The Killer Angels

”I’ll see what I can do.”

”You do pretty good.” Kilrain blinked, peered, looking for him.

”Colonel?”

”Right here.”

”The army was blessed…” But he ran out of breath, closed his eyes.

”You take it easy.”

”Want you to know. Just in case. That I have never served…”He paused to breathe, put out the bloody hand, looked into Chamberlain’s eyes. “Never served under a better man. Want you to know. Want to thank you, sir.”

Chamberlain nodded. Kilrain closed his eyes. His face began to relax; his skin was very pale. Chamberlain held the great cold hand. Chamberlain said, “Let me go round up something medicinal.”

”I’d be eternal grateful.”

”You rest.” Chamberlain was feeling alarm.

Tozier said, “I’ve sent off.”

”Well I’ve seen them run,” Kilrain said dreamily.

”Glory be. Thanks to you. Colonel darlin’. Lived long enough to see the Rebs run. Come the Mille

”I did.”

”I got one fella. Raggedy fella. Beautiful offhand shot, if I say so mesel’.”

”I’ve got to go. Buster.”

”He was drawin’ a bead on you. Colonel. I got him with one quick shot offhand. Oh lovely.” Kilrain sighed.

”Loveliest shot I ever made.”

”You stay with him. Sergeant,” Chamberlain said.

Thomas nodded.

”Be back in a while, Buster.”

Kilrain opened his eyes, but he was drifting off toward sleep, and he nodded but did not see. Chamberlain backed away. There were some men around him from the old Second Maine and he talked to them automatically, not knowing what he was saying, thanking them for the fight, looking on strange young bloody faces. He moved back down the slope.

He went back along the low stone wall. The dead were mostly covered now with blankets and shelter halves, but some of them were still dying and there were groups of men clustered here and there. There were dead bodies and wounded bodies all down the wall and all down through the trees and blood was streaked on the trees and rocks and rich wet wood splinters were everywhere. He patted shoulders, noted faces. It was very quiet and dark down among the trees. Night was coming. He began to feel tired. He went on talking. A boy was dying. He had made a good fight and he wanted to be promoted before he died and Chamberlain promoted him. He spoke to a man who had been clubbed over the head with a musket and who could not seem to say what he wanted to say, and another man who was crying because both of the Men-ill boys were dead, both brothers, and he would be the one who would have to tell their mother. Chamberlain reached the foot of the hill and came out into the last light.

Ellis Spear came up. There were tears in the comers of his eyes. He nodded jerkily, a habit of Maine men, a greeting.

”Well,” he said. He did not know what to say. After a moment he pulled out an impressively ornamented silver flask, dented, lustrous.

”Colonel? Ah, I have a beverage here which I have been saving for an, ah, appropriate moment. I think this is- well, would the Colonel honor me by joining me in a, ah, swallow?”

Chamberlain thought: Kilrain. But he could not hurt Spear’s feelings. And his mouth was gritty and dry. Spear handed it over solemnly, gravely, with the air of a man taking part in a ceremony. Chamberlain drank. Oh, good.

Very, very good. He saw one small flicker of sadness pass over Spear’s face, took the bottle from his lips.

”Sorry, Ellis. ‘Swallow’ is a flighty word. An indiscriminate word. But thank you. Very much. And now.”

Spear bowed formally. “Colonel, it has been my pleasure.”

Here through the rocks was a gri

Only a boy. Chamberlain felt a shattering rush of emotion, restrained it. Behind Tom were troops of the 83rd Pe

Tom said with vast delight, ticking them off, “Lawrence, we got prisoners from the Fifteenth Alabama, the Forty-seventh Alabama, the Fourth and Fifth Texas. Man, we fought four Reb regiments!”

Four regiments would be perhaps two thousand men.

Chamberlain was impressed.

”We got five hundred prisoners,” Tom insisted.

The figure seemed high. Chamberlain: “What are our casualties?”

Tom’s face lost its light. “Well, I’ll go check.”

Colonel Rice came up. Much darker now. He put out a hand.

”Colonel Chamberlain, may I shake your hand?”

”Sir.”

”Colonel, I watched that from above. Colonel, that was the damnedest thing I ever saw.”

”Well,” Chamberlain said. A private popped up, saluted, whispered in Chamberlain’s ear: “Colonel, sir, I’m guardin’ these here Rebs with a empty rifle.”

Chamberlain gri

Rice was clucking like a chicken. “Amazing. They ran like sheep.”

Woodward said, “It was getting a bit tight there, Colonel, I’ll say.”

Rice wandered about, stared at the prisoners, wandered back, hands behind him, peered at Chamberlain, shook his head.

”You’re not Regular Army?”

”No, sir.”

”Oh yes. You’re the professor. Um. What did you teach?”

”Rhetoric, sir.”

”Really?” Rice grimaced. “Amazing.” After a moment: “ Where’d you get the idea to charge?”

Chamberlain said, “We were out of ammunition.”

Rice nodded. “So. You fixed bayonets.”

Chamberlain nodded. It seemed logical enough. It was begi

Rice shook his head, chuckled, grunted.

Chamberlain said, “I heard about Colonel Vincent.”

”Yes. Damn shame. They think he won’t make it.”

”He’s still alive?”

”Not by much.”

”Well. But there’s always hope.”

Rice looked at him. “Of course,” Rice said.

Chamberlain wandered among his men. Ought to put them in some kind of order. He was begi

”Colonel, I have to ask your help. You see the big hill there, the wooded hill? There’s nobody there. I think.

General Warren wants that hill occupied. Could you do that?”

”Well,” Chamberlain said. “If we had some ammunition.”

”I’ll move a train up. That hill’s been unoccupied all day.

If the Rebs get a battery there… it’s the extreme flank of the Union line. Highest ground. Warren sends you his compliments and says to tell you he would prefer to have your regiment there.”

Chamberlain said, “Well of course, sir. But the boys are tired. May take a while. And I sure need that ammunition.”

”Right. I’ll tell the General you’ll be up soon as possible.”

Chamberlain squinted. A wall of trees, thick brush. He sighed.

Tom was back. “I count about one hundred and thirty men, Lawrence. Forty to fifty already dead, about ninety wounded. Lot of boys walking around with minor stuff, one hundred thirty for the hospital.”

Chamberlain thought: one hundred thirty down. We had three hundred in line. Almost half the Regiment. Kilrain is gone.

He told Spear of the move. He was becoming very tired.

But along with the weariness he felt spasms of pure joy.

Spear formed the Company, Rice took over the prisoners.

Rice came by to watch them go.

”Colonel,” Chamberlain said. “One thing. What’s the name of this place? This hill. Has it got a name?”

”Little Round Top,” Rice said. “Name of the hill you defended. The one you’re going to is Big Round Top.”

Little Round Top. Battle of Little Round Top. Well. I guess we’ll remember it.

”Move’em out, Ellis.”

He went back to say goodbye to Kilrain. The white head was visible from a long way off, sitting stump-like, motionless in the dark of the trees. He had leaned back and was staring at the sky, his eyes closed. He had welcomed Chamberlain to the Regiment and there had never been a day without him. He would be going to the hospital now, and Chamberlain did not know what to say, did not know how to express it. Blue eyes opened in a weary face. Kilrain smiled.