Trojan Faces

By Mark Corrigan

I wrote this American Civil War series to add a new understanding of the History of the United States of American. Our Country's actual history should not be written for current political ideals as you might not like what the next political group changes to meet their objectives. It is only by studying history and learning the lessons and the mistakes of the past that we will know who we Americans are.
In writing my version of the American Civil War I have used the O'Neil family who were from New York and moved to Virginia to manage a Southern Plantation on the James River. By presenting the emerging views and opinions of the members of the O'Neil family on historical events and the political issues that lead up to the Civil War i have established why the South felt they had no alternative but to seek their Independence from a Government that no longer represented them.
In Trojan Faces Confederate Captain Micheal Patrick O's killed Union Colonel James j Stockton who could have been O'Neil's twin brother and O'Neil takes Stockton's place in President Lincoln's White House as a confederate Spy to help the South win the War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Corrigan
• Release date: Aug 25, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370927753

Mark Corrigan

I was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin and raised in the Town of Granville which no longer exists. I graduated from Granville High School and the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. I took a Regular Army Commission after graduating as a Distinguished Military Student in ROTC. I served in South Korea in a HAWK Air Defense Missile Battery before called upon to teach Advanced Marksmanship in 8th Army. I developed the concept of using Sniper Teams to control the same area as a US Army Battalion on line and helped to design the XM-21 Sniper Rifle used in Vietnam. I commanded a Hercules Missile Air Defense Unit in Union Lake Michigan, when I went to Vietnam on my "official" tour I Commanded Headquarters Company of First Field Force Vietnam. I was the Public Affairs Officer in 20th NORAD Region until I resigned my Commission on April 29, 1975 which is the day Siagon fell to the North Vietnamese. I formed Harpers Ferry Arms Company that made Civil War and Revolutionary Reproduction firearms, uniforms and equipment. Using my international contacts that made these reproductions I expanded into making other products for clients and imported them through James River Imports and Development Corporation. During President Carter's years I could not import things cheap enough to keep these companies alive. Year's later my relationships with overseas Companies brought me into the Tobacco business and eventually into trying to help Cambodia become a modern country with major projects in Electrical Power, Oil and Gas Production, Fertilizer and Concrete Plants and the reclaiming of the land as part of the Cambodian Veterans Rehabilitation Program. As Virginia American Management Corporation's Executive Vice President I was within days of signing these agreements with the Cambodian Government when President Clinton who was bribed my the Communist Vietnamese Government, illegally used the North Carolina Federal Court to stop me. For the detailed true life story about all these things I suggest that you obtain a copy of my Book "What Price Justice" Published on Smashwords.com.

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TROJAN FACES

The American Civil War – Book One

MARK RAYMOND

CORRIGAN

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SMASHWORDS EDITION

TROJAN FACES

The American Civil War – Book One

Copyright© 2017 Mark R Corrigan

Cover Design & Interior Layout: Laura Shinn Designs

http://laurashinn.yolasite.com

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Trojan Faces

We, Americans have always believed in the value and worth of every man and the right man, in the right place, at the right time can make a difference in turning the tide of a battle, which determined the outcome of a war that ultimately changed the course of history. This is such a story with a twist of fate, as it deals with a man who killed another man who could have been his identical twin brother and he assumed the dead man’s place.

Just as a ‘Trojan Horse’ was used to get in the City of Troy to win the War, putting a Confederate Spy in President Lincoln’s Whitehouse could win the War for the South. Captain Michael Patrick O’Neil of the 5th Virginia Cavalry becomes the ‘Trojan Face" in the Whitehouse after he kills a Union Colonel James S Stockton.

Trojan Faces is the start of a four, book series that takes in the thoughts and beliefs of the people and political events that produce a nation so divided that it made the American Civil War inevitable. The Author has studied the Civil War since he was 10 years old. He attempts to answer the questions of why the South felt they had no choice but to seek their independence just as the original 13 Colonies’ of the United States sought their independence from England.

The Author uses actual historical events to establish the timeline in his story while adding insights to the feelings of the people caught in the greatest test for the survival of the United States of America. The Author’s, Books are one of the few sources to understanding the real conditions in the North and the South and the political forces that tested the metal of soldiers, who fought in the American Civil War. When we attempt to change History for current political reasons, we are denying the truths that made us who we are.

Chapter One:

SETTING THE STAGE FOR CONFLICT

Captain James O’Neil was a friend of Colonel James Scott Taylor who was a second cousin of Brevet Brigadier General Zachary Taylor and they both served with the General during the Mexican war since receiving orders on June 15, 1845.

Although Texas had established its Independence from Mexico in 1836, it did not become a State until December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas claimed lands to the Rio Grande River and this disputed territory was not resolved before Texas became the 28th State. Prior to the annexation of Texas General Zachary Taylor was ordered to move a Military Force into the disputed territories along the Rio Grande between Mexico and the newly proposed State of Texas. President Polk also sent a classmate of James O’Neil’s to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the boundaries between the United States and Mexico.

James O'Neil had remembered talking with his friend John Slidell, before he was sent to make an honest effort to purchase those portions of the Northern sections of California and New Mexico and bring the territories of Texas and New Mexico to the natural boundaries of the Rio Grande River.

There were other Politicians, in the United States Government, who were not interested in purchasing anything. After all Texas had won its Independence from Mexico and like many Americans in the westward expansion of Manifest Destiny, they believed the landed appeared to be there for the taking and the military presence General Taylor's Army would take possession of the land making their claims nine, tenths of the law.

Colonel James Taylor remembered young Captain James O'Neil who had assumed the duties of the Army’s Quartermaster and he had managed the Army's Supply System for most of the Mexican War after Colonel Blankenship of the Quartermaster Corps died of Yellow Fever.

Captain O'Neil was not a West Point Officer yet he impressed General Taylor in his abilities to organize and deliver all the needed supplies when and where they were required all the way up to the final hours of the Battle of Buena Vista. Captain O'Neil’s brilliant Military career ended there as he lost his left foot to a lucky shot of a Mexican Cannon ball.

The real loss of O'Neil's foot was the result of a drunken Military Surgeon who practiced the cut, burn and bandaged type of treatment rather than any civilized medical intervention. Most Military Surgeons in the Army’s Field hospitals found it easier and faster to cut away the damaged muscle until they found solid bone to make a stump. Then they would cauterize the wound with hot iron rods before applying heavy grease to seal off any part of the wound, which were not completely sealed off by the hot irons.

James Patrick O'Neil had been lucky, as the Mexican cannonball had hit his foot and the barrel of his rifle he had carried in a rifle scabbard on the same side of his horse. As a result, the cannonball spun upward while it exploded killing his horse instantly. However, O'Neil had purchased a heavily made Spanish saddle he had found more comfortable riding than the Military issued one. When the cannonball exploded through the belly of his horse, flesh, bone and Cannon ball fragments were absorbed by this heavy Spanish saddle. That saddle had not only saved his life but it had protected him and his future as a man capable of having children.

James Taylor had lost track of Captain O'Neil in the heat of the battle and he only found out O’Neil had been hit by a Mexican Cannon Ball when a friend told him during the celebrations of their Military Victory. It was years later, he learned what happened to Captain O’Neil after the war, when he received a letter from his son James Scott Tyler Junior. His son had gone to New York City with some of his Classmates from West Point.

It apparently had been a chance meeting. The West Point Cadets were exploring the seedy and the livelier side of New York’s Gentlemen’s Entertainment District when they came across three men who had another man cornered in a blind alley. The criminal intentions of the street wise men were obvious as they intended to relieve the lone man of his purse and maybe even his life.

Young James Taylor had been taught by his father, to avoid disputes between other men especially if they were none of his business. But his father also taught him a sense of fair play. He was taught to render assistance when a fight may not be a fair one. The lone man was being force down the alley but even as he retreated, he was defending himself with professional moves of an experienced swordsman.

The man slashed, jabbed and parried with his cane and one of the attacker’s fell holding his hand over his bleeding eye while screaming in pain. The two other attackers realized this was not going to be an easy pigeon and they pressed the lone man even harder almost in revenge for the injury to their fallen comrade. A flash of light caught the steel of a knife as it was thrown by one of the attackers towards the dark shadow of the single defender, who swatted it with the side of his cane and it stuck there. The defender pulled the knife out of his cane and attacked the would-be assailants wheedling his cane with saber like swings and slashing as a mad Cassock would have charged his enemy. This bold attack forced another of the attackers down on his knees holding his groin with one hand and his ear with the other.

The last attacker gave up any of his intentions to rob the defender and he turned and ran into these three West Point Cadets. They quickly subdued the man to the ground. The defender came charging to the front of the alley where the last of the thugs had fallen. The man stopped and recognized the assistance the three West Point Cadets had given him. He quickly brought his cane up in a saber salute in recognition for their assistance. It was than James Scott Taylor first noticed the 18-inch steel blade coming out of the end of the man’s cane.

That quick salute conveyed all thanks that was necessary between the West Point Cadets and this older man. The three Cadets rendered a hand salute with the crispness one would expect on the parade ground but the grins on their faces marred their military bearing.

The defender thanked them for their assistance and when they briefly exchanged names, James Taylor thought he recognize the name of the man who had just defended himself as being one of the Officers his father talked about when he served in the Mexican war. The man had a slight limp when he walked and that confirmed to James that this man had to be the Officer his father had talked about for all these years.

The disturbance at the end of the alley brought the Police and they found the three would be robbers in various disabling conditions. The initial appearance might have looked like a mugging except Mr O’Neil did not have the appearance of a man carrying a lot of money or someone who would be careless in carrying it in this part of town.

None of the thugs were saying anything, as if they were embarrassed by alone man who they thought was an easy mark. The Police recovered the knives the robbers had been carrying before the Paddy Wagon arrived. The three thugs were put in the back of it, after James O'Neil stated he would press charges.

After the police departed with their load of criminals, O'Neil invited the three cadets to a local saloon for a bit of refreshments at his expense. They talked and exchanged addresses. James Tyler confirmed his earlier beliefs that this man O'Neil was the same man his father talked about for years. The Military Operations of the Mexican War and how the Battles were fought dominated their lessons at West Point. O'Neil of course told his guests about the group of fine fellows who raised hell and drank a lot of tequila down in Mexico.

O’Neil told James about his father, who was a cousin of General Taylor, and of Commodore Stockton whose father was so rich, he had hired extra bookkeepers to keep tract of his primary accountants. He owned gold mines coal mines and even silver mines. Stockton owned the railroads or parts of them, as he was Chairman of the Board. There was Thomas Morgan the son of the famous Revolutionary War hero the Swamp Fox and he was the man who established the Morgan breed of horses. Then there was Thomas Wayne whose uncle was Mad Anthony Wayne from Waynesboro Virginia. There were others who came and went but this group, was the center of all the partying that could be found.

O'Neil told them when these men drank enough he would hear all sorts of things that went on during this little war. O'Neil found it easy to talk with these boys, as he needed to have someone to just listen to what appeared to be going on in the Box Factory where he worked. The story just seemed to fall out on the table as he told these boys. He felt this had been the first time he could tell someone he could trust besides his wife.

In a way, that small skirmish in the alley had made them comrades in arms. Men you fought alongside in battle could become fast friends and maybe even lifelong comrades. Even though O’Neil had done most of the fighting, they had been there and they had stopped the man who would have gotten away.

O'Neil told them about the original owner of the Box Factory Mr Henry who had given him a job when he needed it very badly after he came back from the Mexican War and after he recovered from the loss of his foot. Mr Henry had died and his brother-in-law on his wife's side of the family had taken over the Company only to run the Company deeper in debt and was about to drive it right into the ground. The brother-in-law had destroyed any credit and goodwill Mr Henry had established in his Factory before he died. The brother-in-law then cleaned out the Bank Accounts and skipped town with the Company’s Secretary leaving Mrs Henry at a loss in understanding how business needed to operate. The idea that people expected to be paid for materials they had delivered to the Box Factory came as a shock to Mrs. Henry.

Mrs. Henry lacked the basic concepts of operating the business. She had no idea of what it actually took to run the Box Factory, make money to pay for the raw materials and the labor needed to make their boxes. She had been raised in a wealthy family, she had not even learned to manage the Henry Household’s funds to pay the groceries, and the other normal family’s expenses, as that had always been done by their housekeeper.

When the brother-in-law took off with the Box Factory’s money, Mrs Henry found herself broke. She found out her brother-in-law, had convinced her husband to withdraw the cash value of his Life Insurance Policy to take care of the rising Box Factory’s debts. With no money, the Company heavily in debt and the suppliers demanding payment before they would provide any more lumber to make boxes, Mrs Henry had no one else to turn to and O’Neil felt obligated to help the best he could.

O’Neil shared his suspicions with the three Cadets that Mr Henry was poisoned. The most likely suspect was the Brother-in-law as he had both the motive and opportunity to do it as the proceeds from Mr Henry’s Life Insurance was never accounted for on the Company’s books.

Even worse, that Insurance money was never used to pay off the Creditors or the suppliers of the Company. As O’Neil told the boys of his situation, he realized he might be fighting a losing battle. Somehow, he had done the impossible, just to keep the Box Factory’s doors open and meet the end of the week’s payroll. None of the normal lumber suppliers would send the Company any more materials and the Good Lord had guided him to land a new Lumber Contract. When he negotiated the Contract, he had the lumber cut to size for the Boxes the Company needed to make. Now that he had, the opportunity to talk things out with someone who could be objective made O’Neil feel better as he realized he was actually saving the Box Factory and he had been doing it for several months now.

Having exchanged addresses and after sharing a few drinks O’Neil invited the Cadets to come to his home for dinner the next time they came into town. He told then he had plenty of room if they wanted to get away from West Point for a long weekend. The three Cadets thanked him and told him they would like to do that.

James O’Neil got home a little later than normal. But not late enough for his wife to worry. While he ate the supper, she had prepared for him he thought about telling her about the three West Point Cadets and one of them being the son of an Officer he knew in the Mexican war. But then he would have to deal with the incident where the three thugs had cornered him in the alley and he had to fight his way out with his sword cane. However, even the knowledge that his cane was also a sword was not something he wanted his wife to know. She had already told him how dangerous it was down there in the district at night. He knew this incident might just upset her even more.

James had just enjoyed meeting these three young men and the whole experience they had at the tavern after the confrontation with the three thugs. This had been a lot like the experiences he had with his fine friends who had lived through the Mexican war. Maybe James thought to himself. It was better to keep this incident to himself rather than scare his wife even more.

Unknown to O'Neil, James Scott Taylor Jr wrote to his father that very night. James knew his father had his own management and labor problems with the Plantations Overseer who was mistreating the Slaves. There was also the question this Overseer may have been selling wagonloads of Cotton and Tobacco from the Plantation for his personal profit.

James Taylor had wanted to come home and help his father deal with this Overseer problem. But his father had insisted James’ education was far more important and Colonel Taylor made James promise that he would graduate from West Point and let him worry about the problems at the Plantations. James Taylor was a bright young man and he had the ability to see how things could be in the future. James could see this hard-working friend of his father’s, as someone who could effectively manage their Plantation and turn things around in a year if they had a good season’s crops. The fact that his family was also managing the Evergreen Plantation was clearly too much for a man to do in his father's aging and poor physical condition.

Three weeks later Colonel Taylor was reading his son's account of meeting Captain O'Neil and the incident in the alley where O’Neil had fought off the three thugs who had tried to rob him. This adventure had been good reading but it was not as important as finding his lost friend James Patrick O’Neil. Colonel Taylor immediately picked up his pen to respond to his son and to his fellow Officer he had not seen since the battle of Buena Vista.

Colonel Taylor had worried about Captain O’Neil’s condition, since he first heard O'Neil had been hit by a cannonball but he did not know the extent of O’Neil’s injuries. He had seen what a cannonball could do to a man and he had visions of Captain O'Neil torn to pieces yet he was lucky to be alive. He had tried to locate his friend and by the time he had reached, the hospital where O'Neil was taken, O'Neil had already been moved to another hospital near Brownsville Texas. He was unable to find out where O'Neil had gone from there and he had lost all further contact with the man.

Now that his son had found him, he wanted to renew his relationship with his good friend. He did not want to make any excuses for not contacting him before, other than to say he had tried to find him. 48 days later Colonel Taylor's letter arrived at the O'Neil's home by special delivery.

Mrs. O'Neil tried to think of anyone named Taylor they might know from Virginia. She placed the letter on the hall table where James would clearly see it when he came home.

When James O’Neil came home, he found the letter from Colonel Taylor and he had to explain to his wife that he was an Officer he had served with during the Mexican war. The Colonel’s letter explained how sorry he was to have learned about O'Neil's war injury and how he had tried to find him. He came to believe that O'Neil must have died, because of being hit by a Mexican cannonball.

The Colonel explained how excited he was to hear from his son that he had found him and he was still alive. Colonel Taylor went on to explain he was managing two Plantations and how good the cotton and tobacco crops had been, but running two Plantations had become too much for just one man to handle. He told O’Neil he wanted to improve the crop production on both Plantations with a more efficient system of effective management.

The Colonel’s letter left out the problems he was having with his current Overseer, a Mr Joseph Pettigrew. This man had taken advantage of Colonel Taylor's health and his limited ability to inspect the activities on the Plantations. This Overseer was not following Colonel Taylor's direct orders and he was mistreating his slaves. The Colonel’s heart was not in the best of condition but the constant worry was making it worse. The Colonel knew he was sitting on a powder keg just waiting to go off. He needed to have greater contact with his slaves and know that his Overseer was not taking advantage of him. Colonel Taylor knew how important it was to have his Overseer and his slaves see him, and watching him ride through the fields so they would not believe he was as weak as they were saying he was. When he was there just watching, things went well and Mr Pettigrew knew he could not arbitrarily mistreat his Slaves for some none extant faults.

Colonel Taylor had the respect of most of the older Blacks on the two Plantations but he was losing that respect as he was not supervising the planting of the tobacco and his overseer was not planting it, as his slaves knew it should be. In the past, Colonel Taylor had always brought in new rich black soil to use in his tobacco planting beds. He would make sure his seeds were planted far enough apart and each individual plant would grow faster and stronger before they were replanted in the tobacco fields. This special care in planting his tobacco had helped to ensure a record harvest. This year because he had not supervised the seeding his Overseer had not done it correctly.

Now it was too late to change it. The tobacco had been replanted in the fields and Colonel Taylor noticed he no longer had that closeness between himself and his slaves. It was as if they saw him as deserting them and leaving them at the mercy of the Overseer. Colonel Taylor was a very observant man who knew something was wrong, seriously wrong and he even knew the source of the problem but he could not correct it by himself.

Colonel Taylor hoped by writing his friend James O'Neil he would learn more about the man's personal situation and the work that he was doing at the Box Factory. Based upon what his son had wrote him about O'Neil's efforts to save this company it might be an uphill battle that he may not be able to win. He also knew that O'Neil was capable of accomplishing the almost impossible when it came to effectively managing what otherwise might be seen, as a hopeless situation. O’Neil was a man who did not know how to give up. Colonel Taylor knew he could not ask O'Neil to come and work for him as long as O'Neil had made a commitment to help save that Box Factory.

O'Neil was pleased to hear from Colonel Taylor and he replied with the general information of what happened to him after he had been wounded at the battle of Buena Vista. He did not go into the problems and difficulties he was having at the Box Factory as he had no idea that Colonel Taylor's son had told him about them.

When Colonel Taylor's second letter arrived, O’Neil had been working some long hours at the Box Factory just to keep the doors open and stay in business. Martha O'Neil placed the unopened letter on the small hall table along with a dozen letters from the Box Company’s Creditors who were demanding payment directly from her husband now that he was managing the company.

Her husband was always polite to anyone who came or sent such letters but the bottom line was as soon as the company turned things around the company would start making payments on what was due. This was a challenging time at the O'Neil's house for every two creditors that made a call on the front door of the Box Factory or their home there were 10 such people pounding on their back door demanding their money.

Martha had a feeling that this letter had to be different, as it was sent by a personal messenger, which she knew was expensive. Several times during the day, Martha had picked up the letter with the letter opener in her other hand. She had been to the point of actually opening the letter until she forced the temptation back down. It was not that she had not opened her husband's mail before. She had done so without his comment or objections. However, this letter seemed to have the weight or level of importance about it that clearly dictated and importance beyond anything she or the rest of the family could deal with before her husband arrived.

Martha knew her husband would not be coming home until after 9 pm and that left a considerable amount of time and temptation to just opened the letter and find out what it said. Temptation was averted when she realized that it was time to make the two dinners she needed to make for the children and have the one she would have ready for James when he came in.

Normally the evening meal at the O'Neil household was a time for the family to eat together and discuss the day’s events. But with the long hours that James was working it was too late for the children to wait until he came home. She would feed the children early and many times, they would have been off to bed by the time her husband came home.

It was 10 minutes after nine and James called out to his wife and family that he was home. Martha met him at the front door with her best smile. She took off his coat and hung it in the hall closet. She then turned towards him and gave him a hug around her swollen body that was already passed the sixth month of her pregnancy.

They had not planned for this child as they already had a house full of boys with Mike her stepson, John and little Patrick. Having a large Irish family was not easy as there were only a limited number of opportunities for any Irishman in production and management fields. James had been lucky to land the job at the Box Factory but now with all the problems the Box Factory was having James may not have that job very much longer.

Martha was amazed that her husband had been able to keep that factory running but there did not seem to be any improvement in the stability of that company for the last three quarters. The uncertainty of the future and the possibility that James would no longer have a job did not frighten her. She just knew the Good Lord would not have given them this new life if he would not provide the means to take care of this new child.

Martha remembered their first child, John Patrick was a near disaster that acquired her to remain in bed for the last three months and still the baby had been born a month early. Thank goodness, they were both from such fine Irish stock that John Patrick O'Neil had just gotten a head start on all the rest of his generation born that year. Her other boy little Patrick Michael had been a normal baby taking his time to be born.

This child Martha was carrying had brought the whole family closer together. The three boys were old enough to understand that she was going to have another baby and Martha had allowed them to feel her stomach when the baby was kicking and moving inside her. The boys wondered between themselves if there was a way of knowing in advance, if this baby was going to be another brother or a sister. Somehow, Michael Patrick did not believe his mother did not know the second when this baby started its life if it was going to be a boy or girl.

James, you have another letter from Colonel Taylor. It came this morning and it was hand-delivered. Martha said as she turned to the hall table and picked it up to hand it to him.

As James took the letter from his wife, he felt the energy she had been generating as she hoped that when he opened the letter it would be something really wonderful and that it was so important that it had to be hand-delivered.

James remembered the night he met those three West Point cadets at the mouth of the alley after he had taken care of his attackers. Perhaps those thugs thought he was an easy ‘mark’ as he was using a cane as an aid to walk. Even good men could become desperate to feed their families as the economy was on shaky grounds and things had been tight for years. Still that gave no one the right to rob and steal. James had not wanted to worry his wife about things as she was already concerned for his safety. As a result, he chose not to tell her what happened or the fact that he had met the son of one of the officers he had served with during the war with Mexico.

Looking back at that incident O’Neil had a sudden thought it may not have been a robbery but someone was trying to kill him. He was the one obstacle to the sale of the Box Factory just to pay off its creditors. After that Brother-in-law, had run off with all the money there had been several offers to buy the box company at a price far below any reasonable offer of what the factory was worth.

Mrs Henry had no experience in running the factory and James had tried to explain how the company should be doing better but somehow it was not. O'Neil had no explanation as to why the company was not showing a better profit after some of the cost-saving measures he had introduced. James had a tough time explaining to Mrs. Henry how the company was worth considerably more than the price someone was willing to give to her if they bought it. He kept on telling her just the land and the building itself was with more than any offer she had received. O’Neil pointed out there was no reason to sell the company as it was holding its own, it was paying its bills and at least she had some money coming in to live on. If she sold the company now even at the best offer, there might not be enough money to pay off the creditors and she would have nothing left.

As much as Martha wanted to know more about the contents of the letter, she respected his silence while James read page after page. O’Neil had to reread the page he was on as it was an offer to come down to Virginia and manage Colonel Taylor's Plantation on the James River in Charles City County.

Martha, you are not going to believe this. Colonel Taylor has just offered me a job to manage his Plantations. James said with surprise in his voice.

Oh James, that’s just wonderful. Martha exclaimed, as she was relieved to know that the letter was as important as she thought it was. Her husband had been working so hard at that Box Factory and this month was the first month since Mr. Henry died and that brother-in-law had run off with all the money that the company had shown a profit. Every month James would tell her that the company should be making more money. He believed he had made all the right decisions and the correct business moves and still the company did not show the life in it that it should have. Something had to be going on that he could not see perhaps he was just looking too hard and that was why he was missing it.

James thought about the position Colonel Taylor was offering him and it could not have come at a better time. He could continue to push the Box Factory to its peak performance. Then he would find a New Company Manager and make his move to the James River on one of the historical Plantations that was still in its original family’s name. If I can only turn this box factory around and establish its true potential Mrs. Henry will not lose the investment made by her husband. James was thinking. Then if Mrs Henry sells the place she might have enough to live on. He concluded.

Those who sought to eliminate O'Neil as the Box Company's Manager had been watching the company's production and profits improve considerably but the company's books would not show those improvements as long as the Chief Accountant, Harold Mason held his position in the company. Looking at the real profit and loss statements the box factory had broken all its previous records and production standards. The individuals who were trying to steal the company from Mrs. Henry were now wishing they had made a better offer something close to the bottom edge of its true worth.

Once the real value of the company and the improvements became known, there would be a new deck of cards on the table, which they would be expected to play with. The Syndicate had reopened their negotiations with Mrs. Henry to take the Box Factory off her hands. They were offering to take the company as is and pay all its debts as part of the selling price. The amount of money left over would allow her to sail back to England and live out her life in reasonable comfort.

Mrs. Henry had not shared this information with her manager James O'Neil. She was convinced by the Syndicate buyer that her company was so far in debt that it could never approach being a serious profitable manufacturer again. Mrs. Henry was told her manager would never admit that he was a failure until someone came with the court order and close the Box Factories doors. They told her that if she did not believe what they were telling her, she should talk with Harold Mason her Accountant, who had been with the company the longest and he would know the true financial condition of the Box Factory.

After her husband died and her brother-in-law ran off with the company's money Mrs. Henry did not know who to trust and she was relying heavily on the family's attorney who had handled her husband's estate. Mrs. Henry went to him to discuss the Syndicate's offer to buy the Box Factory. Although Mr. Johnson may have been a good attorney, he did not have any experience in running or managing a company like the Box Factory.

Mrs. Henry wanted to believe what Mr O'Neil had told her about the Box Factory. Contrary to what the Syndicate had been telling her. What Mr Harold Mason had indicated she was not willing to accept the fact that the Box Factory was worthless or that it was so deeply in debt that it would be impossible to make enough profit to pay off its debts and make money again. Mrs. Henry thought long and hard on the offer that would pay off the debts and give her a modest income that she might live on. Just how well she could live on a modest fixed income also scared her and she did not know what she should do.

When she discussed this with Mr. Johnson, he looked up the value of the Box Factory when Mr. Henry had his will drafted and signed it many years ago. Unfortunately, the value of the Box Factory had not taken into consideration the Company’s expansion since then or its increased value since the Mexican war. The value reported in Mr. Henry’s will was at a Fire Sale price. Mr. Henry had done this to offset any property taxes or inheritance tax his wife might be forced to pay if he died. Mr. Johnson had never been to the Box Factory and he had no idea of any changes that had been made since Mr. Henry made out his will.

Somehow, the Syndicate buyers were aware of this value, Mr. Henry himself had established and they were using it to base their offer to Mrs. Henry. It may have looked good on paper but if Mrs. Henry agreed to sell the Box Factory at that price, it was worse than highway robbery.

The Syndicate of course knew how much money the Box Factory was really making and what a profitable business James O'Neil had made it into. Once they had the Box Company and once the company's books reflected its actual income they would make a handsome profit on its resale as any serious investor would jump at the opportunity.

At first, they thought the box factory would fail due to the loss of operating capital that the brother-in-law had taken. But O'Neil had revitalized the box factory and improved labor relations. This allowed back orders to be brought up to date. This new money was paid to past creditors who were now willing to give O'Neil the Irishman and a widow Mrs. Henry a break to make things work. The Creditor’s confidence had been restored and now everyone was being paid. Maybe they were not being paid, as fast as they would have liked but at least it was better than having the Box Factory go bankrupt and not being paid anything at all.

The Syndicate was now counting on the fact that O'Neil had buried his nose into the company so far that he did not see that the company was really turning itself around the corner towards prosperity. The Syndicate now knew once O'Neil completed the last Quarter’s Profit and Loss Report he would realize the true financial position the Box Company was in. He would know that all his efforts to save the Box Company had worked and there was no reason that Mrs. Henry should give up or sell the company.

The Syndicate’s inside man was the Chief Bookkeeper Mr. Harold Mason. He had been delaying the financial report on the last Quarter’s Profit and Loss figures for as long as he could, hoping that the Syndicate could strike a deal before O'Neil reported the Box Factory’s financial standing to Mrs. Henry.

O’Neil had not fully realized he had been going home while it was still light out and he had been doing this for some time now. The work was being done and instead of coming home close to mid night, he was getting home at their normal dinnertime.

O’Neil’s subconscious knew but as the old saying goes, Sometimes you cannot see the forest because of the trees. O'Neil had not taken nor was he offered a raise since Mr. Henry died. There were also several bonuses, he should have taken from the company, according to the understandings he had with Mr. Henry when he was first hired.

O'Neil enjoyed the challenge and welcomed the opportunity to go back to work after his long recovery from the loss of his foot during the Mexican War. James had spent a considerable amount of time feeling sorry for himself and six months in a wheelchair. He spent another six months on crutches and three months more with a cane. Somehow holding onto that came was his last link to being less than normal or even a whole man. He could use it as an excuse when he wanted to but he knew he really did not need it anymore.

While he still needed the cane, he had one made with an 18-inch sword blade that could be released with the press of a button. The weapon had become more than a crutch as having that blade in it made himself believe he was now equal to any man that he may encounter. During all his recovery time, James O’Neil went back to school to prepare his management skills, which would make up for the loss of his foot and the time he took to recover from his war injury. O'Neil had been fitted with a prosthesis for