ that shootin’?
Leroy stood on a prominent rock where he could see clearly. “Yep that’s right; they’re shootin’ our cattle and probably the hogs too. I guess they’ll have a big feast tonight and leave us with nothin’. Samuel, I got Paw’s rifle. Y’all stay put. I’m goin’ back there and pick off a few of ‘em. The very idee they thank they can kill and steal our property!”
“No, you ain’t neither!” Samuel spoke emphatically. “You will stay with us.”
Maw spoke with disdain, “So this whole picnic idee was jest a lie?”
Mary Jane spoke up, “Well, not exactly, Maw. We’re goin’ to find a place to hide out, and we brung food. It will be like a picnic or more like a campout maybe.”
Samuel pointed at Leroy and gave an order, “Now, Leroy, git movin’ and git us to that cave.”
Shots continued to ring out as Leroy reluctantly turned and they followed. The cave was just a few hundred yards ahead, and they tied up Molly and Smiley and went inside. It was cool and inviting and tall enough that they could stand without stooping. Mary Jane spread a quilt and they all plopped down.
Maw put her head in her hands and began to sob uncontrollably. Mary Jane tried to comfort her. “Maw, this is like Mary and Joseph in a cave on the blessed night when the baby Jesus was born.” But nothing she said seemed to help.
While Samuel did some exploring, Leroy took the bucket and went to fetch water from a nearby spring. Samuel discovered the cave ran back 50 feet and tapered off near the end. There was evidence that some large animal had been there, maybe a mountain lion or a bear. He decided not to mention that, but he was glad Leroy had brought the rifle. Then he turned and noticed Leroy was gone. The thought raced through his mind, Where’s that kid?
Samuel nonchalantly walked out of the cave to look for him. Then he saw Leroy lugging the bucket half-filled with water. “Leroy, next time you leave the cave, you check with me. I need to know where you are at all times.”
Leroy smarted off, “What? You thank I’m gonna run down the hill and start shootin’ them Yanks?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you. And if you did, you’d git yourself killed and endanger the whole family. I spect you to use common sense even if you are only nine.”
“I’m goin’ on 10, and I ain’t scared of no Yankees!”
“Well, I am, so don’t do nothin’ stupid!”
They returned to the cave, and Samuel looked at his maw with compassion. Then he spoke with reassurance, “Come on now. Let’s all calm down and eat a bite. Mary Jane, what did you pack us?”
They sat in silence and ate the venison and some of the biscuits and passed the canteen around.
The day wore on, and the gunshots finally stopped. Mary Jane found some wild plums growing nearby, so she picked several and brought them back for everyone. They were a bit sour, but they ate them anyway.
Smiley began to low loudly, so Samuel found a large rock to sit on while he milked her, and she quieted down.
As darkness fell, they arranged the bedding and tried to get comfortable. Leroy asked, “Cain’t we build a fire?”
Samuel said, “Nope, we cain’t take the chance of bein’ spotted.” When he was certain the women were asleep, he turned to Leroy who was still awake, and whispered, “I saw evidence of some large animal that’s been holed up in this cave, so I’m gonna load the rifle and sleep with it nearby.”
“What do you thank it was?”
“I don’t know – maybe a mountain lion or a bear. It’s probly nothin’ to worry ‘bout, but we need to be prepared jest in case.”
“Good idee.”
Eventually, they both fell asleep, but Leroy woke several times during the night, sat up to make sure all was well and then tried to get back to sleep.
The next morning Samuel was up early and milking Smiley again, so they had warm milk to drink and more of the day-old biscuits along with a few hard-boiled eggs.
Later in the morning, Leroy and Samuel crept down to the prominent rock where they could look below and see the Yankees. They were spread out around their pasture with tents set up and fires blazing. “I imagine that’s General Sherman. Thank God they didn’t burn down the house. Maybe they’ll move along in a day or two,” Samuel hoped out loud.
The camping out was especially trying for their maw. She cried continually and after a while refused to eat. It was all they could do to get her to drink some milk. Mary Jane urged her, “Maw, please eat somethin’. We’re worried about you.” But she just shook her head.
She finally looked up and spoke in a strained voice, “It’s the end of the world as we know it. Our lives will never be the same.”
Maw was right. Their lives were never the same. Even though the Yankees only camped on their property for two days, the devastation was immense. As Leroy had seen, all their cattle and hogs had been slaughtered. The Yankees ate well, and the officers slept in their beds and ransacked their house. Anything of value was taken, including Maw’s heirloom brooch that had belonged to her mother. She was heartsick over the state of the house and all the destruction. Over time she became more listless and gradually lost her zest for life.
A year later the news filtered down that General Lee had surrendered at Appomattox, and the Stockard family, especially Leroy, took the news very hard.
2
Stockards
Leroy awoke in the early Tennessee dawn and lay still thinking, just thinking: What would he do now? Darkness closed in on his thoughts as he sighed, then moaned, while a single tear ran down his cheek. “If only I could’ve fought like my brothers. I could have been like David fightin’ Goliath, and maybe my extra effort would have rallied the Rebels and made the difference.”
Leroy was now a skinny ten-year-old with a shock of blonde, almost white hair and eyebrows of the same shade that complemented his pale blue eyes. He had a smattering of freckles across his nose and almost always wore a serious expression, due to the trauma of the war. He was about average in height for his age, but definitely wiry. He tried to keep his emotions in check, but that was not always possible, and when he felt especially blue, he sought the company of his faithful mule, Molly.
Finally, he rose to go about his chores, what chores there were since so much had been lost due to the war. The 120-acre Stockard farm, located in Wayne County, Tennesse, had once thrived with cotton, wheat, corn and cattle but was now in ruin with broken fences, crops destroyed and no tools left even if there had been a harvest. But there was still one banty hen. Maybe she had laid an egg he could fry up for his mother. He quickly dressed in his homespun shirt and trousers that were way too short and headed to the hen house, and yes, sweet chicky had come through after all. “Here, chicky, chicky,” he called as he reached to retrieve the prize. “You’ve done your job after all, little one.”
Leroy hurried back into the house to fix the egg before his mother woke, but instead he found her staring out the front window in a daze. “Maw, we have an egg. I’ll fix it fur you.” She turned and looked at him with a vacant stare and then sank to the floor. “Maw, it’s okay. I’m here. Don’t worry; we’ll be okay.”