The Eagles of God II

John McWilliams brushed his jacket carefully and buffed the new gold oak leaves on each epaulet. Looking thoughtfully in the mirror, he appeared quite dapper in the blue Union uniform that he wore so proudly. Yes, everything was fine. The young officer had graduated recently from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and now unexpectedly held the rank of major. Even more surprisingly, he was an aide to the president.

It had all happened so quickly that he could scarcely believe his good fortune. It seemed strange how fate had selected him to play such a significant role. Still, often at the beginning of a significant war surprising things can happen. A rapid expansion of Union military forces was in progress and the young officer had all the proper credentials. It was not his intention to sit idly by during such a critical stage in the fate of his country. The war undoubtedly would be long and difficult and, while the North held many advantages over their Southern opponents, the outcome was far from certain.

Being fresh from the academy had filled him with great anticipation. In common with many youths, be was eager to engage the enemy and quickly bring an end to the war. His formal military training gave him great confidence, and be recalled some useful concepts that he believed would prove valuable. One of the most significant involved troop training. lie intended to use much of this information in the preparation of cavalry trainees for battle. Fortunately, his free lime from presidential duties enabled him to evaluate many of these precepts. In the process, he wasted little time in designing a well-thought-out, tough training regimen.

"Colonel Allsworth," John said to his commanding officer one day. "I realize that my cavalry troop is still in its training discipline. However, they are well equipped and nearing the end of the course. We have worked them extremely hard and they have responded courageously. In my opinion, they will soon be as good as the regulars. I believe that this would be a good time to give them an operational exercise, a trial by fire against the enemy. I seek your permission, sir, to reconnoiter the Confederate picket lines beyond our outlying capital fortifications. Such contact with the enemy should give us invaluable experience, and serve to reinforce our confidence. It will show our trainees that the Rebels are not all eight feet tall, and that our ongoing training regimen will prove invaluable to the Union army."

The proposal took the colonel by surprise. Such a thought had never crossed his mind, or to anyone else in the training cadre that he could recall Training was now his niche and combat was not necessarily a valid word in his vocabulary. He reacted nervously to the boldness of the request.

"I ... I don’t know," he said uneasily. "Perhaps I’d better take it up with higher headquarters. We wouldn’t want a serious incident on our hands, would we? Can you imagine what the papers would do to us if several of our recruits were killed or captured? I might possibly end up back in Boston managing the bank again. Let me speak to the brigadier about it. We must go through the chain of command, you know. And, of course, we would need the approval of Mr. Lincoln. I’m certain that be wouldn’t want anything to

happen to his valuable aide."

John smiled at his superior confidently and said, "I already have his approval, sir. He thinks it is a remarkable way to test our more advanced trainees and to possibly learn a few things about enemy strength near our western defenses. As it is, we have precious little information about Confederate deployment and artillery strength anywhere around the Washington area. It might be formidable, but again, perhaps not. I can’t imagine that they could afford to scatter their limited forces in such a manner. After all, they’re in the process of expanding their troop strength, too."

Allsworth blinked at the answer. He hesitated momentarily before saying, "Ah

well, in that case, I see little need in bothering the general," he said with renewed self-assurance, and an inward sigh of relief. At least he was off the hook.

"You have my permission to proceed with your suggestion. (Give me a briefing of your plans when they are finalized and I will seek approval of higher authority."

John returned to his quarters and quickly outlined a strategy. It was not exactly new. Re had already decided that a relatively small group would be more maneuverable and less likely to stir up a Rebel hornet’s nest in the process. He needed a lieutenant, two sergeants and a corporal, that they might gain experience, and perhaps fifteen troopers. That would make a total fighting force of twenty men. The lieutenant and noncommissioned officers would select the others and see to it that all were adequately armed and provisioned.

Their point of departure was a principal concern. The Virginia side would likely be too heavily fortified and patrolled. His objective was not to expose his men needlessly to danger; it was merely a small reconnoitering force intended to give the troops a meaningful exposure to the enemy. The Maryland side westward along the Potomac would be most suitable. Possibly no Confederate troops would he encountered, as the bulk of their Northern Virginia forces were located across the river behind their fortifications. Still, then was evidence that some Rebel forces had crossed into Maryland. John suspected, however, that their defenses would be lightly manned.

He considered a spot near Fort Stuart, several miles inland from the Potomac. "That should do it," be said half-aloud. "We’ll head west, cut down toward the Great Falls and perhaps beyond. A night patrol might stir up some confusion and test the mettle of my men."

John dropped the pencil on the desk after marking a map with his proposed route. "We must arrange proper identification signals and passwords. I trust the men who are manning our forts and other defenses are properly briefed, and aren’t too jittery or trigger happy," he said quietly to himself "I’d hate for us to get shot up by our own side. I’ll ask the colonel to attend to this issue. That’ll make him feel like he’s an important part of the plan. I'll suggest this to him during the briefing."

It was a matter not to be taken lightly. Already, there were a number of forts and some thirty miles of bulwarks and manned defenses at strategic points around Washington. Everyone involved was somewhat jumpy. During most nights there were shots fired by sentries into the darkness, usually at nothing in particular. More than likely it was at sounds made by night-wandering animals.

John met with the colonel the following morning and outlined the nature of his foray behind enemy lines. Allsworth examined the map, studying it carefully. Re sat strumming his fingers; there was an urge to change something ever so slightly in some manner. He just couldn’t approve a plan without having made some input of his own. Yet, supposing something went radically wrong? Then he would he partly to blame and the higher ups would demand an explanation. Perhaps, it would be best to leave things as they were.