Chapter 24
The war, which wasn’t supposed to last more than three months, lingered on, and the months dragged past.
They wrote to Papa every day and shared the letters he sent them. The letters usually made them laugh, but George had seen Mama’s expression afterward, and he had the feeling Papa was keeping the worst of the war from them. And he had the feeling Mama was aware of that.
“There was a Brooklyn regiment camped nearby last night. They had a drummer boy who couldn’t have been more than twelve—”
“Mama?” George had turned fourteen in January.
“No, you’re not volunteering, George.”
He sighed. He wanted to be with Papa, but he understood. Mama and his sisters needed him.
“It was shortly after sundown. We’d seen to our horses and the camp and were getting ready to bed down. Sudd
