Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13 JULY 2, 1863 8:30 P.M. GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA It was getting dark when they arrived. The fighting had ended for the day, and at first, the news about the day's fighting seemed grim: The Union troops had been badly outnumbered. They had lost thousands of soldiers. But then Captain Campbell learned that somehow, the scrappy Union soldiers had managed to hold the high ground. "Our cannons are in the hills," he said. "We're dug in!" Troops had been pouring into Gettysburg all day, and tens of thousands more would arrive

第十三章1863年7月2日晚8:30 他们到达葛底斯堡时，天已经黑了。 这一天的战斗已经结束了，一开始，关于当天战斗的消息似乎很残酷:联邦军队在数量上远远落后。 他们损失了数千名士兵。 但后来坎贝尔上尉了解到，不知怎么的，好斗的联邦士兵设法占据了制高点。 “我们的大炮在山上，”他说。 “我们挖好了!”军队一整天都在涌入葛底斯堡，还有数万人即将抵达

overnight. The roads around the town were so crowded that the wagon Thomas and Birdie were riding in could barely move. They got out and walked with Henry. Thomas had never seen so many people in one place — thousands of Union soldiers. As they made their way through the town, it seemed that every inch of grass was covered by a tent. Supply wagons lined the roads. Horses and mules were tied to every fence and tree. Henry talked to some of the soldiers they passed, eager for news of the day's fighting. But these men were just arriving, too. Some men looked more ragged than Birdie's doll. One soldier said his regiment had been marching for more than three weeks. Birdie stared at the crowds of men. "They're all here to protect us?" she said, her eyes wide in amazement.

过夜。镇子周围的道路上挤满了人，托马斯和伯蒂乘坐的马车几乎无法移动。 他们下了车，和亨利一起走着。 托马斯从来没有在一个地方见过这么多人——成千上万的联邦士兵。 当他们穿过城镇时，似乎每一寸草地上都盖着帐篷。 补给车排列在道路两旁。 马和骡子被拴在每一个篱笆和树上。 亨利和他们经过的一些士兵交谈，急切地想知道当天战斗的消息。 但这些人也刚到。 有些人看起来比伯蒂的娃娃还要破烂。 一名士兵说，他的团已经行军了三个多星期。 伯迪凝视着人群。 “他们都是来保护我们的?”她说，惊讶地瞪大了眼睛。

Thomas almost smiled — of course Birdie would think that this was her own personal army. Henry picked Birdie up. "Yes, Bird," he said. "They are here for you." Thomas could see Henry wasn't joking. And maybe Birdie wasn't wrong. These men were fighting for him and Birdie, weren't they? Fighting so that they could be free. Henry carried Birdie as they passed a long line of supply wagons stuck on the side of the road. Suddenly Birdie gasped. "Look at those men!" she cried, pointing. Thomas turned, and he too stared at the crowd of men surrounding the front wagon. "They look like us!" Birdie exclaimed. The men were black. "They're teamsters," Henry said. "They're paid by the Union army to run supplies from camp to camp. It's tough work. Dangerous, too. We've got

托马斯几乎笑了——当然，伯蒂会认为这是她自己的私人军队。 亨利把小鸟抱起来。“是的，鸟，”他说。 “他们是来找你的。”托马斯看得出亨利不是在开玩笑。 也许伯迪没有错。 这些人是在为他和伯蒂而战，对吧? 为自由而战。 亨利抱着伯迪走过一长排停在路边的补给车。 突然，小鸟倒吸了一口气。“看那些人!"她指着叫道。 托马斯转过身来，也盯着前面马车周围的人群。 “他们长得像我们!”小鸟说。 这些人都是黑人。“他们是卡车司机，”亨利说。 他们受联邦军队的雇佣，从一个营地到另一个营地运送补给。 这是一项艰苦的工作。危险的。 我们有

thousands of those men working for us. We couldn't fight this war without them." Thomas felt a jolt of excitement. Those men were free! They were working for the Union! "Hello!" Birdie sang out as they passed, waving madly. "Hello!" The men looked up in surprise, their tired and dusty faces melting into smiles at the sight of Birdie. Thomas wished he could talk to them. Where had they come from? How had they gotten here?

成千上万的人为我们工作。 没有他们我们就打不了这场战争。” 托马斯感到一阵兴奋。 那些人自由了!他们在为联邦工作!“你好!”他们经过的时候，小鸟唱着歌，疯狂地挥手。 “你好!”男人们惊讶地抬起头来，看到伯迪，他们疲惫、满是灰尘的脸上都露出了笑容。 托马斯希望他能和他们谈谈。 它们是从哪里来的?他们是怎么到这里来的?

But there was no time. Their regiment had been ordered to set up camp in a wooded field outside of the town and wait for their orders. "We're in for a tough battle tomorrow," Captain Campbell said. "Get rest now, but be ready, men." The men dropped their bedrolls and knapsacks and collapsed to the ground. They peeled off their boots and socks and washed their bloodied and blistered feet. And then most of them fell asleep, not even bothering to eat supper or spread out their blankets. Thomas and Birdie slept, too. But sometime later that night, the entire camp was awakened by the bugler, followed by Captain Campbell's booming voice. "Wake up, men!" he bellowed. "The time has come!" The men staggered to their feet and gathered around the captain. "We will march across the ridge and take up a position in the hills," the captain announced,

但是没有时间了。他们团奉命在城外的一片树林里扎营，等待命令。 “明天我们将面临一场艰苦的战斗，”坎贝尔上尉说。 “现在休息吧，但要做好准备，伙计们。” 男人们放下铺盖和背包，瘫倒在地。 他们脱下靴子和袜子，洗了洗沾满血迹和水泡的脚。 然后他们中的大多数人都睡着了，甚至懒得吃晚饭或铺开毯子。 托马斯和伯蒂也睡着了。 但那天晚上晚些时候，整个营地都被号声吵醒了，接着是坎贝尔上尉洪亮的声音。 “醒醒，伙计们!”他吼道。 “时机到了!”人们摇摇晃晃地站起来，围着船长。 “我们将越过山脊，在山上找一个阵地，”上尉宣布，

pointing into the darkness behind them. "By morning, the rebels will be on the attack. Our mission is to help hold the ground." Just hours ago the men had looked so ragged and battered they could barely stand. Now they were alert, standing strong. "The fighting will be fierce," the captain said. "The rebels will come at us hard. They will fight with all of their might to knock us from those hills, to crush us. But we will hold our ground, men! We will hold our ground!" The soldiers listened with hard expressions. "Yes, Captain!" a soldier yelled. "We will hold the ground!" shouted another. The captain looked around, his steely gaze seeming to fall on each and every man. "This is it, men," he said, his voice rising. "Everything has led to this place, to this moment! This is our time!" Someone shouted out a word: "Fredericksburg!"

指着身后的黑暗。 “到早上，叛军将发起进攻。 我们的使命是帮助坚守阵地。” 就在几个小时前，这些人看起来衣衫褴褛，几乎站不起来。 现在他们警醒，站立得结实。 “战斗会很激烈，”上尉说。 “叛军会向我们猛烈进攻。 他们会用尽全力把我们从山上赶出去，把我们碾碎。 但我们会坚守阵地的，伙计们!我们将坚守阵地!”士兵们表情严肃地听着。 “是的，上尉!”一个士兵喊道。 “我们要守住阵地!”另一个喊道。 船长环顾四周，他那钢铁般的目光似乎落在每一个人身上。 “就是这样，伙计们。”他说，声音提高了。 “一切都是为了这个地方，这个时刻!”这是我们的时代!”有人喊了一句:“弗雷德里克斯堡!”