Free A Time to Dance-My America 3 by Mary Pope Osborne

A Time to Dance: Virginia's Civil War Diary, Book Three (My America Series)
    Will Osborne
    Mary Pope Osborne
    New York City 1865
    July 2, 1865
    At last we are settled in our new home in New York City.
    Pa, Jane Ellen, Abraham Lincoln Dickens, and I arrived last night. Baby Abe slept in his little basket for most of the trip, covered with a red blanket. When Jed helped us carry him off the train, he said we looked as if we were headed for a picnic!
    I think I am going to love our life here. I already love the home Jed has found for us -- a small set of furnished rooms above Brown's Shoe Store on Third Street. Jed and Jane Ellen will take the large front room, with Baby Abe
    4
    in a cradle next to their bed. Pa will sleep in the small bedroom. I will have a cot in a room off the kitchen that was once the pantry.
    I think our rooms here are much nicer than our rooms in Washington City. The front room even has a piano! And Jane Ellen knows how to play!
    Now it is early morning, and she is playing a soft, happy tune. Carriages rattle by on the street outside. A woman strolls down the sidewalk with a basket on her head, calling, "Strawberries! Fresh strawberries!"
    New York seems a bit like a picnic indeed.
    July 3, 1865
    I have spent all morning cleaning our new home. Jane Ellen helped for a while, but quickly became too exhausted. She has not fully regained her strength since Baby Abe was
    5
    born. The two of them are sleeping now. They both look quite pale and fragile.
    Pa is practicing his violin in his room. This afternoon he will set out to look for work. He has a letter from Professor Withers, the conductor of the orchestra at Ford's New Theatre in Washington. The letter praises Pa's character, and his talent as a musician.
    Ford's New Theatre has been closed since President Lincoln was assassinated there three months ago. Professor Withers told Pa he thought there would be more opportunity for a musician with his talent in New York.
    Jed left early for his first day at his new job. He will be writing for a newspaper called the
    Spirit of the Times.
    The editor there offered him the job because he had read Jed's articles about life in Washington City. He said he liked the way Jed's mind worked.
    The editor said that Jed would be writing
    6
    mostly about plays and sporting events. But he promised that sometimes Jed could just write what he thinks.
    I love it when Jed writes what he thinks. His thoughts are brilliant. At least, that's what
    I
    think.
    July 4, 1865
    Today is Independence Day. There is to be a grand parade down Fifth Avenue. Jed is going to write about it for his newspaper.
    Pa said we should all go with Jed to the parade and celebrate our country. He said that with the war finally over, Independence Day means more than ever before.
    [Image: Two American flags.]
    7
    Evening
    The parade was magnificent. Thousands of Union soldiers marched with their regiments. Many walked on crutches. Some had only one arm or one leg. But they all looked proud and brave. One soldier was blind. But, led by two of his fellow soldiers, he carried the American flag for his regiment.
    By the end of the parade, my throat was sore from cheering and my hands were red from clapping. I wanted every single soldier to know how grateful I was for his bravery and courage.
    When we got home, Jed went straight to his desk. By the time he finished writing, Jane Ellen, Pa, and Baby Abe were all asleep. Jed tapped softly on the door of my pantry room and asked if I was still awake. When I said I was, he asked if he could read his article to me.
    8
    In his article, Jed told all about the parade, and the soldiers, and the blind man carrying the flag. Here's how he ended his story:
    The States of the nation are again United, and once more a single flag floats supreme over every inch of our magnificent country. The wounds of the war ache still, but the nation's heart beats strong. The country is whole and its people are free. The healing has begun.
    I