When Two Worlds Split

Fort Kearny

"Did you hear? The troops made it to Kearny." I heard, in the corner of my ear as I grabbed a few things from a small marketplace, in Pennsylvania.

"I thought they were headed to Charlestown,"
The other man bickered.

"Change of plans."

I sped wildly on my horse after exiting the shop.
Fort Kearny was only a few miles away.
I was originally on my way to Georgia,
but,
there was a change of plans.
This is amazing! I can get there much faster, in a half of a day.
My moods spiked, but so did the freezing weather.
I noticed snow lining treetops, and cold winter breezes sweeping past me.

I was ready to see nice cabins and civilized soldiers as I got there, but it was anything but that.
I held my skirts close.
My horse came to a halt at the hill that overlooked Fort Kearny.

Rows and rows of tents, each one clumped beside roads of mud and dirt.
In the farthest parts of the camp, well-kept cabins were placed in an orderly fashion.

As I neared the rows, I started to see the disturbing details.
Men laid against small mounds of hay, all covered in mud. Some had outbreaks of small pox on their grimy faces.
Dead bodies were being shuffled away from the camp.
Two men, I noticed, were vigorously fighting each other in a mud pit. Lamps were spilt over, and scraggly, unfit codgers wore bandages around their pox infested feet and arms.
It was hell on earth.

I made my way closer.
The first few men were in too much pain to care for my presence. No one cared. At first.

My horse strutted farther into the middle of the fort.
Men began walking over, and strangely following me.
I heard things like,
'A woman?'
'A beaut.'
'Ay, there's plenty of room in my cabin for ye',
And the one that disturbed me the most.
'Why don't ya take off that skirt? Must be heavy.'

I hope these men have wives at home.

They picked off hairs from my horse's tail, and they pulled at my dress. I turned my head sharply at the onlookers.

"Go back to your tents, you filthy baggers!" I pulled the stallion's mane, and it rode faster.
I felt sweat on my palms and forehead even though it was cold out. I began to near the cabins, and I began to fear things.
They won't let a woman here.
So, I must become someone else.

I left my horse at a stable, near the cabins. My dress dragged in the dark mud, the yellow staining a darker shade.
A mad stench filtered into my mouth and my nose.
I crinkled my nose up, taking in breaths near trees where the air was freshest.

I noticed a few young soldiers,
wrestling each other in the dirt.
Naked.

I took a glance over, hiding behind a tent to avoid attention. I made sure they did not carry the pox. I quickly ran over and snatched the clothes they had left near the dirt. I ran as they yelled,
"Mis ropas!' One was Spanish.
"It doesn't matter, it's being stollen by a lass."

Their voices drowned out as I snuck away behind the forest bed.
Being caught naked here would mean... well, probably not the best of circumstances.

I hid behind a tall bush, and I slipped off my dress.
Then my corset...

I heard voices.

"You 'ear tha'?" An Irish man questioned.

"No. It's just a bird, or something." Another answered.