The Thread Collectors

After two months of fighting, the Union declares victory at Port Hudson. They have seized control of the Mississippi River, and all imports to the Confederacy have been frozen. Their next target is Port Gibson, a town near Satartia. Jacob worries about violence taking place so close to Samuel’s home.

The night before their departure to Port Gibson, Jacob visits William. William laments his inability to tell Stella that he is thinking of her. He worries that when he dies, the only record of his life will be “an ol’ flute that coulda belonged to anyone” (145). Jacob offers to dictate a letter for him. William asks why he would do this, and Jacob replies that they are friends. Through Jacob, William composes a letter to Stella, proclaiming his love and reassuring her of his safety. He closes it with a promise to come home to her soon.

In August, a pipe bomb explodes near the Union headquarters in New Orleans, killing two men. Stella and Ammanee suspect that Frye and his co-conspirators from St. Anthony’s planted the bomb. Stella hopes that Frye will leave her alone forever, but Ammanee reminds her that they still need Frye to put food on the table.