When I first saw Dan Fields in Shepherdstown, he was wearing a worn dirty CSA uniform and looked starved. Waiting at the end of our mess line, he stood out from the other men. I understood why he’d gravitated to our reenactor encampment. We wore the uniforms of the 12th Virginia Infantry, CSA and we had hot food. I offered him a ride into Alexandria and gave him my business card, Joseph Duncan, Attorney at Law.
I spotted Dan right away as a traveler. I knew the signs, as I’d arrived here myself in the year 2000. I knew he’d need help and when he came to me for legal assistance, I told him my story. I remember he looked around my well-appointed office and was amazed that I’d achieved so much in just ten years. I told him I’d had a lot of help from my family.
In 1862 I’d survived the Battle of Crampton’s Gap, but most of my soldiers were captured or killed. When all was lost, I’d taken shelter in a rock outcropping. My dreams were filled with fearful tunnels of fire and the next morning I awoke in a different world. I recognized some natural landmarks and realized that I was near my Aunt Clara’s home. When I landed on her doorstep, her great-great-great grandson needed some convincing. I was incredibly lucky in that the Dodsons were still a family of lawyers and found ways to enable me to practice law here.
When Dan told me he had walked down the C&O Canal towpath from Hancock, Maryland to Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, with gold coins jingling in his pockets, I knew that he, too, was lucky and that he was a survivor. (See Rebel Traveler – Pages 43-47, 124-125)
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