A conversation between Union soldiers Will Farrows and Daniel Durand the night before the battle of Walnut Hills, a disastrous Union loss, in the novel The Golden Pinnacle, by Robert Gore:
“We’re fodder, Danny. We’re going into a battle tomorrow with impossibly long odds. Do you think Sherman, Grant or Lincoln care? They never would have made it to where they are if they did. Their appreciation for what we face, for risking our lives, goes no further than their pompous speeches. Everything is for fame and reputation, for appearances.”
“Death is not an appearance.”
“You’re damn right it’s not.”
See “In Memoriam,” SLL, 5/25/15
