Editor’s Note: This is an ongoing series which runs each Thursday morning titled the Richland Chronicles Volume VI, by author Paul Lintern. It is set in the 1860s and tells the story of Richland County through the eyes of young people. This is the sixth in a series. Volume I is Amelia Changes Her Tune. Volume II is Isaac and Wolf Paw Find Their Home. Volume III is Autumn Keeps Her Secret. Volume IV is Mr. Gamble Starts a School. Volume V is Jacob Blows his Horn.
January 19, 1863
Dear Sissy;
I know I promised you and Jakey I would come home in one piece, that we all would. I wish I had kept my promise, but alas I had to leave part of me on the battlefield.
I don’t want you to be squeamish or think that I am making light of this, but given that so many of my comrades have given the ultimate sacrifice, I will be grateful to come home to my family missing only the lower part of my right leg, and a large part of my heart.
It was at the battle of Stones River, east of Nashville, Tennessee. We came upon a mass of Rebs that were well dug in. That meant we were on the attack, and had to advance at the enemy which was behind mounds of dirt and felled trees. Our artillery pounded the earthworks and loosened them up nicely and as we ran, the sound of explosions and smell of gunpowder and burning wood is something I will never forget.
It was as we neared the earthworks that a cannonball came at me and took my shin right off! It did not explode but just shot right through.
I don’t know how to explain this, but I did not realize what had happened until I fell on the ground and tried to get back up. Then I felt for my leg and found only my knee. It never hurt like a cut or a punch, it just made me lie in shock.
Brother Levi saw it all and, bless his soul, stopped in the middle of the fire to wrap my leg tightly and stop the bleeding before running on ahead, promising he would be back. He was true to his word, and a short time later, after our men broke through the lines, he came back and saw me to the hospital, with his commander’s permission.
You’ve heard horrible stories, I know, of doctors cutting off limbs with a saw, using just whisky to dull the pain. I was fortunate, actually, for my leg was already off. The doctor sewed me up and put me on a stretcher and I started healing.
That doctor was so good he probably could sew one of your church blankets in a couple of minutes! The next few days were very painful, but eventually healing began and soon I was learning to walk on crutches, then with one crutch. I will have to have a stump made, but so be it.
I will be home soon, and I want you to be brave. It won’t be easy for me, but I will figure something out. We must keep praying for Levi and Philip, and the whole Sherman Brigade, including General Harker, a soldier’s soldier and respected by everyone under him.
I will let Mama know when I am to arrive. It will be awhile until I can come home, but I will be there, I promise. I thank God that I get to see my little Sissy and Jakey.
Your loving brother, Nate
“Will he be a different person, Mama?” Cassie had asked when she read the letter.
“He wants you to think not, but you know that he has been through a lot — the injury, surely, but the training, the discipline, the challenges, the sights and sounds…”
“And smells. He mentions the smells.”
“You and I can only imagine, Cassie. He will be different — better in some ways and not in other ways, but different.”
Cassie was not home when Mama got the telegram, but Jacob was, and according to Mama, he “lit out of the house like a cat on fire” to find Cassie, which he did at Costin’s, where she had arrived early to help.
“Nate’s on his way,” Jacob shouted as he burst into the store.
She was about to shush him but suddenly realized what he said.
“Nate? When? Where?”
“Mama says the train station, the 4:10 from Pittsburgh.”
“But it’s almost four now!”
“So let’s go!”
Cassie ran for the door.
Mrs. Costin!
She turned to look at Mrs. Costin.
“Go child! Greet your brother. Give him a hero’s welcome,” she said.
Cassie smiled then turned and ran after her brother who had a head start, but soon would be overtaken by her longer legs, especially since he had already run five blocks to get there.
“Shouldn’t we get the wagon?”
“Papa has it. He’s bringing Mama.”
The two ran down Main Street to Sixth, then across to Diamond. They could hear the train whistle as they jumped on the platform.
Over her shoulder, Cassie saw Mama and Papa arrive with Maggie and the wagon. The train ambled into the station with its usual whistle-blowing and brake-screeching, as well as a wonderfully long release of steam.
The handful of passengers disembarked, a couple of families, a few businessmen, and then a uniform, peering from the top step.
“Nate!” Cassie and Jacob screamed at once and nudged each other trying to get up the steps first.
“Whoa little twins. Or should I saw big twins! My how you’ve grown, which will make it much easier for you to knock me over, so steady does it.”
How does he do it? He’s lost a leg but not his sense of humor.
Cassie and Jacob helped Nate down the steps, although Cassie could tell that he was letting them help. They probably were making it harder for him, but he never let on.
When he finally was firmly on the train platform, his eyes locked on his mother’s and both started crying.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen them both cry! Are they sad or happy? Both I guess.
Immediately Papa had his arms around both and the twins latched on as well. As unsteady as Nate might have been, nothing could have knocked them all over at that moment.
