Recommended listening while reading:

Nineteenth November, Year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Seventeen

Dearest Shelley,

Another battle, another resounding victory for our cause. Yesterday the Army of Illinois, led by that venerable old soldier, General Loverell “Lovie” Lee Smith III, crested the hill at Illibuck Ridge intent on establishing a position from which they might lay siege to our fair city. Decimated by injuries and poorly supplied, their prospects of success must have been slim indeed, and yet they came nonetheless, to stand against us, for a soldier such as General Smith cannot elect to cringe while his destiny awaits him. That this destiny could only be one of hardship made no difference in his calculus, and for this I must salute him, and all the brave men who stood behind him and charged into what they surely knew must have been their ruin.

We had known of their approach for over a week, for even before the battle with General Dantonio our advanced scouts had reported movements on the western frontier. An ambush on the frontier of Indiana from the forces of General Allen severely depleted the Illini ranks before they even arrived in our territory. By the time Smith’s columns reached Illibuck Ridge, I had already deployed Colonels Wilson and Schiano in a pincer formation, which cut off the Illini supply lines before the battle had even begun.

Without diminishing the fighting spirit or resolve of our enemy, I should think the torrential rain was a much greater menace than the muskets and cannons of the Illini. Certainly more men have contracted with pneumonia as a result of the cold rain and mud than were cut down by Illini gunfire. Under the orders of Colonel Wilson, Sergeant Weber led a frontal assault against the Illini position on the ridge and captured their central artillery battery before its gunners could even properly deploy their cannons. Captain Barrett led his cavalry in a simultaneous assault, hooking around the ridge and harrying the Illini from behind in a classic example of the hammer and anvil strategy first developed by Alexander the Great himself, Barrett assuming the role of a latter-day cataphract. Within an hour, the battle was all but over, and all that remained was for us to mop up the remnants of the Illini, capture their officers, and see to prisoners.

However it was during our mop up that the rain intensified, such that officers lost communication with their soldiers. A blunder on the part of Sergeant Haskins allowed a portion of the Illini forces to break out into the open country, where the thick mud made it impossible for our cavalry to safely pursue them. Haskins redeemed himself soon after though, reconnecting with his unit and coordinating an assault on one of the final Illini batteries still in commission, whereupon he captured six guns in working order.

General Smith is in my custody now, and I think you shall find him a polite and gracious guest, as honorable a foe as we are likely to know, and nearly as friendly as that gentleman in Nebraska, General Riley. But I fear a greater challenge looms ahead, the very reason why I am not with you now. There are preparations that cannot wait.

Although he was defeated in battle today according to our scouts by the Army of Wisconsin, General Harbaugh is still a wily hotspur of a commander, his army well-drilled and his defenses stout. Next week, we will march our forces north into the withered heath of Michigan, a land of sorrow and indigence and cruelty. There, General Harbaugh will be waiting. Should we triumph over General Harbaugh’s depleted forces, it would set the stage for a great battle with the mighty army of Wisconsin.

There is still everything left to fight for, and everything left to lose.

My love to you, forever,

General Urban Francis Meyer