musket prologue: chapter one, intro
#1 of musket
i am using this part of the series for a school assignment. the capitalization is not there because the writer doesn't use them in letters.
this is my first furry story so criticism is recommended. also another thing, i probably will upload this series a bit slow so expect to wait.
Joshua,
Union, 7th regiment, Minnesota
Fort Snelling,
August 16, 1862
well Susan, i have finally found the time to write when i was not tired from the drills and guard duty and whatnot. when we woke up we drilled, after meals, we drilled, before guard duty we drilled, before bed we drilled, then we woke up and it started again. please tell me, how is my mother and father doing, i did not mean for them to be hurt or insulted, it was simply that i wanted to make a name for myself, back at home i was always known as 'william's son' or 'the blacksmith's boy' and i also wish to continue the presbyterian faith as many in the company with me are. our commanding officer, sibley i believe his name is, a wolf, seems like a gentlemen, which has some men grumbling which i don't understand. the food here is not exactly like home so that means that these letters are the only thing that would remind me of home, and i'm glad that i'm not the only one who abandoned their homes to join the army. when i got here i met a bear who was like me. he left his home to make a name for himself only his father was a doctor. he considers himself to not be a god fearing bear but if you don't ask you won't be able to tell that he doesn't.
soon i am going to have to sleep but the next opportunity i have i am going to write again, i also believe soon we are going to move out and join the fighting ranks. i guess it is time to see what the skills they had us drill over and over and over are actually useful in battle. i hope they are because the next time it will be for real. however, i feel conflicted. in the bible, it says 'thou shalt not kill' yet everyone here and i have joined the infantry and that is exactly what we are expected to do as that is what comes with it. i also remember seeing a man come back from war a shattered man. i feel conflicted about killing a fur. i won't know who i am going to face, it could be my neighbor, my old teachers, my friend. i could be going against a fur that otherwise i would have gotten along with. we could be sitting next to each other with our sweethearts talking about other things like how the trees lose their leaves during fall and how they crunch when you step on them.
at the same time killing a fur may be a small price for the wealth and fame that comes with the army. after this war, i could come back and instead, everyone would call my father 'the soldier's old man' or' joshua's father'. now there is a thought. the money i get would be able to sustain me for a while i think. i would no longer have to rely on my parents to sustain me with money. i could find work somewhere, build my own fortune, and start a business.
anyways, i have to sleep at some point and it is going to be long march tomorrow, so i am going to need my strength, until the next letter.
with love,
Joshua