A Country Divided : Through Blood United

Women's Roles in the War: The Jones Twins

I climbed through the dense forest outside of Maplewood, my feet crunching in the fall leaves every time I took a step. While I swiftly ran, I kept my footsteps quiet and light so I wouldn't be heard. About 2 miles into my journey, I was finally able to see the group.

    About five blacks were running-almost sprinting north. Why were they going in the opposite direction of the route to Sharpsburg? Maybe they were trying to throw me off of their trail somehow. I still followed.

    The small group suddenly stopped, and one of them, the leader of the group perhaps, craning her neck over the others. The leader probably noticed my presence, so I slunk into some nearby bushes.

    The group's leader then turned around in my direction, and to my surprise, she was a girl. She was the only girl in her little group.

    A girl? I asked myself. In the army? It can't be. A girl can't be in the army without disguising herself, let alone a Southern army.

    I shifted my gaze away from the girl to examine the other members of the group. They were all boys, and they all looked the same. Black, coiled hair and dark, brown eyes. All of them appeared athletic and intimidating. They also all wore the same color clothes. I silently wished that I brought one of my friends to aid me in this small mission.

    I glanced back at the girl, but she was nowhere in sight. As my anxiety levels rose, I frantically scanned my surroundings. She was nowhere to be seen.

    All of a sudden I felt a hard kick on my back, knocking me to the ground. I got a mouth full of dead leaves and twigs, and I spit angrily. The attacker behind me then laid her knee onto my back and her forearm on my cheek, fully pinning me to the forest floor.

    "Why are you following us, you Southern scum?" the girl shouted, her voice stern and demanding.

    I stayed quiet and rolled my eyes. I'm not a Southerner like her. I'm a Northerner, and I want to see if there's any funny business going on in the Southern army.

    "Answer her!" Another unfamiliar voice said. His voice was calm and sweet with a deep, soft tone. I couldn't see him, though, as my face was buried in the ground.

    Tough girl, I thought to myself.

"I'm not a Johnny-Reb," I sighed toward the leader in an annoying tone. "I'm a Northerner-"

    Before I could finish my sentence, I bent my back upward, knocking the attacker's foot off of my back. I then leaped back to my feet and dusted off my clothes. After I knew that my attacker wouldn't strike me any more, I rubbed my now red cheek, bolts of stinging pain surging through my face.

    "I like you," She whispered to me a happy smirk planted onto her lips. "You're tough."

    The leader sighed and placed both of her hands onto her hips. "Okay, Northerner," she rolled her eyes, obviously not believing my true statement. "Prove that you belong in the North."

    Before I could answer, I caught sight of a man who looked almost exactly like my attacker. They were probably siblings. His eyes were gentle, and his nose was perfectly swept upward. Directly under his nose were perfectly shaped lips that had the color of a ripe plum, and his jawline was so sharp it could cut into anyone's heart, including mine.

    After I realized that I've been daydreaming, I shook my head slowly and crafted my expression into a stern one. I slid the eyepatch off of my right eye, revealing the vibrant purple iris. "Does this ring a bell?"

    "E-" she seemed to collapse once she noticed who I was. "Evangeline? Freebourne?"

    "The one and only," replied proudly.