“Is the man upstairs one of them?”
“No.” Mother flicked a hand toward theceiling. “His name is Colonel Colvill of the First Minnesota. A fewdays after the fighting ended, some of his men came to the houseand asked if we would take him in. He seemed in such a bad way. Ikept thinking, what if James or William needed help? I would wantsomeone to nurse them in my absence, so I told them to put him inWilliam’s room.”
“We’ve been caring for him ever since.”Maggie’s voice held a note of tenderness.
“What happened to the five men?”
“A day or two after, a group of soldiers witha cart came and took them to Camp Letterman.” Maggie told her.
“To where?”
“To Camp Letterman. A hospital camp the Armyset up on York Road about a mile outside of town.”
“I knew about the camp.” Tillie nodded. “Ididn’t know it had a name.”
“During the day,” Maggie went on, “we stayedin the basement. Only at night, after the shooting stopped, did wecome upstairs and go to bed. I assure you, I did not sleep a winkfor three nights.”
Mother and Father murmured theiragreement.
“One night,” Mother picked up the thread ofthe story, “late in the night I heard voices outside and noises inthe house. I feared they would find the men, so I got up and peekedout the window. Father told me to get back in bed, but I needed tosee.”
She took a deep breath. “Confederate soldierscame out of the basement and crossed Breckenridge Street, theirarms full of the food we hid. They sat themselves down on the curband enjoyed a little picnic.” Her voice choked, and her facehardened.
Maggie put her hand on Mother’s arm.
“How did they get in?” Tillie eyed Motherthen Maggie.
“Through the outside basement door.” Fathershook his head. “It now has a lock on it, but it feels a bit likeclosing the barn door after the horse has escaped. I never thoughtanyone would take such advantage as they did.”
“So much for our efforts,” Tillie said. “Hownaïve to think a simple curtain would keep away hungry hordes ofmen.”
She turned to Father. “Tell me how youcaptured Rebels with an empty musket. I want to hear aboutthat.”
“Well.” He held out his coffee cup in asilent request for more. Mother refilled everyone’s cup.
“The day after the fighting stopped, I wentoutside to see what might be going on. I found a musket lying onthe road and picked it up. As soon as I did, I saw a Rebel runningbehind Mrs. Schriver’s house. I held up the gun and shouted,‘Halt!’”
Tillie gasped.
“He threw up his hands and hollered, ‘I’m adeserter, I’m a deserter,’ and I said, yes, and a fine specimen youare. Fall in!” He placed his hand on top of Tillie’s. “I startedmarching him toward the Diamond, when two more Rebs appeared out ofnowhere. I called to them, and they also fell in.” Father sippedhis coffee. “Then some Union soldiers appeared, and I handed themoff. But I decided I was having so much fun, I went in thedirection of Cemetery Hill to see if I could find more Rebs. To getaround the barricade, I went toward Washington Street, and on thatcorner, I found another Reb. When he saw me, he put down his gunand raised his hands. Two of his companions appeared, and I marchedthem back toward the Diamond until I came across more Union men tohand those Rebs over too.” He lifted his cup for another sip thengrinned. “I decided at that point, not to push my luck too much andcame home. When I arrived, I checked the gun and found it empty ofbullets.” He threw his head back, and his laughter rang through theroom.
Tillie laughed with him. “Oh, Father, thatmust have been quite a shock. Oh my.”
After a few moments, they calmed down, andeveryone fell silent. Then Maggie picked up the thread.
“One of the five soldiers, hiding here,Corporal O’Brien,” Maggie straightened in her chair, “told me abouthis frightening encounter with the Rebs. We put the wounded in allthe spare bedrooms, including yours, so the corporal stayed on thesofa in the parlor. In the morning, as I dressed his wounds, hetold me the Rebs came upstairs. He crawled off the couch as quietlyas possible and hid. They wandered from room to room. Onespeculated whether we harbored Yankees in the house. Anotherreplied, seeing they were in Yankee territory, the house harborednothing but Yankees, just not prisoner types. The corporal hopedthe darkness would hide him, biting his tongue to keep fromlaughing and giving himself away. The Rebel soldiers passed rightby him and went back downstairs.”
“My.” Tillie’s heart lurched. “At theWeikerts’, the Union Army surrounded us. We only encounteredwounded Rebs. I’m so thankful you came through unharmed.”
****
They sat at the kitchen table and talkeduntil midnight, catching up and enjoying each other’s companybefore retiring. Then for the first time in eight nights, Tillieclimbed into her own bed. She sank into her mattress, uttered adeep sigh of contentment, and fell fast asleep.
She awoke before sunrise. Used to risingearly while at the Weikerts’, and forgetting she was home, she gotup. Half-dressed, she froze and gazed around her bedroom beforebursting out laughing. “I could have stayed in bed a while longer.I’m home
