s hid behind the fences waiting for them. As they came near we began to fire, inflicting heavy casualties on the British, but not without our own. Many of us were killed, and even more wounded. Also some of the livestock were caught by stray rounds, and killed. I, personally, suffered a shot to the lower leg. Initially, I didn’t think my injury looked bad, but after infection set in my leg had to be amputated. This led to my obvious dismissal from the militia. I started to wonder if the many promise, of a new life under a new government, would be worth all that my family and I had lost. When the war was in its infancy, I couldn’t help but get caught up in the vision, that the new government that was to come out of the war, would mean an equal playing field for all, and that my children and their children would have a chance to be equal with the gentry. This had become my dream, as it had been my father’s dream also. Despite my delusions of grandeur, the light at the end of the tunnel started to fade in my mind. The new confederacy appeared too weak to offer what was promised, and skirmishes amongst the states broke out. It appeared that my dream would never become a reality, and that all was lost. In some attempt to overcome the quarreling amongst the states, a few men gathered and wrote out their own “constitution”. It appeared as though a controlling government was in our future, in order to overcome the anarchy. I failed to see how the minds of a few could come up with something better than what we had developed from years of tradition in England, but it appeared I and my family had little choice, but to obey it, and in retrospect I suppose a more powerful government was needed.All said and done it appears to me that we are not much farther down the road than were we started from, and at such a cost. We simply have a different, controlling government to levy taxes, and become absorbed by...
