The Cotillion Brigade: A Novel of the Civil War and the Most Famous Female Militia in American History by Glen Craney

Author:Glen Craney [Craney, Glen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Civil War, War, United States
ISBN: 9780996154123
Publisher: Brigid's Fire Press
Published: 2021-03-14T13:00:00+00:00

* * *

An hour later, summoned by a courier to regimental headquarters, Hugh left Wallace and Eggleston at the dock to see the steamer off. He galloped the five miles to the courthouse in Madison, where Colonel Daniels had taken up residence in the judge’s chambers. Hugh prayed orders had finally arrived transferring the First Wisconsin to the Army of the Tennessee under Sam Grant’s command. The newspapers were full of reports that Lincoln and Halleck had devised a master plan to cut off the Sesech snake’s head. Billy Sherman held a division ready to march from Memphis, and Rosecrans stationed his Army of the Mississippi in Corinth. This could be the blow to end the war. He was determined to be part of it.

He leapt off his horse and dashed up the steps, not pausing to share salutes with the headquarters guards lounging on the grounds. He yanked open the courtroom doors and found Daniels huddled over a table with his staff officers, sharing a bottle of whiskey. Strange, he’d never seen the colonel imbibe liquor. Daniels, eyes blood red, waved him up and asked the other officers for a moment alone with Hugh. They cut half-hearted salutes and departed the chamber, avoiding eye contact with Hugh. Daniels offered him a shot of the whiskey, but he declined. “What has happened?”

The colonel poured himself another round and downed it. “I should have listened to you.”

“Sir, if this is regarding those Negro refugees you lost at Jonesboro—”

“I’ve been recalled to division headquarters. I must report to Memphis by sundown tomorrow.”

“To join forces with Sherman. I’m certain of it.”

The colonel pulled a letter from the top of a pile and slid it across the table. Hugh scanned it—he reread the last sentence: To appear before a board of inquiry for your unauthorized incursion into Arkansas, violating direct orders to remain at your post at Bloomfield, Missouri. The order was signed by General Frederick Steele, commander of the Military District of Southeast Missouri.

“My career as an officer is finished,” said Daniels.

Hugh’s worst fear had come to pass. “Take a skilled advocate with you. Lieutenant Eggleston has practiced law and—”

“I don’t intend to contest the charges.” The colonel turned and, slumping, braced against the railing below the judge’s bench. “I am a man of science, not a soldier. I have been trained to assess soberly the facts of nature, to winnow them from the whims of preachers and the passions of warriors. And yet, in this mission, I have failed. For the year past, I fooled myself into believing I could command a regiment as a scholar commands a classroom. I have been petulant and domineering. I must now submit myself to the judgment of my superiors, a failing student whose dissertation has fallen short of the mark.”

Hugh risked breaching the formality of rank to grasp his old professor by the forearm. In a low but comforting voice, he said, “You have always been a Utopian. A man of ideals, determined to reform the world.

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