A Requiem to the Fallen

“Come on men! Victory is near!” cried General Armistead from in front of the vast ranks of men. Corporal John A. Lewis, or “Apple” (as those in his regiment called him), was among those in Armistead’s brigade, standing within the lines towards the back. He had never actually spoken to this man in person, but Apple had seen his commander’s bravery in many other battles. In what his friends called the “Seven Days Battle”, Apple’s first battle in this War Between the States, he had seen Armistead spearhead the assault against the vicious Yanks on Malvern Hill. He had also fought under Armistead in the Second Bull Run.
Indeed, Apple had great admiration for this man; this was mostly due to him having served under Armistead for a longer period than normal. In fact, out of all those who joined the army along with Apple when the recruiters came along to his town, Apple was one of the few left alive and healthy. However, Apple felt that luck did not shine on him that day. It was already the third day of a terrible battle in Gettysburg. Under Robert E. Lee, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was able to take the town the first day. However, the second day had seen much suffering after repeated attacks by the Confederate army on what Apple’s commanders called Cemetery Ridge failed miserably. Apple himself had seen many of his comrades fall in one of these assaults, and now, on the third day of this bloody battle, he felt his time had come.
It was rumored to be the greatest assault as of yet. Demoralized by the failures of the day before, the many Generals present at Gettysburg decided that an all-out charge against the Union’s entrenched position was the only chance the Army of Northern Virginia had at winning the battle. Now, after two hours of artillery barrage on the Union’s lines, Apple and all his fellow soldiers were hoping the charge would be a walk on the park. Suddenly, that most frightening command of all was given and Apple came to from his reminiscing.
“Charge!” cried Armistead in a loud, emphatic voice. The other officers of the brigade echoed his command. Then, all at once, Apple’s brigade began moving forward as in a single body. Apparently, two brigades stood in front of Armistead’s brigade. Apple truly was glad that he would not be at the front; those were doomed to die. Soon after their march began, Apple began hearing deafening shots to his right and front. Shortly after came the explosions, those terrible explosions. Every time Apple heard them, he had to close his eyes for a moment, and afterwards checked himself to make sure he was alright. The screams of the wounded, the death rattles of those less fortunate, and the pounding roars of the artillery fire all came together to create a terrible and frightful cacophony. Apple saw some damage done to his brigade as well. One shot landed frighteningly near; Apple was momentarily blinded, and opened his eyes to see limbs flying everywhere and the wounded right in front of him being trampled by his comrades as they unfalteringly advanced. Apple’s impulse was to run, he even saw a few cowards retreating to safety, but Apple understood his duty. He would defend his state to the death.
As Apple advanced, he noticed that little by little he was closing in on his brigade’s front ranks. By that time, a new sound had come into action. The blue-bellied Union had sent some cowardly Yankees to flank them. By that point, everyone was firing at will, regardless of the officers’ orders. Blood was flying everywhere, but Apple still held fast to his duty. He killed a few of those cowards who had flanked them and continued onward. By that time his brigade was running, and Apple was not sure which way to go. He kept his eyes to the copse of trees that he had been ordered to follow. Onwards he advanced, only half aware of the canister fire demolishing his line left and right. Slowly, he and a few of his comrades closed in on Armistead, and together they advanced despite the mixture of shrapnel, bullets, dirt, and human flesh that enveloped the area. The Union’s front lines were in sight, and a boost of adrenaline surged throughout Apple’s body. He saw his commander Armistead at the front of the lines, advancing with his hat staked on the tip of the sword. Some of Apple’s brigade had already made it to the stone wall that contained the Union. Most of their opponents had fled, but Apple saw that his comrades were nonetheless engaged in brutal melee combat.
“I will not fail now,” Apple thought as he made his way closer to the wall, “if God wills it, may I perish right now, but I will not turn back, now that victory is so near!” With these thoughts repeated in his head, Apple himself made it up to the stone wall. He lost sight of Armistead momentarily, but was too preoccupied shooting the Union offenders. He crossed the stone wall, quickly dispatching some remnants of the artillery regiment, when he saw his commander, Armistead. Wounded, the general was leaning against the stone wall, gasping for breath. In a moment of despair, Apple went up to Armistead and attempted to help him up to continue the charge. Despite his objective of defeating the Yanks, Apple knew his other duty was to leave no man behind. It was too late for Apple, though. At that moment, he heard a shot coming from his right, followed by a whizzing and a terrible sound of flesh tearing. Apple fell beside Armistead. He looked down, and saw his torso drenched in blood and bile. His stomach had been hit, and Apple knew he had little left to live. As he lay there dying, Apple saw his friends and comrades falling back. He heard shouts from behind the stone wall. The perimeter had been reestablished; he thought he heard them say. The Rebs are retreating, he heard. However, all this was of little consequence to him now. Eventually, all that he saw was white and all that he heard was the rustling of the trees in that copse; he was going to reach that Copse whether in this life or the next. A feeling of warmth enveloped him, and with the sound of rustling leaves, Apple fell into unconsciousness.
“Wake up, John!” cried John’s friend, Anne, “We’re here already!” What a strange dream little John had had. Had he really dreamed of being in the army? John still felt a pain in his stomach when he woke up, but he got up and out of the school bus nonetheless. His school was visiting Gettysburg as part of an educational trip, and they were now at a place which the teacher called the “High Water Mark”. Apparently here was where Armistead’s brigade had reached; it was the furthest the Confederate Army had reached during Pickett’s Charge. John saw remnants of a stone wall where the small monument marked where Armistead had reached, and he also saw a copse of trees further in.
“Strange,” John thought. After the teacher had given them some free time to explore with a buddy, he decided to go with Anne to where the copse of trees was. Some strange force was pulling John to this place. He stepped over the stone wall and continued, with a sense of fear but at the same time of victory. Annie stayed behind at the stone wall, and just as John had stepped into the small clump of trees Annie screamed and ran over to him with what seemed like a cross in her hands. As she reached John, she showed him the cross. It was small, rotting, and the inscription was barely legible. However, John was able to read the inscription after much observation.
The rustling of leaves gave an eerie calm to John; to him, it felt like music. Slowly, John read the inscription, muttering under his breath, “Here lies John ‘Apple’ Lewis, who died in the line of fire. May he finally fulfill his mission.”