Himself:: A Civil War Soldier’s Battles With Rebels, Brits and Devils, an Historic Novel by William J. Donohue

Author:William J. Donohue [Donohue, William J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781942483090
Goodreads: 26806138
Publisher: City of Light Publishing
Published: 2014-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

John Comes Home

PM was released by guards after a train ride from Salisbury to Danville, Virginia, in February of 1865 and hiked ten miles to a Union railroad. He spent the next two months in a Washington hospital before mustering out on Saturday, July 15, 1865.

He arrived home five days after Pat. After spending a day with his family on Tecumseh Street, he knocked on the door on Louisiana Street after noon on Sunday. Pat jumped for joy to see his old friend. “So, pal, what happened after they put me on a train? Last I saw you were still chained to a tree.”

“And there I stayed for another day until they shoved me onto a train for Salisbury.”

“You weren’t ball and chained as soon as you entered the gate and made to clean latrines?”

“No, probably because the rebs knew the war was just about over and were changing the rules to meet the situation,” PM replied. “Maybe they were afraid they’d be executed themselves if they kept up the old ways, shooting prisoners who got too close to the line and prisoners who tried to escape in order to survive.”

“Tell me . . . Nolan, McGowan, Finnane, and Beasley, did they survive?” asked Pat.

“We all came out together. Finny was so weak we had to steal a wagon and pull him the last ten- miles. But he made it. I saw him in the hospital. He’s okay.”

Pat threw up his hands and cheered at the good news.

“What about you? Where did they take you?” asked PM.

“South Carolina, Florence Prison, and there I stayed until they set me on a train for Charleston. Was about the same as Salisbury, but because of a farmer from Illinois who was a master carpenter, I was put to work making beds and cabinets for Confederate officers who had run from Sherman. I pretty much lived the life of a rebel officer for the last few weeks before being set free.” Pat then related the crazy tale of his last days in captivity.

When he had finished, the two stopped talking for a few seconds, both thinking about Smitty. “We gotta visit Smitty’s widow and kids and see how they’re farin’,” said PM.

“We will. Let’s go now. They must still live on Mackinaw,” replied Pat. “It pains me to even think about Dave. He never should have entered,” replied Pat.

Pat and PM visited Mrs. Smith and her four children. It was a stressful visit. She was still grieving, as was the oldest daughter. They answered Mrs. Smith’s questions about the circumstances of her husband’s capture and imprisonment as briefly as possible.

Pat told her, “Your husband was a good soldier and died telling the two of us he loved his wife and children more than anything else in the world.”

PM added, “He prayed that God would have mercy on him and died shortly afterward. You all can be proud of your husband and your father.”

“Have arrangements had been made for the full pension you were to receive, Mrs.

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