Boys of Wartime: Will at the Battle of Gettysburg Read Free

forever making. Father said he carried them to give to sick children. I never imagined he was giving them to runaway slave children.
    It pained me to see them act so scared at the sight of me. “Never ... never mind,” I said to Cal. “I see you’ve got chores.”
    Cal nodded. The Negro man’s shoulders slumped in relief and the group continued on their way, slipping into the barn. I knew slaves used secret escape routes to make their way north to freedom. Folks called it the Underground Railroad. There were rumors of such in Gettysburg, but this was the first time I knew about it for sure. I was proud of Father for doing his part.
    I never spoke of it. Not to Father. Not to Cal. Not to anyone. But I checked Father’s medical kit when we got home, and the dolls I knew to be there earlier in the day were gone. The Bailey family suddenly got healthier when the war began. Father stopped making as many trips out to the farm. I guess the war made it too dangerous for most slaves to escape.
    Today was another hot summer day, and this time I made the trip without Father. There would be no baseball, either. The Bailey family had even more to protect from the Rebels than we did, so Cal was kept hard at work. The family had to get whatever crops in they could before the Rebs showed up, and hide all their livestock every time some fool said the Rebs were coming.
    It was like all the fun had gone out of summer and been replaced by worry. Seemed to me that as long as there was a war on, I should be in it, doing something useful.
    I spurred Molasses along. If I didn’t get to the farm before Mr. Bailey and Cal left with their own horses, Grace wouldn’t stop screeching for a week.
    Mrs. Bailey stepped onto her front porch when she heard me coming.
    â€œAre you taking your horses away, Mrs. Bailey?” I asked. “Mother wanted to see if you could take our Molasses, too.”
    â€œYou’re welcome to leave her with us, Will,” she said. “Our animals are still here, but Mr. Bailey and Cal will ride out with them before too long. We’ll keep her out of their hands if we can.”
    â€œThank you,” I said. “When Father was at home we always kept her with us. We expected even the Rebs would let a doctor keep his horse. But with him in Washington, they’ll grab her sure.”
    â€œAny news from your father?” she asked.
    I shook my head, then looked around for Cal, or one of the farmhands. “Where is everyone?”
    â€œOut haying. They headed out again right after the noon meal,” she said. “Getting in as much of the crop as we can before the Rebels come. If they come.”
    â€œI don’t believe they will,” I said. “Robert E. Lee likes to let us think he’s coming just to cause a commotion. He’s probably somewhere down in Virginia having a good laugh.”
    â€œMaybe so,” she said. “You get that horse to the barn and then stop by the kitchen for some cherry pie and a cold drink before you leave.”
    Just what I was hoping for! “Yes, ma’am,” I told her.
    I promised Molasses I’d come back for her as soon as the Rebel threat was proved false. After having my fill of cherry pie, I walked the five miles back to Gettysburg. All along, I imagined what I would do if the Rebels suddenly appeared.
    I’d spot them from a distance, and then I’d climb the tallest tree I could find. I’d take aim at the lead soldiers with my slingshot. One, two, three, I’d hit them with rocks right in the middle of their foreheads.
    â€œTurn around, boys!” the officer in command would shout. “I don’t know where these bullets are coming from, but we must be outnumbered.”
    All three newspapers in town would call me a hero. My name would be splashed across the front page.
    With that in mind I filled my pockets with rocks and then climbed a tree to scan the countryside. I saw