PART 1 CHAPTER 20

PART 1 CHAPTER

20

M ARY’S LETTER ABOUT SUKIE AND HER QUESTION ABOUT HOW THOSE who owned slaves

could consider themselves Christians² tormented³ me with self-doubt. What about those of us who

were killing⁴ men to preserve slavery? I wasn’t the kind of Christian¹ that my parents were, and

maybe wasn’t one at all. But I did believe in the same principles. Six months after her letter, the

issue rose to such a boil that I could no longer escape it. It was just a few days before

Gettysburg.

At the end of June 1863, General Lee had led so many of us across the Maryland line into

Pennsylvania that it took three days for troops to pass through a single small town. Those of us

in the infantry⁵ were the last to file through, and by that time, fearful locals were wearied of the

sight and no longer stood in their yards to gawk.

After setting up camp, our company and several others were ordered to capture every edible⁶

farm critter from miles around. Hundreds of us chased about in fields, pursuing panicked

turkeys, ducks, and chickens in all directions. The promise of regular food put everyone in high

spirits. Squawks, gobbles, quacks⁷, and hisses⁸ filled the air. As I was grabbing for an elusive⁹ hen

trembling under a wild rose hedge, I saw Zeke approach with a duck under each arm. Their

orange feet frantically¹⁰ paddled the air. With a tight grip, he was trying to steer¹¹ clear of their

snapping bills, but one pinched his forearm. He dropped the duck like a hot coal, and it ran off

until another fellow caught it. Feathers clung to our hair, made us sneeze, and carpeted the field

like snow. The creatures’ final destination was an acre so packed with fowl¹² that you couldn’t see

an inch of ground. There they were quickly slaughtered¹³, plucked, and cooked on spits laid over

fires. Another field was crowded with wagons¹⁴ piled high with loaves of bread, cheeses, chunks¹⁵

of corned beef, sides of bacon, crocks of apple butter, barrels of dairy butter, and other edibles¹⁶

seized from surrounding houses. My stomach was in a state of continuous rumble¹⁷, anticipating a

real meal for a change.

A few days earlier, General Lee had issued a command that was read down through the ranks

until it reached us. During this foray into Pennsylvania, we were forbidden to destroy property

as union troops had in the South and were to wage war only against armed men. The last night

of encampment before we reached Chambersburg, thanks to Beards’ wandering ways, we

learned that very few soldiers intended to obey. Men were aching to retaliate¹⁸ for union barbarity

in the South. Beards had seen a copy of the Richmond Times handed around that called for

troops to light a sea of flame in every Pennsylvania town. The newspaper claimed even that

punishment wasn’t enough for the theft of over 500,000 slaves, or fifty million dollars’ worth of

investment, since the beginning of the war.

“It’s not just the officers,” Beards said. “I heard a lot of angry talk around the campfires.”

He’d rejoined us as we loafed around our fire, enjoying the last bit of goose grease on our

fingers and sucking marrow¹⁹ from leftover²⁰ bones. “It’s not easy to forgive burning Virginia farms

and to forget the danger to our families.”

Signs of disobedience became obvious the next day. While the fellows and I were on a hill

chopping fence rails for firewood, I caught sight of a distant cloud of brown dust that seemed to

swirl²¹ closer. Propping²² my axe²³ against a tree, I walked toward the road to see who approached.

“Where are you going?” Beards yelled.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” I waved my hat at him and kept walking. The crack of splitting

wood told me he’d returned to work.

As I waited by the road, the outlines of cavalry²⁴ soldiers became clearer, and behind them

streamed a line of Blacks on foot. Most of them were women and children, hands bound loosely

with rope. Soldiers with rifles trotted²⁵ alongside, enforcing order in the lines by screaming curses

and pointing their rifles menacingly. The distant tide of sound now became a buzz of voices.

Cries of “Mama” and despairing wails²⁶ assaulted my ears. Women with exhausted²⁷ children

clinging to their backs stirred up the dry road. Soldiers clasped toddlers on the front of their

saddles, while sobbing²⁸ mothers who couldn’t keep pace with the army horses trailed behind.

One Black woman passed close where I stood. She carried herself straight-backed as Ma and

looked to be about the same age. She was dressed in a crisp calico dress, a white kerchief neatly²⁹

knotted around her head. “Please, officer, I’m free,” she cried out to a cavalry officer who rode

nearby. His face was like carved stone, and he kept his eyes straight forward as though he was

deaf. “I was born and raised right here in the North, in Franklin County!” she cried more loudly.

“Oh, Lord, this ain’t right! We’re all freed or weren’t never slaves to start with! Why are you

taking us?” Again, her captive ignored her. She lifted her eyes to the sky and called out, “Lord

Jesus, how have I failed you, to be punished this way?” Her head fell to her chest, and she

moaned inconsolably as she trudged³⁰ forward.

A soldier mounted on a black horse noticed me standing³¹ by the road and waved. “Look what

we’ve got here” he called. “As fine a bunch of contraband³² as you’ll see anywhere.”

“Where are you headed?” I hollered back.

“Taking ’em to auction³³ across the Mason-Dixon line. We’ll sell every one of ’em to make up

for what was stole from us. Too bad there ain’t so many men amongst them so we’d get a better

price. Guess they run off to join the Yankees.” He raised his hat in farewell as he rode by. I

forced myself to nod in response.

When he was out of sight, I sank down on the red earth by the side of the road. A powerful

despair blackened my vision on the edges and made me weak. How could this be happening?

How many others would suffer in this way? Now that we were no longer fighting to defend

home ground, the evil underbelly of the war’s purpose was inescapable. Saliva³⁴ surged in my

throat, and then I was on my hands and knees disgorging the contents of my gut³⁵. I puked until

nothing but bile filled my mouth. Through my misery³⁶, I could hear the sounds of agony

lingering in the air for what seemed an eternity³⁷ as the dust cloud disappeared over the next hill.

Emptied out, I sat with my head in my hands until I heard footsteps crunch³⁸ in the dirt behind me.

I looked up and found Beards by my side.

“What’s the matter? You’ve been gone for a long time.”

“Did you see that?” I asked him.

“Just the end of the line. It’s pretty awful, isn’t it?”

I nodded. There were no words for what was going through my head. I guess because I

looked so out of sorts, Beards decided³⁹ to wait with me. He squatted⁴⁰ on the ground and joined

my silence. Eventually, he picked up a twig⁴¹ and drew lines in the dirt. But I knew that

something momentous⁴² had changed for me that afternoon. Like the other boys, I’d disliked the

business of soldiering, slogging through rain and bone-numbing cold, the fear that loosened your

gut, and bloody⁴³ chores on the battlefield when fighting was over. Now a biting sense of

revulsion toward the entire Confederacy and my own role took hold, stronger even than when

Sam died. I choked back another surge of bile. I would disown anything to do with the

Confederacy.

But what were my choices? As a deserter, I couldn’t go home, and I’d be executed if I were

caught. I was trapped. I had to stay where I was, but from this day forward, my goals would be

pared down to only one thing, protecting my friends and saving myself. Nothing more. I had to

return to my family at war’s end. Given the Valley’s wreckage⁴⁴, they would need me more than

ever.

“We ought to be heading back now,” Beards said. He threw his stick aside and stood up.

I silently got to my feet, brushed the clay from my pants, and slowly followed him to the

fence post where I’d abandoned my axe, never imagining how, in just a few days, my resolve to

return home alive would be sorely tested in the farm fields to the southeast near Gettysburg.

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

3 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

6 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

7 quacks   

abbr.quacksalvers 庸医，骗子(16世纪习惯用水银或汞治疗梅毒的人)n.江湖医生( quack的名词复数 )；江湖郎中；（鸭子的）呱呱声v.（鸭子）发出嘎嘎声( quack的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I went everywhere for treatment, tried all sorts of quacks. 我四处求医，看过了各种各样的江湖郎中。 来自辞典例句
• Hard-working medical men may come to be almost as mischievous as quacks. 辛勤工作的医生可能变成江湖郎中那样的骗子。 来自辞典例句

8 hisses   

嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was received with a mixture of applause and hisses. 那演说者同时得到喝彩声和嘘声。
• A fire hisses if water is thrown on it. 把水浇到火上，火就发出嘶嘶声。

9 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

10 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。

11 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

12 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

13 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

15 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

16 edibles   

可以吃的，可食用的( edible的名词复数 )； 食物

参考例句：

• They freely offered for sale what edibles they had. 他们很自愿地把他们的一点点可吃的东西卖给我们。
• Our edibles the wild vegetable. 我们只能吃野菜。

17 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

18 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。

19 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

20 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

21 swirl   

v.(使)打漩，(使)涡卷；n.漩涡，螺旋形

参考例句：

• The car raced roughly along in a swirl of pink dust.汽车在一股粉红色尘土的漩涡中颠簸着快速前进。
• You could lie up there,watching the flakes swirl past.你可以躺在那儿，看着雪花飘飘。

22 propping   

支撑

参考例句：

• You can usually find Jack propping up the bar at his local. 你常常可以看见杰克频繁出没于他居住的那家酒店。
• The government was accused of propping up declining industries. 政府被指责支持日益衰败的产业。

23 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

24 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

25 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

26 wails   

痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The child burst into loud wails. 那个孩子突然大哭起来。
• Through this glaciated silence the white wails of the apartment fixed arbitrary planes. 在这冰封似的沉寂中，公寓的白色墙壁构成了一个个任意的平面。 来自英汉非文学 - 科幻

27 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

28 sobbing   

<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的

参考例句：

• I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
• Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。

29 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

30 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

32 contraband   

n.违禁品，走私品

参考例句：

• Most of the city markets were flooded with contraband goods.大多数的城市市场上都充斥着走私货。
• The customs officers rummaged the ship suspected to have contraband goods.海关人员仔细搜查了一艘有走私嫌疑的海轮。

33 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

34 saliva   

n.唾液，口水

参考例句：

• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。
• Saliva dribbled from the baby's mouth.唾液从婴儿的嘴里流了出来。

35 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。

36 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

37 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

38 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

39 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

40 squatted   

v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• He squatted down beside the footprints and examined them closely. 他蹲在脚印旁仔细地观察。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He squatted in the grass discussing with someone. 他蹲在草地上与一个人谈话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

42 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

43 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

44 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。