A Rainbow of Blood: The Union in Peril an Alternate History by Peter G. Tsouras

Author:Peter G. Tsouras [Tsouras, Peter G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 1597972118
Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.
Published: 2010-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

HEADQUARTERS, BMI, WASHINGTON, D.C., 7:17 AM, OCTOBER 26, 1863

Lincoln covered his tenseness that morning by likening the telegrams as they came in to hotcakes right off the griddle and so good they could be gobbled up without any molasses. As the morning went on, he noted they were getting tastier and tastier all by themselves. Hill's attempted attack had been disrupted by the artillery's indirect and adjusted firing by balloon observation. Where the Confederates had been able to move forward and press home their attacks between the forts, the defenders had been able to direct their meager infantry reserves to stop them. Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell's attacks down the Columbia Turnpike had run into the same web of forts supported by balloon intelligence. The high morale of their attacks had not been enough but left only a carpet of bodies in front of the fortifications. The day ended badly for Lee who could see the roof of Arlington House on its hill. It pained him to see that the beautiful groves that had once surrounded it had been chopped down, surely to build the very forts that stood in his way.

The fighting stopped as the sun set and the balloons settled to earth. The good news clicked over the telegraph and was read with immense relief in the headquarters on Lafayette Square. Lincoln picked up his hat to go and looked out the window. The shadows had faded into night and the statue of Jackson in the square was lit by a few gas lamps, picking out the obdurate image of the hawk-faced warrior president. "Well, General, it's been one of my better days. It reminds me of the boy who was talking to another as to whether General Jackson could ever get to Heaven. Said the boy, 'He'd get there if he had a mind to.' I think we will prevail if we have 'a mind to."121

Over Sharpe's shoulder, Lincoln saw Sergeant Wilmoth absorbed in writing at his desk. "It occurs to me that a lieutenant's shoulder straps would look just fine on young Wilmoth. Good night, General." Sharpe bid him goodnight and watched as the tall figure in black walked across the square with his hulking bodyguard trailing discreetly behind. Sharpe saw him tip his hat as he passed the statue before the bulk of the bodyguard blocked his view. A wave of unease came over Sharpe.22

A man had been lounging on a park bench under one of the gas lamps near the Jackson statue. The lamplight made the polished silver head of his cane gleam. He got up and gracefully took off his hat as Lincoln passed, lost in his thoughts. A wagon rumbled up from an alley nearby. The man got up and followed Lincoln.

Sharpe motioned to the guards, "See him home safely, boys." They hurried down the stairs, trailing arms at a run to catch up with the tall figure. The man from the park bench froze as the soldiers rushed past him, their blued bayonets picking up the lamplight's glint.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.