My Brother's Keeper My America 1 Read online

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  I am sitting on top of Cemetery Hill. There is still a faint smell of death in the air. But today all the church bells in town rang again.

  At our church, Reverend McCully said he thinks Gettysburg is starting to seem more like its old self. He said that more and more shops are opening back up, and some farmers are planting a late crop.

  He said many buildings, though, will long show the scars of the battle. He has counted over 250 bullet holes in the trunk of one big tree near the battlefield.

  Reverend McCully said the marks of the bullets should always remind us of those who died for the cause of freedom and union.

  He also said that the battle of Gettysburg has turned the tide of the war against the Confederates.

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  I am again sitting on top of Cemetery Hill. The birds are singing. Indeed, the hilltop this afternoon is noisy with bird song.

  Pa will go back to teaching his music lessons at the seminary tomorrow.

  Jed often sits on the porch and writes in his copy book.

  I give thanks every day that we are all together again and safe.

  September 7, 1863

  Jed called me and Pa into the parlor today. Jane Ellen was there with him.

  Jed said he wanted to read to the three of us. He did not open

  The Death of King Arthur.

  Instead, he opened the copy book he had been writing in.

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  He began to read in a low voice. He read about how he had been captured, how he had escaped and been wounded, how he had crawled past countless dead men and horses.

  Jed had written about many horrible things. But he had written in a clear and beautiful way. He wrote what he saw and what he heard. He wrote what he truly felt and what he truly thought about the war.

  He said the war has shown that all citizens in this country -- Northern and Southern -- are capable of evil deeds. He said we are tied to our humanity by only a slender thread. So we must all strive every day to be more loving and kind.

  When Jed was finished, all of us praised his wonderful writing.

  Jane Ellen even said she wanted to share it with the McCullys and Mr. Hoke.

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  At first Jed said no.

  But Jane Ellen was firm. She said everyone should hear his story.

  September 16, 1863

  Important news today.

  Reverend McCully stopped by our school to announce that Governor Curtin is going to buy property near Gettysburg for a cemetery for the Union dead.

  It will be on the north end of Cemetery Ridge -- where the wheat field, apple orchard, and cornfield once were.

  The bodies of Union soldiers will be removed from the shallow graves where they now lie. They will be given a proper burial in this sacred place. The new cemetery will be called the National Soldiers' Cemetery.

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  Jane Ellen brought more exciting news from Reverend McCully tonight. She told us there will be a ceremony in November to dedicate the National Soldiers' Cemetery.

  The great orator Edward Everett will deliver a speech. Jane Ellen said that he is the best speaker in the nation. The governors of all the Northern states are invited, and cabinet members, and congressmen.

  But the

  most

  exciting news is this: There will be another speaker at the ceremony.

  It is President Abraham Lincoln himself!

  We could not believe this news. President Lincoln is coming to Gettysburg!

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  I am on Cemetery Hill. This is the first time I have been here in several weeks.

  My days are now filled with ordinary things -- arithmetic, spelling, geography, and Latin. With so much schoolwork and chores, there has been little time to write in my journal.

  Thankfully there has been little to report. No battles. No death.

  October 23, 1863

  Betsy returned to school today. I did not know what to say to her. I felt she was part of a life I used to have. Not my life since the battle.

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  Wonderful news.

  Mr. Hoke showed Jed's story to his newspaper boss in Washington, D.C. The boss liked it very much! He wants to publish the whole story in his paper!

  But the best news is this: When Jed gets well, the boss wants Jed to move to Washington and work as a writer for the newspaper!

  After Mr. Hoke left, Jed called Pa and me into his room. He gave us the great news. But he said he would move to Washington only if Pa and I moved with him.

  Pa seemed to like the idea. He thought he could get a job teaching music at a college. Perhaps he could even play his violin in one of the theaters in Washington.

  As Pa and I were leaving Jed's room, Jed asked me to stay for a minute. He looked me in

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  the eye and spoke very seriously. He said that if I kept writing, when I grew up I could write for a newspaper, too. He said it was all right to have two writers in the family. He said I was at least as good a writer as he.

  Our life at this moment seems truly like a dream. I like to think my mother is spinning this dream for us.

  November 7, 1863

  Today Jane Ellen stopped me at the door of the schoolhouse. She asked if Mr. Hoke had come to our house last night.

  I said yes. In a whisper, I told her the news about Jed's job in Washington.

  Jane Ellen smiled knowingly. I realized then, of course, that she knew all about Mr. Hoke's offer to Jed.

  Why, Jane Ellen was the one who had

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  caused it to happen! From start to finish. From the moment she gave Jed the copy book.

  I told her that Jed wanted me and Pa to move to Washington with him.

  Jane Ellen said she thought I would love Washington. Then a shadow crossed her face, and she fell silent.

  I realized then that if Jed takes this job, he will not only be moving away from Gettysburg. He will also be moving away from Jane Ellen.

  I must talk to him about this.

  Later

  After supper, I told Jed about my talk with Jane Ellen. I told him I was worried about her feelings.

  He listened carefully, then sighed. He told me to stop by his room before I go to school in the morning. But he did not say why.

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  Before I went to school, Jed gave me a note to take to Jane Ellen. I promised not to read it.

  I delivered it as soon as I got to the schoolhouse. Jane Ellen took it from me without a word. She pulled down the map of the United States. She told us all to choose a state and draw it, showing its capitol and major cities.

  Then she slipped outside. I knew she wanted to be alone to read her note.

  I started to draw Washington, D.C., even though I know it is not a state.

  A moment later, the door opened. Jane Ellen stepped back into the room. Or should I say she nearly danced back into the room.

  I knew at once something wonderful had happened.

  I quickly drew a little house on my map of Washington, D.C. I labeled it "Our House,"

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  then drew four tiny people: Me, Pa, Jed, and Jane Ellen.

  November 15, 1863

  Late afternoon. I am sitting on Cemetery Hill.

  A cold wind is sweeping over the grass. Finally the odor of death has left our town.

  In a few days, more than 15,000 people are expected to be here for the dedication ceremony.

  Sadly, Jed will not be able to attend. He has a cold. The doctor does not want him to risk getting pneumonia.

  I burst into tears at the news that Jed would not be able to see President Lincoln. He tried to cheer me up. He told me he needed me to be his eyes and ears again. He told me to

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  take my journal and write about the whole ceremony for him.

  November 17, 1863

  Today, we were dismissed from school so we could help clean and sweep the town for tomorrow's ceremony.

  I pray I can get close enough to President
Lincoln to write about him for Jed. I have learned that he will be staying at Judge Wills's house tomorrow night. Judge Wills's house is on the square, across from the Globe Hotel.

  November 18, 1863

  Pa and I are standing in the twilight, outside Judge Wills' house.

  President Lincoln arrived a few minutes

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  ago. But the crowd was so thick we could not get close to him.

  Pa held me up for a moment, so I could see the President step out of his carriage.

  He is very tall with a black beard. His face has deep wrinkles.

  He walked slowly, not looking at anyone. I watched him go into Judge Wills's house. Then the door was shut.

  The crowd waited in the chilly dark and sang songs below his window.

  An hour later

  It is dark and cold now. People are still singing. Pa and I are still here, waiting. We are hoping the President will come out again.

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  Later still

  The President is still inside the house. Pa thinks we should go home. He says that President Lincoln has likely retired for the night. He says the President must be giving deep thought to the words he will say tomorrow.

  November 19, 1863

  It is 10:30 in the morning. A heavy fog clouds the sky.

  President Abraham Lincoln left Judge Wills's house a half hour ago. He is now riding a dark mare down Baltimore Street.

  Following the President are Governor Curtin, two military bands, and many soldiers on foot and horseback.

  The President is dressed in black and wears a high, silk hat.

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  I am standing now with the McCullys, Jane Ellen, and Pa in the grass near the speaker's stand at the National Soldiers' Cemetery.

  The sun is starting to shine through the clouds.

  President Lincoln is seated. He looks very serious. He must feel the weight of the world upon him.

  The Honorable Edward Everett is starting to speak. The crowd has grown perfectly silent.

  Later

  Mr. Everett is still speaking.

  Later

  Mr. Everett is still speaking.

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  My goodness, Mr. Everett has been speaking for almost two hours!

  Later

  Hurrah! Finally Mr. Everett is sitting down. The band plays music. Now it is President Lincoln's turn to speak. He puts on his glasses. He takes a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

  He stands up. He looks at us. He speaks.

  Later

  President Lincoln's speech was very short.

  When he finished, the crowd was a bit slow to applaud. I am not sure everyone understood that the President's speech was over.

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  But slowly the applause began to grow, until it was like a mighty wave.

  I know you would have loved President Lincoln's speech, Jed. It was short. But it was honest and powerful. Just the way you told me to write.

  November 20, 1863

  The newspaper printed all of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. These are the lines I love the best:

  Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

  Now
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  . . .

  we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

  November 28, 1863

  Tonight, the McCullys and Jane Ellen rode in the rain to our house. Mrs. McCully and Jane Ellen made a good meal of salt pork, yams, and biscuits.

  After dinner, Jed called us all into the parlor. He and Jane Ellen were holding hands. They announced that they are engaged to be married.

  Everyone was very happy. I think I was the happiest of all.

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  I am sitting on top of Cemetery Hill. A golden light bathes the freshly dug graves of those who died in the battle.

  Last night Reverend McCully said there has been praise throughout the land for President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

  He said that one magazine described the President's words best: They were from the heart to the heart.

  President Lincoln hopes that those who died this summer did not die in vain. He is praying that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom, a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people.

  He is praying that such a nation will never perish from the earth.

  I think God listens to President Lincoln.

  I think that people like President Lincoln,

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  Mrs. McCully, Mr. Hoke, Jane Ellen, Becky Lee, Captain Heath from the North Carolina mountains, Jed, and Pa will keep this nation from perishing from the earth.

  I also think that children like me, who believe that all people are created equal, will keep this nation from perishing from the earth.

  I might be bold to think that.

  But that is truly what I think.

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  Historical Note

  The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865. It is also called the "War Between the States," for the Northern and Southern states were at war with each other.

  At the time of the Civil War there were many differences between the North and the South. The North had a more modern way of life. Many people lived in cities. Their economy was based on trade. The South had a rural way of life. They depended upon large plantations to grow sugar, cotton, and tobacco. Black slaves from Africa worked on these plantations.

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  Slaves work on a plantation in South Carolina in 1862.

  The North had outlawed slavery. But Southerners thought their plantations couldn't exist without slaves. They wanted to make their own laws. So they decided to leave the "union" of the North and South. They formed the Confederate States of America. This led to the Civil War.

  When the war had been going on for more than two years, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate army, led his men into Pennsylvania. He thought a victory in the North would be an important step to winning the war.

  General Ri

  J

  m

  / /.. .

  m his famous horse, Traveler.

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  General Lee did not know that huge numbers of Union soldiers were also heading into Pennsylvania.

  On July 1, almost 165,000 soldiers clashed in battle in the small farming town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle lasted three days. It was the largest artillery battle ever fought on this continent.

  Battle of Gettysburg

  --

  Charge of the Confederates on Cemetery Hill,Thursday Night, July 2,

  1863.

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  A

  young soldier who fought in the Civil War.

  The Union army won the battle. But the armies of both the North and the South suffered terrible losses in America's bloodiest war: A total of over 50,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing.

  The brave people of Gettysburg had no idea that they would ever find themselves in the midst of such a nightmare. When the battle was over, they were forced to bury all the dead and care for the wounded.

  Union soldier Sergeant Amos Humiston

  died in the war. This photo of his children

  was found in his pocket.

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  More

  than

  3

  ,000 women worked as nurses during the Civil War.

  Before the war, only men had been nurses. Here, a female nurse tends

  to the wounded, including a Confederate soldier, at Gettysburg.

  Sixteenth

  President Abraham Lincoln.

  The Battle of Gettysburg did not end the Civil War, which lasted anothe
r year and a half. But many historians see it as a turning point leading ultimately to the victory of the North. Fulfilling the dream of President Abraham Lincoln,

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  The people of the town of Gettysburg proceed to the dedication of the

  National Soldiers' Cemetery where President Lincoln delivered his powerful

  Gettysburg Address.

  the United States became one nation again and slavery came to an end.

  The most memorable speech ever made by an American president was Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, given in November 1863 at the dedication of the National Soldiers' Cemetery.

  Generation after generation of Americans has revered President Lincoln's simple but powerful words:

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  "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

  "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

  "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate-- we can not consecrate--we can not hallow-- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember

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  what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth."