revolver with his right
He began to dissolve into tears as well. They were down to less than a hundred men, the regiment, now almost in a circle, firing to nearly every point of the compass. Thousands of Confederates swarmed around them, closing in.
He saw an officer coming toward him, sword held high, shouting something, a wall of men behind him, coming on at the double.
Joshua raised his pistol, lowered it to take aim.
The blow staggered him. He slammed the point of his sword into the ground, to act as a crutch. He felt numbed from the waist down, his legs uncontrollable. He dropped the pistol and, reaching out with right hand, grabbed the flag staff. The color bearer stared at him, and a second later the boy silently collapsed, the life gone from his eyes.
That final volley seemed to drop half of those who were left For a moment there was no sound, only the terrible blow against his hip, the fear then of falling, of failing now in front of his men.
'Lawrence!'
It was Tom. Cheek torn open, blood streaming down on to his chest, wrapping an arm around him. 'Cease fire! Hold your fire!'
He had not given the order. Incredulous, Joshua looked around.
'Who gave that order!' He tried to speak the words, but they wouldn't come, only a soft groan of terrible anguish from the pain.
An officer was before him, Confederate, with hat jammed strangely down on to the hilt of his sword.
'For God's sake, sir,' the Confederate said, 'please surrender.'
Joshua looked around. They were hemmed in tightly, the few men still standing in a knot around the empty flag staffs. 'How much time?' Joshua asked woodenly. 'Sir?'
'How much time did I buy?'
'More than enough,' the Confederate whispered. 'Now let me help you.'
The man extended his hand. Joshua tried to reach out, but couldn't The world was growing dim, the rebel officer standing a great and terrible distance away. There was a moment of darkness, and then he was on the ground, looking up.
'Can you help my brother?'
It was Tom, voice that again of a boy.
'My brigade surgeon is one of the best; I'm having an ambulance brought up.'
'Thank you,' Tom gasped.
Focus returned. He was looking up at someone kneeling by his side. Others were gathered around, his own men and Confederates mixed in.
'You are my prisoner, sir. And, by God, sir, I will see that you survive this.' Joshua could only nod. 'Two hundred of you defying a division. My God, I wanted it to stop before you all got killed, but you wouldn't stop!' the Confederate exclaimed. 'This damn war! I'm sorry for what we did to you here. You have the soul of a lion, Colonel.' Joshua smiled and tried to reach up. The Confederate took his hand. 'I don't believe we have been introduced,' Joshua whispered. 'I am Colonel Chamberlain, Twentieth Maine.' 'General Lo Armistead at your service, Colonel.' 'My brother, my men,' Joshua whispered, 'don't send them to Libby Prison. All that I ask.' 'You have my word.'
Joshua fumbled at his breast pocket, touching the torn fragment of blue and gold.
'Then I can sleep now,' Joshua sighed, and he slipped into darkness.
Chapter Fifteen
4:00 PM, JULY 3,1863
THE WHITE HOUSE
The heat in the room was oppressive as Lincoln came in and nodded an acknowledgment to the men standing; he motioned for all of them to sit down. Directly across the table from him was Stanton, still struggling with his asthma attack, face ashen. By Stanton's side was Secretary of State Seward, on the other side Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, and finally General Halleck.
Before Lincoln even spoke, Stanton pushed over the latest telegrams, and Lincoln scanned through them.
'This one from General Haupt,' Lincoln said. 'That confirms it The Confederates have seized our base of supplies at Westminster.'
'Yes, sir,' Stanton replied.
'I want to see Haupt'
'He's trying to get down here now,' Halleck interjected, 'but the situation in Baltimore is difficult'
Lincoln nodded, adjusting his glasses as he went through the messages that reported rioting, a wrecked switch blocking the line that might be the act of Confederate cavalry, and now a report from New York that there were threats of a riot over the draft, which had just been instituted.
'I have a delegation of congressmen and senators waiting downstairs,' Lincoln finally said. 'What am I to tell them?'
'That Meade is reacting in an appropriate manner,' Halleck replied. 'The military can handle this.'
'Can it?' Lincoln asked sharply, fixing Halleck with his gaze. 'Do you know, at this moment, what General Meade is doing?'
Halleck's features went flush, and he cleared his throat 'Mr. President, you have the same communications that I do.'
'And they tell me nothing,' Lincoln replied. 'So, may I ask how do you know that Meade is acting in, as you say, 'an appropriate manner'?'
'Sir, he is a good officer, well trained. He will know what to do.'
'And that is?'
'To move on Lee and block him from advancing on Washington.'
'He won't advance on Washington,' Gideon Welles interjected.
'May I ask how the navy is aware of this?' Stanton retorted.
'Because he can't; that's how I know.'
'Pray, enlighten me,' Stanton snapped.
Lincoln extended his hand in a calming gesture as Welles, bristling, leaned forward, ready to take the bait
'Go on, Mr. Secretary,' Lincoln said softly, 'I want to hear your reasoning.'
'Thank you, sir,' Welles replied, turning away from Stanton as if he didn't exist 'The Army of the Potomac is still a viable force, even if they have been surprised, flanked, and cutoff.'
'We don't know if they were surprised,'' Halleck interjected.
'General, please let the secretary speak,' Lincoln said, and Halleck fell quiet
'Simple logic dictates that Lee cannot march south on us with such a potent threat in what will now be his rear. Second, it is fair to assume that though he has seized Westminster, it will take hours, perhaps days, to sort out all the supplies taken there, if he has indeed seized those supplies intact, though reports from Haupt and from Baltimore indicate a vast conflagration is consuming that town.'
Halleck raised his head as if to speak, but a glance from Lincoln silenced him.
'Finally, you have two forces here in Washington. A garrison of over twenty thousand men behind heavy fortifications, and my own forces as well, several ironclad ships and more available by tomorrow morning, which can be brought up from Fortress Monroe, along with the garrison there, and the naval yards at Hampton Roads.'
'What good is a navy for Washington?' Stanton snapped.
'If the government has to be evacuated, you'll thank God one of my ships is here to take you off,' Welles replied sharply. 'But beyond that last extremity, the guns available can, if need be, sweep all of this city. Lee will know that He knows, as well, that it is the Army of the Potomac that must be his first goal. That should be our
