Tornado At Gettysburg
Historians tell us that the bloody battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in Civil War and ended on the evening of July 3rd, 1863, with the invading army of Confedercy led by their brilliant general Lee limping its way back to Virginia, badly beaten by the Unionists led by General Mead. For over a century and half this was adopted as an article of faith, routintely taught at the nation's schools and universities, until the discovery of the underground tunnel beneath the famous cemetery where so many gallant soldiers from both sides fought ferociously for three days. A confederacy captain's diary shed much light on the mystery of the tunnel. It described in vivid details what had happened to the two opposing regiments surrounding the cemetery on the night of July 3rd. Captain Jackson, no relations with the legendary Stonewall Jackson, who had died at the previous battle in Chancellorsville in the hands of one of his own sentries, had begun his narrative only hours after the great tornado had descended on Gettysburg.
At first, the fighting armies had tried to ignore it, focusing on shooting at each other, until the black wall of tornado appeared on their horizon, preceed by wild winds that blew dust in the face of shooting soldiers, moving fast to devour them in the open field, only to veer in another direction a precious few hundred feet and then after some miles beyond the views somehow turning around and heading in slow motion straight toward the battlefield, now full of crying wounded, some tended by female nurses and some being carried away on stretchers in a hurry. A confederate soldier on his slightly injued horse brought the news of devastations nearby. Suddenly a white flag on the confederate side went up and Captian Jackson ran to the other side to confer with the Union officers about the need for a cease-fire "in the face of this natural disaster." Facing him was Major Hancock from the famed Bostonian family that played a key role in the revolutionary war. Both men agreed to halt the fighting "until further notice" and then just as Jackson was turning back he was asked by Hancock what his plan to safeguard his troop from the incoming tornado?
"Well, we'll head back to the woods, that's a good natural barrier, don't you think?"
"Not really. That looks too ominous. I have a suggestion though."
"What is that?"
"We've been digging a tunnel to come out behind you and it's half way done. Hell this is practically over. I'm sending my men for safety there, if you like you and your men can join us. Being out in the open is a kiss of death my friend."
Captian Jackson paused for a quick second and then, seeing the rapidly approaching tornado only a few miles away, saw that there was no time to waste and quickly agreed.
"What?! Are you out of your mind sir? You want us to go huddle next to those yanks we've been killing all day?" Someone grumbled.
"That's an order. You hear. Unless you want to stay here and die for sure."
But a few confederate soldiers preferred that to the alternative of sharing a shelter with the enemy. A few dozen soldiers then headed toward the woods while the rest followed Captain Jackson to the tunnel, which was wider and deeper than they had anticipated. At the mouth of the tunnel there was a big commotion and, naturally, some union soldiers were supremely shocked to see enemy soldiers competing with them for tunnel entry.
"Be respectful gentlemen. We're both escaping mother nature now. Make room for our confederate brothers," Hancock yelled.
By the time the tornado reached them, three quarter of the soldiers were already inside and the unlucky rest perished instantly by the hundreds, their screams filling the air, along with the shrieks of horses and donkeys. Inside the tunnel Jackson and Hancock sat next to each other, both chewing tobacco.
"So what crazy mind came up with this idea? One of your engineers?" Jackson asked and Hancock shook his head and took credit himself, volunteering the information that he had once visited Brazil and was awe-struck by their "giant tunnels from a 1000 years ago." They both quickly noticed that a sense of comradery was quickly gaining ground between the opposing soldiers, with some of them offering drink and smoke to the other side. They all looked tired and exhausted and several among them were badly wounded. A unionist nurse was tending a confederate soldier who opened his eyes for the first time in hours and was shocked to see the scene at the tunnel, which reminded him more like a long trench than anything else.
"Don't worry. This is temporary. There's a tornado outside and both sides agreed to take shelter here," the nurse patiently explained to him and he mumbled, "I can't believe my eyes. I must be dead."
A few minutes later, with the loud noises from the outside deafening them, the soldiers started signing a song together, "Lucy, i'm coming home." Even the officers joined their chorus and some wondered in their head what if they were stuck there a whole day, would they turn into friends instead of enemies? But it wasn't to be and after an hour or so the air cleared and they all exited the tunnel, only to witness the horror of devastation and lives lost, dwarfing their own bloody battles that had raged on without any interruption until the tornado appeared. Soldiers from both sides helped with the wounded and some played nurse until the orders came to separate and join their previous lines, which they did and then the mutual slaughter was about to resume when, suddenly, one of the soldiers ran forward and yelled at the other side, "Brothers. Let us have mercy on each other today. Enough killing. Can't you see mother nature is angry at us?" He was shot dead before he finished his sentence, and then a long silence of the guns that lasted the whole night.
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