Quaint Old Verona

Part 1

The desire for adventure has tugged at my heart for as long as I can remember. When I was a boy, I would dream of traveling to faraway lands, discovering new peoples, and wooing the local women. While I fancied the life of an adventurer, my father made it his life's quest to make me into another version of himself. Father owned a business in Manhattan and ran every aspect of his life through the scope of his corporations. He made no decision that contradicted the well-being of his company. I can honestly say that the contention between our two ideologies gave my life direction. In the heart of youthful rebellion, I would do the exact opposite of my father's plans for me. It was my adventurous spirit, and my insurrection to Father's wishes that guided me out west, a place that would change my life forever.

On August 5th, 1864, I enlisted with the 28th Regiment New York State Militia. My inner explorer finally felt the exhilaration of an impending quest. A pursuit to help free people from bondage and to help bring a broken country back together. On my way to my first muster, I envisioned myself receiving medals and honors from President Lincoln himself. I imagined the Southern Belles that would flock to me while I wore that dark blue uniform. I saw myself as a great liberator, something close to Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul. We would eliminate the slavers and allow the women, children, and freedmen to better themselves with proper Northern customs. The nation would revere us as heroes.

My dream of excitement through combat went unsatisfied during my dreadful time with the militia. On the day we mustered in, our commander, Colonel Bokee, warned us that we needed to prepare to leave at a moment's notice. He raised my young hopes of seeing adventure when he said we'd be called to action any day now and that we were sure to get our hands dirty. At that moment, I was prepared to follow him and the rest of my superiors into Hell. From August 1864 to November 1864, the entirety of my enlistment, our regiment did nothing but march around Elmira, New York. For one-hundred days, all we did was drill and listen to the colonel tell us to prepare to move within the week. I would talk and jest with some of my comrades, but I mostly kept to myself. I held out, making any genuine bonds with them until combat. I was under the impression that the battlefield forged the strongest friendships, and I felt that I couldn't call any of these men my friend until I saw them act under pressure. The months rolled by while I waited for the 28th to get called to action. On November 13th, 1864, Colonel Bokee formed us up on the parade ground. Just when I thought he was about to order us south into the fray, he dismissed us from our service. He claimed that our job was small to the cause of reunification but important. Crushed were my hopes of a noble adventure.

The colonel rambled about our essential role to the Union for what seemed like hours. After he dismissed us, I sat and thought about my father. There was no way I could return home now, not right away. As furious as he was that I left, the fact that I did nothing while in the 28th would only make him madder. Instead of going straight to Manhattan, I wandered from town to town in New York, searching for another regiment to join. My search concluded in April 1865, when I saw a headline that proclaimed Lee's surrender to General Grant at a courthouse in Virginia. While the people around me rejoiced about the end of the conflict, I mourned the lost prospect for my adventure.

I caught a train to Manhattan as quickly as I could. Before the train stopped, I made my peace with the idea of working for my father. When the train halted, I hurried through the crowded train station. As I pushed through the tight throng of people, a poster caught my eye that read, Work out west! Good pay, good experience. I pushed through the people and plucked the paper from where it dangled. With no time to garner more information from the advert, I wadded it up and stuffed it in my coat pocket. I quickly moved to Father's home, only now I had a new plan. I was determined to find out the nature of this job out west. I was going to submit the people of the frontier to my desire for adventure.