Rogers Ramblings

War is horrible! Hi friends and neighbors. It’s been a couple of weeks since we have connected so let me catch you up to where we are at now. Oh, if you are a newcomer we are in an ongoing story about a young couple that grew up together in our community and eventually got married before the civil war started.

As we have learned from past articles, the parents of our couple, Johnny and Mary Lou were divided along with everyone else in our community. Johnny has gone off to war to fight for the Union and Mary Lou’s parents came from strong southern heritage. We learned two weeks ago that Ollie Rimzy: (Mary Lou’s papa) is a spy for the south and has been intercepting their mail. However: (one letter did get through.) Now we are all caught up. Let’s go back into the past and overlook what’s happening to our young man who is fighting for his life and personal beliefs. Here we go! Hang on because this week we are in Murfreesboro, Tennessee with our Sergeant Johnny Fyan.

The date is January 1, 1863, the battle has been going on for two days with seventy-seven thousand Union and Confederate troops locked in mortal combat with thousands of casualties on both sides. The men from Company B of the 25th Missouri are staggering into camp; they are dirty, tired and exhausted; many are wounded with bloody bandages. Johnny, our young man from Missouri is not only their sarge but their only ‘reader’. The men are all by now sitting around the campfire trying to warm themselves and Johnny sits down with them to read his only letter from his wife again and finish writing his entry into his diary.

Private Hiler asks, “Sarge, can you share some encouraging words with us please?”

Johnny: “Sure. My wife wrote to me and says she prays for

me everyday. It’s my faith and her words that keep me going! I wrote this for my diary today. I’ll share it with you.”

(All the men are anxiously waiting.) “Oh Lord Oh Lord how many must be killed. We pray that it’s your will. Oh Lord Oh Lord — if we’re killed by a bullet or knife. We pray to you that our name is in the book of life. We’re fighting for our lives in Tennessee. We all sit here, we’re from Missouri. We have many reasons to worry. Rebels fight like devils you see. We’re company B of the 25th Missouri. We’ve become a very close family. We all pray we’re on the eve of victory.

(all the men are stone-cold silent) Johnny looks up at all the men and reminds them all to get some rest and tells them that their captain has orders for us to hold the center ridge at all cost! Sorry folks it’s never easy to stop-but we must! Next week bullets will be flying and the smoke is so thick no one can see each other. Our Johnny gets shot. Until next week, my friends.