The 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Army of the Cumberland
Louisville, Kentucky
May, 1864
When the time came Asa re-upped as planned and found his duties as a Veteran Volunteer were not much different from what he had been doing all along. Engaging the enemy almost constantly the 9th was successfully keeping the critical railroads open. Supplies or the lack thereof were still one of the most important necessities for either army and the rich valley of the Shenandoah was a prize worth fighting over.
Waking early one morning he proudly wrote to Rebecca that he had been promoted to sergeant since having last seen her and mentioned he was attempting to sew his triple-striped patches on to a new shirt he’d just been issued. Without too much success, he added with a grin. Maybe she could do it for him if he could just get home again?
“Ha!” He muttered to himself, fat chance of that. But, he thought, would seem like this fuss can’t go on too much longer, the Rebs have got to be running out of everything by now. He hesitated at the bottom of the page unsure of what to add or how to sign it. He desperately wanted to pour out his heart to her but was afraid that wouldn’t be proper. Deciding on “your faithful friend,” he hastily sealed the fold-over note, addressed it and hurried out to find the courier who would be carrying the mail. The bugler was sounding assembly as he made his way to the temporary corral his group had formed for their horses. As he saddled up he tried to block out thoughts of another day of not knowing what might lie ahead.
The regiment had been constantly on the move since Mossy Creek These past months of sleeping rough and spending hours in the saddle were taking their toll on his good nature. The experience had shaped him. The seventeen-year-old boy who had joined up three years ago was now a twenty-year-old man with memories of too many sights better not to have seen.
When he let his thoughts go to those few heart-warming hours of being with Rebecca in that fragrant and innocent kitchen, he cringed inwardly. Could he ever, he wondered, feel right about putting his dirtied hands on that lovely young woman?
“Damn,” he sputtered, as the horse shied beneath him, “pay attention to what you’re doing, you idiot!” The bugle sounded again, the battle flag raised and someone shouted “Move out!”
Progressing across the state the 9th engaged in one altercation after another until it seemed as if they had to fight for every cross road and bridge. Asa wondered if anyone was keeping track. He knew he would never remember the names of all those places. The days began to feel like one big battle. News of the skirmishes and battles elsewhere filtered back to the men. Word was they were heading to a rendezvous with the now famous General William Tecumseh Sherman. They’d heard of his taking of Atlanta in September and were familiar with his previously frowned upon as unmilitary tactics. Some of the “big brass” were not happy with the red-bearded hero of the Mexican War. His unusual orders to lay waste to the countryside and the manufacturing capability of the enemy caused them some concern until they realized this new commander’s intent was to render the Confederate Army incapable of replenishing itself in addition to eroding its will to fight. A man driven to choose between his beleaguered family and his duty to a dream he is pursuing is likely to abandon what he perceives to be a lost cause.
However, as Asa and his companions gathered around their campfires each evening a sense of anticipation interfered with their attempts to relax. All still bemoaned the fact that no one could foresee an end to the fighting any time soon, but the stories of Sherman’s march to the sea and the taking of Savannah did offer a bit of encouragement.
Some were concerned when news from home brought word about the upcoming Presidential election due shortly but disagreed as to their preferred outcome. They understood that McClelland had been chosen as the candidate for the opposing party. They supposed that easterners perhaps might favor him but most were still Lincoln men even it they didn’t always agree with some of his positions regarding the slave issue. Not many of them in Asa’s outfit had had much personal knowledge of the black folks but most agreed that it wasn’t right for one man to own another. From what they were hearing the black regiments recently recruited were just as good as fighters as any of them. That had to count for something, they believed. Word also was spreading that the Rebs were actually kidnapping black people right off the streets of the northern cities they were invading and sending them south even when they weren’t from anywhere down there. That sure wasn’t right!