Surrender

Carlton Walter's POV

Carlton Walter’s POV:

         It was a very big struggle for me to walk away but I knew that it was for the best. Then I remembered: the letter.

         I rummaged through my pocket until I finally found the envelope. I carefully broke the seal as I took out the thick parchment. It said, “General George Meade, I am Brandon Walter. I am writing to recommend my son, Carlton Walter, to join the Union and fight against the Confederates. He is a very talented young lad and he shall be of no such trouble to you. He is very talented in handling the Lorenz rifle. Please do consider him on my behalf. Sincerely, Brandon Walter.”

         I realized of the lie that he wrote. I never even touched a rifle let alone use it. But I was determined to find the general.

         Seems like I didn’t need to, for as I was walking towards the back of my house, I saw a man on a huge horse. I thought of turning back but then I saw his uniform: Blue uniform, which meant that he was a Union.

         I took the risk of walking to him as he slid off his horse.

         I looked at him as he raised his eyebrows.

         “And who are you?” he asked.

         “I am Carlton Walters and ...”

         “ Oh so you are Brandon Walter’s son! Now where is he?”

         The tears threatened to come out. I told him how my father had died and gave him the letter.

         He nodded. He started walking, then turned around and motioned me to follow him. Now you would say that the soldiers were all sadly quiet, thinking about wives or children or death- but no - there jollyness hit me hard. They were all laughing and drinking and looking like they were having the time of their lives. It surprised me indeed - I almost forgot that I was supposed to follow the tall skinny man. None of them seemed to notice me as I walked through the crowd of them. I finally passed them and climbed a flight of stairs where we stopped in front of a door. I waited behind the man. Just then a rough voice said, “ Come in.”

         I was scared - I’ll tell you the truth. When I walked in he smiled.

         “What do we have here?”
         “This is Brandon Walter’s son, Carlton Walters. His father has passed away but before that he wrote this letter to you.” he said, handing him the letter.

         I stood there waiting as he read the letter. Then he looked up and nodded to the tall man. “ You are dismissed, Marvin.”

         I watched him open the door then close it. I stood there facing the general, unsure of what to do. He looked at me and said “ Your father was a very skillful fighter and I hope you are, too.”

         I hated it here already. He got up and went to open the door at the back of the room. Inside it was filled with uniforms. It took long to find the right size, but once he did, he looked at me and smiled. “Welcome to the Union.”