“You’ve become quite the military strategist in the last few months, Jack.”
They were still looking at the table, their hands flat down on the surface.
As Ashley gestured toward one of the documents, their hands touched. Neither made a move to break contact. Jack moved his hand from the table surface and placed it firmly on top of Ashley’s. Ashley looked up into his eyes. Their faces came closer together, slowly but deliberately.
“Captain to the bridge, please, Captain to the bridge,” screamed the squawk box.
Ashley squeezed Jack’s hand and started for the door. She stopped suddenly, spun around, and walked back to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.
“What is it Lieutenant?” Ashley asked Kathy O’Gara, the Officer of the Deck.
“A rebel gunboat has been looking at us for awhile, about 300 yards off the port bow.”
“Has he closed his distance in the last half hour?” asked Ashley.
“No, Captain,” said O’Gara. “The only reason I called you is the protocol we’ve been following.”
“Very well,” said Ashley, also acting according to protocol, “if he gets any closer or shows any sign of hostile intent, sound general quarters and fire a warning shot from one of the five inch gun batteries.”
When Ashley returned to her office, Jack had gone. He didn’t know how long Ashley would be on the bridge, and he thought it would be inappropriate for him to stay, and he was right. Ashley realized she had crossed a line with that kiss, ratcheted things up to a different level, and probably violated a few dozen Navy Regulations. I don’t care, thought Ashley. Let’s just finish this and go home.
Chapter 78
The First Battle of Bull Run, known in the South as the First Manassas, saw two inexperienced armies facing each other. As the day of battle approached, Northern leadership expected a solid thrashing of the rag tag rebels. Even in the South, few believed that the Confederacy would win the day. The North expected a major start and a quick finish to the Southern rebellion. Manassas, Virginia was only 25 miles south of Washington D.C. Wealthy folks from the upper crust of Washington society as well as high placed government officials, saw the battle as a chance to witness the uppity rebels get their comeuppance. Picnic blankets were spread on a hill to afford a good view. This battle would show the rebels a thing or two.
It didn’t happen that way. A certain Union victory, according to the history books, turned into an embarrassing rout of the Northern forces. Because of the inexperience of his troops and especially of his officers, McDowell’s forces couldn’t execute coordinated movements that would have insured a Union victory.
The USS California would change all that.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis had made the 80-mile train trip from Richmond to Manassas early on July 20. He wanted to see his forces in action first hand.
That same day, the day before the actual battle, one of the California’s drones spotted a train advancing toward Manassas. The train carried a brigade of General Joseph Johnston’s Army of the Shenandoah to reinforce Beauregard’s forces. As the train approached a railway bridge, the drone unleashed a Hellfire missile at the locomotive. The missile exploded inside of the locomotive’s engine, sending a plume of smoke and fire in all directions. The cars carrying the troops collapsed over the bridge in an accordion of death. Captain Patterson then ordered the launch of a Tomahawk cruise missile at the bridge itself. The missile smashed the bridge into a jumble of steel girders and exploding railway cars. It would be the last of Beauregard’s plan for reinforcements from General Johnston in the Shenandoah Valley.
McDowell’s troops began their advance in the early morning hours of July 21. The first drone had been replaced by another. It hovered over an area that showed a Union artillery emplacement of 11 guns facing off against a Confederate battery of 13 guns. The Confederate cannons were smooth bore, unlike the more advanced rifled barrels of the Union. This was an advantage for the South because smooth bore guns are more effective at close range. Another Tomahawk missile came screaming into the battle. All of the Confederate cannons were blown into small pieces, along with dozens of Confederate soldiers.
At 12:30 in the afternoon, a cavalry brigade led by the dashing Colonel James “Jeb” Stuart, prepared to rush a Union infantry brigade with a head-on charge. As Stuart raised his sword and shouted “Charge,” Lt. Russ Colombo, pilot of the Apache Attack Helicopter, unleashed a barrage of bullets and two Hellfire missiles at the amassed cavalry. Men and horses scattered over the huge field. The survivors, deafened by the explosions, retreated in disarray.
An hour later the drone pilot saw a battery of 20 Confederate artillery pieces being wheeled around a hill. He could see that they were 10-inch Napoleon guns, fearsome weapons against an infantry unit. Another Tomahawk cruise missile roared from the California. It decimated the artillery battery and left a deep crater in the hillside.
Shortly after that, the drone spotted 12 caissons loaded with ammunition boxes. They had been hidden under a stand of trees because someone in the Confederate force had appreciated the danger of overhead drones. The drone was out of Hellfire missiles, so Captain Patterson ordered a Tomahawk fired at the munitions. The explosion was deafening, compounded by the gunpowder in the boxes.
Jefferson Davis was almost blind with rage. He had been assured by Bradley, that heathen Yankee bastard, that the weapons of the Gray Ship had been silenced. Bradley supposedly had a colleague aboard who was in charge of that mission. Davis and Beauregard had discussed cancelling this battle weeks ago. Bradley’s words of assurance had changed his mind and possibly the future of the Confederacy itself.
Phillip Bradley reported to the Confederate Navy Department to discuss the Union naval blockade with Navy Secretary Mallory. That morning he wore his new uniform as a captain in the Confederate Navy. A full-length mirror hung in the room adjacent to Mallory’s office, and Bradley looked at himself approvingly. He had begun to grow a mustache, which he would train into a handlebar. He began to feel comfortable in the nineteenth-century. Bradley was confident that Chief Ray had ensured a Southern victory at Bull Run, and the battle would soon be as good as over.
An aide escorted Bradley into Secretary Mallory’s office. Mallory listened to his ideas. He was curious that the Gray Ships only appeared one at a time, and asked Bradley to give an explanation. Bradley’s response was confusing and convoluted, as Mallory expected it would be.
Suddenly, Mallory’s aide burst into the room.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Secretary,” said the aide, “but this message has just been wired from President Davis.”
Mallory read the cable. “Arrest Bradley,” said the message.
At Manassas Junction, the day was not going well for Beauregard’s Army. With little artillery left and no reinforcements as expected, General Beauregard ordered his Army to retreat. Jefferson Davis, having stationed himself at Beauregard’s command tent, objected with fury. Beauregard repeated the grim details of their circumstances. No artillery, no reinforcements, a weakened cavalry.
“Sir, my men must live to fight another day,” Beauregard said to Davis, who hesitated but then agreed.
The Battle of Bull Run was an overwhelming tactical and strategic victory for the Union. The history books had been rewritten.