"Did Napoleon say thet?" asked Jordan. "He war a brighter man than I
thought, but it is true, don't yo' think, Jim?"
"I think I understand, but am not quite sure," said Sedgwick.
"I mean this," he answered, and then paused a moment. "Well, yo' see," he
continued, "I wur at Chickamauga in Hill's division, I wur in thur ranks,
and wur a boy; but I hed a general idee how things wur. I knowed whar all
our men war; how your army war 'ranged, and when we went in shoutin',
and all your right and left melted away like a fog as comes up from the
gulf melts when the sun comes up in ther mornin', I sed to Ned Sykes, who
wur next me in ther ranks, 'Ned, we's got 'em,' and Ned answered back,
'we's got 'em, sho'.'
"Well, it wur a clar field, 'ceptin' your center war still solid, and
they fell back all but a thin line. We charged up onto thet and broke it,
killed lot's uf 'em, and gobbled up lots more, but it tuk us a right
smart time, fur them was stubborn chaps 'nd they fought desperate.
"Then when I looked up, I seen the hull business. Thet line hed been
flung out ter hold us till ther rest cud fall back on better ground. Thar
they wuz fixed, and when our lines wuz dressed and other charge ordered,
and we went in again shoutin' jest like the fust time, they laid down
flat and they 'gin it ter us so hot we couldn't stand it and hed ter fall
back.
"And they kept a-entertainin' of us thetway all ther evenin'. Other
divisions wur called up and sent in, but what wur left uv 'em cum
streamin' back, jest ez often ez it wur tried; a cavalry charge was
ordered, but only a remnant cum back, and we hed made no more impression
seemin'ly than ther waves thet bucks up agin a ledge uv rocks.
"Them wur no better soldiers than ther rest uv ther army, but thar war a
man directin' 'em, and lookin' all ther time so kinder majistical and
lofty and so fur away from all fear, and ez tho' he hedn't a thot of
failin', thet ther men, yo' see, tuk on ther same state o' mind, and ter
fight 'em war no use. If the fust bullet we fired hed killed thet
General, we would a-scooped the hull army by four o'clock. Thet's what
I mean when I say: 'They ain't much in men, thar's everything in a man!'"
"I understand you fully, and you are right, Jordan," said his friend.
Jordan continued "War it not 'round yere somewhar' thet ther Greeks
lived?"
"Yes, north of this sea, ahead of us, and to the left," said Sedgwick.
"They wur the ones that fit Marathon and Thermoperlee, and it wur from
ther thet big Aleck cum?" asked Jordan.
"Yes," was the reply. "It was only a little country, but had many states,
The Spartans and Thespians, mostly the Spartans, fought at Thermopylae.
Marathon was fought mostly by Athenians, and Alexander was Phillip's son,
of Macedonia."
"'Zactly," said Jordan. "Athens wur the boss place, wur it not? It had
ther best talkers, and best public schools, and wur it not thar thet the
woman Frina kept house?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account