Lesson 260: WHEN FAIRIES DANCED
Army of Tennessee Chaplain David Chaltas
The fairies danced in the sky on that cold December 13th day of 1862. The war was in its second winter and both sides suffered. The boys in gray were behind a grand wall and held the high ground. The boys in boy marched over an open field in a desperate attempt to take that wall. When the smoke subsided, the battlefield yielded the sight of a broken army. Soldiers lay upon the field wounded, dead and dying. What the wounds didn’t take, the weather would.
Four brothers were there. The younger two, George and Frederick wore blue. They had stayed with their father, a cemetery worker, to help him. The two older brothers had left home five years earlier and found employment in New Orleans. They were charged with caring for the younger ones at home and were faithful in sending money when they could. The oldest brother had planned to start a business and support his favorite brother; the youngest. When the war came, the two older brothers joined the Confederate cause.
George and Frederick were in the front lines. When the sound of retreat came, they ran towards the safety of the tree line but both were smitten by a rebel’s minie ball. They fell in unison, the youngest a few hundred feet from his older brother. After the mayhem, the ill clad rebel soldiers slowly began walking amongst the fallen, taking anything they could use to survive. One rebel soldier approached a union soldier lying face down in the frozen ground. He turned him over and a chill ran over his body. There, lying upon frozen ground was his youngest brother that he had given an oath to protect and support. Oh how his heart ached, as he held him close to his body, begging for forgiveness.
A chaplain who witnessed the scene made the following remarks: “His brother beheld the corpse…his woolen shirt stained with a stream of blood that oozed from the bullet hole above his heart…this one (the oldest brother) made his way into the Union lines and in now in the hospital at Alexandria a hopeless maniac. We learn that in their childhood this youngling of the flock had been the especial chard of the eldest brother. When he left for New Orleans it was in the expectation of entering business to which he could bring up the boy. That boy he lived to shoot down with his own hands. The father died of a broken heart, and was buried last Sunday. This is a simple statement of fact. It is doubtless on of ten thousand never to be written.” (Anecdotes, Poetry, and Incidents of the War: North and South; Moore, Frank; 1828-1904; University of Michigan)
I cannot fathom the guilt the eldest brother carried throughout the rest of his life. How he must have suffered and would have gladly given his life for his youngest brother. Friends, have you ever transgressed against a brother or sister? Have you ever done something in which you are so ashamed and feel like you can never be forgiven? I am sure the answer is yes, as the Bible tells us that ALL have sinned and come short of God’s glory. Yet there is hope. Yet there is peace and forgiveness. It begins with us. Our Lord and Savior gave of Himself so that we could be removed from sin as far as the east is from the west.
This season of the dancing fairies, let us be renewed. Let us ask God to wash away our sins and begin with new beginnings offered by our forgiving God. Acts 13:38 states, “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” That man is known other than Jesus Christ, who paid the price for your freedom. The gift awaits. Do not wait until a time when fairies dance to seek Him. He calls you this very second. Sweetly surrender and experience His peace. Being thankful for His touch, I remain the Old General
(For more wondrous stories, I suggest reading Battlefields & Blessings; Stories of Faith and Courage from the Civil War; Tuley, Terry; God and Country Press: 2006)