“Coming.”
Brent was riding Battle-ax, a truly big boy, although gentle. She went to give him a boost up but Dustin was already with him, helping him onto the horse.
As they rode, she noted that although Dustin was keeping an eye on Brent, he was staying close to her.
He was also watching everyone riding with them—and the forest around them, as well.
Soon, they reached the open ground that led to the stream and the bluff that forded it, where they usually camped. The rocks created an overhang that had been useful whenever they were surprised by rain. Tonight, however, promised to be beautiful.
They pitched the tents, the work going well, everyone helping. Sean now seemed subdued; he looked over his shoulder frequently—and kept close to the others. Aaron sent the boys to gather wood for the fire. They used the camping area often and had a fire site ready. It was on clean, swept soil and surrounded by rocks to prevent the fire from spreading.
Within forty minutes of their arrival, the tents were pitched and the fire was blazing. Aaron quickly had coffee going, while Mariah and Mason set up the grill. They’d brought hot dogs and beans and the makings for s’mores. Everyone seemed hungry, and it wasn’t until they’d eaten and had gorged themselves on the s’mores that Joey asked Mariah when she was going to get to the ghost stories.
“Ah, well, now!” Mariah smiled at him and gestured grandly. “Now that the moon is high, and the mist will soon gather and rise on the moor!”
“Is this a moor?” Joey asked.
“No, not really. It’s a field in the foothills, but close enough,” Mason said.
“Remember, I don’t just tell ghost stories. A ghost story doesn’t amount to anything unless you know why the ghost stayed behind,” Mariah said. “And that means knowing the history.”
“So you’re going to tell us about General Rufus Cunningham, right?” Joey asked excitedly.
“With a little help from my friends,” Mariah said. “Liv, you want to start?”
“Okay, if you’d like,” Olivia said. She looked around at all the boys, and forced herself not to smile. Brent was sitting on Dustin’s left side.
Sean was on his right—sitting even closer than Brent.
“The best stories always come with truth and time,” she began. “And to understand what brought about a ghost, you first have to understand some history, just like Mariah said. As I’m sure you already know, Tennessee was the last state to join the Confederacy. That happened on June 24, 1861. As soon as Tennessee seceded, it was like Nashville had a target painted on her. Because the city was a major shipping center and had a major port on the Cumberland River, both sides saw Nashville as extremely important. Battles couldn’t be fought without supplies, without a way to keep soldiers clothed and fed. And, of course, Nashville was also the capital of Tennessee. It was important for the Union to take a capital, because that affected morale. One thing we learn in therapy of any kind is that morale can dictate what happens. We can create self-fulfilling prophesies—believe there’s no choice but to fail and you will. Believe you can make it and you will.”
Joey cleared his throat. “Uh, Olivia, the South did lose the war.”
“Yeah, didn’t you hear?” Matt asked her, giggling.
“Okay, it doesn’t always work.” She smiled. “Hard and bitter as that defeat must have been for the Confederates, time has shown us that we’re better and stronger as one country. To many people living in the nineteenth century, the main focus was states’ rights, and, okay, that was connected to slavery—and the economy. But one of Lincoln’s great triumphs was that slavery was abolished. Today, we can look back and wonder how any human being believed he could own another human being.” She paused to let the boys think about that.
A moment later she continued. “But, as I said, it was important for the Union to hold the city. Protecting Nashville was Fort Donelson, which fell on February 16, 1862. As soon as the fort fell, Union troops came in and the federal occupation of Nashville began. And Nashville became the first Confederate capital to fall to the federal government. Again, something that was actually good for some—the Unionists—and not so good for others—the ardent secessionists. Remember, we were divided on the matter of secession. The state government moved to Memphis at that time. But the Union sent in a military governor. Anyone know who that was? I’ll give you a hint. A future president.”
“Andrew Johnson!” Matt called out.