Featured The Orangeburg Story

Guess I'm straying from the main story again, aren't I?

Back to work...

 

...

The bits of glass are from a broken jar that had once contained all of the buttons. Our homeowner does not know it (and neither can we confirm it) but this strongbox he found was almost certainly the paychest of a Confederate regiment, from quite early in the war- likely no later than the year 1861.

Maybe even a little bit before the war, when Fort Sumter had not yet been fired upon and enthusiasm ran high in the new Confederate States.

It was a time when elite military units were formed by wealthy men who wanted to wear a fancy uniform and be called "Colonel", and who were willing to pay for that prestige by equipping these units at their own personal expense.

It was a time when such elite units might still have had specie (gold and silver coin) in their treasuries, instead of just paper Confederate notes.

The homeowner lifts the last remainder of the heaps of sodden currency from the box, and sees seven glass 1858 patent Mason jars underneath. Six and a half, really, since one of the jars is broken.

There were originally eight jars. One held the uniform buttons, and got completely shattered by the time it was found. The other seven (six still intact and one broken open) were nestled amongst the stacks of paper currency.

As soon as the homeowner sees the intact jars, he inhales with a short gasp. For though he can't see well through the darkened, dirty glass of the jars, enough light shines through to be reflected back with a breathtaking sight... more items sparkling with the gleam of gold! Jars full!

He believes for a moment that the jars contain more gilt uniform buttons. But as soon as he sees the spilled contents of the broken jar, he realizes this is not the case.

He is not looking at more buttons. No, not at all.

...

 

Y'know, you're totally right. While writing up the last installment, I myself thought, "geez, how lame - I've been calling this guy 'the homeowner' all this time, without bothering to name him!"

It sorta shows how what was initially supposed to be a 1-3 part, very short story instead got dragged out a bit too much because I was having so much fun serializing it, clickbait style.

Oh well. It's kinda late now. I think he's just Dave. But maybe his full name is David Cedric Knickerbottom, for all we know.

I'm also really surprised at your psychic divining skills, because as it happens ...

In early 1861, Isaac Culpepper was a wealthy lowcountry Carolina planter who wanted to become a CSA colonel by raising a cavalry unit to be called "Culpepper's Palmetto Paladins".

But he was tragically killed in a freak accident when he leaped his horse too high and brained himself on a low-hanging tree limb.

So the unit was never officially formed, and its regimental records and all the money saved for its formation mysteriously vanished after would-be Colonel Culpepper's fatal accident.

"Colonel" Culpepper was a bachelor, and so died without heirs to lament his lost fortune, but he did leave behind some very troubled creditors. (Of course as the war dragged on, things would go from bad to worse for them.)

Sadly, the historical record remains silent on the story of Culpepper's Palmetto Paladins.

If only some documents had survived...

 

Dave, you mean.

 

Ah, yes. Time to finally wrap this soon, isn't it?

As to Paladins, it so happens that by coincidence the Furman Paladins are a modern NCAA sports franchise. I was completely unaware of this, being blissfully oblivious of sports, though I had heard of Furman University.

And Lo and Behold, guess what state that is in.

Back to the salt mines typewriter keyboard soon, I promise.

You may find the end of the story anticlimactic. Not that the stuff in those jars is bad - oh, nosiree. The homeowner - Dave - will come out very well for himself.

The story conclusion just might not work in the dramatic sense, is all. Pretty much all that's left to do is to tell y'all what's in those jars, and that could end up reading more like a laundry list.

Not that any of this has been especially smooth reading anyway. It's rather jaggedy. Has been fun, though. And good practice.

Stay tuned. I'm occupied for the next several hours. Haven't forgotten I need to wrap this up, though. Thanks so much for being interested at all.

 

Mooa culpa.

Yes, I do think it's a couple of days past its expiration date.

Just one installment left, and what should be a short epilogue.

I got busy Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Can't finish it just yet. Won't be stretching it out any longer, though. Next story segment will say "The End" at the end.

 

Not writer's block. Busy all night long on graveyard shift and then spent the morning catching up on packaging and shipping my giveaway obligations. And emails. Then there was a little bit of stuff flagged for moderator action.

So now it's about bedtime.