Lieutenant John Holbrook, Sergeant John Wheeler

ENDRODY

Chapter One

I woke up in a hospital room with six other officers. It took me a while before I realized how I had gotten there. I knew that I had been shot in the chest, and then I started to remember the whole story.

I was from the 7th and I was in charge of delivering 16 Napoleons to the 14th Michigan’s artillery unit. I had a platoon of cavalry that consisted of an old sergeant, three corporals, and a handful of good men. I was riding my horse when I got shot, so the sergeant put a private behind me to hold me up on the horse. My getting shot didn’t deter our mission; we still delivered the 16 big guns to the 14th Michigan. While there, as the doctor was looking at my wound I started to spit up blood. He told me that I had to go to a hospital where they could take the bullet out.

The ambulance took me to the hospital. On the way, a corporal gave me a powder that kept me awake for a while but then soon after I passed out. When I awoke, I was in the hospital. I asked a fellow in the next bunk where I was and he told me I was in Jackson.

Where is Jackson? I asked.

In Mississippi, he said.

How did I get here?

Probably in an ambulance, he replied.

The hospital sergeant came in and I asked him about my horse.

He told me, It’s in the stables. There is a major that wants to buy him and he’s offering 75 for him.

I stated, My horse isn’t for sale.

The doctor came in and sat down by me.

We worked on you for five hours yesterday and we still couldn’t get the bullet out. We won’t try anymore; there was too much bleeding. You’ve already bled too much; we want to keep you alive as long as we can, he stated.

Whoopdie doo, I said. When can I get some food?

You can have some soup later, he replied.

So is there a chance of getting this bullet out? I asked.

There is no chance. We couldn’t find the bullet, he answered.

Can you release me so I can go back to my unit? I asked.

You are finished with the army, he said.

I have another horse with the 7th, I told him.

Your next of kin will get 50 dollars for each of your horses. Your horses have a U.S. brand and the cavalry really needs the horses, he said.

Can you pay me so I can get out of here? I’ve got six months of pay coming and 50 dollars for my other horse and I’m riding the other one. Can you discharge me? I asked.

We can do that, but you don’t understand, you’re not going to live, he said.

How do you know that? I asked.

Well, I am a doctor and I do know a little about those things, he replied.

Are you in charge around here? I asked.

I am, he said.

Could you tell them to get me some soup in here so I can live a little longer?

We will get you the soup, we want you to live as long as you can, he stated.

He left and ordered the soup for me. The sergeant brought in the soup and he sat down on my bunk. He was going to help me eat it by feeding it to me, but I did not need him to do that yet.

The major wants your horse, he offered 85 dollars for it, he told me.

I need that horse to get home on.

Where is home? he asked.

Up in Indiana, Ft. Wayne.

Boy, that’s a long way to go, he stated.

The colonel next to the sergeant piped up and said, That’s almost as far as I am going to Toledo.

I’ve been to Toledo many times. When are you leaving? I asked.

Three days, he replied.

I have three mares that I could swap for your horse, the sergeant said. No brands and they are in fine shape. You have nine months before they foal. They were bred to the doctor’s stud two months ago. He has a fine thoroughbred. I can also fix you up with a Texas saddle, a packsaddle, a big canteen, some bacon, potatoes, coffee, and I can get you some ammunition for you guns.

I have two .44s, but no rifle, I told him.

I can get you a Sharps .52 and some ammo. Trade me your gelding and then I will pay you off and you can go. Who is your next of kin? he asked.

That was my father but he passed away. I have no next of kin, I stated.

If you die on the way home, who gets your horses and money? the colonel asked.

You do, I said. The sergeant left to get the stuff.

How many days to Memphis? I asked the colonel.

Four days probably, he said.

There is a good doctor there I want to see, I stated. We can spend some time there, stay in a motel, and have the horses in the stable. They will get good feed and we can clean up.

When the sergeant came back, I told him that I would like to see the two mares he was offering.

Do you think you can walk there? he asked.

Yeah, I think so, but I need a cane, I told him. He came back with one and then we went to look at the mares.

That’s a trade, I assured him. Tell the doctor that I will be ready to go in two days.

I will get everything ready. The colonel has his horse and the major will be happy that he has your horse, the sergeant said.

When is he leaving? I asked.

Probably tomorrow going east, he’s going back to his command, the sergeant said.

The sergeant showed me the packsaddle that was half full already. The major in charge seemed uncomfortable with my situation.

It’s not right going out on the road to die. You should stay here, the major said.

I’m going in two days with the colonel. He is practically my neighbor. We will spend a couple days in Memphis, I told him.

All right. We will pay you off and you can go. Hope you make it to Memphis. Once you are discharged, you will no longer be in the army. You will be a civilian. I will give you some medical papers so that if you go to a doctor you’ll have your records. Good luck to you, lieutenant, he said.

Thank you, sir, I replied.

The sergeant gave me a skillet, a pot for beans, a coffee pot, a saddle holster for a rifle for both mares, and big saddlebags. The skillet and coffee pot went straight into the saddlebags. He gave me three cups, three forks, and three spoons. I had my own knife. He gave me three loaves of bread and they went into the saddlebags too. He gave me a small axe as well. I packed my saddlebags with my clothes that I had with me. I needed warm shirts and a jacket. My overcoat went in with my blankets. The doctor gave me some powders for pain and told me to take them at night before I went to sleep.

He said, Don’t take them in the daytime. Also, there are a lot of bandits on the roads, so keep your guns handy.

The next morning, I got paid. He gave me my back pay plus a month and 100 dollars for my two horses. He said that they had made some money with my gelding, so he and the sergeant had worked this money together. The colonel got a sack of oats; I had two nosebags and he had one. I also had three full sides of bacon. The sergeant gave me a Spencer .56 along with some ammunition. It was the first one that I had seen. He also gave me a Sharps .56 along with some ammo. The colonel had a Henry and a .44, and I had two .44s.

I still needed an open holster and a saddle pistol. The sergeant told me that the stage station had a store so I could get those things there. He also said that they had warm shirts, hats, leather vests, and Mexican spurs.

We started out as twilight started. We got a cup of coffee and a slice of bread with butter on it. Five hours later, we stopped at the stage station. We got our horses some water and gave them some oats. We asked the store if they had any food that we could buy.

It’s not ready, the storeowner said.

Can you open your store? We heard that you have warm shirts, I stated.

I will open early, but we only take Yankee money, she said.

That’s all we have, I assured her.

She opened the store and let us inside. They had a bunch of warm shirts, so I got three. I got a Texas hat, nice grey one, and some leather vests. They had open holsters with belts, so I got one and put my .44 in the holster to check for size. It fit well. Then I got a saddle holster and put my other .44 in it; that fit too. Everything I bought cost me 12 dollars and I gave her 15.

I handed her the money and she stated, I don’t have any change. Get a set of silver spurs and then you’ll look like a Texan instead of a Yankee.

Okay, I agreed. So I got a set of Mexican spurs.

You paid for lunch as well. Put those on and you can talk Spanish, she said.

I don’t know how, I told her.

Most Texans speak Spanish, she said.

I put the spurs and vest on and we went and had lunch. It was good stew.

What’s in the stew? I asked.

Deer, the girl replied.

I was still inside sitting down sipping my coffee while the colonel was taking the saddlebags off the horses and hanging them on the packsaddle. He called out that there were some bandits coming.

The storeowner looked at me and said, Those are some bad men. They’ve robed us before. They’ve already got your horses.

That’s my gelding on the left, I said. We need to be careful that we don’t shoot that gelding.

The old guy came in but he didn’t have a gun.

I told him, We’ll get you a gun. That gelding on the left is my horse. Make sure you don’t shoot it. We’ll let them come in a little closer before we start shooting.

The colonel took his pistol out and put it in his belt.

That dirty one on the right has two pistols. Get him first, the colonel stated.

I will get the one in the middle, I said.

How about the one on the left? the colonel asked.

My horse will take care of him, I assured him.

They kept coming and were quite close. It’s time to let him go. I gave two whistles and my gelding jumped up and dumped his rider on the ground. I shot the one in the middle. The colonel shot twice and then I shot the one on the right.

Check the guns first, see if they have something we want, I said.

The one on the left broke his neck and we just let him lay there. The one in the middle was dead; I got him in the throat. He was a bloody mess. I got the one on the right in the head.

I then went over to my horse and gave him a pat. He was excited to see me. The mare went to the water tank and my gelding looked over, so I told him to get a drink as well. He trotted right over to the tank. The mule went to water too.

I went to the check out the bandit with the broken neck and got his guns. They were confederate .36s and he had two. I gave them both to the station man.

I hope you have a shovel, I told the station man.

The man was wearing a money belt and I took it off him. It was heavy and his pockets were full of money too; some of it was confederate. I went to the two-gun guy on the mule and checked where the colonel had shot him. The first shot hit the money belt and the second shot went into his arm. I went to the middle guy and he had on a money belt as well. I then got his other money and put it all in my pockets. He also had a wallet that I took.

I told the colonel, You better take that man’s gun belt too. That military one you have is not very easy to get your gun out of in a hurry.

I’m not a gun man like you, he said.

Well, you got yourself a mare and a mule now. You can either keep them or sell them and make some money, I told him.

I got a nosebag and put some oats in it. My gelding came over and I hung it on him. The colonel looked at the mare and decided that he didn’t want the mule or the mare.

Did you check the rifles on the two? I asked.

I did. They are confederate and I don’t want them either, he said.

I looked at the rifle on my gelding and it was a Henry and I pushed it back into the scabbard. On the mare, I pulled the gun out and handed it to the storeowner woman; she was standing at the door. The mule walked around to eat some grass and I hung a nosebag on the mare; she just stood there. I told the woman that I needed a sack of oats. She called to her father who was digging the graves. He came over and I gave him the rifle and then handed the woman the wallet. It was full of Mexican and confederate money. She laughed and said, Thank you.

That mare had a fine saddle. I tied her to my packhorse while she was still eating the oats. The man brought me a sack of oats and I tied it to the mare. I told the woman that she could have the mule.

It has a rifle as well, I told her.

Thank you, the man said.

The mule had a roping saddle with a canteen hanging from it. I asked the girl if she would mind if I took the canteen.

How about the guns? he asked.

You can have them, I’ve got enough guns, I told him.

The colonel started out and I told him that I would catch up, but I wasn’t planning on riding with him anymore. I watched him as he began to pick up speed and then I couldn’t see him anymore. I figured that it was fine to let him go because I needed someone who could shoot better than him. He wouldn’t make it in this country and the next bandits he ran into would most certainly kill him. He called me a gunman, but I figured that was what a first lieutenant was supposed to be. He was no prize, that’s for sure.

There’s a man coming, the woman said.

I looked and sure enough there was a man riding in. It was a Yankee sergeant. He went to the water and looked at the dead man.

What happened? he asked.

Bandits, I replied. Where to, sergeant?

Ohio, he answered.

Where in Ohio? I asked.

It won’t make much of a difference where, he said. No one up there except me wanted to be out of the confederate neighborhood. After eight years I got kicked out of the service. He showed me his clubfoot. He had a nice gelding. Then he asked the woman, What do you have for food?

Stew, she replied. It will cost you a quarter.

It’s good stew, I assured him.

He then asked me, Where are you headed?

Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Are you still in the service? he asked.

I am a brand new civilian. I’ve got four horses. I got kicked out like you since I am no longer fit for duty, I told him.

We sat down and the woman brought us some coffee and gave the sergeant a bowl of stew. The other fellow came in and got some coffee too.

He said, We have some clean straw in the stables.

I told the man, I feel like resting, but I will leave it up to my friend if we stay or go. I then told the sergeant, We could still do about four hours, but I don’t want to go by myself because there are too many bandits and two men are better than one, but three is ideal. Some of the bandits ride in threes and fours.

The sergeant asked the woman, How early can we have breakfast?

Six a.m., but it’s more expensive. It will cost you a dollar, the woman said.

That sounds like a good deal. We sleep tonight and then breakfast at 6:00 a.m. and then we head out from there, the sergeant stated.

That’s okay with me, I told him. My back is killing me.

Let me look at your back, the woman said.

Okay, let me take off my vest and my shirt and you can have a look at my back, I replied.

I can see what’s wrong, there’s a bullet pushing against the skin, she stated.

With a sharp knife, we can take that bullet out, the sergeant said.

My dad has a sharp knife. We just need to make a small cut in the skin and the bullet will come right out. But first, let’s go back there and unsaddle your four horses and then we can operate, the woman replied.

I got the two mares and walked them in and the gelding followed behind us toward the mangers. The mule