Chapter 13, Expedition to Van Buren Summary

Jeff and Noah sleep in a haystack after the battle. They wake up and walk 14 miles to Rhea's Mills, where they eat from the mess wagons and where the quartermaster replaces their lost equipment. Jeff reviews with awe the battle he survived. He looks at his painful and swollen hand but realizes that, in the grand scheme of things, it is a small price to pay. The day before the army leaves Rhea's Mills, General Blunt hands out Medals of Honor to both Jeff and Noah.

On Christmas Day, the group marches to Cane Hill, which is a college town ravaged by the war. As Jeff enters the Methodist church turned hospital, it begins to rain. Jeff meets up with his young friend Jimmy Lear, who lay dying on a cot after a caisson ran...