October 7, 1861
As I said, Henry didn’t wake up for three days. When he finally did, he was in a feather bed. No surprise if you know Henry, there was a woman fanning him and patting his head with a wet rag. The woman, Miss Daisy, was one of the old ones. I thought she was at least fifty the way he described her the first time. Actually, she’s a handsome woman, and was only forty. As it turned out, Miss Daisy was the doctor’s old maid sister. That was fortunate because otherwise some folks wouldn’t have thought it proper for her to care for Henry alone at home, even though he was only seventeen at the time.
She spoke when he had barely cracked his eyes. “Now aren’t you the feisty one lying there with your eyes wide open. I’ve been patting and fanning you for three days and nights, and had just about given up on you. You just lie right there. I’m going to get some chicken soup and I’ll be back. A big boy like you could starve to death in three days.”
Henry didn’t say anything, but he managed to get a cup of chicken soup down before sleeping for another day.
The second time he woke up they were changing the bandage on his head and shoulder. He had caught one minié ball in his left shoulder and another had permanently parted the hair across the top of his head. He was coherent enough to ask questions that time.
“Pa? What about Pa?”
“I’m sorry,” Miss Daisy said. “Somebody recognized your step-pa so we sent for your mother. I’ve known your mother for some time, and you back when you were small. I expect she’ll be here on the next train. We have your pa’s stuff in the closet, except for his clothes. We buried him in those.”
“But who shot us? What happened?” Henry asked.
“Oh, that’s right, you don’t know,” Miss Daisy said, like she hadn’t known he was unconscious all the time. “The Yankees raided here to destroy the salt works.”
Henry’s ma arrived the day after he became fully alert. The two of them stayed with Miss Daisy for the next several days while he got back on his feet.
There was considerable talk going on about the Yankee raid during those days. From what Henry told me he must have talked more than I heard him talk in the first three months I knew him. Henry’s a thinker. He usually doesn’t talk much until he’s figured something out, except where books are concerned. He’ll discuss a book at the drop of a hat, and all day.
What Henry learned from all that talk was that on October 4, a party of thirty Federal sailors came ashore in longboats to destroy the Cedar Key salt-producing operation. Though landing unopposed, they were soon routed by a group of twenty citizens with rifles. The Federal sailors retreated to their ship, which was part of the Federal blockade of Florida. That blockade was in place off the coast of all the Southern states for the entire war.
On October 6, over a hundred Federal sailors returned in four longboats. Finding the salt-producing operation under a white flag, they destroyed the tubs and all the equipment. By destroying the salt works, the Union deprived the Confederacy of a major part of its ability to preserve meat that fed its soldiers and citizens.
The sailors then began burning houses on the key. They also harassed those citizens who hadn’t fled before they returned to their ships. The raiders piled brush against the doctor’s house and lighted it but Miss Daisy put it out. She scolded them until they left without burning Doctor Isaac’s house, saving Henry, who was unconscious inside.
Miss Daisy told Henry that the commanding lieutenant of the raid was from the Federal ship, Tahomas. From others, who had overheard various conversations, Henry soon learned the names of several sailors in the raiding party, including their commanding lieutenant’s name. Someone also said the Tahomas was being moved to blockade duty at Pensacola, Florida, for the next few weeks.
By October 19, Henry had quit having dizzy spells from the minié ball crease on his head, and his left arm had just about quit hurting. He couldn’t use the arm very well but the movement was improving. All of his talking and gathering information had been for a purpose. At dinner that night he told Miss Daisy, the doctor, and his ma what it was.
“I’m taking Pa’s rifle and mule and going after those Yankees who killed him. I’ll be leaving on the train for Archer tomorrow. From there, I’ll go to Pensacola and see if the Tahomas is there. I can’t be sure which ones shot pa and me but I expect to get revenge on someone. Ma, I think you ought to go visit Aunt May for a couple of months. I’m not sure how long this will take.”
Everyone stared at him, speechless, until the doctor said, “Henry, you shouldn’t join the army. You’ve shown that you’re one of the best at reading and math that I’ve ever met. You need to keep developing your mind.”
Henry’s ma broke in. “We don’t have anything to do with that war. You can’t just run off and get mixed up in it. You just can’t go.”
Henry said, “Ma, I’m going tomorrow. I’ve got enough money to get a ticket to Archer. I’m sorry to have to leave you, but I know you can take care of yourself. You’ve done it for more years than I’ve been around. There’s no point in talking about me not going.”
At that point in the conversation Miss Daisy got her voice back and said, “You’re still hurt. Besides, you ought to stay here with us. Doctor Isaac and I have talked. You could study medicine with him.”
Doctor Isaac added, “The medical colleges in the South have all been closed because of the war, but you can still study with me to become a physician. That’s how it was done in the past. I mostly learned that way.”
Henry said, “I’m not going to join the army. I’m going to take revenge for Pa and some for me, an eye for an eye. You can’t possibly know how proud I am of the offer to study to be a doctor. If the offer’s still open after this is taken care of, I’ll jump right on it. I love you all, but I have to do this. It would be good if you could make suggestions that would help me on the way.”
Telling those women he loved them, Henry had just gained their support. But then he always did have a knack for getting along with women. They couldn’t do enough after that and set in to telling him all the things he needed to carry with him, mostly food.
Doctor Isaac went to his room and came out with an almost new rifle, a powder horn, a single shot dueling pistol, and a possibles bag containing all the supplies for the rifle and pistol. The rifle was a percussion cap, .45 caliber Thompson Hawken. The pistol was a .44 caliber, which allowed the same size ball to be used in both. A larger caliber ball is used in a pistol to force it in the grooves and increase accuracy.
Handing them to Henry, he said, “I’d like you to take these.”
They spent most of the rest of the evening talking about Henry’s departure. The women tried a couple of times to talk him out of going but he politely put them off. While they planned, Doctor Isaac left for a short time and returned with a map of Florida. He and Henry spent most of an hour tracing it. With all the talk that was going on, Henry didn’t get to sleep until midnight.
Henry’s ma got him up at daylight, even though the train wouldn’t leave until 3:00 P.M. After talking all morning, they followed Henry to the train.
At the station Doctor Isaac produced a ten-dollar gold piece. Holding it out to Henry, he said, “Here,
