Drummer Boy at Bull Run Read Online Free Page B

Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
    From the mountains and valleys of the South came a shout of fierce resolve to capture Washington, the capital of the North. Plowboys left their mules in the field, and clerks forsook their ledgers to join the newly formed companies that were organized daily.
    And in both North and South, war preparations were made in a holiday atmosphere. Both sides were confident of victory, and neither had any idea of the terrible bloodshed that lay ahead.
    Almost no one stopped to think that thousands of the strong young men who rushed to join the two armies would lie in shallow graves before the year was out.
    * * *
    “Ma—what’s wrong with Pa?”
    Leah and Mrs. Carter were sitting on the front porch. Her mother had been reading aloud from the Bible, but Leah had not been able to pay attention.
    Mrs. Carter looked up with surprise, then slowly closed the worn Book.
    Leah shook her head. “He’s worried all the time—and he’s gone so much.”
    “He’s troubled, Leah. He feels useless because he can’t do anything to help.”
    “With the war, Ma?”
    “Yes.” Running her hand over the leather cover of the Bible, her mother added, “All the young men are gone to fight, but your pa’s too old to do that—and he’s not well.”
    “He shouldn’t feel bad,” Leah insisted. “None of the other older men are going.”
    “Your pa’s always wanted to be helpful. Now he can’t—and it’s hurting him.”
    Leah said no more, but two days later her father had an announcement for the family. They were seated at the table, and when the meal was over he said, “I’ve got something to tell you.”
    Leah was feeding Morena, and, in the sudden silence, the little girl looked around, her eyes going from face to face. Sarah had half risen to start clearing the table, but she sat down again when she saw her father’s face. “What is it, Pa?” she asked.
    Clearing his throat, Mr. Carter said slowly, “I guess you’ve all noticed that I’ve been troubled lately.”
    “You’ve been feeling poorly, Daniel,” his wife said quickly.
    “It’s not that. I’ve been feeling called to do something—but I couldn’t see what it was.” Taking a deep breath, he looked around the table, studying each face. “Now I know what I’ve got to do.”
    Mrs. Carter stared at her husband fearfully.
    He seemed to read her thoughts. “I’m too old to join the army,” he said, “but I’m not too old to help the soldiers.”
    “Help them how?”
    “I’m going to be a sutler.”
    Leah piped up. “What’s a sutler, Pa?”
    “The army has to have supplies, Leah,” he said. “The army takes care of equipment such as muskets and uniforms—but the soldiers need personal things.” His face grew bright as he explained. “Sutlers follow the army with wagons filled with things the soldiers need—paper to write letters on, needles and thread, candy—things like that.”
    At once Leah’s mother said, “Why, Daniel Carter, you can’t mean to become a traveling peddler!”
    “Well, it’s more than that, Mary.” He paused, then said, “The soldiers need more than candy and paper. What I’m going to do is carry tracts and Bibles along with the other supplies. Those young men need the gospel—the Word of God. And I’m going to see that they get it!”
    Instantly Mrs. Carter and Sarah began to argue with him. They thought he was not fitted to endure the hardships of such a life. “Why, you wouldn’t last a month, Pa!” Sarah exclaimed. “You’d get sick, and who’d take care of you?”
    He listened as the two spoke but finally said, “I know you’re right about my being in poor shape. But I feel that God has called me to do this thing—and when God commands a thing, He’ll take care of those who obey.”
    That was just the beginning of the matter, however. For the next two weeks the house was filled with strain. Leah’s father began at once to prepare for his new “mission,” as he