A Beautiful Glittering Lie by J.D.R. Hawkins

Author:J.D.R. Hawkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: suspense, action, civil war, soldier, confederate, jdr hawkins
Publisher: Foundations, LLC

David spent his seventeenth birthday quietly with his family, who showered him with treats. They had little money for gifts, so instead they gave him sheet music to songs they thought he would enjoy: “Annie Laurie,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” and “Goodnight Ladies.” His mother was astounded by how much he had developed musically and wept when he obeyed her wish to serenade her, but he felt guilty for upsetting her, so he set his guitar aside. Coaxed by his sisters, he blew out his candles and indulged in an apple pie Caroline had baked in his honor. Following the subdued festivities, he announced his plans to attend Auburn the following year, to which his family responded with accolades.

A few days after his birthday, Rena received a letter from a schoolmate, Thomas Halsey, who had enlisted the previous month. He wrote that he was assigned to an Alabama battalion under General Braxton Bragg, and although the weather was predictably rainy, he was in good spirits. He then informed her that he had fond feelings for her. She brushed the sentiment aside, considering it to be nostalgia, and showed the letter to her brother, who flushed upon reading it. David knew Thomas was two years his senior and had more obligations to enlist, since he had a brother and four cousins who were Confederate soldiers. Regardless, he was envious, and although he obediently performed his duties at home, he still wished to be a soldier.

The family learned three days later about a great battle taking place in Tennessee, near Shiloh Church, which was only about eighty miles from Huntsville. Reports of the battle were carried in by courier. David eagerly hovered around Ben Johnson’s in anticipation of incoming telegrams, and while he was there, a courier rode in. According to the messenger, some twenty thousand troops were converging on the area, and the fighting was bloody. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston had been killed, and the Union army had been chased back to Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. From the looks of things, the Rebels were victorious, according to the dispatch rider, who immediately set off toward Huntsville to retrieve more information. Waving his hat in the air, he let out a whoop and rode away.

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