LOYAL TO THE CAUSE - the cause of a "Devine Destiny" came from ThomarJefferson to James Madison and was a promise for a new country with new ideas and dreams. The dream of a "United States" which would stretch east to west from Atlantice to Pacific and north to south from Canada to Mexico. LOYAL TO THE CAUSE - is a historic epic entwining the lives of the Butler family with "DevineDestiny". Patriarch Clayton Butler graduates from the new West Point military acamemy and plans a trail to the west coast through indian lands. His adventures carry him into the war with Mexico and the battle at the Alamo. His son Clayton Butler Jr. also graduates from West Point to become an officer during the Civil War. His knowledge of the west, and in particular, the City of San Francisco, make him the ideal candiate for aborting a Confederate plot to divert $20 nillion in gold bars from California to the southern Confedercy. LOYAL TO THE CAUSE - is a saga abounding with intrigue, deception, life-long friendships, patriotism, family honor and love to make this the acme of historical fiction.

Loyal to the Cause

A NovelBy Edwin Sacchi

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Edwin Sacchi
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-1869-5

Contents

Chapter 1. Lexington, Kentucky 1824.....................................................1Chapter 2. Life at West Point –1825...............................................10Chapter 3. The Academy 1826 – 1827................................................21Chapter 4. The Class of 1827 - West Point...............................................29Chapter 5. The Old Oregon Trail, Independence, Missouri –1827.....................34Chapter 6. July, 1828 - The Wedding.....................................................47Chapter 7. Return to Lexington, Kentucky – May, 1835..............................59Chapter 8. Wagon Train West – June 1835...........................................65Chapter 9. Office of the U. S President.................................................71Chapter 10. The Alamo...................................................................74Chapter 11. A Son Is Born – 1839..................................................91Chapter 12. West Point Second Generation – 1858...................................97Chapter 13. Home For Christmas 1860.....................................................101Chapter 14. The Union Is Divided 1860 – 1861......................................118Chapter 15. The Mexican Connection......................................................125Chapter 16. West Point Class of 1861 The Civil War......................................131Chapter 17. The Union Mission...........................................................146Chapter 18. The Confederacy Plan........................................................158Chapter 19. Wagon Train To California - 1862............................................162Chapter 20. The Investigation - 1862....................................................186Chapter 21. The First Meeting...........................................................197Chapter 22. Visit to the Indian Reservation - 1862......................................204Chapter 23. The Second Meeting..........................................................218Chapter 24. The Indian Mission..........................................................224Chapter 25. A New Plan - January 3 , 1863...............................................230Chapter 26. Closing In..................................................................234Chapter 27. Plan To Load the Ship - 1863................................................240Chapter 28. Searching For The Cove - 1863...............................................247Chapter 29. Capturing the Cove - 1863...................................................259Chapter 30. Heading Home................................................................269Chapter 31. Christmas in San Francisco 1863.............................................271

Chapter One

Lexington, Kentucky 1824

The Butler family, of Lexington, Kentucky, ran the most successful general store this side of the Mason Dixon line. Oswald Butler and his wife, Penny, had owned the store ever since Oswald's father, Jacob, passed away four years earlier. Jacob willed his only son and heir the store and all his worldly possessions.

Jacob, Oswald's father, had taken over the store in 1790 from his parents and within a year made it into a general store that not only catered to family needs for basic everyday goods, but also handled the needs of the local farmers and ranchers as well. He saw the needs of these groups and envisioned that a one-stop shopping center for food, clothing, tools and equipment to run farms and ranches was what was truly needed in the growing city of Lexington, Kentucky. With his many innovations to cater to peoples' needs, Jacob was also the first to provide a catalog service for his customers to order items he didn't stock and which they wanted to purchase or needed to run their farms and ranches. He would arrange to have any item that was needed shipped to his store within a month's period.

When Jacob's only son, Oswald, finished grade school, he immediately went to work with his father, learning the general store business. Oswald, who was a bright young man, was so successful with the running of the general store that when his father died in 1803, he bought an overland freight delivery company and immediately changed the name of the company to the Butler Overland Freight Company. The company delivered freight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia and finally ended at the coastal city of Savannah, Georgia. The contracts Oswald had signed with general stores along this route to deliver goods proved to be so successful that Oswald had increased his fleet from four Conestoga wagons to twenty in four short years. Each wagon was capable of hauling up to one thousand pounds of freight. The freight business, coupled with the general store, made Oswald and Penny two of the richest people of Lexington, Kentucky.

January 24,1807, Penny Butler, who was in her ninth month of pregnancy, gave birth to their first child, a healthy boy. They named him Clayton Jacob Butler. The Butlers were well-to-do by then and highly respected in the community. Penny was active in their church activities and Oswald was a member of the planning board in the community of Lexington. They were also very friendly with Daniel Merriweather and his wife, Betsy, the owners of the largest cattle ranch around the Lexington area.

Daniel Merriweather was the breeder of the finest prime cattle in Kentucky and became the largest shipper of beef in the state. The Merriweathers had twin boys, Bob and Dusty, age seven. Betsy was in her seventh month of pregnancy. When March 10th arrived, she gave birth to a girl whom they named Cindy Anne. The two families were very close and celebrated every holiday together. Daniel and Oswald both served on the City Planning Board of Lexington while Betsy and Penny served on the school board and ran most of the church functions.

Cindy and Clayton, being only two months apart in age, started school together and became inseparable playmates. When both children turned thirteen years old, Daniel and Oswald both agreed to have each teenager work and learn the general store and delivery business and the ranching business. After school on Mondays and Tuesdays, Cindy worked in the general store with Clayton and his Mom and Dad. Wednesdays and Thursdays Clayton and Cindy worked on the ranch. Friday through Sunday was theirs to do as they pleased. On those off days, they would hunt for small game, fish, or just ride their horses around the ranch and investigate the Lexington countryside. The pond, located on the ranch, was where Clayton had taught Cindy how to swim and this became their favorite summer activity, swimming in the pond on the Merriweather ranch.

Clayton loved it when July rolled around and he and Cindy were allowed to join in on rounding up the herd and heading the cattle into the Lexington railroad yard cattle pens for shipment to the Chicago stockyards. Here the cattle were processed and then shipped to major cities in the United States. Being seven years older than Clayton and Cindy, both Bob and Dusty Merriweather were amazed how quickly Clayton and Cindy learned to handle the herd.

Cindy, on the other hand, loved it when the store received a shipment of new ladies' wares. She and Penny would spend most of the day modeling the newly arrived dresses and hats. Both Daniel and...