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512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 28, 1996
Hancock paused, told himself to be careful. He knew he had better choose his words. "We might have a difficult time taking those hills, General."
"General Hancock, last week I showed General Burnside a map, given to me by one of the engineers. It showed a deep canal, cutting across that open field behind the town, the field we will have to cross. I pointed out the location of the canal, that it will present a difficult obstacle in the face of artillery fire. General Burnside looked at the map, then looked at me, and said there is no canal in that location, that the map was wrong. I thought, well, he could be right, I suppose he has better access to information than I do. So I came out here, stood on this spot with field glasses, and looked across the tops of those church steeples, and pretty plain I could see it, right where the engineer said it was. Now, General, what am I supposed to do? I have spent over forty years in this army accepting the word of my commander as gospel, carrying out my duty." He paused, wiped at his nose with a handkerchief. "The commanding general says we are to cross this river and take those heights. So, that is what we will do. (...) And if we are not successful, we can say, well, it was a good plan, but there were ... circumstances, and Mr. Lincoln and General Halleck and Secretary Stanton will pace in their offices and fret over what we should do next. And you, General, can one day go back to your hometown and tell the families of your men that they died doing their duty. And they might even believe you."
Chamberlain walked toward them, stepped down off the surface of the road, and his feet slid suddenly away, slipped sideways into the depression that ran beside the road. He caught himself, one hand landing hard in the wetness, and Ames saw him. The other man said something, laughing, then rode away. (...) Chamberlain looked at Ames, said, "Just a clumsy fall, Colonel. These roads are a bit of a mess."
"No, they are not, Colonel. I have just been told -- that officer was Colonel Markey, of General Griffin's staff -- these roads are now ideal for a new and glorious advance of this army. That is, in so many words, part of General Burnside's orders. So, Colonel, you see, you did not slip in the mud. There is no mud."
Chamberlain stared at Ames, heard the bitterness, something new, looked at his hand again, the handkerchief. "No, sir. No mud here."
Ames abruptly turned his horse, rode away along the edge of the wet road.
Tom said, "He's in a fine spirit today, eh, Lawrence?"