The Civil War: America's Fate

The Civil War: The Glimpse into the Future: Deleted Scenes Part 2

Lincoln

The first time, President elect Abarham Lincoln had seen General Ulysses Grant, he'd been utterly blown away.

The man did not act like a general, certainly not like one too. The clothes he wore; which were sloppy and muddy, stuck out like a sore thumb. His predecessor, James Buchanan, had introduced him to the general firsthand.

Lincoln did not know, did not want to know, what haunted Grant. The look in the man's eyes as he met Lincoln's gaze. There was something very sad in the general's gaze. Almost like the fate of the world rested on Grant's fingertips.

Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. But as soon as the war broke out, Grant had suddenly become very quiet and sadder. Violent battles tore the southern states apart. Lincoln was very cautious about sending this man out into the field. He was even more worried about what would happen to the general if he suddenly met up against Lee.

But that was when Grant told Lincoln about his true intentions.

At first, Lincoln didn't want to believe anything of this. He was angered and confused over the fact of how Polk could send someone so young into a future; without knowing how or what would happen in the future.

Especially how Polk had sent a young boy right into the smack of time where the civil war was exploding across the continent.

Grant told him one thing. When Lee planned to invade the north, Grant would march toward Gettysburg with a fighting force of 200,000 men. After the victory if Lee retreated and escaped, Grant would split his massive army in half and 100,000 of the men under the command of General Sherman would march to the sea destroying and burning everything in their path.

The plan did succeed. Lee's army retreated after the second day, and Grant split his army in half, chasing after the rebels with a predator instinct. He managed to trap Lee at Arkansas, Helena. Lee surrendered his force of 60,000 to Grant and the war was over.

The war had only lasted two years. Grant had told him that the war had originally lasted 4 years. Lincoln was shocked, terrified at the amount of the bloodshed that had come out of the four years.

As many as 6,000,000 lay dead or wounded.

Many on both sides were scarred, for life.

Lincoln could not hold any longer. He invited generals and commanders on both sides and decided to tell them the truth.

The only ones who didn't seem shocked were probably a group of boys. One was from Virginia, who deeply hated his home over slavery and he'd chosen to fight beside Grant. It turned out the man's name was Shadow. The young man had been a troublemaker like Grant at West Point, but he'd been taught classes under General Lee; who had also decided to attend this "meeting of sorts."

Shadow had at first, before the freak thing had happened, a quiet young man, at West Point, a student of Lee's. But when he was transported through time like Grant, a deep fury had welled inside of him. The anger was aimed at his teacher and he declined to take any more classes at West Point. It hurt him too considering that he had bonded with Lee so hard, to the point that he could have been shattered.

Shadow had left West Point without a graduate's degree. The only thing that saved him was the coming Civil War. He quickly joined Grant's regiment and since they were both time travelers they crushed the fighting force of the rebels without mercy.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Lincoln glanced around the room. Today was the day, the day when he met up with the generals to tell them truth.

It was weird. For two generation of presidents, the president of America had shielded the fact that Ulysses Grant did not wear luck with him; more like the fact that Grant had seen the future.

Speaking of Grant, the man stood beside his left flank with the other southern boy called Shard.

Shard was very racist but he didn't like slavery. He'd seen the brutality of the scars that slave masters had inflicted on blacks. Shard was from Texas; he was in his early fourties. He'd been fifteen when he avenged his fallen comrades from the Alamo at San Jacinto.

Shard had also been like Shadow. He hadn't cared much for anyone let alone a revolution. It'd been when he had time traveled into the future that he realized the consequences of America's actions, that he decided to put a stop to it.

Shard was dirt poor and cheap and he also didn't attend any collages. Lincoln thought it would be nice to give Shard a job in the army since the boy had snapped to his senses during his time travel experience.

"They're coming," Grant said quietly. "Johnson says he saw them."

"Thank you," Lincoln gave a curt nod and he tried to smile.

"Mr. President?" Grant asked running a hand through his hair. "Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm fine." Lincoln looked warily at the door, his eyes slitted and his lips surprisingly dry. "Let's wait for Lee...and his generals."

Shadow scoffed, twitching his muscles. "Generals...more like traitors."

Lincoln sighed and gazed at Shadow with sad amber eyes. He does not know how this will turn out, if he goes back to West Point and he ends back up in Lee's hands.

A smile of amusement graced Lincoln's lips. Shadow would not be happy. The thing was Lee had signed up for the Washington College for the president. And Shadow had just applied for a job. The war was over and Shadow needed something to do.

Shadow had applied for being a history teacher. He'd also picked to be a historian to update the history books.

Shadow stood beside his general, brooding over the fact that his secret was about to be revealed.

The doors opened. Shadow stood up, his eyes alert.

A couple of generals, McCllelan and Hooker chatting nonchalantly back in forth about gossip. The gossip Lincoln didn't know. A quiet, Burnside stood by the doorway, greeting people who walked in.

Burnside's eyes were thoughtful as he sees Lee and his "generals" walk in. They are not the starving men Grant encountered months ago. They're sleek and the young generals, have broad backs and thick muscles.

Lincoln gazes worriedly at the door. Outside, William Lee, the turncoat, as others call him, stands guard, protecting the place from any unwanted intruders and guests. He takes his job very seriously as when Virginia decided to break away from the Union.

Right now, William is admiring his black leather gun. His fingers slide into the trigger, and Lincoln can imagine an unlucky rebel soldier running toward William, only for his head to blow off.

According to Grant, William chose the other side over his home country, Virginia. It shattered a bond with his father, over how they talked and stuff. At times William would come back home, to find valuables his father had left behind. He sometimes find nothing. His mother had been deeply upset over the path he'd chosen, but all William had said was, "I'm saving Washington's Legacy from a bloodier future. Be grateful I'm not like the traitors."

William's house had been savaged by federal troops now to create the cemetery Grant had warned Lincoln about. The idea was so bright to Lincoln, he ordered a small fighting force of about 2,000 men to march on and capture the house for themselves. Two months later, in October of 1861, they began plotting the structure for the resting places of the Union soldiers. William was eager to help, no matter the cost.

Lincoln snapped out of his thoughts again, feeling guilty. William had slid in, his dark eyes looking around at his surroundings. "That's everyone," he announced.

"All right. Close the doors."

William happily did as told, the matted black gun slung on his shoulders and then when the doors closed, Lincoln turned to the generals.

"All right. Let's get down to business."