Rifles for Watie

Jeff arrives home for his furlough, and his family and dog greet him ecstatically. Jeff tells them all about training and discovers that his father does remember Clardy from the Mexican War. Emory explains, “He had the makings of a good officer, but he was a strange, vindictive fellow whom nobody trusted” (48). Clardy became angry when his regiment elected Jefferson Davis as the colonel over Clardy. Clardy responded by leaving the regiment and the South. Jeff also discovers that Gardner has not arrived at home and worries about what may have befallen him. Jeff spends two nights at home, wolfing down his mother’s food and helping his family with chores. Jeff repeatedly catches his family staring at him “as though they didn’t want to forget what he looks like” (50). When he takes Ring for a walk that night, Jeff muses that the familiar landmarks of his home seem “unimportant and far-away, like a child’s toys” (50).

The next morning, Jeff, heads back to Fort Leavenworth. He stops at the Chadwick farm to give the family news about their son John. Chadwick’s mother is eager to hear about her son, but the rest of the family remains aloof, “as though [Jeff] had persuaded Chadwick to join up” (50).