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 Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:57 am
Men of Honor  Well, I guess that I'll be the first person to put this subforum to use, eh? I dabble in writing. I write primarily Historical Fiction, even more specifically, Civil War fiction. And that's exactly what this is- an American Civil War fiction. Well, many of the characters that will later come into play, such as Colonel Burgwyn, Captain Rankin, and Sergeant Bill Barber were real people, and the actual battles that will later be posted on happened, but Clide, Eli, Eric, and several other characters never existed. I hope I don't bore you!
And mind you, I'm trying to later get this published as a book- and it'll be a rather long one.
I'll post new chapters when I write them. smile
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 10:59 am
MEN OF HONOR
Introduction
My name's Eli. Eli Banagan. I hail from the foothills of Grandfather Mountain in the western half of North Carolina. I live in a little cabin with my wife Kelly, my good friend Clide, his wife Molly, and his three kids, Clide Junior, Robert, and Mary. There's not much money to go about, but we get by well enough. A roof is all you need, really. A roof, some food, and some good loving.
People look quite surprised when they find that I'm married. I'm but seventeen, and I scarcely look even that old. Apparently, I look like I'm not much older than thirteen, according to most folk. I reckon it's a combination of things. For one, I'm scarcely four and a half feet tall. As in, I'm horribly short. My face is still round and smooth like a youngster's- not a whisker in sight. I've got a pair of wide gray eyes and a load of freckles that cover the majority of my sunburnt skin. I also happen to possess the messy fire-red hair that denotes my Irish heritage. So yes, according to most of the people I know, I look like a child.
That would certainly explain the hard time it was when I tried enlisting in the army. I tried first to enlist in the cavalry, but the only company in the area wouldn't have me, dismissing me on the count of appearing to be a child. An infantry company refused me also, on the same grounds. I felt horribly left out when the company left to fight the yankees, leaving me behind. It was no fun, being one of the few men left for miles. Clide stayed with me though, declaring that if I couldn't go, he wouldn't either. It was some stroke of luck when another company started forming in nearby Lenoir. It was a thirty-mile walk to Lenoir, one that would take nearly ten hours, but we were willing to walk that far in hopes of enlisting there.
Now the girls had no idea that we were planning on enlisting. They'd both have had a cow and a half each if they'd found out. And they did.
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Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 11:28 am
1. A Promise
"Where the hell have you been, Elisha James Banagan?" I heard Kelly demand, her voice sharp as pine needles. I winced at the use of my full name. Like a parent to a child, my wife Kelly only called me by full name when she was mad. "And you too, Clide Lotersdale- and what on earth are y'all wearing?" Molly said, very much in the same accusatory tone that Kelly was using. I felt my face reddening like it always did when I knew I was in trouble, and I looked down at myself. Clide and I were both decked out in our new uniforms, crisp and clean. The uniform, though simple, looked quite smart. The gray cotton trousers were neat with black piping down the outer leg. The cotton shell jacket, also gray, bore the same black piping and also black shoulder patches, denoting that we were infantrymen. The shoes, better made than any pair I had ever owned, were dark leather, with a low heel and laces. The crossbelts we were given were made of the same leather. Woolen socks, woolen drawers, and a white cotton shirt were also given to each of us, along with a cap. The little cap, called a kepi, was gray like the pants and jacket, with a black band and a short brim. The top was black, noting that we were infantrymen, just like the jacket and pants had. Overall, the uniform looked very smart- doubtlessly the best-made and best looking duds I'd ever worn. But right now, the womenfolk weren't sharing our excited opinions.
Kelly was giving me a devilish glare, full of pure anger. She didn't need to ask what I was wearing. She knew full well that this was a Confederate uniform, that I'd sold myself to protect our infantile nation. And she was not happy.
The next thing I knew, I was flat on the ground, clutching my bleeding nose with one hand and trying to prop myself up on the other. Kelly kicked me in the shin as I tried to get up, and again in the ribs. I moved my hands down to protect myself, and she kicked me in the jaw. "How could you?" she was hollering at me, while Clide and Molly looked on, white-faced. I heard the kids murmuring to one another as they peered out the door at the scene.
"Kelly-" I protested, slightly stunned, and trying to pick myself up off the ground. She waited until I was on my feet again, and hit me in the face again.
"Don't talk to me, Eli Banagan!" she shrieked, positively furious. Angry tears were spilling down her cheeks, and she folded her arms across her chest. "Leaving to die and leave me alone!" she hissed at me, and I felt the shame burning in my cheeks.
"Kelly-" Clide began softly, trying to ease some of the pressure off of me, but Kelly turned on him and exploded in her wrath.
"Look! You too! You're a traitor, too! Selling your soul to sure death, leaving your wife alone! And your kids! How are they to fend for themselves?" Clide fell silent before her, deeming it unwise to speak another word of reason while she was this mad. Molly had remained silent so far, but now she turned on Clide and struck him across the face. I saw the surprise in his face as she struck him- Molly would never do such a thing normally. She was sobbing in the same manner as Kelly, her face red and scrunched up as she tried to contain herself and the flow of tears. I could see that she was trying to bottle up the words that were coming to her lips, but her efforts didn't last long.
"How...? How could you, Clide?" she breathed, looking up at him with large tears in her eyes. I saw Clide fidget, feeling just as guilty as I did. He fought for an answer, opening his mouth a fraction, but no sound came forth. He was speechless with guilt. His eyes were cast towards the ground, as he didn't have the heart to look Molly in the eye.
"How could you leave me, and Robert, and Mary, and Junior? How could you leave your children?" Clide did not answer, staring at the ground. "What if you die, Clide Lotersdale? What if you die?" Molly paused to let the words sink in. Clide blinked rapidly, scuffing his toe in the dirt. "If you die, Clide, what's going to happen to the children?" Clide's mouth tightened into a pressed line, his eyes closed. He was feeling miserable with guilt. Molly's work was done. And then she rounded on me. "And you, too! Leaving your wife! If you die, what's there going to be for her?" I cringed, having not expected Molly to snap on me too. I couldn't remain silent as Clide had. Wiping the blood from my nose with a handkerchief pulled from my pocket, I looked at her.
"You'd take care of her, right?" I asked quietly, and I saw the flash of her eyes. She couldn't deny this. Both her and Kelly shifted, and Clide looked up from the ground, biting his lip.
"Of course I would. But that's not the point," she said folding her arms across her chest. I felt the scowl creeping onto my face. I was beginning to get frustrated, irritated that they didn't understand, and were trying to make us feel guilty. They needed to understand. There were so many things binding Clide and I to service. There was the lust for adventure that drove every man to war. There was the desire to do something good with our lives, and make a name for ourselves. There was the stubborn determination to shove the yankees' words right back down their collective throat. And now with the Yankee president Lincoln calling for seventy-thousand troops to put us down, we had to protect our homes. I had to protect my wife, and Clide's family, too. They might not have seen it this way, but if I were to die, it would have been done so that they might live in peace and happiness in our Confederate States of America. I had to convey to them the importance of our enlistment. I had to make them understand.
Kelly was looking at me again, her arms bitterly folded as she regarded me with hostility and a frustrated and scared confusion. I bit my lip, trying to keep myself from making everything worse, but I had to speak. They had to know.
"Look here, girls. You see how hard we work around here?" I said gesturing with my left hand at the surrounding land. "You see this?"
Molly was following the path of my hand, but Kelly was staring stonily at the ground. I scowled in desperate frustration. "All of this- we do this all for you. So you all can be happy. So that you can have enough to eat. We work every single stinkin' day down on the Pinkham farm. So we can bring home a little more to eat, and so you have clothes on your backs."
Molly had stopped crying enough to listen, but Kelly was still staring at the ground, feet planted and her fists balled. Damn it, she needed to hear me!
The next thing Kelly knew, I had grabbed her shoulders and was forcing her to look me in the eye. She grudgingly locked eyes with me, staring angrily into my face, drilling right through to my soul. This look of disgust shook me down to the core, but I had to tell her. She had to know. And I couldn't let her make me feel guilty again.
"And we're going to fight, so that you can keep all of these things! We are fighting, so that you can have the food, the house, and the clothes, so that you can be happy- we have to protect our families, don't you understand?"
There was complete silence. Nobody spoke, and the slight wind that had been blowing had seemed to stop so that it might hear my words. Even the children had stopped talking from the doorway. There was nothing.
I closed my eyes, jaw working. I let Kelly go, but she didn't step back. She didn't move at all. I felt her standing right in front of me. I felt the blood dripping off my lip from my nose. My blood. I felt the sun beating down on my head. My sun. I felt the grass beneath my shoes. My grass. And I felt Kelly wrap her arms around me. My Kelly. She buried her face in my chest, sobbing. My heart ached to her her crying so. I patted her on the back awkwardly, and put my arms around her.
"Shh, it's okay," I said quietly, holding her close with one hand, leaning my head on hers, and stroking her long dark hair with the other. "Its okay." I closed my eyes, a lump in my throat. The only sound I could hear was her sobs, heart-wrenchingly painful. I held her like that for the longest time, with Clide and Molly just standing there in utter silence. There was still not a word from the children. I inhaled Kelly's comforting scent, trying to calm my own self down as the waves of relief broke over me. And Kelly spoke. I opened my eyes. "Just don't die, Eli. Don't die. Don't leave me here all alone." she said, pulling her face away from mine and holding me at arm's length. I blinked once, gazed into her weary eyes, and nodded.
"I won't die. I promise."
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