The Fateful Lightning by Jeff Shaara Page B

handed the bottle to Wheeler. “Here. Pass this among your men. Your aide here seems to have a good instinct for the quality of spirits. Nasty stuff.”
    Wheeler took the bottle, sniffed it himself, seemed to approve. “The captain here is not my aide, sir. He commands a company of my horsemen. He’s a Forrest man, actually. But, as with the militia, these days we cannot choose our comrades.”
    Hardee studied Seeley now, said, “Well, Captain, welcome to Georgia. Regardless of General Wheeler’s prejudice against your former commander, I would much prefer General Forrest be right here with us. We could use every fighting man we have. Even General Wheeler would agree that Bedford Forrest is a good man with a saber.”
    Seeley saw a hint of friendliness in Hardee’s face, felt more comfortable now. “Yes, sir. I’m certain General Forrest would be here, if duty allowed it.”
    Hardee moved back to the chair. “ ‘Duty.’ Yes, I am certain he is performing great deeds for General Hood. Just what kind of duty General Hood is performing, I cannot say. But he is my superior now, and of course, respect must be offered. No doubt, once he advances farther into Tennessee, he shall fare much better than he did with the assaults he tossed into Sherman’s front lines. But General Hood has no failings in the eyes of our president, and we must agree with the instincts of our president.”
    There was no humor in Hardee’s indiscretion, no one responding. Wheeler seemed to pulse with impatience now, said, “Sir, the enemy is in force north of this city, laboring to cross the Ocmulgee River at Planter’s Factory. I believe there is opportunity, if you will authorize it.”
    “Oh, I’ll authorize it. Until Beauregard or Taylor gets here, I am in command. What is the enemy’s deployment?”
    “Taylor?”
    Hardee shrugged, nodded. “Oh, yes, indeed. You were not aware? No, there would be no reason for Richmond to inform our cavalry just who was coming to take command. My apologies to the president, and anyone else who believes we are in a position of strength. Yes, gentlemen, Richard Taylor is on his way, fully cloaked in the legacy of his illustrious father. I would offer everything I own just to observe Zachary Taylor confront our situation as it is today. Sherman would not enjoy that at all. But lest we be disrespectful of his son, Dick Taylor carries the legacy of his
own
great deeds, all those decisive victories in the Trans-Mississippi. Forgive me if I cannot name them. You do know that General Beauregard will soon be gracing us with his presence, as will General Bragg, on his way even now to take command of the garrison at Augusta. It is possible that Bragg will venture to Macon, if he can avoid capture along the route. The president has determined that even those generals who have once embraced failure might be assets to us down here. Regrettably, none of these commanders are accompanied by any quantity of troops.” Hardee paused, and Seeley felt the gloom spreading among them, could see a glare of anger emerging in Hardee’s expression. “Forgive my impudence, gentlemen, but in my efforts to understand the president’s strategy, I have concluded that Richmond believes we should confront Sherman’s army with as much ‘brass’ as can be mustered. We can ‘general’ them to death. I prefer you take this fight to his army any way you can. Unless you see an alternative?”
    Wheeler glanced at his other officers, said, “Sir, the weather, added to the difficulties in fording the river, has strung Howard’s columns out for at least twenty miles. There is opportunity.”
    “What of Federal cavalry? They’ll be screening those columns.”
    Wheeler made a fist, shook it in front of him, the most animated response Seeley had seen from the man. “Hugh Judson Kilpatrick! Forgive me, sir, but Kilpatrick’s screen is of no concern to me. I embrace the opportunity to confront such a scoundrel.”
    Seeley was