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A Celebration
On April 13, 1861, Jaris Adams turned 21 years old, just a few days after Fort Sumter fell to the Confederacy. Of course, word of what had happened so far east traveled slowly and it was unclear to the residents of Lamar just exactly what had happened. Still, the townsfolk knew there would be implications that would affect all of them.
It was a cool spring Saturday afternoon, and his parents had invited over many neighbors for a birthday celebration out in the yard beside their house. A fine hog was roasting, his mother bustling around readying all of the other fixin’s. His brothers were setting up tables and chairs and carrying on like young men do.
As of December of 1860, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union, South Carolina being the first to do so. Texas was the latest, seceding in February. Since then, there had been lots of speculation as to whether or not the so-called Border States would follow in the Deep South’s footsteps. Missouri and
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Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Unexpected Guests
Within a few minutes, several more carriages, wagons, and horses had shown up at the Adams Farm, and many of the women were helping Margaret set the food out and make sure everything was in place, including Cordia and her best friend, Susannah. The men were sitting around, several smoking pipes, sharing news about their families. Finally, someone dared to bring up the topic of Fort Sumter and even secession. It seemed that, just like the county in general, those attending the party were split down the middle, fifty-fifty, half for Missouri leaving, half against. Jaris and Carey, who had arrived shortly after Cordia, looked at each other, wondering if this would be a good idea to announce their enlistments. Carey’s mother had died when he was born, but his father, an older, more rigid man, was present, and was sure to support his son in his decision to go off to fight. Just as Jaris began to open his mouth, his father stood up, looking over his shoulder toward the road.
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Haunted
Cordia’s eyes widened in horror as she thought about what Jaris’s cousins had been through. Their brother had been killed? How awful! Though she didn’t know these people, the thought of what they must have just gone through was inconceivable to her. She dropped the bucket of water, a small portion of its contents splashing her leg, and ran to Jaris, who still looked a little stunned himself. “My goodness!” she exclaimed, grabbing her betrothed by both hands. “How terrible. What happened?”“I’m not exactly sure,” he replied. “Will doesn’t seem to want to talk about it, and Julia is too out of sorts. They lived ten or fifteen miles from the town of Nevada, no other towns close by, just some neighbors here and there. Pretty close to the Kansas border.”“We are pretty close to the Kansas border,” Cordia exclaimed.Carey actually laughed at her, causing her to turn her head and
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Announcements
Finally, the finishing touches were done, and Margaret picked up the triangle, to ceremoniously call everyone to eat, though it wasn’t really necessary as they were all gathered relatively close together. The men made their way over and Rev. Jacobson, who had come along with his wife, said a short prayer, not only blessing Jaris on this occasion, but praying for the welfare of his extended family and for his beautiful young wife-to-be, which caught Cordia by surprise. She opened her eyes and looked at Jaris, who just happened to be looking at her. She blushed and closed her eyes again, feeling like a little kid who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, though in all fairness, he had his eyes open, too.As the others dug into the bountiful feast that the Adams family had spread before them, Cordia wandered off toward the horse corral, too much on her mind to eat just now. Jaris’s horse, a big appaloosa named Sam, came over to greet her, and she absent-mi
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Remembering
Will had cleaned himself up, as had Julia. He had even considered going outside and being sociable, as he was sure that is what Nolan would expect him to do. But he was not in any mood for introductions, nor was he ready to tell anyone about the ordeal they had just been through. His aunt had brought him in a plate of food—which he had devoured. Julia’s sat untouched, waiting for her. He was hoping that she would sleep awhile. She could use the rest.Eventually, he had wandered outside, hoping the fresh air would clear his head a little. But he did not dare venture into the crowd of strangers. It was hard enough for him to talk to a group of people he didn’t know, and the events of the day would make doing so even more difficult. He stood on the porch for a few minutes, looking around the farm. His uncle had some good land here and had done a fine job of clearing it and turning it into food and profit. He sat down on the porch rail, looking out beyond the fa
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Rain
Jaris came running over to help Cordia into the wagon seat as she walked away from her friend Susannah outside of the church. “I guess you know we won’t be seeing you for dinner today,” he said as he took her hand and helped her up.She did not know that. She looked at him with a blank stare, expecting him to continue, which he did. “My ma wants us to have a meal with my cousins, just the family today. Kind of a remembrance.”Cordia nodded. This must be the first time in nearly two years that their two families had not met for dinner on Sunday. “I see,” she stated. “Well, Frieda was going to gather up some dresses of mine for your cousin. Julia, is it?” He nodded, and she continued. “I was thinking perhaps I would bring them by later, maybe see if there is anything that I can do for her.”“Cordia, you’re one of the sweetest people I ever did meet,” he said, still clutching her ha
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Introduction
Frieda quickly grew impatient with the young woman on the other side of the door. “All right,” she said. “Now Miss Julia, this here is Jaris’s fiancée. She has brought you some nice dresses because she is concerned about you and wants to be your friend. Now, you can either stand there and stare at us until we drown out here, or you can let us in where it’s dry and warm, but we ain’t going away.”“Frieda!” Cordia began to reprimand her caregiver, but just then the door swung open, and a seemingly very small, terrified girl gestured for them to come in. “Thank you,” Cordia said as she began to remove her rain bonnet. Frieda brought in the dresses and set them down by the fireplace, which provided the only light in the room, except for the little sunlight that was pouring in through the three windows. Cordia never remembered seeing the cabin so dark and musty. She could barely see past the room they were st
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Glimpse
Cordia’s look of surprise at seeing him in the doorway was only out done by the expression on Will’s face. He had volunteered to repair the break in the fence while his cousins and aunt and uncle gathered up the stray cattle. They were just about finished and he had come back to check on his sister. He hadn’t even noticed the wagon tied out front and was greatly astonished to see that his sister was not alone. Cordia, likewise, was shocked to see him walk in for some reason, though it made perfect sense, since he was staying there. She simply stared at him, dumbfounded, until Julia jumped up and ran over to hug him. “Will!” she exclaimed, as she attempted to throw her arms around him.He stepped back, keeping her at arm’s length. “Hold on, Jules. I’m soaked and you don’t need to be getting all wet.” She nodded, knowing that any amount of wetness could easily cause her consumption to flare up.She stepped back
Cordia's Will: A Civil War Story of Love and Loss Soaked
“My goodness, it’s wet!” Arthur exclaimed as he flung open the door. Behind him trooped in all four of his sons and his wife, all soaked to the bone. Puddles quickly began to form on the floor, and Cordia wondered if they might form a river, what with so many drippy people all entering at once. The three younger boys all ran to the fireplace, stripping off coats and hats as they went. They didn’t see Frieda there at first and almost knocked her over, much to her chagrin. Julia scooted over to help her aunt get out of her wet things, and Will simply slid over to make room around the fire. Meanwhile, Jaris had yet to notice Cordia standing across the room. He was also trying to get out of his wet coat, hat, and gloves. It was Margaret’s cry of surprise that first made him look up and realize that she was there. Cordia was beginning to wonder if their wagon hadn’t floated away. Normally, people noticed when someone else pulled up and hitched in at th
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