PART 1 CHAPTER 13

13
July 1862. From Mary.
I feel quite pert after the cool rain we had yesterday. I hope it isn’t as cold at night
up the Valley. Tell Beards he didn’t take all the rain away from here this time when he
headed back to camp, and he also left the cold air behind. I suppose I shouldn’t
complain about the rain, it was welcome after such a dry May and June. Beards also
left behind a bit of sadness, I confess. He came by to call, and because I told Ma about
our vow¹ to be sweethearts, she left us alone in the parlor² for an afternoon. I believe I
love him more with each passing week. You can tell him that he is sorely missed
around here.
Law, Tom, your jaw³ would drop if you could see the poverty of the merchants in
Staunton these days. Pa set off last week to get provisions, but there were none to be
had. Mr. Sampson’s market was shut tight, as were Mr. Wilson’s bakery, the shoe
stores, hardware and seed merchants, the American Hotel, and even all the taverns⁴.
Nary a crumb⁵ of sugar or coffee could be bought for all the gold in China! Prices for
flour have risen from six dollars a barrel last year up to as much as forty dollars, and
butter has risen from twenty cents a pound to as much as two dollars a pound. There
simply is no salt, not even for rich people.
Pa finished his first harvest last Monday. He had no help, but for young Jackie
Beard one day and old Mr. York, who must be in his seventies, the next two. He could
scarcely find time to be in the field because folks dragged one sack after another to the
mill. Farmers around here are not storing their grains but are having them ground
immediately after harvest. Pa says it’s because they want to take advantage of current
government prices.
But I believe they are convinced that if their grain is in sacks rather than a silo, it
can be better hid under floorboards and in attics⁶, safe from both armies’ soldiers. I
tell you, Tom, folks this year don’t want to give up their all for the Confederacy. The
summer’s terrible drought and relentless⁷ army requisitioning is causing men around
here to predict a sure famine. They say an agricultural catastrophe⁸ plagues the entire
Valley.
In the flatlands around Richmond, I’d marched alongside dry fields filled with stunted⁹ brown
corn stalks and topsoil spiraling upward in the slightest breeze. That’s where we camped and
fought that June and July. I’d witnessed the townspeople’s faces marked with fear that they’d
lose what was left of their crops when we marched through. But I had prayed that the Valley had
been spared. This letter proved my worst fears were true.
In her next letter, Mary told me that cannon¹⁰ reports were heard every day, that they came
more rapidly than she could write each word of her letter. That the booming kept rhythm with
every beat of her heart. She wrote:
It seems powerfully strange for violent noises to fill the house, while I sit as usual on
the library sofa, surrounded by familiar things like our childhood books and Ma’s
framed Currier and Ives prints. The morning sun shines just the same on the blue
Chinese carpet. Outdoors, it looks like any summer day. Ma’s fluffy¹¹ pink and red roses
are in full bloom, and clusters of snow-white daisies and fever-few are near the end of
their season. Do you remember that the only machine sounds we used to hear were
those of the horse-drawn¹² thresher with the swish, swish of the blades in the fields,
wagon¹³ wheels rumbling¹⁴ on the dirt road, and the hall clock ticking? Now, close by,
there is the unrelenting noise of cannons¹⁵ and artillery¹⁶.
At first, with no newspapers and only rumors¹⁷ to inform us, we had no idea how
close those weapons were. We worried sick we’d be overrun by Yankees or be struck
down by stray bullets whenever we went into the garden to fetch a potato. It’s taken us
a while to figure distance and to understand that cannon fire can be heard from battles
as far away as sixty miles because the mountains pass along the sound. When we can
bear it no longer, we lower the window sashes and swelter inside during the heat. To
preserve sanity¹⁸, the booming must be ignored, or we’ll all join poor Mrs. Calliston in
the lunatic asylum¹⁹.
I’d worried for days over Mary’s letters about the drought and hardships at home. Now, not
far from Manassas again, the boys in my company and I were also suffering from heat,
surrounded by tens of thousands of soldiers tramping ahead and behind us.
Grunting²⁰ with effort behind a briar rosebush by the roadside, Sam tugged²¹ at his filthy²² canvas
pants. Then off came the one-piece cotton drawers that covered him from shoulder to mid-thigh,
and which were slung²³ disdainfully aside. He quickly yanked the pants back on, but at least had
shed the extra layer underneath²⁴. His shirt had been peeled off several miles back.
The August sun sizzled hot enough to boil a cup of Confederate rye coffee and pretty soon
gave rise to blisters²⁵ across Sam’s muscular shoulders. His clothing blended into the other
drawers, shirts, handkerchiefs, and vests that littered the road and blanketed ditches with a
continuous strip of white. Jim Blue walked next to me bare-chested, but his shirt draped his head
like a biblical sheik of Arabia and partially²⁶ shaded his back. A chorus of coughs and sneezes
peppered the air, caused by grit²⁷ stirred up by boots on the road. Our meager²⁸ water was hoarded²⁹
in tin canteens drawn from a nearby caramel-colored creek³⁰. Sweat blinded anyone without a
bandana or torn strip of shirting knotted across his forehead.
“When I took these things off a second ago, it felt good enough to do it again and tramp
naked down the road.” Sam grinned mischievously³¹ and fiddled³² with his top pants button again.
“These canvas pants are danged hot.”
“You do that, and Winchester women will faint at your feet. I hope you’ll spare a few for
your old comrades.” Tayloe wiggled shirtsleeves from his bare shoulders as he spoke³³. Along the
route, women and children had come into their yards to cheer us on.
“Not a chance,” Sam said.
Beards’s complaints had grown fewer and weaker as the sun soared higher. “Tom, I cannot . .
. do you,” he mumbled³⁴. For several minutes he had rambled³⁵ in his talk, but a headache pounded
between my ears, and my vision swam. In my haze³⁶, I couldn’t pay attention to anyone else.
“If you’re going to say something, for tarnation’s sake, make some sense,” I grumbled³⁷.
Suddenly, he bent³⁸ over double and spewed out the messy contents of his gut³⁹. This seemed
different from Beards’s vomiting⁴⁰ habit whenever battle was nigh. He stumbled and grabbed my
arm, panting. Then he crumpled⁴¹ at my feet. He lay there unmoving, his legs tucked under like
useless wings.
“Water! Does anyone have water to spare? A man is down with sunstroke here,” I hollered as
I stooped to raise his head above the parched⁴² road. The flesh on the back of his neck felt on fire,
and he was still as a corpse⁴³. Beards had been in my life as long as I could remember, right up
through these worst of days. He couldn’t abandon me now. And I wasn’t the only one who
would mourn his passing. What would I tell Mary? My breath caught in my throat. With the last
of my canteen, I frantically⁴⁴ sprinkled his head and slapped his reddened cheeks. His eyes
fluttered, and he shoved my hand away. Pushing himself up with his elbows, he sat without
support in the dust. Now that he was roused, Sam and I helped him stagger to a hospital wagon,
where he could travel sheltered by its tarp. We settled him on the boards with his back propped⁴⁵
against the side. Wiping his forehead with his hand, in a weak voice he said, “I owe you, my
friend. I’ll not forget.” My heart near to burst with relief. Some boys had fallen, never to rise
again. Thank God, Beards wasn’t one of them. The wagon train gathered their prostrate⁴⁶ bodies
and hauled them to the next campground where their gaseous⁴⁷ remains⁴⁸ would be buried before
they burst. Mary couldn’t have lost Beards like that, nor could I.
For two weeks, we had marched twenty-five miles a day as blood pounded unceasingly
through my ears. We marched even when the temperature must have soared above 100 degrees.
A rifle, ammunition⁴⁹, a water canteen, and rations⁵⁰ were all that was worth carrying. By the sides
of the road, foam-speckled horses sprawled⁵¹, done in by the sun. We hadn’t passed a creek or
pond for far too many hours. By nightfall, the army came upon a few houses with wells in their
yards, but with thousands of men jostling for a position to get water, there was little hope of
quenching⁵² one’s thirst. Now we were a day from the brutal⁵³ battle of Second Manassas where
we’d find relief from the marching but not the infernal temperature. Those of us who survived
Nature, through dumb luck or precaution, eventually became hardened like a gallstone to such
discomfort⁵⁴.

1 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

2 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

3 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

4 taverns   

n.小旅馆，客栈，酒馆( tavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They ain't only two taverns. We can find out quick." 这儿只有两家客栈，会弄明白的。” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Maybe ALL the Temperance Taverns have got a ha'nted room, hey, Huck?" 也许所有的禁酒客栈都有个闹鬼的房间，喂，哈克，你说是不是？” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

5 crumb   

n.饼屑，面包屑，小量

参考例句：

• It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal.这是他从这场磨难里能找到的唯一的少许安慰。
• Ruth nearly choked on the last crumb of her pastry.鲁斯几乎被糕点的最后一块碎屑所噎住。

6 attics   

n. 阁楼

参考例句：

• They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics. 他们把暂时不需要的东西放在抽屉里、壁橱中和搁楼上。
• He rummaged busily in the attics of European literature, bringing to light much of interest. 他在欧洲文学的阁楼里忙着翻箱倒笼，找到了不少有趣的东西。

7 relentless   

adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的

参考例句：

• The traffic noise is relentless.交通车辆的噪音一刻也不停止。
• Their training has to be relentless.他们的训练必须是无情的。

8 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

9 stunted   

adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的

参考例句：

• the stunted lives of children deprived of education 未受教育的孩子所过的局限生活
• But the landed oligarchy had stunted the country's democratic development for generations. 但是好几代以来土地寡头的统治阻碍了这个国家民主的发展。

10 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

11 fluffy   

adj.有绒毛的，空洞的

参考例句：

• Newly hatched chicks are like fluffy balls.刚孵出的小鸡像绒毛球。
• The steamed bread is very fluffy.馒头很暄。

12 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

13 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

14 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

15 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

17 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

19 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

20 grunting   

咕哝的，呼噜的

参考例句：

• He pulled harder on the rope, grunting with the effort. 他边用力边哼声，使出更大的力气拉绳子。
• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。

21 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

23 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

24 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

25 blisters   

n.水疱( blister的名词复数 )；水肿；气泡

参考例句：

• My new shoes have made blisters on my heels. 我的新鞋把我的脚跟磨起泡了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His new shoes raised blisters on his feet. 他的新鞋把他的脚磨起了水疱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

27 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

28 meager   

adj.缺乏的，不足的，瘦的

参考例句：

• He could not support his family on his meager salary.他靠微薄的工资无法养家。
• The two men and the woman grouped about the fire and began their meager meal.两个男人同一个女人围着火，开始吃起少得可怜的午饭。

29 hoarded   

v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It owned great properties and often hoarded huge treasures. 它拥有庞大的财产，同时往往窖藏巨额的财宝。 来自辞典例句
• Sylvia among them, good-naturedly applaud so much long-hoarded treasure of useless knowing. 西尔维亚也在他们中间，为那些长期珍藏的无用知识，友好地、起劲地鼓掌。 来自互联网

30 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

31 mischievously   

adv.有害地；淘气地

参考例句：

• He mischievously looked for a chance to embarrass his sister. 他淘气地寻找机会让他的姐姐难堪。 来自互联网
• Also has many a dream kindheartedness, is loves mischievously small lovable. 又有着多啦a梦的好心肠，是爱调皮的小可爱。 来自互联网

32 fiddled   

v.伪造( fiddle的过去式和过去分词 )；篡改；骗取；修理或稍作改动

参考例句：

• He fiddled the company's accounts. 他篡改了公司的账目。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He began with Palestrina, and fiddled all the way through Bartok. 他从帕勒斯春纳的作品一直演奏到巴塔克的作品。 来自辞典例句

33 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

34 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

35 rambled   

（无目的地）漫游( ramble的过去式和过去分词 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论

参考例句：

• We rambled through the woods. 我们漫步走过树林。
• She rambled on at great length but she didn't get to the heart of the matter. 她夹七夹八地说了许多话也没说到点子上。

36 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

37 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

38 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

39 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

40 vomiting   

吐

参考例句：

• Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. 症状有腹泻和呕吐。
• Especially when I feel seasick, I can't stand watching someone else vomiting." 尤其晕船的时候，看不得人家呕。”

41 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

42 parched   

adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干

参考例句：

• Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
• The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。

43 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

44 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

45 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

46 prostrate   

v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的

参考例句：

• She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
• The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

47 gaseous   

adj.气体的，气态的

参考例句：

• Air whether in the gaseous or liquid state is a fluid.空气，无论是气态的或是液态的，都是一种流体。
• Freon exists both in liquid and gaseous states.氟利昂有液态和气态两种形态。

48 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

49 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

50 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

51 sprawled   

v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
• He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。

52 quenching   

淬火，熄

参考例句：

• She had, of course, no faculty for quenching memory in dissipation. 她当然也没有以放荡纵欲来冲淡记忆的能耐。
• This loss, termed quenching, may arise in two ways. 此种损失称为淬火，呈两个方面。

53 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

54 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。