Free Faith of the Heart by Jewell Tweedt Page B

to another man. No! The very idea of his woman being in the arms of someone else, perhaps even another soldier, was enough to make his head pound like a sledge hammer. But it was too late now. Too much time had passed. He could never face her. He couldn’t explain his disappearance. His cowardice.
    Even if he could make Claire understand, he wasn’t sure he could convince the authorities of the same. Cal had been left for dead on the broken battlefield of Gettysburg, shot through the leg and with a severe head wound; soldiers Cal had once called friends left him on that stinking, rancid field, listening to the moans of other dying men around him. If he hadn’t managed to drag himself away, hadn’t managed to escape on that fateful night, he would have died as well. Good riddance and all of them be damned! While the war raged he’d been a deserter and could have been imprisoned if anyone had discovered his true identity. That meant hiding himself from his family and Claire to stay alive. It was better if everyone thought him dead anyway—no one wanted to live with the shame of having a husband or son who was a deserter , a yellow coward. Even his precious Claire: how could she understand? No, it was better just to stay away. He’d always been a loner, maybe that was to be his fate. But still…
                 
    Five Years Earlier
    Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1863
     
                  Swatting at his cheek Cal eb missed yet another mosquito. He sat down and leaned back against a large tree , thankful for the shade on a sultry afternoon. Taking a swig of lu k ewarm water from his canteen , he felt a breeze barely brush his face. Carefully unfolding a two - week - old newspaper he began to catch up on the war news.
                  The paper was from Philadelphia and its editor had written a blistering account of President Lincoln’s weak and ineffective generals. Since the war started in April 1861 more than two hundred thousand soldiers were dead or missing. The end was nowhere in sight and the article warned that Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s army might be victorious if Lincoln ’s new general didn’t take some action fast. It went on to praise Lincoln’s appointment of General George Meade and encouraged readers to support the Yankee efforts.
                  Two hundred thousand, why, if I slipped away maybe they’d not miss one more. Maybe…
                  Cal looked up from his paper when he heard voices raised in anger. In the canvas tent behind him two officers were arguing. He sighed and stood to stretch his legs , catching snatches of the conversation.
      The men argued that while b oth armies were tired, hungry, and in desperate need of supplies , t he C o nfederates were worse off than their Union counterparts al though they continued to fight, fiercely protecting their homes. Their clothing was in tatters and many men had no footwear.  R umor s were circulat ing that there was a warehouse of boots in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and they might be heading there. One officer wanted to head into the town. The other proposed marching to capture Richmond, the Confederate capitol.
                  Walking closer to the tent Caleb raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow and bent slightly to hear better , hoping he wasn’t noticed. Darn these officers, can’t they see what a farce this all is? I just want to go home. I am so sick of all of this. They told us…they promised us this disagreement would only last a few months and yet here we are two years later and no end in sight. In disgust he turned and stomped away muttering to himself.
                  Hours later Cal eb ’s company was on the move. Out of nowhere c annons and r ifles started firing and men scrambl ed to get out of the road and under cover. Under a captain’s order Cal eb l ed a troop down the road to town and ran right into a Rebel infantry