"I don't get it."
"We using the battle reenactment to put the rednecks out of business. Draw the motherfuckers into the woods and shoot 'em."
"But you'll be with them, playing a Confederate."
"So I can be close," Robert said. "I'm the spotter. I point out which ones to shoot."
16
THEY HAD CHOSEN THIS ABANDONED farmland for the site and stood in the opening of a barn loft looking out at what would be the battlefield: John Rau, Walter Kirkbride and Charlie Hoke representing Billy Darwin, who couldn't make it: all three in shirtsleeves this sunny afternoon, at least ninety degrees out in that empty pasture.
Charlie listened to them deal with the weather first, Walter saying they'd sweat to death in their wool uniforms. John Rau saying it wouldn't be any hotter than it was June 10, 1864, at Brice's. Walter saying he would leave his longjohns at home if John Rau would and they'd keep it between them. John Rau said, "I didn't hear you say that, Walter." Charlie didn't own a pair of longjohns and kept it to himself. He saw Walter now gazing out at the pasture again.
"You think it looks like Brice's?"
"A big open field," John Rau said, "mostly, I believe, blackjack oak on one side, that old orchard on the other. Not as wide as Brice's but it'll do."
Walter said, "You don't know blackjack from a trash berry thicket and box elders. That's all that cover is, till you get toward the levee. It isn't nothing like Brice's. All you have is a field."
"In this case it's all we need," John Rau said. "Walter, you know it has to be in plain view of the spectators. They'll be down right in front of the barn where the ground slopes. We have a good two hundred yards out there to play with. You send your Third, Seventh and Eighth Kentucky Mounted Infantry out of the orchard over there and charge them straight across the pasture. I'm over in the thicket with the Seventh Indiana Cavalry and my own Second New Jersey shooting you down with our Spencers. You fall back and regroup and come at us again, and that's the Sunday-afternoon show."
Sounding to Charlie like they were going to actually refight the battle.
"We stop there," Walter said, "it looks like the Federals won at Brice's."
"Charlie will be making the announcements"John Rau turning to him as he said it-"right?" "Yes sir, I'll be happy to."
"And describe the action, who's who."
"I can do that."
"Charlie'll tell the crowd who won."
"I'll send skirmishers out first," Walter said, "and draw fire."
John Rau said, "Don't you have those fellas that like to take hits with canister?"
"Some of Arlen 's bunch. Yeah, they practice all of 'em going down together."
"Best diers," Charlie said, "I ever saw."
John Rau said, "I hope that woman brings her cannon. I don't know her name. Wears the big straw, kinda fat?"
"Kinda?" Charlie said. "She's got a butt on her like a mule in a pair of bluejeans."
John Rau said, "She'd have to be Federal to keep it authentic. Forrest didn't have cannon to bring up till late in the day."
Charlie said, "Who's gonna know that?"
And got a stern look from John Rau saying,
"Walter and I know it."
"When we did bring 'em up," Walter said, "we rode the limbers in close and raked you with grape."
Listen to him, like he was there. Charlie saw John Rau nodding.
"That young cannoneer-what was his name?" "John Morton, my artillery commander, twenty one years old."
Now John Rau was saying, "Did you know there was a woman fought at Brice's?"
"She the one went by Albert something?"
"Private Albert Cashier, Ninety-fifth Illinois, her real name was jenny Hodges. Everyone thought she was a man," John Rau said, "till she was run over by a car in 1911."
Walter said, "It's too bad we can't put on a show in the thicket, along the Federal line there."
"The spectators wouldn't see anything."
"I know, but that's my favorite action in the battle. I send Tyree Bell 's troopers charging in there firing their Colt Navies. John, they had extra cylinders capped and loaded in their pockets. More firepower'n even your Spencer repeaters."
John Rau said, "I did get hold of some Second New Jersey fellas, they're coming with their Spencers. I hope to have a couple of Illinois groups, the Eighty-first and One-oh-eighth Infantry. I talked to a fella may bring as many as fifty. He said, `You want Ninth Kentucky or First Iowa?' They do it either way. I said, `First Iowa, we're gonna need Yankees.' I told Billy Darwin about the Fifty-fifth and Fifty-ninth U.S. Colored Infantry. He said he'd dress as many of the hotel help as volunteers. And there's a fella staying at the hotel wants to be General Grant. Has never reenacted, though he does look like him."
"Grant wasn't at Brice's."
"Everybody knows that, Walter. I don't like it either, but you know people'll want to have their pictures taken with him. Is Lee coming-that fella always plays him?"
"I believe he died. I haven't seen him since Chickamauga. I got hold of the Seventh Tennessee and the Eighteenth Mississippi Cavalry. Some are coming, but hardly anybody's bringing horses. We let Billy Darwin rush us into this," Walter said. "We got started too late."
Charlie said to John Rau, "I recall you lost a horse at one of these."
"Yellow Tavern."
"I'll be astride King Philip," Walter said. "Parade around on my sorrel and let the kids pet him. I never feel so alive as when I'm Old Bedford."
Charlie said, "I hear Robert Taylor wants to be in your escort."
"If he'll feed and wipe down King Philip," Walter said, and then to John Rau, "Have you met this Robert Taylor? Colored fella from Detroit."
"Yeah, with General Grant." John Rau looking surprised. "I assumed he'd be a Yankee. Why's he want to wear gray?"
"He heard Forrest had colored fellas in his escort," Walter said. "He seemed to know what he was talking about, but he's slippery. I don't know what exactly to think about this Robert Taylor."
"Arlen met him," Charlie said. "He tell you?"
Now Walter looked surprised. He said no, and seemed ready to ask about it, but then John Rau was speaking.
"You know there were African Confederates. Not only slaves brought along by officers and put in uniform, but volunteers, too." He said to Walter, "Arlen's coming?"
"He wouldn't miss it."
"He will if he's in jail."
"For what, Floyd Showers? Everybody knows Junebug shot Floyd, and then one of Floyd's friends must've shot Junebug. It makes sense."
"Walter, do you actually believe Floyd Showers had a friend?"
"It's none of my business," Walter said. "What I'm concerned with is bringing off this event, making it work. How many you think we'll have altogether, counting women, children and dogs?"
"Our first muster?" John Rau said. "I'm hoping for as many as four hundred. Maybe fifty or so women and children dressed the part. Half-dressed anyway, little boys running around in kepis. I'm afraid the majority of the reenactors though will be UOs."
This was one Charlie hadn't heard of. "What're UOs?"
"Unorganized Others. We'll assign them regiments, so when you're telling the crowd who's who out in the field, they'll be accounted for. We'll do that Saturday morning."
Walter said, "How do we handle farbs?"
"With patience," John Rau said. "All we can do is point out the error of their ways. And I will be wearing longjohns, Walter." He looked at his watch saying, "I have to go," but lingered to mention the Porta-Johns were coming Friday afternoon, food vendors Saturday morning. Moving toward the ladder he said something about a sutler's store, drums and bugles… Walter behind him saying he'd wait for the crew coming to stake out the areas where the camps, the civilian tents and stores would set up, something about parking across the road… Charlie waited for them to go down the rickety ladder ahead of him.
Out in the barn lot John Rau was looking up at the weathered side of the old barn saying, "We'll have a banner up there, `First Annual Tunica Muster' and so on." He turned to the farmhouse rotting away across the yard. "I wish we didn't have that eyesore." Walter said he'd have his crew clean up around it. Charlie said, "I'll see you," and walked over to his Cadillac.