Private Josiah Larimore was making his way through a fairly large wooded area. He and two other soldiers had gotten separated from their company. After a shoot out with some Confederate soldiers lasting over an hour, he was the only one left. Lost, he got off the road and headed into the woods. The fighting was about 30 miles west of Savannah. It was chilly, so he was wearing a large overcoat. He lost his musket shortly before getting lost, so he picked up a smooth bore musket he found along the way. He heard shooting not far up ahead. Stepping out of the woods, he saw a large house. Across from it, about 20 yards, was a barn. He could see a figure standing just around the corner of the barn shooting toward the house. Then he noticed that another figure was shooting from around the corner of the house. He was wearing a grey coat, and there was a body laying about four feet away from him. The figure at the barn was clearly a Union soldier. A long hedge ran from the woods to just short of the barn. Josiah crouched down and ran toward the barn. As he approached, the Union soldier suddenly whirled around and pointed his rifle at him. Josiah froze. The other soldier peered at him for a moment, and then turned around and fired at the house again. Josiah ran the rest of the way.

“Thanks for not shooting me,” Josiah said, wiping the sweat from his face.

“You better not be no Rebel dressed like one of our boys!”

Suddenly he turned around and stuck the barrel of his rifle against the side of Josiah’s head.

“Maybe I oughta shoot you just in case; the fella over there won’t mind!” Then he laughed.

“I’d be obliged if you didn’t,” Josiah said nervously

**********************************

Josiah raised his musket to shoot. Nathaniel grabbed the barrel and shook his head. Josiah lowered his weapon.

“What are you doing here anyway?” Nathaniel asked.

“I told you, I got cut…” Nathaniel cut him off.

“No, here in this damn war!”

“Well you see, I gotta kill fourteen Rebs.”

Nathaniel smiled. “Why fourteen?”

“’Cause Scripture says God would avenge sevenfold; so I thought I might do the same.”

“What?”

“My father’s lost two sons now in this war, Reuben and Jesse. They were a lot older than me, but still. So I thought I’d avenge their deaths. Sevenfold, so that’s seven Rebels for each one of them.”

“So how many have you killed so far?”

“Four!”

Nathaniel laughed. “You got a ways to go!

*******************************

He hasn’t fired in awhile! He’s running outta shot. Here’s what you’ll do. I figure he don’t know you’re here. So if you head back down the hedge toward the woods, you could shoot his way. He’ll think you’re me. Then he’ll step away from the corner of the house to shoot back. And I’ll get him!”

“What if he shoots me?”

Nathaniel smiled. “I’ll shoot him, and it’ll be even.”

Josiah laughed and ran back down the hedge. Then he cautiously stood up and fired. The soldier by the house stepped forward for just a second and fired back. Then another shot rang out, and the Confederate soldier dropped to the ground. Nathaniel ran down the hedge and noticed Josiah laying on the ground clutching his shoulder. He bent down and pulled Josiah’s arm out of the sleeve of his coat.

“How bad is it?” Josiah asked.

“Well, not bad I’d say. I got it a lot worse in my thigh outside of Atlanta! Come on!”

The two approached the house carefully. Turning the corner, they saw the two dead Confederate soldiers. Nathaniel tore some strips from one their shirts and tied it around Josiah’s wound. Then he laughed.

“Hey! If you want, I’ll let you take credit. Then you only need eight!”

Josiah Larimore

Josiah is the son of Joseph Larimore Jr. and Margaret Grayson, born in Boston. Joseph's marriage to Margaret, the daughter of Mathew Grayson, enabled him to give up subsistence farming and establish Larimore-Grayson Dry Goods. In 1860, Joseph was elected to the US Congress. Joseph and Margaret had a large family, including Reuben, Jesse, Buford, Jasper, Matthew, Constance, Chastity, Noah, Violet, Christopher, Olivia, Daisy, Priscilla, and Joseph Jr. After Margaret passed away, Joseph started over, adding Marybelle, Asa, Albert, Catherine, Virgil, Jeremiah, Ruth, Ulysses, and...well, there were probably others. 

When the Civil War broke out, several of Joseph's sons joined the war effort. Joseph's heart broke when he received news of the death of Reuben and Jesse. Jasper and Matthew are listed as missing in action and believed dead. Nothing more was ever heard about them. Despite his father's insistence that he not join the war, Josiah sneaks away and joins the Union army intent on avenging the deaths of his brothers. Josiah served under General Sherman during his March to the Sea, where he met a soldier named Nathaniel. Both ended up in a shoot-out with a Confederate sniper and Josiah was wounded...twice, shot in the shoulder and in his "seat" as he would put it. Despite his wounds, Josiah refused to be discharged until his task is done. He served until the end of the war and, following his discharge, slowly made his way back to his father's house. He walked part of the way, camping in the open fields at night and continuing on during the day. When he could, he jumped the trains that led North. Eventually, he found himself following the long, meandering country road that ends at his father's farm. His sister Olivia, having brought lunch to her brothers in the corn fields, saw him coming. She ran home to tell her father. Cresting the hill that leads up to the Larimore home, he froze. He later told Grayson that he felt far less fear facing the Rebel army than he did that day. Joseph listened intently as Josiah explains how he avenged Reuben and Jesse's deaths. His father spent the rest of his life bragging to anyone who would listen about his son the "war hero." 

Josiah's first wife was Octavia, the daughter of Professor Pickering, who taught Classics and Roman History at a prestigious college in Boston. Joseph, intent on Josiah being elected to the US Senate, personally knew the eccentric professor, who was also well connected with members of the state senate. He arranged for Josiah to meet Octavia. When Josiah first arrived at the professor's home, he was greeted at the door by Octavia. He was confused, since she has dark hair, and Joseph said that Octavia is blonde. He becomes more confused when "Octavia" remarks that she will let her sister, who is still getting "prettied up," know that he has arrived. A beautiful blonde woman soon appeared, who introduced herself as Octavia. Following Octavia's death, Josiah married Rachel Gibson, who would later be known as the Apple Pie Queen of Landridge County and the woman who taught Demetria how to bake pies.

Josiah's first bid for the senate was unsuccessful. But then Joseph became a business partner of Lucius Hanover, who owned the Massachusetts Bay Mercantile Shipping Company. Lucius told Joseph that he was willing to "bankroll" a bid for the US Senate by a man who would be a strong proponent of Boston's shipping trade. When the state's other senator died, Joseph and Lucius ran a campaign that resulted in Josiah becoming senator. He was a democrat, and became a key ally of President Cleveland. As a result of his friendship with the president, Josiah was able to get his son, Grayson, into West Point. Josiah invested large amounts of money in land out West. He also bought out his brothers' ownership in the dry goods business. Josiah's wealth passed to Grayson. Grayson and Demetria move from Boston and took up residence on land owned by Josiah in what became known as Green Ridge Valley. 

******************************************

Terrance wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Been hot lately,” he said, looking at Grayson.

Grayson laughed. “You think this is hot! You wouldn’t believe Manila!”

“Where’s that?”

“The Philippines; and man was it hot there! I got this ailment in my lower stomach parts. Walked around in the jungle with a hole in the back of my britches for a month!”

“I always meant to ask how it was you got into the military academy,” Terrance said.

Grayson pulled two cigars out of his pocket and handed one to Terrance. “Oh, Father, of course.”

“Military man I suppose.”

Grayson laughed. “Well, sort of.”

***************************
Nathaniel ran back to where they were before. He disappeared into the barn, and came back riding a horse. He helped Josiah up, and the two rode toward the camp. When they got within about 20 yards, they dismounted. Suddenly a shot rang out, and Josiah fell to the ground. Nathaniel crouched down and raised his rifle. He scanned the area around the woods looking for the sniper. Suddenly there was a burst of gunfire. He looked toward the camp and saw about ten Union soldiers firing from behind an old stone wall about four feet high. They waited for a few moments, and then made their way cautiously toward the area where the sniper had been. Nathaniel watched intently.

“Hey Josiah, they must have got the son of a bitch! Or he’d a shot back by now.”

Then he put his field glasses back in his coat pocket, and looked down at Josiah.

 “Twice in one day! That’s bad luck! Where’d they get you this time?”

“In my seat; damn it burns!”

“Well, good thing camp’s just 20 yards or so. Besides, ain’t no bones in your seat to break. You’ll probably get sent home now.”

Josiah lay on his side moaning and groaning.

“Hey Josiah! I know something that’ll make you feel better!”

“What’s that?”

“You could’ve been facing the other direction when he fired!”

Josiah looked down at his groin. “When you put it like that…but still, I got shot in the ass! What’ll I tell the folks at home?”

Nathaniel smiled. “Tell ’em about your shoulder.”