Cranford_+Once+Upon+A+Time

Jennifer Cranford September 29, 2010 Fiction paper Once Upon a Time Stupid history paper. Stupid history class. Stupid dead people! This is the stupidest stupid assignment that I’ve ever had to do in stupid school! Or, so I thought; but that is later in the story. It all began in the eighth grade. At my school, we are required to study American History. Not just American history though, American North Carolina history. So, we when we study the civil war, we only study the things that relate to North Carolina. SNOOZE! Well, at the time I thought it was going to be a major bore, but it ended up being my favorite year. Anyway, we had to do this assignment when we were studying the civil war. We were told go around Raleigh, which is where I live, and talk about a major historical sites pertaining to the civil war. Ok so, this sounds like a major snooze fest. I mean, yea we have Peace University which was the medical hospital, we have “the hill” or whatever it was called that had a Northern General almost blow up his troops so they could not burn Raleigh; but really, nothing smack in the face exciting. I kept looking through the websites, and then I found it: Historic Oakwood Cemetery! I can go look at dead people! Sounds cool enough for me, so that is where my story takes place. Inside Oakwood Cemetery I learn life’s greatest lesson.

So, I tell my parents I am going over to John’s house, my best friend, to work on this project. It wasn’t a complete lie, but not really the whole truth either. I was going to work with John on this project, but we weren’t exactly going to stay at his house. WE decided that this would be a much cooler experience if we camped out at the graveyard. It made sense right? Scary ghost stories, dead people all around, and zombies are the recipe for a good history project. John and I collect the tent and sleeping bags from his house and tell his parents we are camping in the woods. Ok, our story is covered and now we have to hike 2 miles to the cemetery. That got old really fast, but the hopes of seeing ghosts and zombies kept our spirits high at least. We were able to complete our zombies attack and trying to eat our brains out escape plan. It was a little hazy because we didn’t know where we were exactly, but we thought we could run really fast if we needed to. Zombies are… slow… right? Anyway, we arrive at the cemetery at 9P.M. The sun has set and we jump over the gate to get inside.

Inside it was really pretty. The grounds are well kept and head stones are all intact. At the time, I was really disappointed. John and I came here for a spooky night, and all we get is a serene cemetery, lame! We continue to go through and find a nice flat area under a big oak tree. We set up our tent and layout our sleeping bags before we go exploring. We were here for a history project, so we needed to find something important to write about. There has got to be a reason why this place is called historic. Looking at the headstones, we see some that are really old; they range all the way to 1800. We kept looking around and see some headstones with angels on them, some big tomb like things, and some that are just plain. I felt sorry for the plain ones; they must feel really inept compared to the big tombs. Eventually, John and I started to get really bored. That’s when our initial rant begins. Stupid dead people! Stupid history paper! Stupid history class! There is nothing to learn here. All there is are dead people, no food, and a tent. Sounds riveting doesn’t it? As if on cue, our night begins.

From around a tree, we see a young boy motioning for us to be silent. John and I look at each other before we decide to heed his advice. We thought there was no else in here, but who knows; perhaps a classmate had the same idea as us. We crouch down and slowly make our way to where the boy is hiding. He is young, has long curly brown hair, pale skin, and is dressed really funny. He has a funny hat on his head. It’s like he is trying to camouflage his brown hair. The rest of his outfit looks almost like a grey suit my dad sometimes wears. It is long-sleeved shirt and long pants. He is also wearing some really old boots that do not look efficient for trucking around the place. His clothes are very worn and torn in several places, and he is skinny. His cheeks are sunken in, his eyes are bloodshot, and he is really pale. The longer John and I look at him, the more he begins to seem familiar; but every time we go to ask his name, he holds a finger to his lips to quiet us. He tells us to stay low, and begins to walk off into the night. When John and I turn to see where he went, we cannot see him. It is like he disappeared; and then it hits me.

Staring blankly at my friend, my mouth falls open and I then turn pale. At the same time, John is an exact mirror of my feelings. We had just encountered our first ghost! He was wearing the Civil War Confederate outfit. We knew that the Confederate army did not have a lot of money to feed and clothe their army, so that would explain why he was so skinny and ill dressed; the paleness would have been the fact that he was dead. We also knew why he was so silent. The Union army had taken over Raleigh, and the areas around served as hospitals for Union and Confederate troops. Our new ghost/ possible zombie was hiding from some other Union soldier. After the initial shock of our encounter had faded, we decided we had to find him. The only question is, how do you track a ghost?

Of course we didn’t know how, but we decided to try anyway. Our first decision was to try and learn some more about the confederate army and its relation to this cemetery. Walking around, we see there are a lot of tombstones based in the 1800’s. We start to think about the lessons concerning Raleigh and the Civil War. Raleigh was a busy area during the Civil War. According to our classes, the Union troops worked hard to establish power over this area. At the beginning on the Civil War, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance built some breastworks around the city to try and keep the Union soldiers out. I had to look the word breastwork up because it made me laugh, but it means a fortification built with low walls. Good ole Sherman was able to get his troops through it; however, and he had sent his Calvary right over those breastworks taking the city with them. The Calvary was led by General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick on April 13, 1865. The Confederate Calvary tried to fight them off, but ended up retreating. The Union army wanted to finish them off, so they followed them to create the Battle Of Morrisville. The generals would not allow the city of Raleigh to be burned, so it was spared from Sherman’s burning rage. During this time of battles and defense, several areas were converted into hospitals. The third floor of a building at Peace University was converted into a hospital that treated Confederate and Union troops. It is claimed to be haunted! Who knows if is true. (Wikipedia.com)

One thing I do know, this cemetery is haunted and I want to know where our friend came from. Walking around the place, I come across a grave that has a wreath around it. In front, standing and staring at it, I see another person. This guy is a little older than our ghost friend and he is wearing a blue uniform. I immediately realize he is a union troop. John freezes again, but I decide I want to know what he is doing here, so I walk up to him.

“Hello,” I say tentatively, “What are you doing here?” Without even looking at me he whispers, “I’ve been found. I’ve finally been remembered and can go home. But who can tell me where home is? I’ve been gone for so long, and things have changed so much; I do not know where to go.”

“You are not a Conferdate troop. Why are you still in the South once the war is over? Why didn’t you go back home?”

“I was hidden. For some reason, they didn’t want people to know about me. I’ve been lost for so many years that I do not know where to go.”

“What do you mean? Who are you and what happened?”

“I haven’t known my name for 130 years. I have been lost and wondering around this cemetery for that long searching for anyone who may know me. There are two others who have been here with me. They are both Confederate soldiers. Who have been hiding from each other all these years hoping the other will not kill me. Sadly, I now know I’ve been dead this whole time. This wound on my arm, pierced by a bullet, bleeding through and weakening me has already taken my life long ago (NYTimes.com). I will never see my wife and baby girl again; I will never hold my beautiful child, and I never got to see her; I will never eat her homemade food; my entire life was wasted! I never will grow old, and I will never see my child wed. I am nothing. What happened to my wife? Was she taken care of? Did she have to go work in disgusting factories, or did she get remarried? I hope she remarried. She was much too beautiful to live such a terrible life.” “Wait! I’ve read about you. You are Private John Dolson. You were born in Minnesota and joined the 2nd Infantry Sharpshooter Division. You were wounded on the 2nd day of the battle, but fought through it, but you still died 2 months later. Your name tang was removed at burial, yet they messed up and put you in the 1st infantry and lost your identity. You have just been recently discovered by the researcher Charles Purser. You are the only union solder buried with…” (NYTimes.com)

“With all these confederate soldiers around me. All 1500 of them. All I can do all day is stand here and stare of my grave…I am dead. These men running around here with me, cowering, hiding, planning to escape but never can before the sun rises are all dead as well.”

“So we are…”

Just like that he disappears from me. I guess the sudden realization that his life is over sent him to the afterlife. Heaven or Hell really doesn’t matter to him at this point. He has lived and delayed, as a ghost, his life of Hell. I return to John and let him know what has happened and our new discovery. We decide to go and look at the names of the two new Confederates. At the front of one we see our friend. Beside him stands the other soldier. They are both very young; their ages are about 18. Their names are Private William P. Wallace and Private Drury Scruggs. They were both wounded and captured early in the war. The Union army brutally abused them and buried them without identification (NYTimes.com). Thus, they have wondered this cemetery with a Union soldier trying to escape their imprisonment. We leave them to their thoughts. We know they must feel the same as the Union soldier and contemplating how their loved ones must have made it without them. Suddenly, they disappear as well. Thus, all our ghosts are gone.

That’s the end of my story. Oakwood Cemetery is no longer haunted by the three ghosts. With the discovery of their names and the acceptance of their deaths, they have passed into their afterlife. Now all the Confederate soldiers and the one Union soldier rest in peace. John and I spend the night under stars and then return the next morning. We didn’t get our zombies and we didn’t get attacked by spooky ghosts. We learned about history and why it is so awesome to learn about North Carolina history. We learned the greater lesson to enjoy every second of our time with those we love. We may one day be like our friends in these graves; forced to leave our loved ones to defend our country. Just remember, what may seem like the stupidest project in the world could turn into the best time of your life. Application I would teach this content in an inquiry type of technique. I would first take them on the Raleigh Trolley ( like Dr. Beal did), and allow them to learn as much information as possible. Since Raleigh is so full of wonderful Civil War history, the field trip would work beautifully. After we return from the trip, I would let the students write a quick reflection about the trip and their favorite place they visited. The next day, they would begin to draft their story from their reflection. Combining all these elements, the field trip, the reflection, and the writing, allows the students to process what they learned in multiple factions and to remember the material better. It is a lesson wrapped into an event that is more memorable than a class wide lecture.