Buckaloo Ridge

By FA Shepherd

The residents of Buckaloo Ridge become interested spectators when a successful chemist and inventor's life falls apart after the tragic death of his wife and he takes the law in his own hands. As BJ descends into a world he never knew existed his life becomes a wild ride full of surprising twists and turns that will have the reader wondering what's coming next. A CIA agent is working a special OP the vice president has set up to learn how drugs are making their was from Mexico to the troops in Viet Nam. BJ and Hawk, a former marine that had saved BJ's life in Korea, become mercenaries for the CIA and everyone's plans may be compromised when the fingerprints of a man who has been dead for over two years turn up at a crime scene. An intriguing tale of espionage, deceit and lies with a surprise ending the reader will not see coming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 23, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481779517

FA Shepherd

FA (Freddie) Shepherd is a retired research chemist, retiring from Tennessee Eastman’s Research Laboratories in 1992. After retiring he began spending his winters at Bob’s Landing in Florida, his summers in a house that he built himself on TVA’s Cherokee Lake in East Tennessee and doing some traveling. He was in Moscow in 1995 for their 50th anniversary celebration of the end of WW II. He also traveled to Great Britain and did some short term mission trips with Crossroads Missions building houses and churches in Mexico. He is an army veteran with service in Germany in 1958, and was in the Tennessee National Guard for more than 10 years. He has been a member of Colonial Heights Christian Church for more than 40 years. He now lives in Gray, Tennessee and enjoys playing golf and writing. Freddie has a way of seamlessly blending history with fiction and some of his own experiences to weave a variety of partly truth and partly fiction stories and tales. The Secrets of Hickory Hollow is his third book. Visit oldshepbooks.com for details about his other books.

Book preview

Contents

PROLOGUE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

EPILOGUE

AUTHOR’S NOTES

OTHER BOOKS BY FA SHEPHERD

PROLOGUE

~~~~~~~~~~

At the battle for Beans Station in December, 1863 the Union’s General Burnside defeated Confederate General Longstreet’s First Corps and sent them retreating across the Holston River. The remnants of First Corps moved south along the old Morristown road and set up winter quarters near Russellville. After the battle at Beans Station some of the wounded from both sides were taken to the Union hospital that had been established in the former Mossy Creek Baptist Seminary near Jefferson City. One of the Rebel soldiers that had been taken there was Lieutenant Bobby Joe McPierson. Lt. McPierson had wounds in his abdomen and both legs. He begged the doctors not to take off his legs. Lt. McPierson and the other Rebel soldiers were not only lucky to still be alive, but lucky to have been brought to the hospital in Jefferson City. Had they been taken to the field hospital near Knoxville most of them would have died. The doctors there didn’t even look at Rebel soldiers until after all their own Union wounded had been cared for. At the hospital in Jefferson City all wounded were treated the same no matter what color the uniform. As a result, a few weeks after he had been wounded Lt. McPierson was up and walking around. All the wounded Confederates had been placed in the same ward and were allowed some minimal freedoms until their wounds had healed enough for them to be moved to the stockade at Knoxville. The young Lieutenant knew that he would soon be sent to the POW camp.

He had been anticipating this and had started several weeks ago planning his escape. While he and some of the other wounded prisoners had been pressed into orderly service on the Union wards he had managed to pilfer a wounded Union Captain’s uniform. He had also been able to hide away a little of what meager food allotment they were given. The next step in the plan was to get assigned to the hospital garbage detail.

The first day he was on the garbage detail he started looking around for a safe place to hide the uniform and food. Removing the garbage from the hospital included not only the food and cooking remains, but all the surgical debris, including removed body parts. All the garbage was put in a pit that had been dug for that purpose. Lt. McPierson’s job was to oversee this chore and help out whenever necessary. This gave him plenty of time and opportunity to locate a safe hiding spot outside the hospital for the food and uniform.

He planned his escape for the weekend when there would be minimal activity around the hospital. He volunteered to take the buckets of food scraps out to the dump on Friday afternoon. After pouring the scraps in the pit he returned the buckets to the door stoop and retrieved his stash of clothes and food. Hiding as best as he could he slid the union uniform on over his own clothes and walked around to the front of the hospital. He knew there were always several horses tied there. He selected a big bay stallion with saddle bags behind the saddle, and after putting his food in the saddle bag he mounted the horse and rode away.

He knew the Union uniform was both a blessing and a curse. If he was caught with it on he would be shot as a spy. However, the extra protection it offered from the cold made the chance worth taking. He headed towards what he hoped he remembered was the direction back to the Holston River crossing and Beans Station. He hadn’t gone but a few miles when a cold drizzle of rain started falling. Another blessing and curse. The rain would soon erase any tracks making it impossible to know which direction he was traveling, but it would soon soak him to the skin and he could freeze to death. He had to find shelter. Without realizing he had traveled so far he saw the bridge up ahead and what looked like a barn on the other side of the river just as the light was fading. He had been wounded and taken out of the battle before he knew of First Corps plans to spend the rest of the winter in Russellville. However, even if he had that information and the fact that Russellville was only a few miles away on this side of the river it wouldn’t have made any difference. He had already made up his mind to take himself out of the war and go home.

After making sure he was the only one taking refuge in the barn he put his horse in a stall and after unsaddling him he pitched down some hay from the loft. He found a rain barrel and put some water in the trough by the stall door and then made his own bed in the hay loft. In spite of the cold rain that was falling outside he was comfortable enough curled up in the hay and was soon asleep.

Voices outside woke him and he realized it was daylight. He crawled over to the end of the barn where he heard the voices and looking out through a crack between two boards he saw that it was a Union patrol. He prayed they wouldn’t come in the barn and was relieved to see them move on away. He watched until they were out of sight and then climbed down from the loft and while the horse was eating some more hay he had thrown down he put the saddle back on. He looked around to see if there was anything else he might need and found some oats and corn. He put two big scoop fulls in one of the saddle bags and got on the horse and rode off in what he hoped was the direction of Beans Station. He wasn’t so much interested in finding that crossroads way station as he was in getting to the stage road he knew was there, and that he could follow it to the north east and home.

Thankful that the rain had stopped sometime during the night he headed west towards Beans Station. It would be easy to blend in with the Union soldiers that were also using the road. So far he had been lucky and hoped his luck would hold for a few more days. The closer to the cross roads he came the more he recognized the area where the Confederates had taken up positions before the battle where he was wounded. He knew he was going in the right direction. By mid morning he had reached Beans Station and headed north east on the Nashville to Washington stage road. The few Union troops he passed either just waved to him or ignored him all together. He was thankful for that. Sometime around noon he found a small stream and unsaddled the horse and fed him some of the oats from his saddle bag and ate one of the biscuits from his food stash. After allowing his horse to have a drink from the small creek he put the saddle back on and continued on up the road.

Just before dark he spotted another barn, but unlike the one he spent the night in last night this one was being used. He waited until the man had gone back in his house before leading his horse inside the barn. He hoped if there were other animals inside they wouldn’t start trying to talk to his horse or make a fuss. He was relieved to see there were no other animals around and led the horse into one of the stalls and unsaddled him. He found some water and hay for the horse and then climbed up to the loft for the night. He planned to be up and gone before anyone came around the next morning.

It was still dark when he climbed down from the loft and fed his horse. He had no way of telling what time it was, but judging from the blackness knew that it was still well before sunup. He found some more oats and after giving some to the horse he again filled one of the saddle bags with oats and saddled the horse while he was still eating. He was just about to lead him out of the barn when the man came through the door. It would have been impossible to tell who was the most surprised.

Who are you and what are you doing here? the farmer asked.

I mean you no harm, Lt. McPierson said. I needed somewhere to spend the night and your barn was handy. I hope you didn’t mind.

You didn’t answer my first question, the farmer said. Who are you?

My name is McPierson, and I’m trying to catch back up with the main body of troops.

The lieutenant was only guessing, but surely with all the recent war activity in the area there had been some movement of troops through here. His luck was still holding.

They went by here yesterday, the farmer said.

That was some information the lieutenant needed. He had been wondering ever since yesterday morning when he started up the stage road what troop activity was going on. On today’s ride he would try and listen to some of the talk by the troops he passed to pick up some gossip about what was going on. The farmer was just as anxious to be rid of the soldier as the lieutenant was to be on his way. Nothing more was said as Bobby Joe mounted his horse and rode away.

It was now just before daylight and the lieutenant watched the sun rise through the fog and mist. By mid morning he had reached Rogersville and was wondering why he hadn’t seen any troops. However, the small village was literally crawling with Union troops and a small field hospital had been set up in the middle of the village on the lawn of the court house. He overheard enough of the talk as he rode through to understand that a battle with a small Confederate force had just taken place at Big Creek just north of the village.

Bobby Joe didn’t know that Big Creek was only a thirty minute ride from Rogersville and he rode into the middle of the aftermath of a fight. General Gillem’s 13th Tennessee Cavalry which contained Colonel Patton’s 8th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment had beaten a small rebel force, sending them in retreat towards Kingsport. The 8th was made up of men from Sullivan County. Probably several men that Lt. McPierson knew and had grown up with were in this regiment. The Union troops were on their way to capture and destroy the salt works at Saltville, Virginia. These same men had been in the battle at Beans Station where Bobby Joe was wounded. Had Lt. McPierson known who the troops were he would have avoided any contact with them. As it was he continued to ride on his way, staying as much to the side of the road and out of the way as possible. He was fortunate in one sense. These were cavalry troops so he wasn’t as conspicuous riding with them as he had been with all the walking troops the first couple of days.

By nightfall he was glad that no one had challenged him and again found another barn to spend the night in. He followed the same routine he had the other two nights. Putting the horse in a stall, unsaddling him, feeding and watering him, then bedding down himself. However, before drifting off to sleep this night he decided he had been lucky so far, but with so much activity along the stage road that was sure to change. Although it would add another one or two days travel time he would cross the river tomorrow and continue the trip along the edge of the river and out of sight.

The next morning he crossed the river near Surgoinsville and was surprised to find a path along the waters edge. It must have been an old Indian path, but what or whoever had made it he was glad. Both he and the horse had spent the last three nights in the relative comfort of a barn, but tonight they would have to camp out. There were no incidents during the day and just before the light faded he found a laurel thicket that would be their bed for the night. After making sure the horse was securely tied he unsaddled him and fed him the last of the oats. He was up early the next morning anxious to be on his way.

He hadn’t ridden very far when he heard the sounds of battle. He didn’t know it, but he had ridden into, or more correctly, across the river from what would later be known as the battle of Kingsport. The same troops he had ridden with two days ago after their skirmish at Big Creek were now about to become involved in another battle. Troops from General Gillem’s regiment were massing on the west side of the north fork of the Holston River just above its junction with the south fork. The troops were getting ready for a charge on the Rebels that were dug in on a cedar bluff overlooking the river directly across from where the Union troops were massing for the crossing. There were men in both armies here that day that had grown up with each other in Sullivan County. These men who would soon be fighting each other had played and worked together before the war. Sullivan County had been known as the Little Confederacy even though most of east Tennessee favored the northern cause. The truth was that Sullivan County, of which Kingsport was a part, was almost evenly divided between the two causes.

Lt. McPierson remained hidden across the river from where all the action was taking place and watched. He had spent a very cold night curled up in his makeshift lean-to in the laurel thicket

Reviews for Buckaloo Ridge

[amandakerr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What A Page Turner!!!Buckaloo Ridge by accomplished author, FA Shepherd is a suspenseful mystery full of espionage deceit and lies. The surprise ending is amazing and reader won't see it coming. Great, Great Read!!!!

[kevin_peter-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ghost Stories – A review of the novel ‘Buckaloo Ridge’“War does not determine who is right, only who is left” - Bertrand RussellF. A. Shepherd’s latest novel ‘Buckaloo Ridge’ can in many ways be described as a genre defying book. It’s hard to pigeonhole the plotline into a particular category as it has the best different genres have to offer. At some level it’s about an individual’s personal battle to avenge the killers of his young wife, it’s also a thriller involving the CIA and a drug trail that extends all the way to the White House, plus there’s plenty of commentary on politics and war and espionage.Bobby Joe Pierson who is our ‘hero’ was a kid who always liked playing around with his little BB gun, participating in a lot of make believe fighting games around his family owned farm. But little did he know back then how much his adult life would mirror his favourite childhood games. He meets his love, Anna Mae McHorris in college and gets married to her. She encourages him to go back to school and he becomes a successful chemist. But his perfect life comes to a grinding halt the day his wife is killed in a vehicular accident by a District Attorney driving under the influence. When Bobby Joe sees that his wife won’t get the justice she deserves, he plots a revenge plan that sees him move in with Colin, his brother in law in a non-descript ranch in no man’s land from where he not only gets his revenge but also gets involved in some high flying case of shady politics and espionage resulting in an adventure thriller.The author has subtly imparted the effects of war that has on the scores of young minds. From finding out that combat duty isn’t for everyone to showing off qualities like bravery and patriotism, war affects different people differently. But one thing that seems to affect everyone the same way is how they are able to live in the ‘real’ world afterwards, the scarring of war experiences leads people to find unique ways to cope with it, some more dangerous than others. He has also touched upon an important but often neglected area like the influence of drugs and narcotics in the army and the level of U.S government involvement in them, although it has been presented fully within the context of a fictional novel, this particular sub plot certainly makes it an extremely realistic and compelling read.There is an extended prologue which even though doesn’t have anything to do directly with the rest of the story other than explain our lead character Bobby Joe Pierson’s actions better, really stands out for its presentation. The prologue really deserves a separate book of its own to do complete justice to the intrigue and mystery, the author manages to create in the first few pages. FA Shepherd also doesn’t believe in lingering on for too long with any scene and the rapid pace in the change of scenery is something that you will need to get used to but once you do, it will take you along for a nonstop wild ride.Buckaloo Ridge is an adrenaline pumping whopper of a thriller which has all the action and drama of a Hollywood movie or a TV series. The early chapters play out like a sophisticated game of cat-and-mouse as Bobby Joe becomes obsessed with seeking vengeance for his wife’s murder. Although the main protagonists and the numerous sub characters are all deeply flawed and have their share of issues, they have all been well developed and have been given short back stories to further define their actions better. But none of this hinders the break neck pace of the main narrative which chugs along beautifully.FA Shepherd 's creativity is put to good use in many places, one instance worth mentioning is how he cleverly creeps up on the reader when they least expect it, just when you think you have the story all figured out, Shepherd pulls the rug right from under your feet and shocks and surprises you. A lot of incidents and places that are mentioned in this novel are real and the author has taken only certain creative liberties to commercialize the fiction. As you turn each page, you won’t be able to stop yourself from reading more as each chapter will pull you more into this intriguing and mystery filled world within. Buckaloo Ridge is a clear winner!