CT: Civil war illustration

Years ago, my friend David—knowing I like Civil War history—gave me a coffee mug with a Mort Künstler painting on it, entitled Steady, Boys, Steady. It portrays one brigade of Pickett’s Charge, the ill-fated bloodbath that unfolded during the Battle of Gettysburg. The painting shows a long double-line of ragtag soldiers, bayoneted guns resting on their shoulders, marching forward. One man carries their flag. Everything around them is obscured by the smoke of cannons. Out ahead of them, at the focal point of the picture, is Brigade Commander Lewis Armistead. He marches just a few feet ahead of his troops, his hat raised high on the tip of his sabre so they can see to follow.

In those first frightening months in this church, I looked at the picture on that coffee mug at least a hundred times. I’d look at Lewis Armistead and think, He must have been frightened, too. But when you’re a leader, sometimes you just put your hat on your sword and march into the smoke. Over and over, I’d tell myself that phrase: put your hat on your sword and march into the smoke.