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Archived Copy of Earth: A Rendezvous with Destiny

Chapter 30: Lest We Forget

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Lance Corporal Jacob Gregory "Jake" Meyer - Fireteam Alpha, Second Squad, First Platoon, C/Charlie Company, Second Raider Battalion "Carlson's Raiders", Second Raider Regiment, Second Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, United States Marine Corps

Bowdarr's Bowcaster Cantina - Quadrant G-19 Coruscant, Coruscant System, Core Worlds, Republic Space, "The Galaxy"

05:26:16 ATC / May 26th, 1969 - 18:45 / 6:45 PM

Today was Memorial Day, meaning that there were no drills and inspections or anything major scheduled other than what was specifically for the day but even so, most of the men had been reflecting and remembering the past generation of American servicemen and their brothers-in-arms especially those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice while defending the nation from all threats foreign and domestic.

Taking a sip of his drink, an Coruscant Cooler that was surprisingly and remarkably tasted like the hooch made from fruit cocktail and other ingredients back in Vietnam confiscated during an MP raid only for 'Paddy' O'Sullivan to spike the lemonade some Red Cross 'Donut Dolly' brought to the office as an prank with Charles getting the most of it and it was embarrassing to say the least when the gal came back to retrieve the pitcher.

In complete irony in the aftermath, an irate Sergeant Nelson locked O'Sullivan in the then unoccupied brig to give him time to 'reflect on what you did but I'm not going to be your mother' but to this day Jake believed he had no remorse and in hindsight while embarrassing, the occurrence was funny beyond belief and the 5811s were just lucky that they weren't reprimanded as an officer or other MPs could have walked in anytime.

"You have quite the peculiar family, Jake."

"Tell me about it." The Leatherneck muttered to the only Alabamian in his platoon, Lance Corporal Darrel Hutchison, as he raised the can of Budweiser to his lips. "Take my Great-Great Grandfather as an example. During the Civil War, out of a household of ten at the time - seven brothers and his parents - he mustered in with the 32nd Indiana while his father and one of his brothers enlisted with the 19th Indiana of the Iron Brigade fame. Another brother joined the United States Army instead of a volunteer unit, the one being coincidentally numbered nineteenth as well and an additional brother somehow managed to become a United States Marine only to get fittingly stationed aboard the U.S.S. Wabash after being aboard the U.S.S. Wyoming - and interestingly while onboard the Wyoming he was in a naval action at Shimonoseki Straits in Japan on July 16th, 1863 - before eventually participating in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, not to mention that two other brothers enlisted in the 17th Indiana Mounted Infantry of Wilder's Lightning Brigade and Birge's Western Sharpshooters respectively. The other two siblings on the other hand remained on the farm due to, well, upkeeping as someone needed to do it and there also was a need for agriculture to supply the armies as well."

"Except for the Iron Brigade and of course unsurprisingly the United States Army and the Marines despite the limited role at the time for our beloved Corps, I never heard of those units."

"Which is a damn shame that they're overlooked as they were all important units that made vital contributions to Preserve the Union." Jake smirked as he noticed that the southerner was slightly irked by the three simple words while reaching into his pocket. "Still, my five Great Grand Uncles and Opa's father did their share once they arrived to America and settled in Indiana just after the failed 1848 Revolution." Jake flipped open his wallet and pointed at one of the photographs taken during his mandated for every Marine Corps basic training graduate ten-day leave home after Parris Island. "Come to think of it, in case you're wondering, I just received a letter from him a few days ago."

"That Blue Belly is still alive!?" The staunch Dixiecrat and supporter of George Wallace's American Independent Party was slack-jawed at the revelation from the Conservative-leaning Republican and adherent of Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, and Joe Pyne.

"What?" Jake shrugged 'innocently'. "He's quite healthy for his age. And besides, Crump might want to talk to someone who experienced the same conflict even if he was a Union soldier who was born in Germany and was three when he came to America."

"The South will rise again." Darrel vowed. "But it will have to wait until this business with the Sith is over with."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever pal." Jake waved off. "Us Hoosiers and the entire Midwest in general are on standby in case states from Virginia down to Alabama decide to invade Massachusetts and other New England states somehow."


Private Herbert Reinhardt Meyer - Company F, Second Battalion, 17th Indiana Mounted Infantry Regiment, Second Brigade ("Wilder's Brigade" / "Lightning Brigade / "Hatchet Brigade") , Fifth Division, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, Union Army

Hoover's Gap - Bedford County and Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States of America, North America, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy

06:24:90 BTC / June 24th, 1863 - 16:45 / 4:45 PM

"Well, I'm glad that we have these newfangled breechloaders!" One of the Union soldiers proclaimed as he reloaded his rifle by dropping the first of seven .56-56 metallic cartridges into the buttstock. "Otherwise we wouldn't be taking this position outnumbered!"

"Ik know dat feeling." Herbert concurred in accentic English as he cranked the lever briskly and pulled the external hammer of his Spencer back before taking aim. The Hoosier felt proud that he was entrusted with such a marvelous weapon that replaced his 1853 Enfield muzzleloading rifle and felt confident that the Graybacks could be whipped with the implement that could be loaded on Sunday and shot all week. "The Johnnies better run back to Richmond courtesy of our Horizontal Shottowers."

"Little do the Rebs know that at least we don't have to use our hatchets on them as hacking them seems overkill."

"And this isn't?"

The detachment of Mounted Infantrymen chuckled before each man continued taking coordinated turns to fire their individual repeaters and eject the spent copper cartridges with each briskly racking of the lever before pulling back the hammer for another shot at the outnumbering mass of gray attempting to drive the Hoosiers and Illinoisans of Colonel John Thomas Wilder's 'Lighting Brigade' out.


Private Linus Johan Meyer - Company D "Invincibles", Second Battalion, 19th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade "Iron Brigade", First Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac, Union Army

Herbst Woods - West McPherson Ridge, Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States of America, North America, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy

07:01:90 BTC / July 1st, 1863 - 10:00 / 10:00 AM

"Get the Nineteenth into line, Colonel." The former commanding officer of the Nineteenth Indiana before taking command of the entire Iron Brigade, Brigadier General Solomon Meredith, directed.

"Yes, sir." Colonel Samuel J. Williams acknowledged with a snappy salute before barking out the command. "First Battalion! On the right, by file into line, march!"

"Attention Battalion! On the right, by file into line, march!"

"Company, right flank, march!"

The men of the 19th Indiana immediately formed their battleline at the order passed down from Regimental to Company-level commanders, continuing forward in the direction of the enemy and waited for the inevitable command to halt before engaging the enemy.

"Company halt!" Captain David S. Holloway ordered his detachment before snapping out the next, inevitable command."Load!"

Linus with a snap immediately planted the butt of his 1861 Springfield Rifle-Musket onto the ground at an forty-five degree angle with the ramrod facing him before opening the black leather cartridge box to grasp one of the paper tubes containing gunpowder and a .58 caliber Minnè Ball before biting into the rear of the cartridge, pouring the propellant down the barrel.

Next, he tore the projectile out of the wrapper and placed it into the muzzle, pushing it down first with his thumb then proceeded to remove the rod and rammed it home, tapping the contents to compress and remove the tool, placing it back in the position underneath the barrel.

Finally he lifted the weapon with the butt underneath his arm part with the lock plate close to his breastbone, grabbed an percussion cap and placed it on the nipple cone before returning to shoulder arms as the first firing was for some reason at shoulder arms and any subsequent volleys were from the ready position unless directed otherwise.

"Ready!"

Linus exhaled and had his rifle-musket pointed down-range at a forty-five degree angle, knowing that the confrontation was inemiant.

"Aim!"

The soldier lined up the rear notch with the foresight at one of the graybacks at the opposing battle line with a chance that the unknown individual may become a casualty if the Hoosier inflicted the traumatic effects of the Minnie ball on him.

"Fire!"

"That ain't no militia!" One of the Confederates remarked as he spotted the distinctive headwear - the United States Model 1858 Dress Hat - of the infamous Iron Brigade of the West, not to mention being standard issue among United States Army Regulars of the currently divided nation's professional standing military. "It's those damn black hats of the Army of the Potomac!"

"Pour it into them, lads! Pour it into them!" Major General John Fulton Reynolds, the commanding officer in charge of all of I Corps, shouted in encouragement from horseback, intending on driving the Rebels away from his home state of Pennsylvania. "They can't withstand the will of men with iron!"

"You heard the General, men! Don't let him down!"

"Hurrah!" The Westerners hollered as they stood firm against the vicious onslaught of the graybacks.

"Firing by rank!" The Captain barked suddenly as the infamous Rebel Yell taunted the men standing firm like iron. "Front rank, aim! Fire!"

Meyer knew that the rear-rank was next and at the command 'aim', he took care in having the ear of his front rank file partner between the first and second barrel band of his rifle-musket.

"Rear rank! Aim! FIRE!"

Linus shot his piece and reloaded as quickly as possible, the skirmish was escalating gradually into an ugly slugfest with men falling down dead and wounded left, right, front, and back, the ranks being whittled down randomly across the battle line, but still the men of Indiana alongside their Wisconsin and even fresh-fished wolverine brethren of the 24th Michigan Volunteers valiantly held firm against the onslaught from the vanguard of the Army of Northern Virginia.

"Iron Brigade, forward! Forward men! Forward for God's sake, and drive those fellows out of the woods!"

"General!"

Linus overheard the cry of Reynold's aide-de-camp as the General fell from his horse and he then noticed a glint of glass coming from a tree, which resulted in the German-American aiming his 1861 Springfield at the Confederate sharpshooter who likely was the killer of the beloved Reynolds. The Hoosier focused on the front blade of the foresight and exhaled before slowly squeezing the trigger rearward with even pressure, watching as the Grayback fell from his perch to the ground mere moments later.

"Goot scheten, Söhn (Good shot, son)."

"Danke, Vadder." Linus nodded grimly, knowing that even with one less Johnny this cruel war was still hardly over.


Private Kurt Ekkehard Meyer - Company B, First Battalion, 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment "Birge's Western Sharpshooters", Union Army

Somewhere in Tennessee...

07:18:90 BTC / July 18th, 1863 - 15:40 / 3:40 PM

"See anything, Kurt?" Edward Norman, a Missourian, wondered.

"A field artillery officer." Meyer informed as he lined up the crosshairs of the lengthy telescopic sight on his thirty-five pound target rifle with double set triggers and noticed red stripes on the butternut's uniform through the optical sight.

"Good catch." Tucker Smith, an Ohioan, complimented the Hoosier."There's probably a battery somewhere as well since you spotted an artillery officer."

Kurt nodded as he cocked back the hammer and waited for his quarry to stop walking. 'Come on you son-of-a-bitch. You're going to chat with someone as there's no batteries near here as far as I can tell.'

The Indiana sharpshooter noticed the officer finally stopped to talk to an NCO and the Hoosier proceeded to pull the rear 'set' trigger back in order to lighten the front actual firing trigger. Kurt decided to wait until he could kill two birds with one stone and followed the pair as they walked to continue conversing.

'Come on, come on…' Meyer still waited as even if the artillery officer was more of a priority to render a battery ineffective due to a lack of guidance, taking out a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in a Infantry unit would still be a handicap for the Rebels as well.

Kurt finally had an excellent angle to strike them both down and by luck they paused. The Sharpshooter exhaled as his index finger gently squeezed the firing trigger rearward, propelling a .65 caliber paper-patched lead ball through the rifling and spiraling toward the targets: one in front, one behind.

The sound of the crack alerted the enemy pickets to the trios presence, causing the Confederates to aim their M1842 smoothbore muskets at the Unionists.

"There he is! He's in that darn tree!"

"Alright, it's time to get going!" Tucker exclaimed as he provided covering fire from beside the trunk of the oak tree with his sixteen-shot Henry Repeater, buying time for his two fellow Billy Yanks to retreat.


Private Eckhard Uwe Meyer - Company C, First Battalion, 19th United States Infantry Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, XIV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, United States Army

Horseshoe Ridge - Snodgrass Hill, Chickamauga, Walker County, Georgia, Confederate States of America, North America, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy

09:20:90 BTC / September 20th, 1863 - 17:48 / 5:48 PM

Eckhard enlisted into the United States Army, a regular formation, on July 9th of 1861, out of a belief that a professional formation could whip the rebels better than the volunteer and militia units that sprang up when war was declared on the rebels.

Now it was somewhat justified as the 19th U.S. alongside other elements of the Regular Army - the 15th, 16th, and 18th Infantry - standing out on the battlefield with their Model 1858 Dress Hats that unintentionally became associated with the volunteer units under the Iron Brigade due to a sense of professionalism by a insistent regular officer who took command of the Westerners instead of having them wear the more prevalent kepis and forge caps - were ordered by General Thomas to hold firm to cover the withdrawal though Colonel Morton Hunter's 82nd Indiana Volunteers was the first organized regimental-sized unit to reach the position to make an stand.

"Hold the line, men!" Thomas himself encouraged his subordinates - four divisions in total - from the top of his mount. "Hold the line! Let us be a symbol to rally around! Let this moment be long remembered as we are The Rock of Chickamauga!"

'Rock of Chickamauga?' Meyer wondered before he and his file partners fired their 1861 Springfields at the encroaching Confederates, feeling the need to stand their ground even if the rest of the army was withdrawing from the field.


Private Wilhelm Jäger Meyer - Company A, First Battalion, 32nd Indiana 'First German' Volunteer Infantry Regiment, First Brigade ("Horn Brigade" / "Iron Brigade of the Cumberland"), Second Division, IV Corps, Army of the Cumberland, Union Army

Missionary Ridge - Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States of America, North America, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy

11:25:90 BTC / November 25th, 1863 - 15:40 / 3:40 PM

"Skirmishers forward!"

Wilhelm knew it was his cue as he clutched his .451 caliber Whitworth outfitted with a vernier sight mounted on the tang of the rifle and a front 'globe' sight adjustable for windage with crosshair inserts. It was completely ironic that the precision weapon, the luxurious and ludicrously expensive smuggled contraband shipped directly from Britain, and confiscated after overrunning Rebels at Shiloh was about to be used against the Confederacy.

Meyer lied down prone, using his knapsack as a makeshift shooting rest and began scanning for targets up the ridge with acquired field glasses, intending on thinning out the enemy's ranks before the inevitable assault commenced.

'Looks like an enemy officer at fifteen hundred yards.' He estimated as the brandished sword glinted off in the distance, causing the German-born American to set the field glasses aside and grasped the prized muzzleloader.

Wilhelm adjusted the soule sight mounted on the tang of his rifle and the front globe sight, accounting for elevation and estimating the windage due to the necessity for the distance, before taking aim. 'Ik going to need some luck for this.'

Meyer made certain that he was aligned as he carefully pulled back the hammer twice - going from half-cock to full-cock - attempting to maintain his position steadily for the utmost precision before squeezing the trigger, feeling the shake of the weapon as the propellant burned inside the barrel and sent the unusual hexagonal projectile designed specifically for the polygonal rifling spiralling through the air, hopefully striking the intended target downrange.

The German-American from Minden in the Prussian Province of Minden-Ravensberg, Westphalia grabbed his binoculars to analyze the results and he was astonished to see that his luck paid off but the admiration had to wait when Wilhelm heard the 'recall' bugle call, telling the skirmishers to reassemble with the main body.

'Mein Gott.' Meyer was still processing how he landed a shot that far. Hunting Wild Boar and Roe Deer in the backwoods of Westphalia rarely presented targets beyond four hundred yards in the American measurement but he managed to hit someone at three-and-a-quarter times the distance!

Nonetheless, Wilhelm still had an obligation to uphold, the very nation he considered home was on the line and he took his place among the reforming ranks of his fellow Deustche - no, fellow Americans - for the assault against the rebel line.

"Bereiten Sie das Laden vor! (Prepare to load!)" The commanding officer of Company A, Captain Emanuel Eller, ordered. "Kompanie, bereit! (Company, ready!)"

Wilhelm prepared to shoulder his weapon and upon hearing the command 'aim', he pulled back the hammer, the click signalled that his piece was ready to fire.

"Füer! (Fire!)"

One concurrent, thunderous crackle rang across the blue cladded ranks, the musketry volley sounded more like one mighty roar instead of numerous rifle-muskets due to being fired at the same time on command exactly like they were trained.

The men of the Horn Brigade - the Iron Brigade of the Cumberland - fired off two more volleys in the hope of weakening the rebel line when the Brigade Commander determined that the time had come to take the fight to them.

"Verriegeln bajonette! (Fix bayonets!)" Brigadier General Johann August Ernst von Willich ordered, drawing his sword for emphasis. "Mach dich bereit, die Höhen anzugreifen! (Get ready to attack the heights!)" The man who challenged this Karl Marx who wrote some manifesto to a duel and respected fondly by his men for providing freshly baked bread everyday growled as he intended on vengeance for the fiasco that occurred at Chickamauga, revenge for enduring the siege by the rebels here at Chattanooga, and even a desire to prove to their relief from even elements of the Army of the Potomac that the Army of the Cumberland were capable of handling themselves in a fight. "Und erinnere dich an Chickamauga! (And remember Chickamauga!)"

"Chickamauga! Chickamauga!" The German immigrants and second-generation Americans of German descent shouted as they charged up and began climbing the crest of the hill, polished bayonets glistening in the sun and demonic fury in their gaze.

"Damn Yankee Dutchmen!" One of the Graybacks hollered from his rifle pit as he overheard the language being spoken by the furious bluebellies.

"Mach ihnen die Hölle heiß! Zeig keine Gnade! (Give them hell! Show no mercy!)"

Reaching the top of the parapet. Wilhelm lunged his rifle-musket downward and skewered one of the Confederates in the torso with his bayonet, twisting it out in order to inflict maximum damage to his foe's internal organs.

"Für das Union!"


Private Friedrich Walther Meyer - Fourth Division of the Naval Landing Party, United States Marine Corps

Fort Fisher - New Hanover County, North Carolina, Confederate States of America, North America, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy

01:15:88 BTC / January 15th, 1865 - 12:51 / 12:51 PM

"This is going to be interesting." Friedrich muttered as Sailors of the United States Navy individually equipped with a cutlass and revolver and U.S. Marines armed with either 1861 Springfield, 1853 Enfield, 1859 Sharps, or even the seven-shot Spencer Repeating Rifles hopped out of their assigned boats to 'Board the Fort' per Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's orders.

The plan for the landing force consisting of two thousand American Bluejackets and Leathernecks plucked from their assigned ships across the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron was to land and attack the fort's seaward side with the naval force, armed with revolvers and cutlasses, to attack in three waves while the Marines provide covering fire with their rifles. And while the Landing Party got organized onshore the ship's continued to bombard the fortress with their guns, hopefully causing a breach in the defenses and bring the glory of capturing the final significant Rebel fort protecting blockade runners to the Department of the Navy instead of the Department of War.

And to Friedrich, it was ironic that he finally had the chance to fight the Graybacks after all this time, after being aboard a vessel - the U.S.S Wyoming - that got assigned to the Far East Squadron of the United States Navy only loosely involved in the ongoing civil war.

By circumstance not of his own accord and completely out of his control, the United States Marine was involuntarily a participant in a joint allied show of force in Japan alongside crews of British and French warships - and Japan was an exotic land whose rulers were formerly isolationist and barely knowledgeable of the outside world except for what international news arrived at one Portuguese trading port at Nagasaki until Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry of the United States Navy arrived to negotiate diplomatic relations barely ten years prior with the Convention of Kanagawa being signed on March 31st, 1854 - not to mention being involved in the pursuit of Confederate commerce raiders - particularly the ever elusive C.S.S. Alabama under that damn rebel pirate Raphael Semmes the Wyoming had prior history with around Java in the East Indies - which were active in the Pacific only for it to be an instance of futility much to the dissatisfaction of the Bluejackets and Leathernecks.

Friedrich only enlisted into the little known branch of the Department of the Navy called the 'United States Marine Corps' he had to read up on beforehand after seeing an obscure advert because of a desire to preserve the Union - not head to Japan - and he came to regret not joining one of the State Volunteer units that sprang up back home in Indiana as signing up for the comparatively larger than the Marines by tenfold but still insignificant by size regular formations of the United States Army - the sparse and exiguious professionals of the nation's land warfare military branch, not the local militias or state volunteer units - meant it was just as likely to be posted out in the middle of nowhere in a frontier garrison at some inhospitable desert or be surrounded by one of the hostile tribes as it was to engage Confederate forces yet here he was, finally getting the opportunity a bit later than anticipated.

After returning to the Philadelphia Naval Yard on July 13th of last year, Meyer was reassigned to the U.S.S. Wabash which was especially ironic as the ship was named after a river in his home state but at the same time the Hoosier couldn't complain to be posted on the steam screw frigate, one which was actively involved in the conflict completely unlike the Wyoming.

"Let's go get the Rebels!" One of the sailors whoop enthusiastically as he and his fellow servicemen hopped off of the boat, the exclamation snapping Friedrich out of his recollections on the engagements in Japan and unsuccessful chase of the Confederate sloops built at the shipyards of Liverpool in the supposedly 'neutral' Britain. "Hurrah!"

Friedrich meanwhile formed up with his ad hoc unit of Leathernecks and lowered the lever of his 1859 Sharps Rifle to load a single, individual .52 caliber nitrated linen cartridge into the breech while listening to the officer for guidance.

"You will secure the landing zone and eliminate all resistance!" The First Lieutenant barked. "I want everyone of you to meet me there. Wait at the wall breach for further orders. Forward!"

Meyer charged forward, occasionally pausing to fire his breechloader at the enemy beside fellow Marines, watching as yards ahead with gallantry waves of bluejackets armed with their cutlasses and revolvers attempted to board the fort as if it was naval warfare yet it was quickly evolving into a mess.

The Sailors were just armed for close range fighting and out in the open they were targets for the Confederate defenders with no effective means to defend themselves, the Marines were attempting their best with their marksmanship but the fog of war made everything chaotic and combined with the mishmashed landings of crew who were intermingled with those they weren't familiar with and it was gradually becoming even a fiasco.

Even so, Meyer knew he had a duty to perform and he looked for leadership in the midst of the chaos behind a sand dune just short of the enemy fortifications, just short of the abatis and chevaux-de-fraise meant to slow the assaulting force down for easier pickings.

"Alright, apparently somewhere, somehow the plan went to hell so here's what we're going to do, Marines." The Ordnance Sergeant stated. "We're going to link up with an Army unit nearby and be there for the final assault on the parapet. This is it, men! We'll end this last smuggling port and the war will soon be over with! For the Union!"

Encouraged, Friedrich sprinted toward the enemy defenses and leapt over the parapet and jabbed his sword-bayonet into the nearest Johnny, skewering the Confederate's chest and ripping flesh.

"Victory men!" A Naval Lieutenant encouraged, waving his sword and firing his revolver at the defenders. "Follow me to glory!"

"Hurrah!"


Cave Hill Cemetery - 701 Baxter Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States of America, North America, Earth, Sol System, Milky Way Galaxy

07:17: 08 ATC / December 17th, 1961 - 13:49 / 1:49 PM

Jake and his parents alongside Uncle Steve, Aunt Michelle, Cade, and Zach treaded toward the site of the nation's oldest surviving memorial to the American Civil War and the reason for the visitation was not out of tourism but of respect.

Upon approaching the monument, Jake knelt down and read the inscription engraved by hand by Private Christian Friedrich August Bloedner, which was chiseled entirely in German:

HERE REST THE FIRST HEROES OF THE 32ND INDIANA GERMAN REGIMENT WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR PRESERVATION OF THE FREE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA. THEY WERE KILLED DECEMBER 17, 1861. IN A FIGHT WITH THE REBELS AT ROWLETT'S STATION, KENTUCKY, IN WHICH ONE REGIMENT TEXAS RANGERS, TWO REGIMENTS OF INFANTRY, AND A BATTERY OF SIX CANNON, OVER 3,000 STRONG, WERE DEFEATED BY 500 GERMAN SOLDIERS.

Jake felt the hand of his father on his shoulder, which caused him to glance up.

"You see, son, while they didn't ask for a war at their new homeland after voyaging across the ocean packed like sardines just above the cargo hold and settling down to toil the soil or venture to find employment in the cities and towns, whether they came here to America for the availability of farmland, the opportunities at the factories and foundries, or out of idealism, they all decided to make a stand as there's only one United States of America and their sacrifice one hundred years ago helped preserve this country as one, unified nation."

"It's a shame Opa couldn't be here." Jake perceived dolefully, wondering if his Great-Great Grandfather felt desolate as only a scant handful of veterans from the conflict remained, not one of them being of the same unit and it was astounding that there were still those who had once worn the blue or the gray during the divisive conflict in which brother fought brother being extant.

"He would have come if he was able but I'm sure his brother-in-arms understand in regards to his age." Paul asseverated. "Even so, with us being present here on this day, one hundred years after their deaths at the Battle of Rowlett Station that transpired seventy-four miles south of here, it shows that we have not forgotten their sacrifice nor should we even trivialize as they did not die in vain and it was due to them that this nation, under God, was granted a new birth of freedom and that the government of the people, by the people, for the people, will not perish from the Earth."


Present...

"Still, a bluebelly?" The Southerner groaned in denial.

"I don't like bragging in the slightest, Darrel, and I'm not trying to make a reputation or anything. There's no glory in war, just a need to defend one's nation against threats."

"I never said anything about you being a celebrity or anything, Jake, as you're one of the most humblest down-to-earth individuals I know, but it's just mindblowing to know that your grandpappy is one of the few remaining veterans of the War between the States."

"When my three times Great Grandfather bought the acreage of arable land which became the family homestead in Franklin Township, the patriarch became an adherent of the Whig Party before switching to the GOP when the Whigs went the way of the dodo and supported Honest Abe naturally. Guess you could say the Meyer family since leaving Germany always upheld American conservatism, particularly republicanism and strict constructionism, more or less."

"If you're conservative then why support darkies? And it sounds like you support State Rights, I'm just honestly surprised by you."

Jake rolled his eyes, wondering if the George Wallace follower didn't know what republicanism and originalism was even if they both in a way shared the opinion of a need for small government albeit for different reasons and from completely differing perspectives.

While the 'big tent' concept within the two-party system was just mind boggling at times with begrudging alliances between the factions of the opposing parties such as notably the 'Conservative Coalition' which formed a bulwark against any expansion of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 'New Deal' program, the ideological similarities between Conservative Democrats and Conservative Republicans did not mean that there was agreement on everything outside of keeping taxes low and the Federal Government small. Republican Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen - who was at the time the Senate Minority Leader - for instance was crucial in getting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed while his ideologically similar counterpart in the other chamber of Congress, Democratic Representative Howard Worth Smith of Virginia, attempted to kill it outright by 'keeping the bill bottled up indefinitely' as the staunchly segregationist Smith was chairman of the House's Rules Committee.

"To quote the Declaration of Independence: 'All Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness'. I don't see anything that excludes men of a certain complexion at all within the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and Constitution. Plus there's also the hypocritical fact that the South violated State's Rights when they demanded the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act be zealously enforced by the Federal Government even in states where slavery was outlawed such as Pennsylvania and of course Indiana due to the Northwest Ordinance but overall Doctor King is right, every man should be judged by their character, not color of their skin." Sighing, Jake decided that it was best to move away from politics unless it got heated. "Still, can we at least agree to a toast on Fonda rotting in Hell?"

"I can drink to that." The Alabamian concurred. "Especially since you're a Midwesterner and not a filthy Yankee."

"No." Jake sat his drink down and gazed at Darrel sincerely to further reinforce his declaration. "I may be a Hoosier and a United States Marine but at the end of the day, I'm still a American plain and simple. God bless the United States of America from sea to shining sea."


"May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn't free."

~ Sergeant Major Bill Paxton, USMC [Ret.]

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving in the United States Armed Forces, a day of remembrance, and at times, sadly, there are those who unfortunately who for whatever reason decide to besmirch them but at the same time their First Amendment right in order to do so was protected by the men who were in the uniform of the branches of the United States military.

That's your right of course and I won't stop you but I for one will continue to reflect on the sacrifices this nation has endured in order to remain free.

This chapter written by We'retheDesperateMeasures-ODST for Memorial Day is therefore dedicated to the American Servicemen and Servicewomen of the past, present, and future and the casualties throughout the years.

Lest We Forget

I can confirm that I'm bringing forth often overlooked history to light here in the story such as the often forgotten Teutonic Order and Northern Crusade to even the smallest, minute footnote.

While the United States Marines attached to the Naval Landing Party that assaulted Fort Fisher in January of 1865 did fail to capture the fortress on their own, unless being an unintentional distraction counts, it marked the drift toward the Corps exploring amphibious landings as their niche by the turn of the century.

And out in Tennessee, one year, seven months, and twenty-two days earlier; The usage of the Spencer Rifles by Wilder's Lightning Brigade at Hoover's Gap also marked the FIRST engagement in history when repeating rifles were used in combat.

As a quick sidenote, during the Battle of Chickamauga, the 21st Ohio Infantry Regiment equipped with their Colt Revolving Rifles put out such a murderous fire it convinced the attacking Confederates that they were attacking an entire Division, not just a single regiment!

That's not mentioning to this day, no one knows exactly why the Army of the Cumberland assaulted Missionary Ridge in a charge much larger than Pickett's WITHOUT orders to do so by the chain of command other than the obvious fact that the men were infuriated at being beaten at Chickamauga then besieged.

No matter if it was just simple rage or a spur of the moment initiative by the besieged men, arguably this was one of the major turning points in the American Civil War as afterward the southern heartland laid open to invasion.

Other than the fact that the father of Douglas MacArthur was a participant, most folks ignore the Battle of Chattanooga and the Western Theater in general, unlike Gettysburg.

And the Battle of Rowlett's Station received national attention due to being one of the earliest Union victories in the war.

In fact, the 32nd Indiana 'First German' Infantry Monument carved by August Bloedner is the nation's oldest American Civil War monument and while the original was forced to be placed in a museum due to decay, a replica erected in its place that was carefully carved out to appear similar to the original can be seen today.

It's a shame really as General Longstreet and elements of the Army of Northern Virginia were involved in the Battle of Chattanooga as well as elements of the Army of the Potomac fresh from Gettysburg under the command of Joseph Hooker.

It goes to show that the fight out West was judged to be of strategic importance while the East was mainly symbolic due to Washington D.C. and Richmond.

Then there's the fact that Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan were fighting in the west long before Grant and Sheridan were brought Eastward or Sherman leading his Westerners through Georgia and up through the Carolinas with the intention of linking up with Grant only for Lee to surrender at Appomattox followed not long afterwards by Johnston surrendering to Sherman.

Don't get me wrong: The two battles at Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, and the two forgotten battles literally just on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. known officially as the Battle of Monocacy and the Battle of Fort Stevens respectively were important but so was Perryville, Shiloh, Cumberland Gap, Corinth, Vicksburg, and yes, even Chattanooga.

When the East was in either a stalemate or just quiet due to McClellan's overcautiousness, the majority of the engagements, the bloodshed, were occurring out in the West.

While the land battles in the Eastern Theater has been overglorified to death and caught the public perception of the conflict for generations, the war was arguably won in the West by Mid-1863, not to mention the Anaconda Plan of the United States Navy constricting the flow of vital supplies marked for Confederate forces as well, and the historical record vindicates this.

As again the West was the strategic key to winning the war, the East was symbolic due to the two opposing capitals.

Hopefully this chapter open some curiosity of the often overlooked yet still interesting tales from the past such as:

The Mad Russian Brigadier General Ivan Vasilyevich Turchaninov, better known under his Anglicized name of John Basil Turchin.

Or the ingenious exploits of August Willich, an openly staunch Communist who ironically challenged Karl Marx to a duel (I'm not joking! He challenged the co-author of the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx, to a duel!) and fought to preserve the Union.

Most of the consensus about history makes other tales more often than not overlooked or even ignored outright but for those who read more into it, the more interesting tales one unravel.

Thus history can be intriguing if you look into it :)

To use an example from what I dug up during my own research:

Indiana during the American Civil War was a majorly rural 'western' state that was the first 'western' state to mobilize for the Civil War, ranked second among the Union States in the percentage of men of military age who served, its railroad hubs and access to the Ohio River were vital to the Union war effort, and of course, provided crops since the majority of the south, well, seceded.

Units from Indiana fought in the first substantial battle of the war at Philippi, Virginia, on June 3rd, 1861, and in the last significant engagement at Palmito Ranch, Texas, on May 13th, 1865.

In fact, officially the last soldier killed in combat due to the conflict was Private John Jefferson Williams of Company B, 34th Indiana Volunteers at Palmito Ranch in Texas.

Hoosier soldiers overall were involved in three hundred and eight battles in sixteen states and one territory and Indiana regiments fought in all major theaters of action, but more were involved in the fighting west of the Appalachians than east of them.

For example, just six Indiana regiments were involved in the Battle of Gettysburg and six regiments and artillery batteries in the fighting at Antietam, while some fifty-five Hoosier regiments and artillery batteries fought at Atlanta, fifty-five at Kennesaw Mountain, and fifty at Resaca.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana