A military interlude

A military interlude by Ernest Haycox is a historical short story written in the early 20th century. Set at Valley Forge in the American Revolution, it focuses on a Continental soldier’s struggle with hunger, cold, and wavering loyalty as military duty collides with personal hardship.

In a freezing hut, Sergeant Alva Jukes watches comrades starve, sees a man die, and joins a brief, desperate protest before a sympathetic brigadier calms the men. When Jukes is demoted for speaking out, anger and a worried letter from home push him to desert. On the road he clashes with St. Louis Cotton, a proud local assemblyman and militia colonel, but together they spot British dragoons at a tavern. Jukes stages a bold two-pronged assault with Cotton: after a fierce close-quarters fight, three dragoons lie dead, two are captured, and one is stopped outside—at the cost of Cotton’s life. Moved by the old man’s dying plea to honor his duty, Jukes turns back toward Valley Forge, leading the prisoners and captured horses, resolved to rejoin his suffering comrades. (This is an automatically generated summary.)