"Charles L. Harness-Quarks at Appomatox" - читать интересную книгу автора (Harness Charles L)

Quarks at Appomatox
by Charles L. Harness
This story copyright 1983 by Charles L. Harness.Reprinted by permission of Linn Prentiss.This copy
was created for Jean Hardy's personal use.All other rights are reserved. Thank you for honoring the
copyright.

Published by Seattle Book Company, www.seattlebook.com.

* * *


This is my historical period. My bemused ancestors fought on both sides during the Civil War. West
Virginia (where we came from) seceded from Virginia and joined the Union, but one of my distant
Harness uncles organized and outfitted a company with his own money and joined up with General Lee.
The Harness house on Route 220 near Moorefield, West Virginia, still stands, with rifle ports in the
basement. And George Washington actually did spend the night there on his way to fiasco at what is now
Pittsburgh.
***


* * *


* * *


"General Lee." A statement. A greeting. A question. "General" with a hard "g," and each syllable
precisely enunciated. And something odd about the accent. More like "Gaynayral Lay."
The two officers in gray jackets stared down from their horses at the stranger who stood by his own
mount, a beautiful bay. The soft radiance of the paschal moon revealed a man in uniform, but the jacket
and trousers were neither blue nor gray. The newcomer was dressed in black. From his bearing, clearly a
soldier. Rank uncertain.
The stranger saluted the tall officer with the white beard. "General Lee. I am Oberst Karl von Mainz,
of the Army of West Germany."
If General Lee was puzzled, he concealed it well. He returned the salute and nodded toward his
companion. "Colonel von Mainz, my aide, Major Potter." He studied the visitor a moment. "I presume
you are a military attaché from His Majesty, King William of Prussia. Welcome, sir. We haven't had an
attaché since the British Colonel Freemantle rode with us to Gettysburg. You must have overcome
incredible hardships to join me here at Appomattox Court House, and quite possibly to no purpose." He
peered through the semi-light. "I don't remember you in Richmond. How did you get through? The roads
are jammed with Union troops."
"I used... a different approach, Herr General."
"Ah? Well, no matter. Major, would you please extend our hospitality to the colonel?"
His aide sighed. "It's parched corn and creek water, sir. No coffee. No tea. No brandy."
Robert Lee thought back. A Richmond lady had entertained him in her parlor a few months ago. She
had given him a cup of real tea, made from what were probably the last genuine tea leaves in the doomed
city. She had drunk her own cup of "tea," which he knew to be dark water from the James River. He had
never let on. She had sipped, and she had smiled. A true Southern lady. All this was passing away. He
said, "By your leave, Colonel, I will now retire. There will be action tomorrow morning that decides
whether the war is over or whether it continues."