Waiting
Cordia, like most other citizens of Barton County, spent much of July 5 standing around outside of the courthouse, waiting to see if a casualty list would be posted. Of course, everyone was fairly sure that it was too soon for anyone to send a telegraph with news of the engagement from Carthage that day. All they knew was that Jackson’s men had attacked Sigel’s somewhere north of Carthage. They also knew there had been another skirmish, a little farther south, near the town of Neosho.
While Cordia was taking all this news in stride, Susannah had spent the better part of the day crying herself sick. Her young boys had stared at her at first, wondering if something had happened to their pa. Eventually, their grandmother came to take them to her house, and Susannah and Cordia spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the courthouse lawn. Julia was camped there as well, along with her aunt and many of the other women. Some of them Cordia did not recognize, and she assumed that they must have been from outlying farms.
Eventually, Mr. Ward, who ran the post office and was usually the first to receive telegraphs, came out to announce that they might as well all go home, as he was not expecting to hear anything that evening. Reluctantly, Cordia and the others headed back toward their houses, planning on returning the next morning.
Cordia was up with the rising sun. She made the short trip to the town square and the courthouse, which sat in the center. She could see from a distance that there was, in fact, a list posted on the door. As she approached, she noticed a few women in tears, others trying to console them. She felt her stomach tighten a little as she walked up the steps, though, for some reason, she felt calm, as if she didn’t have anything to be too worried about.
Her eyes darted down the list, skimming it first. She did not see either of the names she was looking for the first time through. Then, she looked again, more closely this time. She read every name—all 200 or so--of the wounded, missing, and killed in action. Jaris’s name was not there. Neither was Will’s. She let go a deep sigh of relief. But then, the woman next to her began to wail. She turned to see if she recognized her face, which she was glad to say she did not. “My baby!” she was screaming. “Dear God! Why? Why?” Another woman put her arms around her, as she collapsed. Cordia wasn’t sure what to do. An older man who was standing nearby came to assist the other woman in carrying the poor mother down the steps. She was still screaming. “Joseph! Joseph!”
Cordia felt tears of sympathy welling up in her eyes as she turned to go. Just then, she saw Susannah coming up the lane. She had been sure to check and make sure that James’s name was not on the list either. But when Susannah saw the tears in Cordia’s eyes, a look of panic overtook her. Cordia shook her head, “no” and waved her arms, as if to say, “Don’t worry,” but Susannah didn’t seem to be calming down. So, Cordia ran over to. “He’s not on the list—Susy. James isn’t on the list.”
Susannah took a deep breath, seeming to relax at least a little bit. “Are you sure?” she asked.
Cordia nodded, but her friend continued toward the steps, wanting to check the list for herself. “None of our men are on there. Not James, not Jaris, nor Skeet, nor Frank or Carey, or Will.” And that’s when she saw Julia and Margaret climbing down from a wagon across the street. She wanted to make sure they were not confused. So, with a big smile on her face, she ran over to greet them and let them know the good news. Their men had made it through the first battle without having their names written on the list.
* * *
On July 6, Sigel’s men began a retreat toward Springfield, where they planned to join up with General Nathaniel Lyon’s men, making their way down from the northern portions of the state. The going was slow, and Will intended to take this opportunity to write back to Cordia. He had not come anywhere near being shot the day before, but he had been engaged in battle, which was scary enough. He wanted to make sure she knew how he felt about her, just in case something was to happen next time.
His regiment paused that afternoon along the banks of a little creek. While many of the men took advantage of this opportunity to clean the grime of battle off in the water, Will wanted to ensure he got that letter done first. And he also hoped to find time to write his sister. He sat down beneath a spreading oak tree and found a few scrap pieces of paper he had been saving in his knapsack for this occasion. He wrote to Cordia first, pausing to think just what to say several times before finishing. He was never good at writing letters, and she always seemed to know exactly what to say to warm his heart. So, it was not an easy task. When the letter was finished, he put it in an envelope and placed it back inside of his bag. Then, he began to write to his sister.
July 6, 1861,
Dear Julia,
I guess you have probably heard by now that we were engaged yesterday. We fought near the town of Carthage against Gov. Jackson’s men. I do hope that Jaris was as lucky as I and made it through unscathed. I hope that you have not been too worried about your brother. You know that I am a scrapper and can make it through most anything. I guess there probably wasn’t much of a July Fourth celebration this year. We celebrated with extra rations. Or at least we thought we were celebrating. Maybe they were just giving us extra food before the battle. At any rate, I think on you daily. I hope to see your beautiful smile again soon. I have received four letters from you and am anxious to hear from you as often as possible. In your last letter, you mentioned a drawing you had sent. I have not received that yet. Perhaps it is caught up in the post. Maybe you can send another one, if you have time to finish? I am glad to hear that you are spending so much time with Miss Cordia. She is just the type of woman you should aim to emulate. Please give my love to Aunt Margaret and the family.
Love,
Will
Will had just finished addressing the envelope when the postman came by. “That a letter?” he asked.
Will nodded and handed it to the man. “I have another one in my bag,” he said, anxiously digging around for his letter to Cordia, but he couldn’t find it in time and the man disappeared into the crowd. “Oh, well,” he thought. “I’ll mail it later.”
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