The Fateful Lightning (44 page)

He saw their smiles, and Dayton said, “Sir, there is much to do. Should we not issue orders…”

“Oh, good Lord, Major! There will be orders aplenty! It is Christmas, after all. Is it not enough that our commanding general has demonstrated faith in this command? Might I revel in that for a small moment?”

Dayton seemed overwhelmed with Sherman’s boisterous response. “Certainly, sir. At your discretion.”

“Yes! You put it precisely, Major. At my discretion! Grant has made it official! This campaign shall continue, at
my
discretion!” He looked at the letter now, pulled out the words he was searching for. “ ‘You shall make
another wide swath through the Confederacy
.’ And that, gentlemen, comes from the pen of Henry Halleck. It seems that General Grant is capable of admitting his mistakes, and convincing others along the way! Now, with his permission, we shall join his army in Virginia the way I prefer, overland, driving this army through the very heart of the rebellion. We shall unite this army with Grant only when we have completed the task still to be accomplished here. This war began in South Carolina, gentlemen. I expect that this entire army will welcome the opportunity to pour salt in
those
wounds.”

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA—DECEMBER 29, 1864

“
H
ow will you protect us? Do you not see why this place is as important to the Confederacy as any yet confronted?”

Hardee tried to focus on Magrath’s words, but the weariness was overwhelming him. “Governor, I understand your concerns.”

“I do not believe you do, sir. I am aware of what took place in Savannah. You abandoned those people without so much as a sword raised in anger! That will not do here, sir. It will not do at all.”

“Have you made that complaint to President Davis?”

Magrath sniffed. “Sir, it has long been understood that President Davis attends to matters close to his own priorities, which do not include any army that he himself is not managing. I have beseeched the president to consider what the rest of us know very well. Charleston is the true center of the Confederacy. It was here that our rebellion against outrageous tyranny began, and it is here that we must stand tall! If this war is to favor us with its outcome, it is here we must drive home the sword. Sir, I was witness to the first cannon fire that drove the trespassers out of Fort Sumter. If there is justice to our cause, sir, I intend to witness cannon fire anew. General Beauregard
has referred me to your office, to plead my case before you. As their governor, the people look to me, and I have no choice but to look to you. Are you willing to do the right thing, sir?”

Hardee was even more exhausted now by Magrath’s bluster. “Governor, there are realities of which you are not aware. I may not always agree with President Davis’s methods, or his strategies. But he is my commander in chief. And, sir, it is not necessary for you to lecture me on the wisdom of the orders I must follow. General Beauregard and I agreed that preserving what forces we could withdraw from Savannah was the correct decision. Sacrificing those men to Federal prison camps benefits no one. I do not fault you for your loyalty to your home state, but South Carolina is one of many states still fighting for independence.”

“But, General, despite all your army’s best efforts, the war has now come here. There is no great campaign being waged on any other front. General Lee’s army is under siege at Petersburg, and General Hood is nursing his wounds in Alabama. Is that not accurate, sir? I do cast my eyes beyond the borders of this state.”

Hardee leaned his chin into one hand, closed his eyes for a brief moment. There is no argument here, he thought. He just has to make it feel that way, as though no one else could understand this war like a politician can. He looked at Magrath now, the man’s arms crossed, no change in his defiant tone. “Governor, I do not disagree with your assessment of our military situation. There is little doubt that South Carolina will become the next great battleground. I would suggest that you put your energies and your influence to finding me some troops with which to defend your state.”

“And what would you do with those troops, sir? Retreat, as you did all across Georgia? I have spoken with Governor Brown. He is incensed, sir. Incensed! He had been forced to recall his small force of militia to act as a last line of defense against any further invasions by that devil Sherman.”

Hardee sat upright now. “He has done what?”

Magrath seemed pleased with himself, that he had knowledge of something Hardee had not yet heard. “Well, sir, Governor Brown has ordered his militia to return to their side of the border. Someone has to protect what those people value most, if your army will not do so.”

“I find it odd, Governor, that you seem pleased with Governor Brown’s actions. With such an act, he has only weakened the forces in my command. We are losing men to desertion as it is, without the governor of Georgia making it official that those particular men should return to their homes. There is still a war, whether or not Governor Brown approves.” He was furious now, knew too much of Brown’s reluctance to involve Georgia in any part of this war beyond its own borders. “Possibly, Governor, you are not aware of our situation as precisely as you may believe. If the Georgia militia has marched away, that leaves us with little more than twenty thousand troops to defend territory from Charleston inland to Columbia, and possibly farther than that, should the enemy choose to make their march in a more westerly course. I am charged not only with protecting Charleston and Columbia, but every rail depot, every line of communication, every significant intersection. Until General Beauregard or I know just where Sherman intends to go, we cannot form a united front. That was true in Georgia as well. Hindsight tells us we need not have protected Augusta or Macon. Hindsight, Governor. Unless you can offer me perfect insight into Sherman’s thinking, I must make do with the forces I have on hand.”

Magrath seemed to calm somewhat, weighing Hardee’s words. “There are troops on the march from Augusta, I believe.”

“I have included those men in my calculations, sir. As I have included the brigade said to be moving southward from Virginia, courtesy of General Lee. Those are North Carolina men, and though I welcome their muskets, and their enthusiasm for what we are facing here, I am quite certain General Lee sent those men with considerable regret. There are no pleasant ways to explain this, Governor. Mathematics has been a crucial part of every fight in which I have been engaged, and that has not changed. We have won many fights where the numbers were against us. But the scale continues to tilt toward the enemy. No amount of wishful thinking can change that.”

“Yes, I suppose I understand that. Can you not state your case with such clarity to Richmond?”

Hardee looked down at the floor, let out a breath. “Sir, Richmond understands mathematics as clearly as I do. President Davis can only provide us what is there to provide. I regret the loss of the Georgia
militia. Even those few men could have added something to our unfortunate equation. It is not my place to protest the governor’s decision, but I do not believe the state of Georgia faces any further threat from General Sherman. It serves no purpose for the Federal troops to linger in Savannah, and the only logical direction for Sherman to advance now is north. He outnumbers what I have on hand by at least three to one. Governor Brown may have pleased his voters, but he has done nothing to assist you.”

Magrath walked slowly across the room, seemed to reclaim his air of self-satisfaction. “It is possible that we greatly overestimate Sherman’s willingness to tread on this soil, as I believe you overestimate his strength. There is a determination to the people of South Carolina that he has not yet encountered. I predict a bloodbath of epic proportions, sir.”

“Have you ever seen a bloodbath, Governor?”

The question seemed to throw Magrath off track. “Well, certainly not. That makes little difference.”

“A massacre then? A one-sided assault that crushed a defensive line? A volley of muskets that obliterated a foe?”

“You mock me, sir.”

Hardee had endured all he could of the governor’s speechmaking. “When you instruct me on the business of waging war, no, sir, I do not mock you. But I will not accept advice or counsel or instruction from anyone who has not led troops in the field, whose experience with artillery is limited to the ‘glory’ of pulling a lanyard. If you do not know of the horrors of war, sir, then perhaps you understand this. My family is in Charleston. My wife, my children. I withdrew from Savannah because there was no alternative beyond sacrificing my entire command to the earth, or Federal prison camps. General Beauregard understood how foolhardy it would be to stand up to a force as powerful as what Sherman brought against us. You wish me to hold the enemy back, then provide me with the means to do so. If you cannot do that, allow me to fight this war according to the orders I am given, and the resources I have available.”

Magrath seemed to know he was outgunned. “I will leave you now, sir. I understand fully that you have enormous responsibilities. I shall once again beseech President Davis for reinforcements to assist your
efforts. I pledge to you, sir, that I shall endeavor to raise at least five thousand more good South Carolina men, fit for your command. If there are more to be found, I shall find them.”

Hardee felt like Magrath had more to say, but the governor made his exit without another word, his bluster disappearing with him. Hardee was relieved, sagged in the chair, his thoughts rolling toward anger. Brown was willing to surrender his state to the Yankees, he thought. Now, instead of assisting us, he calls his own troops home. Somewhere that would fit someone’s definition of treason. Richmond, certainly.

“Are you alone, my darling?”

Her words rolled through him like music, and he turned toward the far doorway, Mary peering in, cautious, never to intrude.

“Yes, he’s gone. Please, come in. Sit with me.”

Mary moved with a soft grace that made him ache to touch her. She leaned in close to him, the aroma of her perfume washing the staleness of his mood away. He looked up, expecting a kiss, but she slid away, teasing him, sat in the chair, the perch where Magrath had first warmed the cushion. She adjusted her dress now, offered just a hint of one leg, another tease, said, “He seems to be a dreadful fellow. His voice carried all over the house.”

“Andrew Gordon Magrath has been governor of this state for exactly a week, but you would assume that somewhere long ago, someone had appointed him lord high potentate, with the wisdom to match. And all I did was insult the man, show him so much disrespect that it could cost me my career. If he was friends with the president instead of a rival, I’d be dismissed from the army before the sun set.” He paused, his voice trailing away. “The war has been merciful to South Carolina. But that will now change. There is no safe place, not anymore. And Magrath knows I’m right. That has to gall him even more. No amount of politicking can change what is about to happen. All those ‘powerful’ men are finding out they have no real power at all. It is something I have seen before, my darling, both in and out of the army. Men with power either trumpet to everyone just how powerful they are, or they use that power effectively by keeping quiet about it, and going about their duties. I regret he is the former. This
state will not benefit from imaginary bravado. It has never worked. Not anywhere.”

“Why must they condemn you so? Forgive me, my husband, but I could not avoid his awful assaults on you. I don’t care if he’s the governor. He has no right to scold you. I did not mean to listen, but he was just so…loud.”

“There is nothing that happens in this house that you should not be audience to. The girls, either. My son, well, perhaps that would be different. He hears the kind of dressing-down I just received, and he’d stand up to anyone, governor or not, to defend my honor. He’s too young to understand that an enemy’s sword is likely as dangerous as his own.”

“He will fight, you know.”

There was more to her words than a simple boast.

“What do you mean?”

“He thinks I won’t tell you. A stepmother has no real authority, of course, so I cannot convince him of anything. But he still intends to join them, Terry’s Rangers, is it?”

Hardee closed his eyes, one more wave of despair.

Willie had insisted on joining the army while still engaged in his schooling, something Hardee had strenuously objected to. The boy was only sixteen, Hardee with no desire to see his only son becoming a soldier. But in the chaos of the fighting that rolled around Atlanta, Hardee’s attentions were too focused on the war to deal with the administrative concerns of his son’s schooling, and Willie had quit the school in Athens with the exaggerated fantasy of joining the 11th Texas Cavalry, known as Terry’s Texas Rangers. The romance of that was obvious, but Hardee of course knew the realities of the war that his son had never experienced, and Hardee had taken steps to ensure that his son would not carry a musket for the Texas Rangers, romance or not. But the school would not accept his return, and so Hardee had been forced to keep Willie close by, the only way to know just what the boy might try to do. He had placed the boy on his staff, allowed him to serve as an aide-de-camp, kept mostly out of the way from Hardee’s daily routines by the efforts of Major Roy. During the Atlanta campaign, when Hardee had been banished to Charleston,
Willie’s ardor for combat seemed to cool, but now, with the war fully engulfing Hardee’s command, Willie had once again pushed for a position facing the enemy.