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20 2 FIRST BLOOD (1854–58) Is Miss Fanny Shepperd married yet? —jeb stuart to his wife, flora He grappled the Indian and hurled him from his horse. —lawrence kip on william dorsey pender at spokane plains S o much of the world lay before William Dorsey Pender as he celebrated his matriculation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He had challenged himself successfully, and his reward was a commission in the nation’s armed forces. In the service of his country, he was about to be required to travel great distances, to be introduced to adventures of which he had at best only read or dreamed. The young man had to be both excited and anxious about what lay ahead, while also understanding that, given his profession, the world before him would be fraught with dangers as well as opportunities. Nevertheless, he could draw upon his personal reserves of training and coolness to answer whatever challenges might arise. With these basic elements in place, Dorsey Pender accepted his role as a newly minted second lieutenant. His commission, signed by President Franklin Pierce and Secretary of War Jefferson Davis on January 10, 1855, announced Pender’s appointment as “Second Lieutenant in the Second Regiment of Artillery,” to date from August 16, 1854. He proudly wrote of the receipt of his commission from Fort Myers, Florida, in February 1855. But before Lieutenant Pender took up his assignment, he had the benefit of a furlough granted to all graduates from the military academy upon the completion of their curriculum requirements. He used this opportunity to return to his home on Town Creek in North Carolina before embarking on his tour of 21 first blood: 1854–58 duty. Pender also planned to spend a portion of this last unobligated time visiting Good Spring, the home of Congressman Augustine Shepperd and his good friend Samuel, located near Salem in the western portion of the state. Dorsey remembered this time in his life fondly, always looking back at his brief visits to the Shepperd home simultaneously as something of an oasis and an ideal. By the time Pender arrived at his friend’s house, the Shepperd family was already undergoing a transition. Three of the siblings, Frank, Hamilton, and William Henry, had already reached adulthood. Mary Frances, or “Fanny,” was next in age to Sam, while younger brother Jacob, or “Jake,” and their sister Pamela were still in their preteen years. The presence of these family members meant that youth pervaded the household and enhanced the energy and liveliness of a home already girded to embrace and salute its returning West Point graduate and his associates before they traveled to their respective postings. Undoubtedly, during this interlude Dorsey enjoyed the company of Sam, but a large measure of the Shepperd home’s allure also came from one of its charming hostesses, fourteen-year-old Fanny. She was the older of the congressman ’s two daughters, born to Augustine and Mary Sheppard on March 9, 1840. Historian William Hassler described her at this time as a “petite, lightcomplected belle, who possessed talents as a pianist.” Fanny was also said to have exhibited a lovely singing voice, all charms calculated to have an appeal to potential suitors like her brother’s friend. Pender’s companions in this period of respite before assuming his official duties included Jeb Stuart as well Shepperd. For the time being, these three were fast friends. “I sometimes think that the taste of classmates for each other’s society particularly West Pointers is unequalled by the strongest attachment ,” the Virginian observed from Salem, “and what is more remarkable it becomes more and more intense as time continues.” Basking in the glow of their graduation in the summer of 1854, any days of difficulties in the future remained obscured. The most immediate concern for the trio was the termination of their furloughs. By October 19, 1854, Pender had made his way to the country’s distant southern frontier at Fort Myers, Florida, below Tampa. Detailed as part of a squad trailblazing a direct route between Fort Myers and Fort Thompson inland from the coast, the North Carolinian had his first experience with that tropical environment. When Pender returned from this assignment, he held the responsibilities of post adjutant for a brief time. Then he was once more “in the field” in the early spring on “detached service.” [18.220.160.216] Project MUSE (2024-04-25 04...

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