Chapter 2: The Calm before the Storm

The next day, Royce summoned all of the officers directly under his command to a meeting in the Richmond Administrative building. Once the last officer, the always tardy Colonel Harrington, arrived, Royce commenced the meeting, starting with, "Gentlemen, out last victory destroyed the only Yankee army between us and Philidelphia. I have gained the approval of President Davis to march straight through Maryland and take the city!"
"Are you mad?" began Brigadier General Vincent Bethune, a tall, young man of great intellect, despite his little experience. He had recently replaced the late Alan Hill as commander of the Hattaras Brigade. "The north will bleed themselves dry to keep that city! And what if General Meade marches from Gettysburg to flank us, or worse yet, General Richelieux from New York?" General Richelieux was a french general who emigrated to the US to fight in the war.
"He won't," barked General Tarkstein. A short, stocky man, Tarkstein was the only Jewish general the CSA had. "How would they even know?"
"The Union has spys in Richmond, just as we have spys in Washington." answered back the unusually pessimistic Bethune.
"Even if they did show up, do you think those northern boys can stand up to our troops?" said Harrington. Harrington was an aging, fat Colonel who had been the son of an afluent land owner down in Georgia.
"Dammit man, there would be no way we could win? By sheer numbers alone the union-"
"SILENCE!" screamed Royce, his face turning red, as he banged his fist onto the table. "My mind is already made up! Tommorow, we march to Philedelphia!"

At that very moment, Greenford sat inside a tavern in the heart of Richmond. He had spent the night there, not feeling like walking all the way back to camp. He was downing his fith ale of the hour when Lieutenant Nelson,an officer under his command, and a distant relative of the famous Horatio Nelson, walked in, and spotted him.
"Colonel! Some men of the 14th Alabama have broken into a store and are looting it now!"
Greenford, incoherent with drink, babled somthing about pigs or chickents, Nelson couldn't particularly understand him, before collapsing into a pool of his own drool. Nelson left the tavern to deal with the looters, harshly.

Greenford woke up in the tavern owner's bed. Next to the bed was a canteen full of water that the tavern's owner, a distant cousin of Greenford, had left there for him. Greenford, though sober, had a terrible hangover from all that ale. Slowly he began to sip the water, and began thinking about what Nelson had said. Looters. Greenford was surprised he even remembered what Nelson had told him because, at that moment, he was the most intoxicated he had ever been in his life. It was unusual for him to drink like he did, but it was not unheard of. After his participation at Manassas, he was a Captian then, he was drunk for two days straight! Greenford finished off the water and began to walk torwards the bedroom door.

General Royce crept into his richmond villa. His wife was asleep, he did not want to wake her. He sneaked into the kitchen and found himself a nice hard roll, the recipie of which his wife picked up on their stay in New York before the war. He sliced it in half, and buttered it. Then he picked up a few belongings of his and left, while eating his buttered roll, which he enjoyed, very much. In a week, he would be in Maryland, on his way to philedelphia. The thought troubled him. What if he was killed in battle? His pregnant wife would be left to fend for herself! He couldn't let that happen. Not in a million years, he would survive that war, he thought to himself. He noticed how calm it was that day, then he remembered some saying he had heard somewhere, and he thought it was the calm before the storm.