Once I raised out of my bed the morning after being with John Buford, I caught the sight of a line of, well, something. I placed my hand over the sun that was just rising and squinted for a better view of the mysterious mob about a half a mile away.
I glanced over at Milo and Johnathan who were sleeping in the makeshift bed, the triplets sleeping together in the other. I hopped on my horse and yawned as I squeezed her with my foot and peg. Rosa, my young horse that I owned for almost 6 years, obediently galloped off in my chosen direction, and I helped guide her toward the strange blob of something that loomed in the distance.
As I rode Rosa, I quickly remembered that I got a new pair of glasses about a month ago because of my deteriorating vision. I never necessarily chose to wear them since they grew uncomfortable as they rested on my nose, and I hated how I looked. Whenever Johnathan saw me trying on my glasses, however, he always tried to compliment them since I always grew self-conscious.
For about the first time in a few weeks, I put on my glasses once more, and I hoped that they wouldn't fall off. Once I was finally able to get a good view of the blob in front of me, I was close enough to see what it really was.
It was a mob of Confederate soldiers marching through the valley in Gettysburg.
"Oh my god," I whispered to myself. My voice trailed off as I quickly turned Rosa and sprung into action like any soldier would do.
I mercilessly yanked on Rosa's reins, causing her to rear upward in surprise. I calmly pulled on her reins again so she'd come back down. Rosa obeyed and charged back toward the rest of the army at full speed. The camp was quiet since the soldiers either just waking up or sleeping soundly in their tents. During the process of galloping over to the camp, my glasses slid off of my nose, and I yelped in surprise.
"No!" I grumbled to myself as Rosa kept galloping forward.
I decided to report the matter to the general. I guided Rosa over to the general's tent, where he was just beginning to stir.
"Brigade General John Buford," I exhaustedly said as I pulled Rosa to a halt.
Buford crawled out of his tent and yawned. "What is it, Sergeant Vange?"
"I'm afraid," I replied hesitantly. "I'm afraid that your suspicion of the Confederates attacking is true."
***
As if I was right on cue, a medium-sized wave of Confederate soldiers charged for our temporary. I quickly predicted that a few brigades of soldiers were on the move toward our soldiers' camps.
"C'mon, General!" I shouted to Buford as he struggled to finish changing into his uniform. "We need to gather the troops! Time is of the essence! Or... however you say it!"
Buford chuckled as he mounted his horse and slid his sword into its sheath. "I'm ready, I'm ready! I'll wake the left side, you wake the right!"
"Yessir!" I shouted as I kicked Rosa, making her gallop toward the right side of the troops. I frantically scanned for the tent that I resided in with all of my friends, and one I finally spotted the familiar black spot on its side, Rosa galloped at full speed toward the large tent.
***
Once I reached the tent, I practically jumped off of Rosa and ran inside, almost stepping onto my sleeping friends.
I shook the triplets first. "Asher! Arthur! Atlas!" I shouted, my hands cupped to my mouth to make my shout louder. "Get up! There's a serious problem going on outside!"
Arthur was the first to wake, and he scratched his head in confusion as the other two triplets began to stir. "What is it, Vange?" I'm glad that he used my boy nickname.
"Umm," I tried to reply, my mind searching for the right words to say. "The Johnny Rebs are charging us!."
"They're here?" Asher shouted as he sprang out of bed, making Atlas awaken, both of their eyes wide in confusion.
'We need to go, then!" Arthur shouted while slipping his uniform onto his shirt, its bright red V-shaped stripes boasting their color on his shoulder.
Asher and Atlas followed Arthur as Johnathan and Milo then began to stir in their bed.
I turned to the triplets angrily. I didn't want to wait for them to rise out of bed; we had to act fast since we were probably going to go into battle in the next few hours. "Johnathan! Milo! We're under attack!" I wasn't sure if I was telling the entire truth.
Both of my friends instantly leaped out of bed and both screamed, 'What? We're under attack?'
I nodded quickly, trying to convince them as best as I could. "Yes! The Johnny Rebs are coming! Look!"
I pulled back the entrance of the tent so Johnathan and Milo could get a better look at the Confederate soldiers charging outside. Some of the Union soldiers were waking up and running into their positions already, so I had to act fast to wake everyone else up.
Once I caught sight of Milo and Johnathan blankly staring into the valley in the distance, I yanked both of their collars with my hand, sending them both backward. "Move, soldiers! This ain't some child's game! This could be war! Now, go soldiers! Double time!"
Johnathan and Milo fearfully obeyed me and began to change into their uniform. I quickly crawled out of the tent and mounted Rosa.
"I'll be waking everyone else up, and I'll meet you guys at the lines," I said before riding off to wake up the rest of the Union army.
***
After waking up the Union army, they all hurriedly arranged themselves into perfect lines that would easily and quickly be divided into different brigades. Still on Rosa, I trotted behind the cavalry units to make sure that everyone was in their correct spots. As I made my way behind the lines of soldiers, I spotted Johnathan and Milo hurriedly ushering their horses to arrive faster.
"Hurry up, you two!" I shouted, my hands cupped at my mouth. "There's no time for dilly-dallying!"
Both of them fearfully found their place in line with all of the other soldiers on horseback, and I followed them but kept going to the front of the lines to lead the charge under the Sergeant Major of our regiment.
"Charge!" Major General John Buford shouted, his voice almost cracking.
I turned toward our brigade of men, and probably undercover women, on horseback. "You heard what the Major General said! Charge!" I could almost feel my eyes glint with a sense of bravery and determination to eliminate the small army that originally attacked our camp.
Our army began to quickly charge forward toward the Confederate army. We all screamed at the top of our lungs, and I held my sword in the air as the Sergeant Major and I led our regiment toward the Confederate army. I then left the Sergeant Major to have full command of the brigade as I fell back into the lines of the Union Army. I slid my sword in its sheath and quickly melded into the rows of the Union soldiers.
I eventually secured myself between Milo and Johnathan, who were charging with their rifles aimed at the Confederate soldiers on the other side of the now battlefield.
"Get your repeating rifle, Vange!" Milo said angrily through the various shouts around us.
I shook my head and sighed, still holding onto Rosa's reins. "What if I want to use another weapon!"
"It's not allowed-" Johnathan tried to respond on my other side as his voice faded away. His eyes stayed wide as I slipped a bow that hung over my shoulder and pulled an arrow from the small quiver on my back.
I drew the arrow onto the bow and launched it forward, the arrow directly hitting a Confederate soldier to the head, knocking him to the ground.
"Where'd you get that?" Milo asked, bewildered.
I chuckled and drew another arrow onto my bow. "I made it somewhere, and don't worry, I can still use my sword or rifle. I just prefer the bow and arrow."
"Showoff," Johnathan scoffed jokingly as he rolled his eyes.
Rosa galloped back to the front of the brigade just as I wanted, and I pulled the arrow backward on the bow. I squinted to get a better view of the Confederate soldiers in front of me, but my vision was still blurry. I wish I still had my stupid glasses to help me see, I told myself.
I decided to let go of the arrow when I thought I found my target. The slender arrow swiftly guided through the air and struck another Confederate soldier, now in the torso this time. He too fell to the ground in pain, the long arrow uncomfortably protruding from his chest.
Our brigade still charged forward. Gunshots rang throughout the valley, their loud, shrill sounds echoing off of the large hills that seemed to surround us. Canons from the artillery on both sides shot large cannon balls that exploded into large plumes of smoke on the opposite side from where they were shot.
I cautiously watched the canons on the side of the valley where the Confederate soldiers were charging so I would know when a cannon ball would come my way. For most of the time, however, I focused on shooting as many soldiers as possible to get this battle over with.
After about a quarter of an hour of shooting at the Confederate army, Rosa suddenly reared upward and neighed loudly.
"What is it, Rosa?" I asked her curiously before noticing the small bullet hole in her neck.
Without warning, Rosa toppled over onto her side, and I tried to leap off of her so I wouldn't get crushed. I did just that, and I landed safely on the ground beside Rosa. I anxiously glanced around the flurry of soldiers on the battlefield, and my eyes were scanning each and every person, wondering if one of them was a medic. I found no one who seemed to look like a medic, and I crawled over to Rosa to see if I could fix her myself.
With every breath that my horse took, a waterfall of blood gushed out of her neck and onto the ground. Rosa lay motionless, her eyes still holding onto that last strand of life. The bullet went directly into her jugular vein. I could do nothing to save Rosa.
Instead of leaving her to die alone, I crawled closer to her and hugged her gently. I ignored the chaos that ensued around me and softly stroked Rosa's head, and she nudged her snout onto my shoulder. I chuckled in response and pulled away to get one last look at Rosa as she took her very last breath.
Once I knew that Rosa was finally gone, I stood up and searched for Johnathan or Milo.
***
Milo approached me on his large brown horse, his expression concerned and confused. "What happened to Rosa?" He held out a firm hand to help me onto his horse.
I took Milo's hand in mine and leaped onto the saddle. "She got shot in the neck. Right on the jugular vein." I tried my best not to cry since "men" don't ever show their emotions.
"I'm really sorry, Vange," Milo used my "boy" name as he ushered his horse to gallop forward. "Where to?"
"Do you know where Asher is?" I asked him. "Since I don't necessarily have a horse anymore, I think that I should help Asher and the infantry."
I could sense Milo rolling his eyes in front of me. "Sure, but why can't you ever stay in one place at a time? It's like you gotta be everywhere at once."
"I just want to help out," I replied as innocently as I could.
Milo didn't choose to refute my last statement and led his horse toward Asher and his brigade, which was soon turning into the left flank of the Union army's arrangement.
Once we arrived at the infantry, I leaped off of Milo's horse and tipped my hat in gratitude. "Thanks, Milo!" I shouted.
Without a response, an annoyed Milo turned away to join Johnathan on the opposite side of the valley.
I chuckled and made my way toward the infantry, and I put away my bow and arrow and held my rifle that was strapped over my shoulder, wondering if I'm ever going to need to shoot it early.
My eyes quickly spotted Asher's bright blonde hair, and I sprinted over to him. I managed to wiggle my way through the rest of the troops and squeezed next to Asher, a small smile cemented on my face.
"Hey, Ash," I said calmly like I was already positioned in the infantry.
"Vange, what are you doing here?" He quietly snapped. "I thought you were over there leading the horse dudes!" Asher didn't necessarily favor the cavalry and artillery, as he thought that everyone should just be a footman.
I rolled my eyes. "It's a long story, but I have come to help you guys out, and it's too late now for me to leave."
A long, awkward silence fell upon us two, and I examined Asher, his face was all scrunched up as he thought of how to reply to me.
"Fine," Asher finally sighed. "You can stay. But just don't get noticed by Colonel Chamberlain. He'll probably shoot you on sight."
"Good to know," I said matter-of-factly. "At least I'll be one more man to help win the war?" I didn't know how to place my words, but I tried to be optimistic anyway.
***
After a bit of marching with Asher and the infantry, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain raised his sword out of its sheath, ready to give out an order.
"Form two lines!" He barked at the army. "Get prepared to fire!"
Asher beckoned me to follow him. "C'mon. Just squeeze in with me, and hope that the Colonel doesn't notice."
I nodded and obediently followed Asher to the middle of the front row. I clutched the rifle on my shoulder nervously and then glanced toward the Colonel once I heard him speak.
"Front row on your right knee!"
As if we were all one, the whole front row kneeled down on their right leg in uniform. I obviously knelt down too, but I almost toppled over since my peg leg didn't help me balance. I tried to hide my uneasiness from Colonel Chamberlain as he barked his next order:
"Present arms!"
And with the Colonel's command, the entire infantry readied their guns and added in an intimidating grunt.
"Ready..." Colonel Chamberlain shouted as he lifted his sword.
I hugged my revolving rifle close to my chest, and I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my ear. I squinted to focus on the army at the base of the hill and aimed the gun toward its unlucky victim.
The Colonel threw his arm downward, his expression stern and his sword shining in the blazing sun. "Fire!"
After the Colonel's command, I pulled the trigger on my rifle without hesitation. The entire infantry did the same, loud blasts from the gunfire filling my ears, causing them to ring annoyingly. A large plume of smoke was then left from the gunfire, and I could barely make out the Confederate army, still charging for us.
"Why haven't they stopped?" I asked to no one in particular.
As the smoke cleared when we were all reloading for our next shot, I snuck a peek at the Confederate army to see how many were left. There were still many in formation, but what shocked me was that more were coming. It looked like hundreds of Confederate reinforcements arrived at the valley to aid the few troops that were already here.
"Asher," I whispered to Asher angrily to get his attention. It worked, he turned his head in my direction with a curious glimmer in his eyes.
"What's going on, Vange?" He asked, his expression suddenly growing more fearful.
"More infantry is arriving to aid the Confederates."
Instead of gasping in surprise, Asher just chuckled. "Well, they would obviously need to get reinforcements, because we'd kill them all if they were only fighting with their small numbers."
Before I could respond, Asher added a witty "Those stupid Johnny Rebs thought that our whole army was just some Pennsylvania Military. I guess they just thought that they could take us out like we were flies."
"But they're the ones who are dropping like flies," I joked.
Honestly, I wasn't sure which side had more casualties. To me, equal amounts of soldiers were dying on each side, and I wanted to end this. The only way to end this battle, however, is to kill enough people so they would retreat and surrender. It was just the way of things, I guess.
"Prepare arms!" the Colonel barked.
The cycle began again with readying, aiming, and firing. This went on for a few more minutes, and a cloud of smoke became so thick that I could barely see in front of me. The light from each shot helped me see a little bit, but it offered barely any help.
After one more cycle, our army started to walk backward, as the Confederate militia was trying to push us. However, we kept firing back, and we tried our best to take advantage.
"They're gaining the advantage!" the Colonel shouted as he guided us backward in hope of keeping most of us safe. As we did so, many other soldiers behind me and at my sides were shot and collapsed to the ground.
"Keep moving, everyone!" he shouted again, trying to reassure us. "They're actually chasing us up a hill!"
"What a bunch of dunces," I chuckled to myself. I guess that Asher must have heard my little remark because he exhaled loudly through his nose, trying his best not to laugh.
For a few more minutes, we let the Confederate forces push us up the hill, which was perfect for our troops. We could easily move our army wherever we wanted with the wave of a sword, and it would be harder for the Confederates to attack since they now have to climb up a hill to reach us.
For the rest of that tiring day, the two armies exchanged fire, many soldiers falling on each side. As evening fell, shots and cannon fire still rang through the air, but the sounds were quickly fading as the armies prepared to sleep through the night.
***
Each side prepared their makeshift camp, and I finally reunited with Johnathan, Milo, and Asher's two other brothers.
"Hey, everyone!" I cheered at Asher's side.
Milo rolled his eyes. "How was it shooting people with Asher as you hid in the infantry?" He rushed his words in annoyance, and as a result, they came out like he just learned English.
"It was fine," I added, trying to make myself look better. "At least I actually fought and kept going like a true soldier instead of sulking about my dead horse."
"Rosa died?" Atlas piped up fearfully. "You could've got me to help her!"
I shook my head solemnly. "Atlas, you weren't here, and she was shot in her neck. Right in the jugular vein."
"Oh," was Atlas' response.
Arthur decided to be his optimistic self and change the conversation subject to a more happy one. "Vange, do think that this war is going to end soon?"
"I honestly hope it does," I replied morosely. "I'm starting to get sick of soldier life and fighting."
"You got that right."
Johnathan approached our small circle after setting up our makeshift tent, his hands at his hips in exhaustion. "It may not seem like it, but riding a horse and fighting at the same time is some exhausting stuff."
I chuckled. "I know, Johnathan." I placed my hand under my chin and thought. I then raised my hand to speak. "Okay, who wants to get a good night's rest?"
All of my friends also raised their hands without hesitation and replied with a hardy "I do!"
With the notion passed, our small group crawled into the tent and once I hit the bed next to Johnathan and Milo, I immediately fell into a deep slumber.