ON THE SIDE OF THE GRAY

She gave Jamie a strange look. “You believe the South will lose this war, Jamie?”

“Yes. After several long and bloody years. The North has the manpower, the money, and the factories.”

“And the South has ... ?”

Jamie poured another glass of water. He drank it down and set the glass back carefully on the wicker table that was between him and the woman. “Slavery is wrong. No man has the right to own another human being in bondage. But the Federal government does not have the right to tell individual states what they can and cannot do. That is really what this war is all about: central control of our lives. Total control of our lives. If I obey the laws of God, and observe a moral code here on earth, the government has no business interfering in my life. That is why I choose on the side of the Gray.”

“And your sons?” she asked gently.

“Falcon is fighting for the Gray in Texas. I suspect Jamie Ian will choose the side of the blue and so will Matthew.”

“Father against son.”

“And brother against brother,” Jamie added. “This war will cut deep across the country. It will leave bitter scars that will last for many, many years, perhaps forever. But a person must always do what they think is right.”

“No matter what the consequences?”

“No matter what the consequences.”