Creative History

                      On the banks of the Tennessee River, just outside a small town whose name means place of peace in Hebrew, upwards of fifty thousand blue clad Federal troops are gathered. These troops are battle hardened veterans who are led by the hardest of Union generals--Ulysses S. Grant.  Already, less than one full year into the War Between the States, Grant has earned a fearsome reputation as one of the north’s most determined battlefield commanders. It is April 6, 1862 and only two months prior, in February of that year, using the audacity and stubbornness that history will go on to always remember him for, Grant overpowered the vaunted rebel strongholds of Fort’s Donelson and Henry.  In the process he earned himself the nickname of “Unconditional Surrender” Grant in all the newspapers up north. Now, as dawn approaches on April 6, Grant in command of the undefeated Army of Tennessee, is primed an...

          Lanterns flicker in the chill March breeze.  An icy drizzle begins to fall.  The worn winter clothes of the three medical students shimmer as they’re covered by a dusting of ice crystals. “Come on, hurry,” one of the young men wearing a tri-corner hat says as the breath rises like steam from between his lips. “I am hurrying.  You want to dig?”  The one who is standing over the headstone says between clenched teeth as he shovels another spadeful of mud over the edge of the hole. The lanterns flash again casting shadows over the three men.   What was that sound? The lookout, who is standing with eyes darting left to right a few feet away, puts a finger to his lips, “Shhh,” he whispers. More muffled sounds of digging.  The night turns silent and even colder.  Frozen drizzle.  The men breathe into the palms of their hands to keep the bitter March chill from biting into their fingertips.  Tens...