SERIALIZATION OF “REBEL WITH A CAUSE: MARK TWAIN’S HIDDEN MEMOIRS” -- CHAPTER 25 (of 78)
Saved By the Belles (1861)
Chapter 25
Saved By the Belles (1861)
Shortly after returning to Hannibal on leaving my piloting career due to the war’s outbreak, I was sitting on the banks of the Mississippi with a couple of friends one day, reminiscing about the past, discussing the present, and contemplating what the future held.
We were considering whether to align ourselves with one side or the other in this great conflict that was just getting underway, or whether to strike the average and remain aloof. As a point in favor of the last option, I reasoned that it’s easier to stay out than to get out.
Suddenly it seemed the die was cast and the decision was being made for us. A steamboat arrived and disgorged a large party of blue-clad soldiers. They gave us compelling reasons to board the ship with them, to report for duty in St. Louis.
To make a long story shorter, as we were about to be made to join the invading forces and to serve as pilots in support of the war effort, two elegantly dressed young ladies came along and rapped on the Brigadier General’s door, seeking an interview with him. He muttered something about attending to business, and left us alone briefly.
That was all the time we needed. We slid through a side door and furtively made our way back to Hannibal.
I don’t know what sort of business those ladies had with the officer, but to me they appeared to be angels of deliverance.
Rather than recruiting me for the Union, that experience tilted me in favor of supporting the forces in rebellion. I preferred to volunteer rather than be impressed into service, and now that one side had attempted the latter, I cast my lot—albeit briefly—with the other side.
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Blackbird Crow Raven’s “Rebel With A Cause: Mark Twain’s Hidden Memoirs” is being serialized in this space on substack every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; it is also available in its entirety from here.