Wake turned away from the man and marched forward, motioning his column to follow him. Faber took five sailors a hundred yards ahead to scout in advance of the main party.
By the time Wake and the column arrived at Faber’s position at the edge of the little settlement, the detail was already distributed among the structures at the crossroads. Quietly entering each of the buildings, they confirmed Kingston’s earlier assessment that the inhabitants had hurriedly departed in the early morning hours. The confirmation supported what Wake felt when he had first heard that report. The alarm had been sounded on the coast for sometime. There were probably troops moving toward them now.
Assembling the petty officers, Wake explained his plan for holding the crossroads. “We will keep it simple. The swamp road we’ve come up continues on inland to Collmerton and beyond that to the railroad that crosses Florida to our north. The coastal road that intersects it goes northwesterly along the curve of the coast. I think the enemy will come down the Collmerton road or down the coast road from the northwest. From what I have been told, most of their main units, both regulars and militia, stay in the area to our north. I do not think they will come from the south, but they might.
“So, I want all of us to stay inside the buildings. No one outside. I want to surprise anyone coming into the town. We will wait until they are close, then fire into them. Gunner McDougall and the Saints will cover the northeast approach of the Collmerton road. Bosun Meade and the Bonsalls will cover the northwest approach of the coastal road. Quartermaster Hilderbrandt will divide his men between the southerly approach of the coastal road and the westerly approach of the swamp road we just came up.
“Remember, stay in the houses and buildings. You may eat their food, but do not, and I repeat that, do not, allow any stealing from these people’s property. Keep your men quiet and under control. Any questions?”
Hilderbrandt spoke up quietly, the German accent still quite apparent even after fifteen years in the American navy.
“Zir, how long till zee soldiers comes to zis place?”
Wake exhaled slowly. “I don’t know precisely. Probably tomorrow. Maybe tonight. They will move through us either to Collmerton or up the coast road.”
Hilderbrandt nodded thoughtfully at that information and asked another question.
“Und zee Rebels, how long till zay come here, zir?”
Wake looked hard at the quartermaster to gauge his intent with that question. The man’s face revealed no emotion.
“Hilderbrandt, I do not know. Maybe today or tonight. Maybe tomorrow. I am a bit surprised they haven’t already.”
Hilderbrandt ignored the glares of the other petty officers and nodded again at Wake. The petty officer stood and stretched his considerable muscles, speaking directly at Wake. “Ve vill be ready for zem, Captain Vake.”
The petty officers took their men around to the various buildings as Wake examined each of the structures to look for any intelligence of the enemy’s intentions. As he walked through the deserted town he felt a little like a criminal, disrupting these peoples’ way of life and violating their privacy. He knew it was war, but it was hard to think of the families whose crude homes he inspected as people he could hate enough to hurt. And just being here and occupying their homes would hurt them.
The enormity of the danger he was in returned his concentration to his task, however, and he went through everything he could in each place—boxes and shelves, food bins, barrels, trash—trying to deduce the immediate risks to the sailors in Claresville. After looking at everything, he found absolutely nothing of intelligence value and was convinced that this collection of huts and hovels was only a gathering place for poor farmers and hunters who had nothing of monetary value nor any real involvement in the Confederacy. After the search, a message relating a description of the town and their defenses was sent by courier to Major Martin at the beach camp, with an acknowledgment requested.
Next he made a tour of their defensive positions. None of the windows had the luxury of glass but each now had a sailor with musket, hidden within and pointed outside. The sailors appeared to be well dispersed with half on watch and the others resting. By the time Wake completed his inspection of Claresville and its new inhabitants, the sun had passed its zenith. It was getting perceptibly darker under the clouds of the afternoon thunderstorm shielding the earth from the sun’s glare. The bugs were less oppressive in the town, but could be felt increasingly as the afternoon lengthened. He swatted a mosquito and wondered how Robbins and his men were doing back in the fetid misery of the swamp.
McDougall looked tired. He sat down with a thump in the chair by a table in the traders’ hut. Across the table Wake sat studying a chart of the coast—they had no land maps, other than the diagram he was making of the area. Grunting with the effort, McDougall turned in the chair and put his legs out, massaging his thighs. He was in a strangely pleasant mood.
“Well, Captain, I’ve put more miles on me legs this morn than in many a day. Reminds me o’ back in the sainted old country. Why, we walked for dozens o’ miles there, with nary a notice. Been too long for these old sticks, an’ I fear they’re out o’ practice.”
Wake looked up from his chart. He had never heard McDougall speak such pleasant length. It made him ponder why the gunner was in such a mood, especially considering the unpleasant situation in
