Letters in Time by Reiss Susan (i love reading books .txt) 📕

the Stars and Stripes as we have known our flag to be. It was the flag of the Confederacy. The breeze brought us sounds of shelling in the distance. It wasn’t long before some pickets reported that one of the Yankee commanders was using the guns of his flagship to bombard Mathias Point. The men stationed to protect our encampment had run away in the face of the men who came ashore from the ships. It was not a large force, but deadly. They were seen clearing away the foliage from the land and building fortifications.

The call went out from the officers that every man must rush forward to counter the incursion. It was confusing. Horses’ hooves thundered around us as men rode back and forth, yelling orders. Infantrymen ran between the tents and cooking fires, their bayonets flashing in the sunshine. We moved through a thick forest area. When we neared the shore, there was a grand vista of the Potomac River.

It was easy to see why it was an important fortification. There were sweeping views both up and down the river and one could observe activities on the far shore.

What we saw was chilling. In the middle of the river, a large ship was anchored. Someone said it was the flagship of a commander. Some of the men of its crew were gathering up their tools on our side of the river. Our boys opened fire and the crew ran to their boats and pulled hard on their oars to get to the safety of their ship. Seeing them on the run, our boys ran to the shoreline and kept firing.

Your father and I watched the action from the rear line as we were expected to do. We were not part of this fight. It wasn’t long before the flagship’s guns were brought to bear and started firing back at us.

Facing superior fire, our boys moved back, the zing of bullets chasing them. Then, they ran to avoid the shells. There was chaos for a time as the boys ran by us seeking safe shelter. Stay low and follow me, your father ordered. I did not see him leave. It was the first armed conflict I had ever observed. I was mesmerized by it. Then, I heard him call my name and it was enough to remove the fog from my brain.

I started running to find him. I must have tripped on a tree root because I was face down in the dirt. I started to get up, but somebody pushed me down hard. I must tell you I was scared that it was one of the Union sailors.

Then, I heard the man's voice near my ear. He called me by name. I was sure it was a friend, someone who knew me, someone who would help me. But he was sitting on my back. I couldn’t get up. I pondered that he wanted to keep me out of the line of fire from the federal guns.

He said that he’d been looking for me and was glad he’d found me. I was relieved and stopped struggling to get up. The voice was one I had heard before, of that I was sure. I did not know who it was. I turned my head around as far as it would go to see the face of my friend and savior.

I was shocked to discern the identity of the man sitting on my back. Of all the people I knew at home, I would not have thought he would help me. I was wrong. He was there, in the midst of the battle, trying to protect me. You know him as well.

It was Joshua Collins.

Yes, it was a surprise, but I can only tell you that I write of events as they happened and is the truth.

Then, he leaned down close to my ear and yelled above the noise. He said that he had something for me. I saw the flash of the metal barrel of his gun.

I am sorry to say that I am not certain of what happened next. It is a muddle. Know that it was not long before I was moving away from the fighting. The only thought in my mind was you. Oh, how I have longed to be back at Waterwood with you.

Again, I apologize that I am still confused about what happened. Was I wounded? Did your father bring me home? The next thing I knew, I was here at my father's desk in the plantation office. I was sitting in his chair as I did when I was a boy.

I want so much to run and find you, but I cannot leave. It is as if I am chained to this desk. But I am home and safe. I am sure that your father or mine shall appear at any moment to explain all. Dare I hope that you might come as well? I have settled down to wait.

Until that day does come, you will be protected. Always remember that you have two things that can stand between you and ill fortune ~ my admiration and that which is secret, placed under the Lone Oak by your father and me for you. You must use it to keep yourself safe and independent until we are together again at Waterwood.

Your loving servant forever,

Daniel

My hands shook, making Daniel’s letter flutter in the growing warmth of the new day. His revelations were almost too much for me to take in. Yes, I was being silly. A man alive in the 1860s was no longer walking the earth, but his letters, personalized as if written to me, had