Short Story

A Confederate Soldiers Story: July 3, 1863

Private Thomas Jackson was a Confederate Soldier who had been fighting since the beginning of the war in 1861. He was not a tall man, standing at about 5’ 9”. He had green eyes and a strongly shaped forehead. He was of light complexion because of his Scottish heritage. His parents had come over to America in 1852 to make a better life for their son. Thomas was ten years old when he made the journey with his parents. When they arrived they found a country tearing itself apart over the issue of slavery. His family made their way down south and settled in lower Alabama and started a farm there. Thomas loved it there and grew extremely fond of the area. The hilly terrain and numerous lakes and streams teamed with adventure. But as the years rolled by the rising talks of war engulfed the whole South. Alabama was adamantly pro-slavery along with the other states that decided to secede from the Union. Thomas was not for or against slavery; he saw it as the economic system of the South, but as the cloud of war descended over America, Thomas felt he had to defend his state and his way of life. Thomas cast his lot with the Confederacy and pledged his life to defend his state.

Thomas now found himself near a little town in Pennsylvania called Gettysburg. He had been fighting there for two days, but on this day he was told, “they where going to send the Yankee’s packing on the way back to Washington.” He was part of General George Picketts Division and under the command of General Armistead. Thomas and his fellow soldiers where sitting inside a tree line about three-quarters of a mile away from Cemetery Ridge. This was there objective. At about one o’clock the Confederate guns opened up and Thomas would recall later in his years that is sounded, “like a thunder storm.” Thomas and his buddies where talking about how the Yankee’s must be catching hell up there. It made them confident that when it came their time to charge that the Yank’s up on that hill would be ready to retreat.

In reality Thomas and his friends were scared. As the cannon fire continued, Thomas got quiet and leaned back against a tree thinking that this could be his last charge. He began to think about his parents back home in Alabama and wished he could see them one last time. The reality of battle during the Civil War was brutal. He knew that most of his friends would not make it to the ridge. He began to pray to God for protection. He was being overwhelmed by dear but then General Pickett came riding in on his horse and gave us a short speech that motivated us and gave us the confidence we where beginning lose.

We all loved General Armistead and he always knew how to keep our spirits up. His uncle was one of the men that defended Fort McKinley. He was from Virginia and so were all the soldiers in his division. Thomas had joined them after his unit had been decimated during the Battle of Antietam. He was welcomed and grew to love his comrades. They all knew their jobs and did them without question. Thomas was fighting in a cause he believed was right, and so were his comrades.

The cannon’s suddenly stopped and the order was given to rise up. We arose and dressed our lines and prepared for what was to come. We formed a line of battle and checked each others equipment, making sure nothing was lose. Losing your ammunition pouch would make for a bad day. As we were preparing for the coming battle, General Pickett appeared again. He shouted, “Rise up, Rise up, Remember today that you are from old VIRGINIA!” We all shouted and cheered because we believed that we could conquer any foe now. We were confident. The drummers start their beat and we began to move forward. The waiting was over it was time to advance and take the ridge and we knew we could do it. No Yankee was going to stop us.

As we marched forward the artillery boys cheered us on. They where waving their red hats in the air in a circle. They had done their job now it was the infantry’s turn. As we advanced we encountered the smoke from the artillery barrage, which was thick, and quite a few of us coughed. The anxiety was now beginning to rise. To say weren’t scared would be a lie. Any soldier will tell to that being scared is a good thing. We could see the Yank’s now. They were behind a stone wall. Then all of a sudden their cannons roared to life. The first shot his to the left of our formation and created a giant whole in the formation it hit, but they quickly dressed up the whole. Now artillery shells were falling all around us. Smoke was everywhere. Soldiers screaming in pain but we weren’t about to be stopped. We pressed forward hard and fast. Our vision was impaired because of the smoke but we just kept pressing forward.

We came to a road near the ridge, which had a wooden fence on both sides, this made for a killing ground. It slowed us down because we had to climb over the top while the whole time the Yank’s were shooting at us with their cannons. Then came the rifle fire which raked our lines up and down. The first volley took a heavy toll including my friend John Poe,but we returned the fire with much effectiveness. We continued to press forward and made it to the stonewall where we met the Yank’s in close combat, but our break through didn’t last long. They reinforced and we where forced to retreat. We had almost won the day but the great toll of life inflicted during our advance kept us from victory.

I lost my best friend John along with almost my entire division. The loss of life on that day was beyond imagination. I will never forget the day I took part in “Pickett’s Charge”. The nightmares haunt me to this day. I can still hear the screams of the wounded and dying.