A Glibertarians Exclusive – Legionnaire, Part VIII
Marseilles, France – 1911
“Charlie was right,” Caleb Pettigrew told the young man who sat across the table. “I had the Legion. So, I went on. We ended up fighting the Chinese in that Indochina mess, but we managed to ‘pacify’ Tonkin, if you’ll accept ‘killing a whole bunch of people’ as ‘pacifying.’”
“They made a desert, and called it peace,” Philip McGraw quoted.
“Something like that. Anyway, the whole shebang ended up being put together as something called French Indochina, although why France wanted that place is anyone’s guess.”
“So you went back to Algeria, then, after that?”
“For a while.” Caleb finished off another glass of wine. He yawned and looked around. The shadows were growing long. Time to finish the story.
“Oh, there was more fighting. In Sudan, in Dahomey, plenty of hot, dusty places. But most of my job by that point was breaking in the new troops, making sure they didn’t get kilt in their first engagement. Then, in 1895, the Legion was tasked to go to Madagascar, of all places, and I decided I’d had enough of fighting in God-forsaken hellholes. I had enough put by to get out and live the rest of my life peaceably, so I did. Hell,” he chuckled, “Some of what I had put by even came from my Legion pay. And, of all the damn things, I decided to stay in France.”
***
Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria – July 1895
“So, what will you do?”
Sargent-Major Tom Jackson – Caleb Pettigrew, to himself alone – walked across the dusty parade ground with his commander, Colonel Victor Duchenne.
Caleb looked ahead at where his Regiment was gathered – at least, those of the men that had net yet embarked for Madagascar. “To be honest, sir,” he said, “I was thinking of going to Marseille. I have not seen a lot of that city, but what I saw, well, it was congenial. Good food, good wine, good weather.”
“Marseille is a beautiful city, that is true, although I confess to some surprise that you would make Marseille yours. You are an American, no? You do not want to go to your home?”
“No, sir, and I have given that a lot of thought. It’s been a long time since I was in Carolina. Long time and a lot of water under that bridge. The Legion offered me French citizenship, and I accepted. I was born an American, but it hasn’t been my home for a long time. So, Marseille – and my real name back.”
“Ah – of course, anonymat. You did not apply to regain your name after a year? The Legion allows it, as you must know, for those few who are not complete scoundrels and may want their own names.”
“I knew. Just didn’t seem all that important. The Legion knew me as Tom Jackson. Simpler to keep it that way.”
Colonel Duchenne looked at the retiring Sargent-Major. “And the name to which you will return, if I may ask?”
“Caleb Pettigrew, at your service,” Caleb said, a wistful smile on his face. It was no secret; he had already given that name to the clerks completing his discharge papers. “Corporal, as was, Army of Northern Virginia.” It was the first time he had spoken his real name out loud in thirty years; the whole thing sounded strange to him after so long.
They were approaching the review stand. “Well, then, Monsieur Pettigrew, let us see you officially discharged.”
Normally discharges were handled administratively; the Legionnaire being released was simply handed his discharge papers and sent unceremoniously on his way. But Sargent-Major Jackson was a special case, made so because of his long service, dedication to the Legion and unquestioned courage in battle. So, the Regiment Caleb served in was turned out, to stand in the afternoon sun of Sidi Bel Abbès and see the senior man off. Colonel Duchenne and Caleb stood at the review stand; the Colonel handed Caleb his discharge papers. Caleb saluted; the Colonel gravely returned the salute. The officer turned to the Regiment and spoke:
“Men of the Legion! One of our own leaves us today, to spend the balance of his life in peace. Let us congratulate Sargent-Major Jackson, thank him for his long and faithful service, for his long membership in the brotherhood of the Legion, and wish him well in his new life. Sergant-Major.” The officer stepped back, indicated the assembled men. “Would you care to say a few words?”
Caleb knew he was expected to say something. He had spent the previous night trying to think of what to tell the younger men, but even as he stepped forward, he was still at a loss for words. Best then to keep it simple, he finally decided.
“Legionnaires. Men. Friends. Brothers. I leave you all now, but a part of me will always be with you. A part of me will always be with the Legion. Stand in closed ranks together. Stand together, and when you face the enemy, as one day you will, again,” he suddenly remembered Stonewall at First Manassas, “…give them the bayonet!”
The Regiment roared.
An hour was spent passing among the men, shaking hands, laughing, telling scraps of old stories. A young man, new to the Legion, came to Caleb as the supper hour approached: “Monsieur,” he told Caleb, “I am Legionnaire Hopewell. A horse has been laid on for you to ride to Oran, tomorrow, to the port. I will ride with you, to lead your horse back.”
Caleb slapped the young pup on the back. “Good enough.”
He ate in the mess that night, surrounded by comrades. He would spend his last night in his Spartan non-commissioned officer’s quarters, but before he slept, he had one piece of business yet to conclude in Sidi Bel Abbès, so after the evening meal he managed to evade his fellows and slipped quietly into town, where he knocked on the door he had so often knocked on over the past thirty years. The door opened to reveal a woman who showed signs of a hard life, but who had nevertheless kept the soft edges Caleb had enjoyed so often.
“Signore Jackson,” Marissa smiled. “You are here to conclude your part of this business, then?”
“I am.”
“Step into the office, then.”
Caleb followed Marissa – now to be the sole owner of the house. In the office, she handed Caleb a fat envelope. “It was not easy,” she said, “for me to do this. It took many sacrifices on my part, you must know. But now,” she indicated the envelope, “I have amassed enough to buy your half of the House. Would you like to count the money?”
“No,” Caleb said. He smiled at the buxom Italian woman, seeing her as the girl she had been, so long ago. “After all this time, Marissa? No. I think you would not try to trick me, after all we have been to each other.”
“I will miss you, Signore Jackson.”
“I will miss you, Marissa. Or shall I say, Madame.” He smiled. Marissa leaned forward and kissed him. Caleb hugged her and, tossing the fat envelope casually into the knapsack he had brought with him, left the place for the last time.
***
Marseilles, France – 1911
“That’s it. The tale’s told.” Caleb stood up. He reached in a pocket, mined a few coins, dropped them on the table. “Have another bottle on me, youngster. If you join up, it will be your last one for a while.”
“If,” McGraw said. “Yeah. If. I’m inclined to join up, to tell you the truth. You said I can do that in Aubagne?”
“Yup.” Caleb pointed east. “That way. Thirty kilometers. A bit more, a bit less.” He shrugged, as Gallic through long practice as any Frenchman, and grinned. “Good luck. Keep your head down. Sooner or later, France will get involved in another damn war. Sooner or later, the Legion will go fight again. But not me. Not anymore. I was a Legionnaire. Now I’m a tired old man who needs his sleep. Take care, son.” He shook Philip’s hand and turned to stroll into the Marseille evening; Philip noted that, old man as Caleb may be, his stance and stride were still soldierly.
“Wait,” the boy called as Caleb walked away. “The lady. The one you always said, the one who sheltered you – who was she? Was it Marissa? Someone else? Who?”
Caleb stopped. He turned, looked back, smiled.
“Ain’t you figured it out yet, son?” he asked. “You should have worked it out by now. She was the Legion. She was always the Legion. The life I lived, whenever it went bad, the Legion was there. For thirty years, the Legion was always there. When I was hurt, the Legion cared for me. When I was sick, the Legion got me better. When I was low, the Legion helped me up. And when I was captured, the Legion came for me. I owe her my life. I owe her everything. Thirty years in the Legion, and had I the chance, I’d do it all over again – even the bad parts. And one day soon, you’ll find out why I say that.”
The old man turned and walked off, through the darkening streets of Marseilles.
***
Note: There are several versions of the song that inspired this story.
The lyrics here are from this version.
I’m livin’ in a foreign country but I’m bound to cross the line
Beauty walks a razors edge, someday I’ll make it mine
I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born
“Come in”, She said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”
Great tale! Thanks!
Bravo Animal, magnificent as usual.
Though I will quibble that it wasn’t her, the Legion, that saved his ass – I believe you wrote it was French regulars.
I did – but do you remember who slipped away from the ambush and ran to notify the French regulars?
Yes, a fellow legionnaire. The irony is the Legion hung them out to dry with the orders passed down, and regular Army saved him.
Merci, Animal!
Amazing.
This was your best yet, Animal.
Thanks!
Excellent. I’ve met Legionnaires. They always seemed devoted to their Legion and fairly indifferent to France itself.
The one Legionnaire I’ve met (became a lawyer and then a Law professor after leaving the Legion) had dual French/Canadian citizenship, and yeah, his attitude towards the Legion and France was exactly as you describe.
Nicely done, caught up on last week’s as well.
What’s next? 😉
Let’s just say that the next story is in… a different time zone.
Off topic – Was Anne Heche Murdered?
Or her death faked? That is a weird video.
She had information that would lead to the conviction of Hillary Clinton?
Beat me to it.
Whoa. That video of her bursting out of the body bag is certainly interesting.
That was a great ending! Thank you!
Brooks mentioned the other day that 80s and 90s cars are scarce and spendy.
He’s right.
Already at $20K.
What’s the appeal?
Fewer computers but still has cruise control?
Fair enough. Pretty soon I’ll be willing to pay for that, given all the’features’ cars will be blessed with soon.
It’s a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas? Is it missing the cigarette lighter?
Catalytic converters were about 1974? So this is much later.
1972 was the last year without a lot of pollution controls and detuning for same.
It’s a Blues Brothers movie reference.
It’s dark, and we’re wearing sunglasses.
You can change the oil and do many of the repairs yourself?
One of the best, simplest and bulletproof cars ever made. Seriously, getting 500K miles out them was child’s play.
I’ve had 3 of them and they were all wonderful cars.
How I picture the leasure suit from a few nights ago, But in car form
Where are the curb feelers?
Hah! My Grandpa had that same car. I don’t think it was a 1978, but it was that color.
That was when Detroit made cars, distinctive, easy to identify and beautiful. The ’60s and ’70s were a car lover’s dream. A portable motel room…
It has the 460 V8 too! You can mod that thing to the moon for more horsepower.
Those interiors were insane. Kind of like taking a Barcalounger out for a spin.
The truth of it is that American cars of that vintage (70’s to 80’s) were absolutely awful, with only a few exceptions. That Lincoln, for example would only send the power from that 460 V8 to one wheel. They lacked basic rust proofing. Most of them rotted out in ten years’ time. Those vinyl roofs were responsible for a lot of rust. Scarcity drives value.
No question about it. It’s one of the things that made the Volvos (and other Eurotrash cars) so good was the galvanized bodies and better paint.
Still. The American barges were special in their own tacky way.
Passed an early 70’s Eldorado this morning. A two-door car as long as a bus.
Some had 500ci V8’s.
Bravo! I really enjoyed this.
#metoo
I second that emotion.
Thanks Animal. A great conclusion that I could understand.
Now we wait…A week can be a long time
If nobody linked it already, another Daily Ray of Sunshine
Federal Bureau of Intimidation political theater.
With an increasing number of threats against the FBI and agents, including an armed man who tried to breach a field office in Ohio, officials have put up barricades around FBI headquarters in DC. Similar fencing was put up after the unrest in DC in 2020 & after the Capitol riot.
They have to do something, because the raid was a fuck up.
White house is still trying to distance.
The plebs aren’t buying.
I’d buy that Biden didn’t know. I’d buy that Biden still doesn’t know.
“What’s an F-B-… you know?”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ::wheezes in air before passing out:: HAHAHAHAHAHA…..
Is that why they setup remote offices in DNC law firms?
The DOJ is completely independent. They independently determined that Trump was the next Hitler and had to be stopped at all costs, just like all the other agencies, the Democratic party, and the mainstream media. Completely independent of each other.
Las Vegas landlord requires tenant on Section 8 to sign sex contract in order to lease home
Aren’t oral contracts enforceable?
That has to be a joke.
Look, if I were joking, I would’ve said “What do you do with an elephant with three balls. You walk him and pitch to the rhino.”
LOL. WUT?
It reads more like making fun of affirmative consent contracts by the evidence provided. They didn’t cite anything in there about the contract actually being linked to her housing, just her accusation that it did.
Still a creepy and weird story.
Kind of like consigning your immortal soul to the Adversary in order to install Adobe Acrobat DC…
…although why France wanted that place is anyone’s guess.”
Rubber plantations.
rubber trees?
Federal Bureau of Instigation
PHOENIX – Signs reading “Honor your oath” and “Abolish FBI” were seen outside the FBI office in Phoenix on Aug. 13, just days after news broke that the agency searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
Danger Will Robinson! DANGER!!!
“How do you do, fellow insurrectionists?”
A timely reminder from Malice.
And?
Until and unless the citizendry starts putting down the agents of these rabid bureaucracies, what else are you expecting people to do?
Ain’t that the truth.
Great work, Animal! A fitting ending to a grand story.
Bobarian’s question lead me down a rat hole. Here is the end point
Bird poop of Imperialism, or the age of Guano
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/when-the-western-world-ran-on-guano
The US acquired a few islands through the Guano Islands Act
Yeah, the US laid claim to any uninhabited island containing guano, and a lot of countries ended up buying a lot of chinese laborers to dix the stuf out (but don’t you dare call the coolies slaves, we’ve abolished that)
Government has been saving us -and Gaia- from greedy capitalists since time immemorial!
Great story, Mr. Animal.
Thanks for that.
Used to kinda feel like that about the Corps… not so much anymore.
Banana republic.
Rudy Giuliani, who served as former President Donald Trump’s attorney, has been notified that he is under criminal investigation in Georgia for matters related to the 2020 presidential election.
Giuliani’s lawyers revealed on Monday that they had been informed that he is a “target” in Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis’ investigation into efforts to overturn the election results.
The New York Times reported that prosecutors had questioned witnesses before a special grand jury about remarks that Giuliani made during appearances in front of state legislative panels the month after the 2020 election.
In Fulton County, AYFKM?
If the courts were in any way reliable, Giuliani could have some fun with discovery.
“Your Honor, I call the first witness: Stacy “Gov. in Absentia” Abrams.”
The Governor in the North… Or the Governor Beyond the Wall?
Are you asking whether we plan to exile her to Canada or to Mexico?
One of Soros’s DAs?
And what would the charge be?
Casting aspersions on the Secretary of State?
Who would have thought wasps would want to build their nests in old falling-apart cabinets leaned up against the side of a building? Not me. The plan was to flop those cabinets onto the ground and break them up with an axe, and haul them off to the dump.
That plan is now on hold.
And another thing; what is the point of carburettor cleaner that won’t even kill a wasp? Back in the old days, with the original version of Brakleen, you could knock a wasp right out of the air, and the shine would be off him before he hit the ground. What is the world coming to? It’s just one more reason California can’t get washed into the ocean soon enough.
Thanks Mr. Animal!
Adam Neumann Gets a New BackerWeWork’s founder is back with a billion-dollar venture.
Short of Non-PC beliefs or statements it would appear its impossible to get kicked out the Silicon Valley Club.
Perhaps he is a modern day Francisco d’Anconia, draining off the wealth of the elites. Probably not though.
With an increasing number of threats against the FBI and agents, including an armed man who tried to breach a field office in Ohio, officials have put up barricades around FBI headquarters in DC. Similar fencing was put up after the unrest in DC in 2020 & after the Capitol riot.
When I go to Pocatello later I’ll swing by the big FBI data/surveillance center and see if they have installed sandbagged machine gun nests. They already have state of the art anti-terror features incorporated in the entry gates.
The White House continues to stress they had no private knowledge of last week’s FBI raid on former Pres.Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate or the status of the ongoing DOJ investigation, citing the “complete independence” of the DOJ from politicization.
Stop it. You’re killing me.
If the masses can’t have TikTok it will be problematic for Team Blue.
How Frustration Over TikTok Has Mounted in Washington
So the Trump administration had a valid concern and now Team Blue has to deal with the actual issue as the fact they tried to minimize the issue so as to make Trump look crazy. He does that all by himself, but Team Blue always overreaches.
Thanks for the glasses rec the other day. They are perfect.
Glad they worked for you!
“TikTok… could leak data to Beijing.”
Data, like teenagers dancing in front of a bathroom mirror?
You know if it was available Anthony Weiner would have had all kinds of problematic for the Team Blue videos on it.
Data – like anything and everything accessable from the host devices’s privacy intrusion methods.
Very nice ending.
Quad-Vaxxed Lloyd Austin has covid again.
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/272654643/pentagon-boss-gets-covid-again
Awwww….. maybe he’ll have a stroke to go with it.
I’ve never seen this pic before. Did the retard make soldiers wear face shields so that they would look almost as retarded as him?
Me neither! Good pic to use.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9843021/Lloyd-Austin-takes-no-chances-forced-wear-VISOR-Philippines.html
How would his symptoms have been without the masks and face shields?
Also he would have caught it six times, and not just twice.
In that case, it sounds like nature has selected him for extinction, and we shouldn’t defy Gaia.
#deluxewaffle12 3/5
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wafflegame.net
Arlington Co. ends its COVID-19 emergency
When will the county declare a Monkeypox-22 emergency?
Just before the voting booths open up… Gotta get them absentee ballot numbers up.
Trump claims FBI agents seized THREE of his passports during ‘sneak attack’ raid at Mar-a-Lago – as he warns DOJ ‘terrible things are going to happen’ if it doesn’t cool things down
They probably didn’t want him fleeing to Russia to escape prosecution.