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stantly exploded into a tangle of feathers and bones and grisly intestines, and dropped dead to the floor of its cage.
"Gradually, John's flesh began to reappear, as if they were shadows collecting after the sun has gone down. Before half a minute had passed, he was fully clothed in his own skin again, and smiling at me with a knowing impudence that I found profoundly disturbing. I am a religious man, but to witness such a powerful manifestation of heathen magic shook my faith to their very core.
"Colonel Meldrum explained to me that in times of war the West Africans could call upon their various gods to possess them, and that John had been temporarily possessed by a fearsome god called Oggun, who represents war and death and the act of slaying. Even here in America, he informed me, our slaves continue to worship Oggun by pretending to their masters that they are worshipping Saint Peter. It was Oggun who had given him the ability to be able to kill the mockingbird through fear alone, because the poor creature had turned itself out rather than face the terror which Oggun inspired in it.
"I now began to grasp what Colonel Meldrum was suggesting to me. If we were to form a brigade of perhaps a dozen volunteers, he said, his servant John could perform the necessary summonings and incantations, so that these volunteers would be possessed by some of the most powerful and warlike of Santeria's gods. They would wreak such havoc among the advancing Union forces, and spread such elemental terror, that our enemy would flee from the battlefield and never have the courage to return.
"I asked Colonel Meldrum to give me time to reflect on his suggestion. After all, we were Christian men, fighting a Christian cause, and to call on the forces of African darkness would be tantamount to admitting that we did not
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ourselves have the strength or the moral courage to defeat our foe.
"In the morning, however, a dispatch rider came to my quarters to inform me that the Union forces had crossed the Rapidan River. Generals Hill and Ewell had been heavily engaged and were retreating in confusion. I knew now that the South was on the brink of being overrun, and that Richmond herself was in immediate peril.
"I considered sending a letter to General R.E. Lee, asking his permission to employ the magical forces of Santeria, but I knew that he would never consent. Even if I had been able to spare the time to locate him, and to give him a demonstration of the powers that Colonel Meldum's servant had already displayed to me, I doubt very much if he would have agreed to it. He was a man of such unassailable honor and integrity, and his belief in the Gospel was so strong, that I believe he would rather have surrendered our army there and then rather than call upon the works of any devil.
"I prayed for forgiveness if the choice I was about to make flew in the face of everything that we in the South held to be glorious and dear. Having done so, I summoned Colonel Meldrum and his servant John and instructed Colonel Meldrum to select twelve of his most competent men, with my authority, for a special duty. He was to explain to them clearly what was expected of them, and to make it explicit that what he was asking of them was entirely voluntary.
"Only one of the officers and men he approached declined the assignment, even though it was clearly explained to them that they would be surrendering their minds and their bodies to un-Christian influences. The one who refused, Captain Hartnett, was the son of a fundamentalist preacher.
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"Consequently—and in utmost secrecy our brigade was prepared for their strange and terrible task. Colonel Meldrum himself said that he would be possessed by Og-gun (Saint Peter). The remaining officers and men were as follows:
Major-General M.L. Maitland (commanding) (Yegua, the bringer of death, often known in Santerla as Saint Erasmus.)
Lieutenant H.N. Stannard (Oya, the goddess of the cemetery, often syncretized in Santeria with Saint Anne of Ephesus.)
Lieutenant R.F. Mason (Ochosi, or Osowusi, the night watchman, Saint Cecilia.)
Sergeant W.B. Brossard (Babalu-Aye, the god of contagious diseases, Saint Lazarus.)
Sergeant L. Taylor (Orunla, the only god who tricked Death, Saint Francis.)
Corporal C. Hutchinson (Allaguna, one of the manifestations of Obtala, a fierce fighter on horseback, Saint Luke.)
Lieutenant Colonel H.K. Drewry (Osain, who terrifies people in the woods at night, Saint Cyril.)
Major ED. Martin (Osun, the messenger of imminent danger, Saint James Intercisus.)
Corporal W. Cutler (Eleggua, the trickster, Saint Martin of Pones.)
Major J.H. Shroud (Changó, god of lightning and fire, Saint Barbara.)
Captain G.T. Brookes (Orisha-Oko, the god of sacrifical blood, Saint Barnabas.)
"In spite of the warm and humid weather, each of these volunteers was to be issued with a greatcoat, since during their period of possession by their respective gods, they
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