Too many Billy Yanks and Johnny Rebs did not come home, but for those who had it was time “for the girls to sing and the boys to shout …and to all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home.”*
These were real people who were making their way in real time. This narrative is the product of recorded facts and my imagination. I hope you have enjoyed it.
Guy Clifton Hickok, the fourth child of Asa Wallace Hickok and Rebecca Kunkle was my uncle and likely deserves a story of his own. This story, of course, does not end here. The future holds much more happiness and sorrow but that is a tale for someone else to tell.
*the lyrics of the song “When Johnny comes marching home,” are attributed to Patrick Gilmore of Boston, Massachusetts who published it under the name of Louis Lambert. It was a popular marching song adopted by both the North and the South. The origin of the tune is uncertain.