Antietam Crows 2 of 13
“… What have you been up to Gus?”
“Touring.”
“Take The Crows’ Tour?”
“I did.”
“And?”
“You said once the crows call Antietam, 17 September 1862, ‘The Day Humans Went Nuts.’”
“I did.”
“The crows confirmed your story.”
“You speak crow?”
“More like they speak Yank.”
“Okay.”
“They laugh a lot, the crows.”
“They’ve been telling the story for more than 150 years.”
“Meaning?”
“Maybe we should laugh at our folly too.”
“The crows agree.”
“What else?”
“Crow-wise?”
“Yes.”
“At the end of the tour, down by where we first saw Sharpsburg.”
“I remember.”
“Two crows were showing me where the Connecticut Boys got attacked.”
“Go on.”
“The crows landed in a tree maybe 50 yards from a rock fence you all used earlier in the day.”
“Sure: you’re talking about the bluff area above Antietam Creek.”
“Yes, a bit below Burnside’s Bridge.”
“And?”
“One crow flew forward and one waited in a tree as I walked up.”
“Okay.”
“It didn’t fly away as I approached, so I went up to it (the tree), even touched the tree, and then the crow let out squawks toward the Antietam and flew off with the other crow.”
“In Yank, what did the crow mean to you?”
“In Yank … Like something happened down by the Antietam that may not be so well known.”
“Something?”
“I would say so Reb, something …”
Next Up: Part 3 on 26 June of the summer series Gus Kotka and Johnny Reb Somewhere On Our Way: Monuments.
Posted by Bryan W. Brickner
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