In David Redding’s book, Before You Call, I Will Answer, we get a vivid description of the power and destruction of war. We follow the Confederate and Union armies as they lock horns during the Battle of Fredericksburg. The Confederate army gained a stronghold atop a hill called Marye’s Heights and slaughtered the Union army below with relative ease.

However, one young Confederate soldier, Sergeant Richard Kirkland wrestled with his conscience. He simply could not bear the carnage before him. Finally, he approached his superior officer and asked if he could he go out on the field and carry water to the suffering men, most of whom were members of the Union Army. The officer, though mystified by his sergeant’s request, granted his permission. And thus Confederate soldier Richard Kirkland br…