Hallowed Ground

The fallen lay three or four deep in some places, and, with but a few exceptions, they were shot in and about the head…. With much labor a detail of Union soldiers buried the dead by simply turning the captured breastworks upon them. Thus had these unfortunate victims unwittingly dug their own graves. - Union Soldier

     The most ferocious fighting of the Civil War happened at this spot, the Bloody Angle at the Battle of Spotsylvania.
     The dark earth behind my hand is the remnant of a Confederate breastworks. Union forces assaulted the position from the field in view. Hand to hand combat ensued. The line did not yield during hours of attacks. Eventually the Confederates withdrew.
     I stood here with a sense of awe. A plaque described rifle fire so intense that an oak tree toppled over. Other trees were shredded. They once stood behind me.
     As I read the plaque, tapping sounds distracted me. By coincidence, oak nuts were falling on the ground where that tree once stood. My wonderment increased. For one century-and-a-half, Mother Nature has been restoring the damage.