Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara [40]
“Thank you, Major. Please, sit down. I just came in to let you know I was here.”
“Have a bite to eat, Colonel. Some bread left, not too hard.”
He seemed rattled to Lee, but still, it was a friendly face, and Lee suddenly was very glad to see him. “Well, I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation, but a bit of bread might do, yes.”
The men spread their chairs, made room for Lee and the young lieutenant, and Thomas made introductions, names Lee did not recall. The men greeted him with formal respect and few smiles.
Lee said to Thomas, “I was wondering, it seems there are not many troops here. Are they out on patrol, something up?”
Thomas glanced at the others, looked down at the table. “Colonel, there aren’t many troops here at all. The men have been assigned, scattered out all over Texas, spread pretty thin. Begging your pardon, sir, but since you’ve been gone, the situation here, all over, has gotten a good deal worse.”
“Worse than before?”
Thomas nodded. “The army won’t send any more men, they say it’s money, but I’m guessing they just don’t see we’re doing much good out here. We’ve got new outposts clear up . . . well, just about everywhere there’s Indians. We’re spread out so much, even the forts themselves aren’t safe anymore. We lose horses and mules every day. Forgive me, Colonel, but, well, I’m glad to have you back in command, but I’m not sure just what your command is.”
Across the table a man with a dark, full-bearded face and deep-set, angry eyes, introduced to Lee as Captain Barlow, said, “The reason is pretty clear, Colonel. What George isn’t saying is that Washington has bigger problems than a bunch of wild Indians. We all know what you did to John Brown. What George doesn’t seem to understand, Colonel, is a lot of us folks from up North see that Brown fella as a symbol of what’s wrong, what’s got to change in the South. If it comes down to it, a lot of us . . . the army is willing to do what it takes to straighten things out.”
Lee was shocked, had no idea anyone outside of Washington knew anything about the Brown raid. He looked at Barlow, saw anger, saw the deep feeling directed at him.
“Captain, John Brown was just . . . it was a group of rioters. There was no uprising, no slaves.”
“Colonel, John Brown was hanged because he tried to educate the slaves, tried to unite them in a cause of justice. Read the papers! I’m from New Jersey. I get the Trenton papers every week, and there’s a lot of people, Colonel, who want the South to own up to its responsibilities.”
Lee felt shaken. Surely, he thought, this man does not speak for many. He looked at the big man, tried to sort through the hostility.
“The South? You are referring to the slave states as one . . . community? Captain, I am from Virginia, as is Major Thomas. I do not consider Virginia . . . to be united in some way with any other states, whether Alabama or New Jersey, except by the Constitution.”
Thomas saw the look on Lee’s face, knew Lee did not understand the man’s anger. “Colonel, have you not heard the news, about the elections?”
Lee realized he hadn’t been reading much. He had received some Virginia papers from his son, but could not recall any mention of John Brown.
“I’m sorry, I have not paid much attention. I have been rather . . . my duties in San Antonio kept me rather involved . . . the Mexicans, mainly, the bandits. I have spent a great deal of time in the field.”
Another man spoke, older, gray-haired, a lieutenant, and Lee heard the distinct drawl of the southern accent. “Colonel, the Republicans are going with Abraham Lincoln as their candidate. Many in the South see Lincoln as nothing short of a threat to this nation.”
Lee said, “I have always assumed Mr. Breckenridge . . . I always felt he was the popular choice and would be elected without . . . controversy.”
“Controversy?” Barlow laughed. “Colonel, since Harper’s Ferry there is nothing but controversy. The abolitionists and the moderates have united, the way is clear. Mr. Lincoln will be elected, and the talk of secession will grow.”
Lee had heard the