When the Jessamine Grows

Joetta and Robert work more on the farm, and due to the stress of everything that has happened, Joetta starts cracking her knuckles again—an old habit. She works and cooks and, at night, struggles to fall asleep due to thoughts of Ennis. Distressed, she writes to her mother and her sister Faith. As she goes to send the letters, Rudean tells her to bring back chewing tobacco and gives her some Graybacks, the new money of the Confederacy (75). 

Joetta goes into Mr. Spivey’s general store and gives him the letters. Mr. Spivey reveals that Ennis volunteered and sent back a letter. He says she will need to pay for the letter and the stamps, due to Ennis being enlisted. Mr. Spivey mentions church and tells her to be careful. He says he hopes Ennis’s volunteering will satisfy them and points out other border states that are staying neutral. She finds his words comforting and notices he is not wearing a cockade. When she returns home, she reads the letter to Rudean and Robert: Ennis got to Raleigh a day later than expected because he got redirected by a group of men. Then, at the volunteer station, he asked about Henry and chose to enlist to better search for him. He says he will need to keep his writing minimal due to cost. Robert is disappointed that he did not ask about the family and, later, Joetta sadly realizes they are now involved in the war despite her and Ennis’s desires to avoid it.

Joetta works on the farm, and Rudean returns from town with news about the war. The Confederate army was headed to Virginia, where Ennis is going. She assures Rudean that Ennis is fine: She would sense if Henry or Ennis got injured or killed. A few days later, Bess visits again, accompanied by Mary, as well as Vesta Fern and Alice Atwater. Joetta serves Mary switchel, and Bess asks Joetta to join her and the other women in sewing socks and other clothes for the Confederate soldiers. Joetta holds onto her neutrality and rejects the offer, wanting to respect Ennis’s values. Bess becomes exasperated and tells Joetta she does not want to appear disloyal, but Joetta questions why she would be disloyal if she is neutral. Bess leaves with Vesta and Alice. Mary finishes her switchel and tells her that she is wearing the cockade now because Hugh believes it is safest for them; she respects Joetta’s adherence to her morals and tells her she is brave. Mary then leaves. 

Rudean comes out of hiding, revealing he was watching the visit. He worries Robert might leave like Henry, and Joetta assures him he will be fine. She goes into the fields to work. Then, a group of Union soldiers arrive asking for water for them and their horses. Joetta gives it to them, despite Rudean’s protests. The men thank her and leave. Rudean tries to shoot at them, but they are already gone. He tells Joetta they must shoot anyone who is not on their side; Joetta corrects him, saying that they are not on his side.

Joetta is unnerved by the war and the lack of news of Ennis and Henry. Robert’s 12th birthday passes, with Joetta realizing she forgot to make a cake; Robert says he did not want one anyway. Joetta continues to farm with Robert’s help; she soon writes to Ennis about the family and her giving water to the Union soldiers. She asks him to let her and the family know he is okay. Joetta has Robert work in the fields while she works in the house. She goes into Henry’s room and recalls her memories of him throughout his life before going into the kitchen, where Rudean informs her that some men are coming from the town after he mentioned the Union soldiers arriving at their house. When they arrive, Joetta tries to say that she is neutral, but the men disregard her as disloyal and ride through the fields, scaring the McBrides’ livestock and destroying many of their crops. When Robert asks why the men did it, Rudean blames Joetta, who defends herself by telling him he should not have told the men about the Union soldiers.

Joetta and Robert pick up the damaged crops to see what they can salvage. Robert tells Joetta she should have told the men she supported the Confederates, to which she says she was standing by her values and did not know the men would trample their crops. Joetta snaps that she is aware she will have to pretend to be pro-Confederate until Ennis returns. This sours Robert’s mood more, and he walks away. Joetta thinks to herself that Robert does not understand the importance of adhering to one’s morals. Ennis’s mother, Anna, impacted most of his values, rather than his father. 

Joetta wakes later to see Robert already out of the house. Though she initially fears he left like Henry did, she goes into the field and works before making breakfast. She sees Robert coming in from the field. Rudean tells her that she will need to show support for the Confederacy if she wants the family to survive. She reluctantly agrees. Robert notices Joetta has kept Henry’s cockade. Joetta and Robert then study the sorghum crops and decide to wait and see if they make it. As she starts dinner, Rudean gives her a letter from her mother telling her to pray and stay strong. She informs Rudean and Robert of her mother’s urge to pray for Ennis and Henry, and Rudean agrees that that is the best thing to do.

Joetta goes to the Caldwells’ house to help the women with the sewing. She wears the cockade, hoping it will tell the women she is a Confederate supporter. She worries about their judgment. Joetta greets Bess at the door, and Bess is surprised that she is now wearing a cockade. Bess knows about the farm and says Joetta had to have known not supporting the Confederacy would lead to that. Joetta greets Mary. She makes it clear that she is wearing the cockade to keep her family safe. Mary is surprised by Joetta’s decision but understands. The women begin sewing and talking about the war, the supremacy of white people, and what harm would come from Black people having the right to vote. Bess asks Joetta how she feels about Lincoln moving enslaved Black people to colonies. Joetta says that Bess knows more about these topics than she does and is much wiser than her. Bess asks about colonization again, and Joetta says colonization would not be freeing enslaved people. After Bess says slavery keeps them safe, Joetta focuses on her sewing. As she leaves, Bess comes after her and tells her she knows Joetta is still neutral. Joetta says she is doing everything to keep her family safe and for Bess not to worry about her. She then leaves on her wagon.

Joetta continues going to the sewing group and tries to lightly express support for the Confederacy. She continues to work in the field with Robert, soon finding that her sorghum crops are salvageable. In October, Rudean kills a boar and sow for the family to keep in the smokehouse. A month later, as she empties the chamber pot at night, she senses someone watching her but finds no one. As Thanksgiving approaches, she sees a small Confederate flag that Rudean found outside. Rudean and Robert confront Joetta about not being supportive enough of the Confederacy, especially because she had not given much vocal support at the sewing group meetings. They share a story about two women in Washington, DC, getting arrested by the Union on the charge of spying. 

Rudean says people in town have been acting strange, which Joetta dismisses. He gives her a letter from Faith, who tells her that her husband Marshall volunteered with the Union. Fearing for her family, she throws the letter into the fire. Rudean says that cider is being given out in town, and Joetta says he and Robert should go. Rudean tells her she should go to show support and wear the cockade while he waves the flag. Elder Newell greets them, and while Rudean and Robert go to the square, Joetta visits Mr. Spivey, who has three letters from Ennis.

Joetta heads to the square to find Robert and Rudean. There, she sees a man named George Lidell telling the men they should volunteer to protect their land, families, and women. This sends the boys and men there into a frenzy, and Robert shouts that he will shoot any Yankees he can. Joetta takes him away from the crowd and reminds him he is only 12. Robert is confused, as they are supposed to act like Confederates. Joetta says she is only doing it to be safe. They leave in the wagon, as Rudean stays behind for the festivities. During the ride, someone runs them off the road. Robert blames Joetta and says he has seen that man in the green coat in town. Joetta says they need to stay hidden, and Robert says only Joetta needs to be out of sight. Robert takes their mule back, and Joetta finds the man in the green coat in their house. As she gets her musket and calls Robert, the man leaves through the front door. This disturbs her, and she hopes Ennis will help her remain strong in her convictions.

Joetta reads Ennis’s first letter; he apologizes for being so angry with her and not understanding the maternal love that made her want him to get Henry back. In the second letter, he details the unorganized and challenging structure of the camp and infantry, which make it hard to find Henry. In the third letter, he says that they are currently in Centreville, Virginia, and they have not been fighting much. He describes the mundane tasks at the camp and the bland food. Ennis asks after the family before telling Joetta to continue praying and having faith. Joetta recalls meeting Ennis when she was 17, in January 1845. She was talking to Faith, who was visiting when Ennis approached. They introduced themselves, and she was smitten with him immediately. They married a month after she turned 18. They hardly argued prior to Henry leaving. 

When Robert comes inside, Joetta confronts him about leaving her alone, stating that the man in the green coat was inside the house. He said that he went to the Caldwells’ house to visit Harold, who was not there. Robert goes to join Rudean in his cabin, and Joetta decides she must be patient with Robert.

The sewing group now includes Eliza Garner and Rebecca Hammond. Rebecca’s husband owns the cotton mill in Nash County, and both the Hammonds and the Garners are enslavers. The women happily tell of a landowner who was hanged after freeing his enslaved laborers, with Eliza revealing that her husband’s overseer, Miller, did it. Eliza says hello to Joetta and notes her nonconformity, though Bess says she is wearing the cockade. When the women begin talking about the difficulties of running a large farm without enslaved laborers, Joetta suggests that they sell land and run smaller farms themselves. This makes the women uncomfortable. 

The women talk about how horrible it would be for the enslaved individuals to be freed; Eliza tells of a Black man taking and impregnating a white woman in Little Creek. She wishes for Miller to find and whip him. Eliza’s statement disgusts Joetta, who chastises the women for encouraging brutality and believing stories like that with no evidence. Offended, Eliza and Rebecca leave. Bess criticizes Joetta, calling her stubborn. Joetta tells Bess about the man running her and Robert off the road and then coming into her house. Bess says she would not have helped those Union soldiers. Joetta explains that she and Ennis never wanted to be involved in the war. Bess says it might not be good for Joetta to be there anymore, and she agrees. This upsets Bess, but Joetta says their opinions on the war will always differ, and she is fine with that. She then leaves. 

The McBride family celebrates Christmas like normal, and Rudean gives Joetta a small, painted wooden bluebird. She gets more letters from Ennis and her mother and worries about the increased fighting as 1862 arrives.

In January 1862, Joetta and Rudean are delighted to know that General McClellan will not follow Lincoln’s orders to have the Union attack the Confederacy, as Henry and Ennis are safe. Robert’s sullen behavior troubles Joetta and, while Robert is working, she tells him how proud she is. She goes to hug him, but he backs away, falling on the hammer he was using. She tries to help him, but he says he is fine. He goes into the barn. 

Ennis writes that he will not be writing much but not to worry. They see soldiers pass the house, and Joetta stays inside. In spring, she receives a letter from her mother and tells her not to worry. Rudean reveals that the Confederacy is now doing conscriptions, and Hugh Brown will be leaving. Ennis says he still had to enlist despite turning 36 soon. He says they will be fighting more and asks that they pray for him. She blames Rudean and Henry for Ennis’s absence, but also herself, knowing it was her idea for him to go after Henry. Outside, she tries to reach out to Robert with her hand to assure him, but he runs away from her.

That evening, Joetta makes dinner before going to bed. She starts her work in the morning, as does Robert. In July, Joetta goes to visit Mary, who—like Joetta—was alone at Hugh’s suggestion due to their secret neutrality. They eat and talk about what has been happening. Mary sees Rudean, the Caldwells, and a man outside, and Joetta has a horrible feeling. They go outside, and Joetta notices the smell of death and a casket. Rudean tells Joetta that Ennis has died. She breaks down, and the man, Reginald Stout, tells her he brought her Ennis. She sees his name and infantry number on the casket. When she looks at the body, she believes it is him, despite the decomposition from being dead for a few days. Bess notes he is wearing a Union uniform, but Joetta criticizes this remark in her distress.