Fitness and foolish stubborness combined for an awakening in a predawn beach walk run
Northern Aggression
Chapter 54
Mark Greene’s long planned assault of Tennessee and Mississippi includes Carol steering a new course. – 1981
Gone to Shiloh For the Union
Shoulder to shoulder Side by side
Gone to Shiloh
Men stand united
When flags and bullets start to fly -
Bernie Taupin / Elton John – Gone to Shiloh Elton John Leon Russell -- The Union
Northern Aggression
“Mark have a good time, if touring history can be a good time. I know you love it. Danny will help me with the cows while you’re gone. I told Ruth at church it wasn’t necessary, but no one should argue with Ruth. “
“I may be spinning my wheels on my plans but seeing five major battlefields in a few months is a bonus. If the Parker’s are correct, I may not have much time for poking around history. I really enjoy being home, but it wasn’t my goal.”
“You sure about the old Monaco?”
“Dad it only has 75,000 miles on it. You and Mom take very few trips always stay close to the farm. Commuting on the farm is the walk to your pickup. I have changed all the hoses and belts, it has new tires, and all the fluid levels look good. I appreciate your concern it will be fine.”
“I got Danny to help. If he wears one of those cowboy outfits like he does driving Ruth’s team of horses, I’m sending him back to the locker plant.”
“Our home was a great place to grow up; it is good to help out now. Thank you for letting me off for so long.”
“Not much going on right now, how you going down?”
“Toward St Louis and into the Bootheel then Memphis and on to Vicksburg. Doing reverse chronology. I will start with Vicksburg then Shiloh and back to Ft Donelson”
“Well don’t let them Rebels get you.”
“They have a special fear of Yankees in a vintage Dodge Monaco.”
-
“Carol do you have everything packed?”
“Yes Lizzie, I am much more prepared than my last road trip with Mark.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Mark said 7:30 which is now. It looks like the green beast is coming down the road, better meet him.”
Mark pulled up and got out. “Here Carol, I’ll put your suitcases in the trunk.”
“It is too bad you’re not going over to Eastern Tennessee; it is beautiful. The kinfolk would love to show you around.”
“Sorry Lizzie the Chattanooga Campaign will have to wait. We’re going to capture the Mississippi and Western rivers this time.”
“You Yankees behave yourself, don’t go burning everything down this time.”
“You Eastern Tennesseers used to support the Union. Before Gone with the Wind and Birth of the Nation.”
“Wasn’t Scarlett so pretty?”
“She was Lizzie, she was. We need to roll; I have to be back in time for Spring planting.”
“You two have fun.”
-
“General Greene are we going to turn the secesh’s back this trip? I did listen the last time; their way of speaking was very amusing.”
“We are going to complete the first stage of winning the war this time.”
“Where are we going?”
“We will go to Vicksburg Mississippi first it is the culmination of a great strategic campaign for Grant.”
“Will we get to Vicksburg today?”
“We could but we are on no schedule. Tell me when you want to stop. I had planned this trip since before we got the crops out. My time as your security detail was a bonus. Far less stress this time no blackmailers or dangerous husbands to protect you from. Five major battlefields in a few months I’m thrilled.”
“I thought being accompanied by a femme fatale would be the thrilling part.”
“Being with you is beyond thrilling it is any man’s wildest fantasy come true.”
“I learned from our last Civil War tour; I am really interested now. It was unbelievable destruction and I have become far more aware of the political forces. I am looking forward to listening to you and seeing the museums.”
“I read and write about these events; it means a great deal to see the actual locations. You were a happily married woman when I planned this trip. I am glad that has changed. I wanted to ask again are you sure about risking pregnancy?”
“I’m not risking it, I am hoping and praying for it. You are wonderful, you would be a great father, but you can’t stay. Being with you brings a special tingle to my body.”
“Won’t this potential child want to know who their father is? Won’t it cause them trouble in the community.”
“I won’t lie to the children, but I won’t tell them what they don’t want to know. We’ve been discreet and it will be like many other marriages where the wife ends up raising the children after the husband leaves. I was headed for that scenario even if Stephen hadn’t lied about the having children part.”
“I could not imagine a better woman to be a mother of my children, but I thought I would be an active father.”
“You are going to win your case and then you will be in the Asian studies branch of the foreign service, isn’t that what is going to happen?”
“Well yes you brother says we will win, then I would be able to accept that job.”
“Lawrence knows his business and doesn’t string people along. Haven’t you always wanted to serve as an expert?”
“Yes”
“Aren’t you going to be in Asia or some faraway place by this time next year?”
“Possibly, maybe, probably.”
“I would be alone anyway. How many government employees live in Franklin?”
“Zero”
“You can’t live in Franklin and have a career like you are destined to have. I can’t operate Parker’s Produce and Fruit any place else. I would not give my life up to be a diplomat’s housewife.”
“You are infernally annoying because you are pragmatic, and your arguments are fact based.”
“I’ve watched you cowboys. Don’t you pick the best bull for the herd?”
“Stop that Carol. I feel like I’m on an auction block.”
“Put it this away aren’t you a better man than Stephen Capuano?”
“In every way.”
“See logical choice, fun, and the best choice for me. Pragmatism is a good life philosophy.”
“Still annoying sometimes.”
“Did I tell you Stephen is coming around the first of May, maybe last week of April?”
“No, that seems strange, weird, should I say fascinating.”
“He called; his publisher and the radio syndication want to add some feel good news to build interest. I agreed, if it included local newspapers, tv, and radio. It is a perfect time to promote our business.”
“How is this visit by your husband who you are essentially divorced from going to work out?”
“It will be glorious. I will behave and act with grace. I will be the perfect Stepford Wife. It will cement the narrative in his book.”
"A false narrative."
“It means so much to Stephen I suspect he will be his charming self. He could be clever, witty, and charming. It was all a facade to hide the rotten maggot filled carcass underneath, but I will help plaster over that. I will make the facade appear real. It is in my best interest.”
“Maybe you should have been the diplomat or possibly a spy.”
“A journey with a femme fatale is good practice for an aspiring diplomat. Consider me your practice Bond girl who is really a foreign agent.”
“When I first met you at that reunion party, you seemed like such a simple farm girl. Just come back to the country to knock down barriers for women.”
“I really enjoyed meeting you but without a wrench in the gears to your inexorable path to success. it may have been one of the few times I would have ever met you. My life would have been much less if you hadn’t returned for a sabbatical on the farm.”
“I agree my life would have been much less, you are the most fascinating person I have ever met.”
“Yes, we are in love, and it is real and authentic. There is no deception in Mark Greene. Now, we can make a child together as a couple in love. At our age we should. A child that I can support now that my business is making money. We will be surrounded by nurturing and loving families. If traditional was possible I would love it, it is not possible.”
“I feel like you have just turned every teaching in my Franklin Methodist Church on its head.”
“I’ve been talking to Ruth who loves your church and is extremely serious about it. I think maybe not, we are only turning the made-up rules that religion has created on its head. Jesus’ message is mysterious, but it is simple. I believe we are only violating traditions and expectations, not Jesus’ essential message.”
“This old car needs a tape deck and we could rotate between the Rolling Stone ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and the Gaither’s ‘Because He Lives’ “
“I don’t know the Gaithers.”
“You played and I sang ‘Because He Lives’ in church last year. “
“I didn’t remember who wrote it.”
“My parents love their music. I was amazed when they told me they were going to a concert. They loaded two other couples in this car and drove over an hour to a Gaither concert. The Gaithers are the equivalent of country gospel’s Grateful Dead.”
“We have enough gas to go for a ways. You seem to have snacks enough to hold out. I thought we would stop at this café along the Interstate where they will throw you a roll. We should get there after the lunch rush.”
“They throw rolls? How do you know this?”
“Late in the football season when I was in college. My friends and I decided we could go to an NFL game. The Oilers were terrible before Earl Campbell. Tickets were almost free. We drove straight through taking turns driving. It was much warmer in Texas. We stopped at this place. They wouldn’t stop feeding you. Also, there were the well thrown rolls. It became such a thing they built a new more tourist friendly location. “
“OK is there some Civil War backstory to this. A former Confederate who used to throw hand grenades who started a restaurant where he threw rolls?”
“No, they didn’t have hand grenades in the Civil War. They did, but not like modern-“
“Stop enough details for now.”
-
“Mark, I don’t think I can walk – they just kept offering those wonderful sides. Except that one thing I didn’t care for – what was it?”
“Okra”
“Parker’s are not growing okra.”
“You do now"
’“We do?”
“Lizzie started growing it. She said there were enough displaced Southerners to make it worthwhile.”
“You were good at catching a roll.”
“I was a tight end; the team should have thrown it to me more often. “
“You were a good football player from what I hear.”
“It was a small school. It is a whole different game than the one played by the talented people on television. Small school football was fun. I appreciate the effort when I watch a game now."
"I just see people running around and then they cut to a commercial, I don't watch."
"Changing subjects, I am considering deviating from my planned schedule. A choice for you. Would you like to stay in Memphis listen to some music on Beale Street this evening? I have read they were renovating several blocks.”
“Sounds like a good time.”
“And there will be BBQ.”
“I don’t want to think of food. I am pondering my sanity for allowing more potatoes on my plate, then eating them.”
“We can run over to Shiloh from Memphis and then take the Natchez Trace Parkway down to Vicksburg. It would be more relaxing. “
“You are in command General; I suppose you researched all these things?”
“Research is always important. I began last summer, but now I am adapting. I don’t want to waste this time. I do not want to toss away a precious memory.”
“We’ll enjoy the time. What is the significance of Shiloh?”
“As you may remember from your last lecture on the Eastern Civil War. The Union was focused on capturing Richmond, but never effectively used their superior army. Lee’s raid into the North was turned back at Antietam and the following year at Gettysburg. In the West often under the direction of U.S. Grant the strategy to win was being implemented. The Union Blockade continued to expand shutting down the Southern economy as control of the Mississippi and the major rivers was established. Shiloh was where the Union cause was almost lost. Only a tenacious and cool-headed general saved the Union. “
“Did Grant drink?”
“The Lost Causers would have you believe he was a drunk and a butcher of men. Grant was a small man he may have been an alcoholic. He kept his drinking under control with family and when at war. He wasn’t any more of a butcher than Lee. It was a brutal war. As they learned the tools and strategy of war the armies became more deadly.”
“Was Shiloh as terrible a battle as Antietam and Gettysburg?”
“Yes, it was, it was the first terrible battle; it shocked both sides. We will go to Ft. Donelson; it is a lovely place on the Cumberland River. The victory there gave control of Central and Western Tennessee to the Union. Nashville and Memphis were in Union hands throughout the war after Donelson. The Confederate surrender meant casualties were small compared to Shiloh. Shiloh is where Grant and many in the nation realized it was going to be a long and terrible war. "
"Shiloh is something of an odd name."
"Shiloh was named after a Methodist church there at Pittsburg Landing. Shiloh is supposedly the Hebrew word for peace. I don’t know Hebrew, but every history of the battle always states that it is. The Shiloh church was part of the pro-slavery Methodists who split away from the Northern abolitionist Methodists twenty years before the war.”
“The Methodist Church split over slavery? It wouldn’t seem like a church ought to be a pro-slavery church.”
“Slavery was the great wealth of the South and a portion of the nation. Cotton merchants in New York did not want to disrupt slavery. People warp their theologies to please wealth and status. They did in Jesus’s time and they do now. People kneel in prayer, read the Bible, and meditate on God’s word which amazingly rarely is in opposition to what they want to believe. Their god continues to pat his people on the back saying yes Jesus didn’t really command his followers to care about the poor and downtrodden; he didn’t mean all are equal in the eyes of God.”
“You have serious thoughts on church. Ruth will enlist you in converting me.”
“Ruth has faith and lives a life of love. There are no more wonderful people in our churches than the Ruthes. I grew up listening to the sermons in church, reading stories in Sunday School. I study and question religion like I do every subject. I don’t accept things on faith. I have to examine. “
“You are skeptic?”
“I have experienced the power of connected prayer. I do know we are so limited in perception there is much we are unaware of. I don’t dismiss a Spiritual world. I don’t believe all the nonsense created and thrown into religion. I would not have believed slavery was sanctioned by God., I do believe women can make just as good ministers as a man. You don’t have to, in fact you can’t, make yourself stupid and expect to find God and a path to Heaven.”
“I bet your mother wanted you to be a minister.”
“I don’t think she did, she wanted me to be what she would call a Christian man. I would have made a poor minister. Now here I am traveling with a married woman not my wife. I am undoing all that Christian teaching.”
“Your mother likes me.”
“She does; I know they were disappointed when I told them I was not going to stay on the farm and marry you.”
“Hey fifty miles to Memphis not so far. Have you researched where to stay? “
“I will have to rely on instincts or tourist information. We will be entering a new state. We likely see a rest area welcome to Tennessee center with helpful brochures. “
-
“We will stop at Shiloh today, then we will stay near the Natchez Trace. It will be a nice drive to Natchez. We likely find a small independent motel, tonight.”
“Memphis was very nice; I did enjoy the food. I managed to restrain myself. The music was good, an evening of Blues. I will be happy to be in the country. I’ve been on the farm so long now; I find cities noisy usually a siren awakens me. You said Shiloh was almost lost, but Grant was calm and tenacious?”
“What do know of Grant?”
“He drank, he fought bloody battles, and he was corrupt.”
“The South apparently even writes the textbooks in Chicago. Did you know Grant Park was named for him?
“I never thought about it. It was just Grant Park with the fountain.”
“Grant did carry a reputation of drink, but he never had a problem with his family, in war, or in the presidency. The battles were bloody, but both Antietam and Gettysburg were fought while Grant was in command in the West. It was a corrupt age. Grant was personally honest, but naïve in his business dealings. There were few men less corrupt than Grant.”
“He wasn’t a drunk butcher, then?’
“He was not a butcher, but he came to realize he had to destroy the Southern armies. The North had to take the fight to the enemy. He had a problem with alcohol when he was idle. He was consistently effective and prepared in the war. His drinking on the lonely West Coast postings without his family got him in trouble. A reputation used against him through most of the war and afterwards.”
“Grant had political enemies?”
“Many tried to keep him out of the war. Rivalries grew worse after Grant was called a national hero. He had won Donelson a victory catapulting him to fame. Jealousy amongst many other things combined to create tensions in command. A Confederate sympathizer in Paducah’s telegraph office caused the appearance of neglect in keeping superiors informed. Grant’ was overconfident the rebellion would soon fall apart. Grant kept falling in and out of favor with his superior Halleck. There were many rivalries in the army between the officers."
"Did it affect Grant or the Union effort?"
"Grant's command was effected. Grant wasn’t in charge when the Union headquarters was established in Savannah on the opposite side of the Tennessee River. At Shiloh no one seemed to believe the Confederates would attack them. The Union at Pittsburgh Landing assembled around Shiloh Church had not put up any fortifications. They were ill prepared for an attack. “
“Why?”
“A question with no answer it was early in the war. The large armies were formed but inexperienced. Their assumptions about the Confederates were wrong. It was like a large boy scout camp, not an army base.”
“When did the attack come?”
“On early Sunday morning April 6th, 1862. The first day was a confusing mess. Some of Grant’s men put up a determined defense. Some of the men were so spooked they drown trying to swim across the river. Grant built a final stand with well positioned artillery. When the confederates pushed at them it was late in the day and their attacks were easily repelled. The first day was over. Grant took the reinforcements and his re-organized troops who survived the first day and ordered an attack. The Union reversed the fortunes of war. The Confederates were forced to retreat to Corinth MS where they had started. It was a strategic victory in opening the Mississippi River, but Grant lost command again. “
“Shiloh was before Antietam?”
“It was in April and Antietam was in September nearly six months later with many Union disasters in the East in between those two battles. Losses at Shiloh were about equal to Antietam but over two days. Grant never fell apart and he held his army together. There were many questions, the casualties were high. It was the first deadly battle of the Civil War. Grant was easy to blame. He deserved some of the blame. Halleck took over command.”
“I guess Grant got it back.”
“Once he regained command, he tried to start a campaign to capture Vicksburg and win the Mississippi. Eventually after many attempts, he came up with a brilliant strategy to succeed in the most important victory of capturing Vicksburg. It is a campaign still studied.”
“You seem to think Grant was a good general and a decent man. Was there corruption? “
"Grant never sought graft. He never believed anyone else was corrupt either. There was a lot of graft in the politics of the time. Grant was a fair man. He was the only president who defended the rights of African Americans until the twentieth century. White supremacy won the post war period and wrote the textbooks. Grant had to be torn down to build the marble statues to Lee, Jackson, Stuart, and Davis. The Southern perspective on history came to be the narrative of all history books. It was comforting to White America; it just isn’t the truth.”
“I’ve noticed how many Black people live here in the South. I might never have thought about it at one time. I have been living in Franklin for several years. In Memphis it occurred to me I live in a world almost as white as milk. You grew up in Franklin and you seem to understand racial division maybe better than I do.”
“Growing up in Franklin doesn’t mean the whole community was racist. There were a few mean racists like everywhere, but most people were simply ignorant of racial problems. They held stereotypical images but were not hostile to civil rights advances. I developed my perspective from listening to those sermons and studying history. Authentic history especially the story of reconstruction, the massacres and lynchings. I have learned about the slave revolts and the fear among Southern people of slave revolts. It is the history that is there but not taught. It is unpleasant difficult for people to want to learn. It is easier to ignore, pretend it wasn’t as brutal as it was. In doing so even the not stridently racist people of Franklin become complicit. “
“It is better now we are moving forward; don’t you think?”
“Here we are in the 1980’s the Civil Rights bills our second reconstruction have happened. Republicans now pursue a Southern strategy to win. Reagan tells anecdotes that disparage minorities. Our leaders allow Whites to further reinforce racial stereotypes. Budget priorities not purported to be race based are all detrimental to minority interests. "
"Would it have been different, if Lincoln had lived?"
"If Lincoln had served his second term, and Grant had followed him a different America may have followed. America may have won the war and the peace. John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln because he feared and hated Freedmen. Today White culture ignores a realistic view of the past. I am suspicious of Southern politicians and preachers. In Franklin I took those sermons on Jesus very seriously. I apply those examples in life. I don’t think these Moral Majority people went to the same church. Maybe they have different Bibles. They seem to have lost the love part. They only read the fire and brimstone part.”
“You mentioned Grant Park and I remember how scary the Democratic Convention was. The riots after the King assassination and other 1960’s unrest, were frightening. I hope there won’t be riots. ”
“Yes, riots do you know where and why the NAACP was created?”
“No”
“Have you heard of Tulsa, the destruction of the Black Wall Street?”
“No, there was a Wall Street in Oklahoma?”
“Tulsa was a prosperous Black business community and whites attacked it. The NAACP was created in Springfield Illinois after whites attacked the Black community there. The scary part is how few people know these things. At least how few White people know these things. Incidents of uncontrolled and unpunished white mobs are numerous. Our next history lesson will have to wait. Shiloh is just a few miles ahead, and it is time to just enjoy the ride.”
“This is something of a boat of a car, but it rides well, better than sitting in my living room.”
-
"We’re coming back to Shiloh?”
“Yes, we will stay somewhere close, so we have all day to visit the battlefield itself.”
“It was a nice walk down to the landing; I saw there is an Indian mound city.”
“I looked at the map we can walk through it when we’re back.”
“I would like that”
“Where do you think we can stay tonight?”
“A town over by the trace parkway”
“A city or a small town?”
“No city, not a Memphis, a larger Franklin.”
“Limited night life.”
“There may be a roller rink, they are probably still popular down here.”
“I never trusted shoes with wheels on them. We may have to make our own adventure.”
- “
This Natchez Trace is a pleasant ride. I am gliding on air.”
“It’s fun even at 55 it is still fast because of the lack of stops. “
“I’m having such a great time on this trip. Maybe I should have tried to make you give up the foreign service and live a life on the farm in Franklin.”
“If I did it wouldn’t be like this. We would not take a trip like this. Maybe a weekend at the end of August if the combine was ready. We might take a trip in January if we had reliable help with the cow herd. We wouldn’t want anyone to think we weren’t tending to business on the farm. Appearance is important to neighbors and landlords. We would never leave during Spring and Fall. We would have to get the hay up after the crops were in. You would be running and expanding your business. I would be paying off equipment loans. Possibly forced into buying a farm or losing it, and then paying it off. There is nothing wrong with that life. I know it is similar to what you are doing. You are doing it with just as much and maybe more risk than my parents take. I respect the life, but my heart isn’t in it. I love meeting foreign people. I like speaking a little of several languages. I love libraries and research almost as much as being outdoors on the farm. Being outdoors is the best part of being a farmer. I thank you for making the decision for me. I do love you enough to convince myself to continue Greene Farms with my Dad.”
“I know. It is where we are; no fighting reality. I am just laying back enjoying the mild Southern breezes. Soaking in the moment and the man I am with”
“We have to return to a normal highway near Jackson, the Parkway isn’t finished in that section. We will still end up in Natchez tonight.”
“This is the best experience of my life; I’m trying my Zen approach.”
“What would that be? “
“No striving, no aspiring, no reflections, just now.”
“That is not the Carol Parker I know.”
“Carol Parker is on vacation.”
-
“They make many movies here because of all the old mansions.”
“Makes me a little uncomfortable. I am not trying to recapture this, old times in the land of cotton thing. These are truly those lands of cotton, but the times were not good for most people.”
“The Trace Parkway and seeing Natchez is a wonderful tour, thank you. Where are we going now?”
“Up to Vicksburg.”
-
"I have learned so much.”
“What have you found important?”
“Grant planned an impressive campaign at Vicksburg. He took risks but seemed to understand what had to happen and when. It must have been horrible in the swamps and mud before they moved across the river to the Mississippi side. The Illinois Monument is an impressive tribute. I didn’t realize how important the gunboats were. They surrendered on July 4th the same day Lee retreated from Gettysburg isn’t that a coincidence or do you believe in providence?”
“When were you turned into a Civil War buff?’
“I’ve come to appreciate the immense challenges they faced. I’ve also come to appreciate Grant’s determination and his fairness. He did trust men and seemed to care about the slaves. They emphasize Milliken’s Bend as a marker in African American history.”
“They had many misconceptions and it took time to view African Americans realistically. The Union troops of black men fought their way to respect.”
"Were there a lot of Black soldiers?"
"Yes by the end of the war nearly 200,000 Union troops were Black. We are going to be heading north back to Shiloh. I am going to make one stop at a minor battle. After that stop we can discuss the controversial Nathan Bedford Forrest, there was a big statue of him in Memphis. The Black people would not have put it there. He is likely one of the most hated figures by African Americans, although he has plenty of company.”
“Who is he?”
“He made money as a slave trader in Memphis. He was a hard scrabble man who acquired wealth. He raised a cavalry company and became a general. He was one of the best tactical generals of the war. He was bold, aggressive, and cunning. General Sherman called him ‘that Devil Forrest’ He was a raider and disrupted Union plans many times. He killed people especially Blacks and at Ft. Pillow he killed troops who surrendered."
"Why did he order that?"
"There is some doubt about what was ordered or simply condoned. He hated to see Black men armed and he didn't care much for the White people with them, viewed them as traitors."
"Pot calling the kettle black type of thing?"
"Treason shifts depending upon the writer's view. After the war he became head of the Ku Klux Klan. Calling him a devil is apt. Calling him a brilliant commander, with no previous military training is also true. Making the men and women of history devils or heroes is misleading. I respect Robert E. Lee’s abilities, but it doesn’t make him an admirable American. He was too tied to a slave society to be a modern American. I am not saying there are not model Americans or heroes, but no one is without flaws. I see no reason not to see the military genius and the evil man in Forrest. “
“Should there be a statue?”
“All the statues ought to be in the preserved battlefields and cemeteries. Those statues in the public parks and courthouse squares are there to spin a tale written during the time they were placed, a nation’s reconstructed memory.”
“How about Lincoln and Grant you seem to respect them?”
“They deserve honor but shouldn’t be made into marble men. Lincoln is referred to as America’s secular saint. Lincoln was an able politician with strong principles. A writer who could capture the voice of America. He sought a path to solution. He tried colonization but found out it was a not a viable solution. He offered to purchase slaves’ freedom in the border states, but the slave owners would not support it. He supported Black troops; they were called U.S. Colored Troops. Raising regiments was unpopular with some of the Union troops. It is always a balance of what is right and what is possible. We will stop at Brices Crossroads you can go back to Zen mode for awhile. I'll stop the lecture."
"You do go beyond what I ask. After I think about it; I want to know more. Where will we stay tonight?"
"We should still get up past Corinth, near enough to go to Shiloh and be there in the early morning. I would like to watch the mist rise off the Tennessee.”
“You are a real romantic in a morbid ten thousand dead sort of way.”
-
“I must say even these little dive cafes have great food. Assuming it involves grits, potatoes, and gravy as accompaniments to a fried piece of roadkill or something. I thought you were a little obsessed to be here as the gates opened, but there is something special down by the river. “
“Let’s drive over to Sherman’s area and the Shiloh Church. We will work our way over to the Hornet’s Nest, then we can walk through the mound city left by the native Americans.”
“Any General Greene’s part of these armies?”
“No General Greene’s lots of enlisted men named Greene in the Illinois ranks. I don’t know the family tree well; we were just common soldiers if some of my Greene’s were here.”
“From what I learned it was the common soldiers who hung on and fought, in spite of the mistakes of the officers, who won this battle.”
“True in many battles. A few good officers and regiments of determined men. “
“This place hold spirits.”
“Try not to talk to them, they may want to be left alone.”
-
“Shiloh was a marvelous place to visit. It is like a sanctuary to human struggle. I loved walking through the Indian village. Those people selling souvenirs at that Crossroads place; they seemed very proud of the Bedford guy.”
“Shiloh may be the best military park. You mean Forrest, those folks were white. His Ku Klux Klan past and being an enemy to Black people probably not a negative with them.”
“Where to now?”
“We’re headed to Dover and Ft Donelson. We can likely find another roadkill dive in Dover and a small motel.”
“Walking through the Indian Village seeing the effort to building mounds. It is so quiet, waiting for them to return.”
“If you get deeper into this Spirituality thing, some of those lost wandering hippies may show up at your place. They will still be thinking it is 1968.”
“If they come, they better know how to weed and then box later in the year.”
“Mention the farm and Carol Parker returns.:”
“I’m going back to Zen mode; this is all going to end too soon.”
-
"It is lovely down on the Cumberland. I can almost visualize the gunboats coming around the bend. I guess Mr. Eads boats were checked here. I liked the surrender house seemed a peaceful place. This Forrest guy lead his cavalry out of here to continue his devilry as Sherman would put it.”
“He was a figure of resistance in the Western war until the very end.”
“Many Freedman came here after the victory?”
“It was a Union stronghold slaves flocked to Union armies. They were desperate to escape and be free. It undercuts the ‘happy darkie’ of Southern revisionism.”
“Ft Donelson would be a nice palace to have a picnic today.”
“It would be. We are heading back there are two stops if you want to make them. I thought we would go to St Louis spend a night there. In the morning we could visit Cahokia Mounds. Afterwards drive to Springfield and see Lincoln’s New Salem. Have you ever been to either place?”
“No, I have never been to St Louis or Springfield. Is Cahokia Mounds an Indian site?”
“It was the center of a large Indian culture. One sign at Shiloh Mounds told of a Cahokia piece found there. It must have been in trade or a token of friendship.”
-
“The Arch is neat. The desk clerk told me never go up in it. Those claustrophobic little cars are no fun. Why are there Blues signs is it like Beale street?”
“The hockey team is the Blues; they’ve had a good year. We are going to a restaurant near St Louis University, their mascot is blue I believe. St Louis does have Blues clubs, but a friend recommended this restaurant. I was planning on getting back to the hotel after dinner. This trip has been too filled with fun and pleasure for me to sing the blues.”
“Yes, I think we can find fun back at the hotel. Maybe there’s a hockey game on TV.”
“Maybe we won’t need the TV to find something fun to do.”
“If you don’t have a hockey stick, I suppose I could search for something else stick like.”
“You’ve found many fascinating things; I wouldn’t discourage your research.”
-
“It was a big hike up the large mound, but once there it is easy to see St Louis and the Arch. They don’t know why the Cahokia Civilization ended?”
“No, it happened at least two hundred years before any European contact. Some natural event floods or drought may have stressed the culture. The hierarchy of rulers providing benefits to a people may have failed. Eventually the average guy has to ask, ‘why am I packing seventy pounds of dirt to build a mound for this pompous jerk to live upon?’ People may have drifted away. Made lives in smaller communities of extended families.”
“There were several Mississippian communities and several mound-building cultures. I was mostly unaware of this. History wasn’t my interest in school. It is fascinating to me how people organized and sustained themselves on the land. Maybe more fascinating to me than a hopeless charge into artillery loaded with canister. I bet I have impressed you with the Civil War knowledge I’ve acquired, haven’t I?”
“You have. I am more impressed how you have listened to my boring lecture like discussions then quiz me. You are the most wonderful woman I have ever known. I have rarely met a woman to challenge me on every aspect of life. Your intellect, your strength, your spiritual insights, and you’re sexy. I am not good at talking about sex. I have always hoped a woman would consider me a good lover. Hopefully, I have given you as much pleasure as you have given me. This trip with you has been a fantastic experience for me.”
“You have been; you are generous and playful, for a body builder type you’re not macho and selfish, you are passionate and caring to me. We cannot have each other forever; we cannot bind each other’s future. This Zen moment is good enough to last a lifetime.”
-
“What was that gargantuan thing you ate last night?”
“It was a horseshoe; Springfield is supposedly the origin place of the horseshoe sandwich?”
“Does it start with a dead horse?”
“No horses or shoes were harmed in it’s creation. It is an open-faced sandwich, mine was a hamburger with French fries on top covered in cheese sauce. We had some snacks at Cahokia but skipped lunch.”
“I had a sensible soup and salad which was very good. I was astounded when they put your platter down.”
“Your salad was covered in mold, but you ate it, as well as stealing fries from my plate.”
“Those were blue-cheese crumbles from Nauvoo, one the finest blue cheeses. I only took fries to keep you from exploding.”
“Your concern for my welfare is noted. Did you enjoy touring Lincoln’s home?”
“I was surprised they had added the second story later. It is fun to imagine Springfield in the1850’s. I liked the visit at his tomb. I guess no one will kidnap his body again. I wonder what he would think of everyone rubbing his nose in front of the entrance?”
“I suspect Mary would find it disrespectful, but Lincoln himself would have a laugh over it. He would probably tell a story about a man whose nose was so big his sneezes rattled the neighbor’s windows or started a war or some outrageous tale.”
“When did Lincoln live in New Salem?”
“Lincoln lived here in the1830’s. He agreed to help his father move from Indiana to Illinois some where’s near Mattoon. He was twenty-one then and struck out on his own. Children seemed to be under legal obligation to their parents until twenty-one. His father hired him out. Lincoln was a strong youth able to do a man’s job. His father kept all the money. Lincoln did not like his father; I think he felt treated like a slave. He referred to slavery as one man stealing the bread out of the hands of the man who made it. Lincoln had helped on two flat boat trips to New Orleans, saw some of the slave life on those journeys. It may have helped build his opposition to slavery. ”
“About the same time the first Parker came to settle and farm.”
“All of Western Illinois and Iowa had a large influx of families starting farms and small towns like New Salem about that time. The Greene’s did not come to our farm then but were in another part of the county about the same time. It is amazing how many troops from Iowa were in the Civil War most of the state recently settled not long before1860.”
“Do you just walk around?”
“They tried to create the houses and stores as they were. New Salem had disappeared as a town, winked out as Lincoln would have said. It is quiet here until the school trips and summer tourist season begin. We can walk around get a feel for 1835.”
“Did you come here on a school trip?’
“We did it was fifth grade. I read all sorts of books, short romanticized histories, not historically accurate histories.”
-
“New Salem reminded me of the Shiloh Mounds city. It seems ancient people were not much different than we are.”
“We all have the same needs to meet. We all have a challenge to organize tasks.”
“Were there mound builder villages near the farm?”
“Not that I am aware of, Indians inhabited the woodlands. No one was foolish enough to try a village in the swampy prairies. The first American settlers were the same. I know of no long-term sites in our area like Cahokia. There were villages, but they moved after a generation or so it seems. “
“What about the Native Americans today, what do you think we should do for them?”
“I think we owe them respect; we should accept we were the aggressor. I think we owe them the rebuilding of a healthy world and inviting them to be partners in guiding us. Their cultures had more respect for the land, we could use some guidance on that approach.”
“I will at least try to make my corner of the world healthy.”
“We can easily get home tonight, maybe ten o’clock.”
“Can we stretch it out one more day?”
“We haven’t spent too much, I guess we could both afford another night. Weather is still cold up here; Dad won’t be too nervous. Where do you want to go?”
“Nauvoo, I can buy some of that wonderful blue cheese. The drive up along the river is pretty even in the winter.”
“We could walk around; they have restored some of the buildings, Nauvoo was a decade after New Salem. OK when you buy the cheese it goes in the trunk. “
“You’re trying to pick a fight, so we can have a little marital spat. Have you tried blue cheese?”
“No, I’ve always avoided rotting roadkill, just stayed with the fresh stuff. We could have lunch at The Pink if you still need more fried food before getting home.”
“I intend to keep seeing you when we get home. I have a plan.”
“I knew you would.”
“Pretend to be a big lummox and listen.”
“There is a good chance you will be here for the season but gone after harvest. My brother is sure they cannot stall longer than that. I will appear married this Spring when Stephen comes. We just have to not be seen together. It will be warmer by then. We can meet up by the pond in the evenings. I will ride up on one of the horses. You can drop in from the pasture. You can simply do your standard farm gig. I am sure I want to keep this beautiful romance all through the summer.”
“You mean the lake, everyone but your grandfather called it Parker’s Lake. Yes, I could meet without leaving the farm. Your riding up there isn’t different than what you always do. Are you bringing food along in those saddle bags?”
“I was thinking of salads with blue cheese crumbles.”
“I’ll have to bring a pack with my own roadkill.”
“We could have a grill, make it a nice camp out area. “
“Sounds good if you get pregnant can you still ride?”
“Women do all sorts of things. Ruth would have ridden to the delivery room, but JB wanted to drive her.”
“It sounds like the most fun summer, for pretty much no money, any couple could ever have.”
“When we know I’m pregnant I think I will explain it to your parents. Ruth and Lizzie will know, but just stay quiet. No one need to be aware of a scandal.”
“This is all rather scandalous”
“But it is not necessary that it be a public scandal. I think it is the right thing why bring in outside opinions?”
“An odd path to what is right.”
“A good path to a magic summer; it is beautiful at the pond, lake, especially at night.”
“If you aren’t fighting mosquitoes.”
“Go with the dream Mark.I have had a a question I've never asked. When I first met you all your classmates laughed about a plow, I never understood that.”
“Oh, it was a silly thing started in junior high. John Deere ran a series of ads about the Long Green Line. Being kids, someone made a joke maybe Mark has a long green line. It kept being a running joke as it continued someone would invariably joke whether I had hooked my long green line to a plow or the right plow or some foolish vaguely sexual thing. I never reacted much, but it embarrassed me. I do not know why the nonsense continued, but it did. “
“Sometimes knowing more doesn’t mean you know more. Your line was long enough for me; I am the right plow. Good still a little blush, you are adorable Mark Greene.”
Batteries of Ft. Donelson in TN
