“This is good terrain,” Buford said. His two brigade commanders were next to him in the cupola, waiting for orders. He waved an arm, indicating the road and fields. “Good fields of fire and we have the high ground. I’m sick and tired of charging the Rebels. Let them come to us.”
“There is no report of Confederates in the area,” one of the brigade commanders noted. “Some of the townspeople said some passed through a few days ago, but then withdrew. If anything, all we’ll most likely see is a patrol in the morning. We should be able to hold that off with no trouble.”
Buford shook his head. “They’re going to come, and · they’ll be coming in force. Skirmishers across those fields, three deep. We’ll have to fight like the devil tomorrow. I can feel it.” He shook his head. “Strange thing is we’ll be coming from the South and the Rebels will be corning from the North.”
He called out for a rider. “Go find General Reynolds. Tell him to come fast at first light. Things are going to get · hot in the morning.”
Then he spoke to his two brigade commanders. “We will hold here, gentlemen, until Reynolds comes forward. I want a line from there” — he pointed toward a streambed on the right — “up to this ridge, and along the ridge four hundred yards past the pike. Have your men start digging in.”
President Lincoln was also looking at a map, almost a duplicate of what was on lee’s field table. Reports from Meade were sketchy at best, but at least the Army of the Potomac was on the move and mostly north of the river after which it was named. The private door opened and Mary came in. She walked to his side without a word.
Lincoln’s large hands moved over the paper, taking in le states, from Maine to Florida then westward, all the way to the territories and the Pacific Ocean.
“There is so much potential,” Lincoln whispered, “from such a vast land. The world has never seen such a great land, one united in democracy. Who knows what such could do?”
Sometimes Lincoln felt the issue of slavery obscured other, as-Important issues. For him, the Union was the most critical thing. He had never allowed recognition of the Confederacy as an independent nation. He wanted them to remain to all in the North, and to the rest of the world, as criminal states in illegal rebellion.
He felt it went beyond just the Union though. The United States was a young country, a grand experiment the likes of which had never been seen on the face of the planet. It was a symbol of hope to those around the world who believed in democracy, in an age where kings and despots ruled almost everywhere else. Lincoln saw the war as a test whether those who ruled via election could also suppress a rebellion.
Lincoln had only those three months of militia time in his youth and thus had little military experience. But as the war dragged on, he began to realize that common sense mattered as much as a West Point education. The first large battle of the war had taken place in July 1861, when the first commander of the Army of the Potomac hat Lincoln had appointed, McDowell, suffered defeat at le first Bull Run.
That was when people began to realize that ninety days wasn’t going to bring about the end of the war. Two years later, the war still raged.
“It’s coming very soon:’ Mary finally said.
“Are you sure?” Lincoln asked her.
“Yes.” She looked at the map and placed a finger on a small dot. “Gettysburg. The storm is gathering.”
After four days of road improvement, Chelmsford decided it was time to move forward a bit farther. He sent out a patrol of mounted troops who found no sign of Zulus. It was · as if the land had been scoured clean not only of people but of animal life as well. Some of the more observant men noticed there weren’t even any birds in the sky, a most ominous token. It was as if the animals and birds knew something they didn’t. There was also a feel about the land that none could quite describe but that left an uneasy feeling among many of the men.
Chelmsford had the army move forward to Isipezi Hill, where he set up an intermediate camp. He had the wagons off-loaded so they could be sent back to Rorke’s Drift for more supplies. He decided this would be his jump-off point to the next significant piece of terrain, a large bluff called Isandlwana about four miles farther on. While Chelmsford could see Isandlwana, there was much he could not see, as the terrain was full of wide ditches, known as dongas, which criss-crossed the land.
Farther to the north was a large escarpment — the Nqutu Plateau — beyond which one could not see. Several officers expressed concern that a patrol should be sent to the escarpment. But Chelmsford decided against it. if the Zulus came, he felt they would see them in plenty of time to be prepared.
Nor did Chelmsford follow through on standing orders to fortify any campsite. The ground was rocky, making digging difficult and the supplies that had been offloaded from the wagons needed to be sorted, something that he felt was a higher priority at the moment.
At Rorke’s Drift, a single company of infantry was charged with holding the small outpost and keeping the ford across the river open. Their commander, Lieutenant Bromhead of the Twenty-fourth Infantry, unlike Chelmsford, believed in rules. From the moment they entered the small compound, he’d had ms men building walls and fortifying the position.
Rorke’s Drift was a Swedish mission station consisting of two single-story thatched buildings. One was the missionary’s house, which had been converted into a hospital. The other was a church, which Bromhead had also appropriated and made into a storehouse for the supplies that were to be forwarded to the column when the wagons came back.
When the wagons did arrive, they were accompanied by an engineer officer, Lieutenant Chard, with orders to improve the ford on the nearby Buffalo River. Chard and Bromhead were rather old for their rather junior rank and both had undistinguished military careers that so far appeared to be heading nowhere.
That was going to change shortly.
Chamberlain came awake to Captain Eddings looming over him. “What is it?”
“There is a message from the Oracles.”
“A message?” Chamberlain got to his feet. “What is it?”
“‘Be ready.’”
CHAPTHER THIRTEEN
Coming back to reality was as painful as leaving it had · been, Dane decided. The first sensation was one of intense cold starting from his chest and then spreading throughout his body.
Then came Talbot’s voice: “ — about two minutes to get the fluid out of your lungs and clear them for air. It will take about two minutes to get the fluid out of your lungs · and clear them for air. You should be able to hear me now. Hang in there. You’ll be warm and breathing air in just a couple of minutes.”
It felt as if his lungs were being ripped out of his chest as the flow on the pump was reversed, and the special breathing mixture was pulled out of them. The pain was so intense he almost passed out, sliding back into the cocoon of unconsciousness, but he held on.
Light blinded him as the helmet was lifted off. The woman who had taken the helmet off, grabbed the tube and with one smooth movement, pulled it out of his lungs, · throat, and mouth. Dane gasped for air. He felt straps tighten around his shoulders as he was lifted. The embryonic fluid let go of him reluctantly and with a sucking noise, he was dangling in the air. He was swung over and lowered.