Seasons of War by Daniel E. Sutherland

Author:Daniel E. Sutherland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Free Press

Meanwhile, Culpeper’s civilians hunker down. The pickets may be laughing and joking, men in camp may be in a meditative mood, but that cannot last for long. The war is not over; there must be a battle, and soon. Captain Charles Francis Adams, Jr., commanding the Union picket force on the Hazel River, feels sorry for neighboring civilians. He knows that these people hate him and his men, but he understands the reason. He has witnessed daily “acts of pillage and outrage on the poor and defenceless” that make his “hair stand on end,” and cause him to “loathe all war.” Soldiers, usually under cover of darkness, break into homes, rifle closets and drawers, take what they like, and abuse and threaten their victims. Some regimental commanders enforce strict orders against such acts, but other units seem to operate without restraint. Few courts martial result from this marauding. Some citizens are too terrified to sleep. It is as bad as in the days of Pope. “Poor Virginia!” laments Captain Adams. “Her fighting men have been slaughtered; her old men have been ruined; her women and children are starving and outraged; her servants have run away or been stolen; her fields have been desolated; her towns have been depopulated.” 30

Adams, like Dawes further down the river, finds himself trying to help and protect defenseless Rebels. When an old woman, approaching the three-quarter-century mark, begs him to prevent his men from stealing her sheep (four are all that remain to her), he cusses at his men and swears vengeance on anyone who repeats the offense. The woman has responded by sending Adams a gift of milk and butter, an expression of gratitude that she has privately vowed to repeat each evening that Adams’s men stand picket. Adams has reciprocated by giving her a sack of sugar. Were it within his power, decides Adams, he would provide a safeguard for every Rebel who asked for one, “even the most offensively outspoken” traitors. “The horrors of war are not all to be found in the battle-field,” he laments, “and every army pillages and outrages to a terrible extent.” 31

Sally Armstrong’s family has benefited from the kindness of Yankees like Dawes and Adams, but this only confuses Sally. August 1863 has been one of the most trying times of her young life, yet she knows it could have been far worse. Her father received a guard for their farm on August 3, and they have not been bothered since. “Really,” decides Sally, “we have abundant cause to thank God for his merciful protection, surrounded by our enemies, yet so little disturbed. Our guard must be the best Yankees in the north. They are always on the lookout.” Yet Sally has not seen a Confederate uniform in over a month, and she worries how long the Federal occupation will last. She has been slipping into bed before dark in order to sleep as much as possible and so shorten the days. “What shall I write for these times?” she asks her diary.

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