Moving as swiftly as possible through the dark, rutted, war-torn streets of Charleston Allie hoped with all her might that her grandparent’s house still stood. Having crawled from the cellar only moments before following Gabriel and Willie through a back entrance that Allie had not known was there, she and her small band of loved ones hurried onward trying to avoid death or capture by the Yankees.
Earlier that day, they had barely escaped the house and entered the cellar, all clinging to one another as a terrible noise accompanied by a huge rumble, thundered overhead. It traveled through the entire building, shaking it to its foundation! With nothing but slivers of light filtering from above, little Samuel had cried hysterically the first …show more content…
They will find us buried beneath the ruins of Harbor House. However, they had not died and with bodies and limbs intact, they awaited darkness to make their escape.
“Thank the Lord’s mercy those Yanks stopped shelling or we’d still be stuck in the cellar,” said Mary O’Toole, who was nearly breathless from dragging a croaker sack filled with foodstuff she had gathered from the cellar to take with them. “At least we won’t starve,” Mary said assuredly, “that’s if we live long enough to make it there.”
“We’ll make it,” Allie said firmly, hugging Samuel tightly to her chest.
Gabriel grabbed hold of her arm and asked if she wanted him to carry the baby and let her rest a bit. Taking his cue from Gabriel, Willie took over dragging the croaker sack from his mother to give her a rest. However, Allie refused to surrender Samuel to the smaller Gabriel fearing he was not strong enough to carry him. At that moment, she would probably not have surrendered him to anyone save Thomas or her father and neither was there to take …show more content…
Staring into the darkened windows of homes along the way, Allie wondered where everyone was; were they hiding in their cellars the way she, Mary, and the children had earlier that day?
When her grandparent’s house came into view, Allie almost cried aloud that it still stood. The tall, stately home glowed eerily in the smoke-filled air that surrounded it. Suddenly, Allie stopped; she realized that they might be running in the wrong direction! What if when they reached safety- it wasn’t safe? What if Eli was dead- what would she do then? Consequently, all her hesitations caused her to fall behind the others who by then had reached the front door.
Turning to look at her, it appeared that Mary was about to say something when several armed soldiers rushed out of the darkness and snatched the croaker sack of foodstuffs from Willie. Stifling a scream, Allie darted into the darkness alongside the street; she could not believe what she saw. These soldiers were Confederates, not the dreaded Yankee’s! Why were Confederate soldiers taking food away from women and children? The soldiers appeared to be stragglers that either wandered away from where they were supposed to be or they had
Earlier that day, they had barely escaped the house and entered the cellar, all clinging to one another as a terrible noise accompanied by a huge rumble, thundered overhead. It traveled through the entire building, shaking it to its foundation! With nothing but slivers of light filtering from above, little Samuel had cried hysterically the first …show more content…
They will find us buried beneath the ruins of Harbor House. However, they had not died and with bodies and limbs intact, they awaited darkness to make their escape.
“Thank the Lord’s mercy those Yanks stopped shelling or we’d still be stuck in the cellar,” said Mary O’Toole, who was nearly breathless from dragging a croaker sack filled with foodstuff she had gathered from the cellar to take with them. “At least we won’t starve,” Mary said assuredly, “that’s if we live long enough to make it there.”
“We’ll make it,” Allie said firmly, hugging Samuel tightly to her chest.
Gabriel grabbed hold of her arm and asked if she wanted him to carry the baby and let her rest a bit. Taking his cue from Gabriel, Willie took over dragging the croaker sack from his mother to give her a rest. However, Allie refused to surrender Samuel to the smaller Gabriel fearing he was not strong enough to carry him. At that moment, she would probably not have surrendered him to anyone save Thomas or her father and neither was there to take …show more content…
Staring into the darkened windows of homes along the way, Allie wondered where everyone was; were they hiding in their cellars the way she, Mary, and the children had earlier that day?
When her grandparent’s house came into view, Allie almost cried aloud that it still stood. The tall, stately home glowed eerily in the smoke-filled air that surrounded it. Suddenly, Allie stopped; she realized that they might be running in the wrong direction! What if when they reached safety- it wasn’t safe? What if Eli was dead- what would she do then? Consequently, all her hesitations caused her to fall behind the others who by then had reached the front door.
Turning to look at her, it appeared that Mary was about to say something when several armed soldiers rushed out of the darkness and snatched the croaker sack of foodstuffs from Willie. Stifling a scream, Allie darted into the darkness alongside the street; she could not believe what she saw. These soldiers were Confederates, not the dreaded Yankee’s! Why were Confederate soldiers taking food away from women and children? The soldiers appeared to be stragglers that either wandered away from where they were supposed to be or they had