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By BILL FREEHLING
Union soldiers marching through Fredericksburg toward Marye's Heights, with its Confederate cannons, faced a cold reality--their time on Earth was drawing short.
Kyle Thompson can relate.
In January 2001, Thompson, now 42, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Odds were that he had less than five years to live.
What would you do if you knew your fate? Thompson decided to travel cross-country in a journey that would change his life.
The great-great-grandson of four Civil War veterans, Thompson visited battle sites including those in the Fredericksburg area. He was horrified by what he saw.
"The hallowed ground basically was being overrun by strip malls," Thompson said. "The pieces of history that impacted us all were being obliterated."
Last October, Thompson, who lives with his wife in Arizona, came east with longtime friends to record an album of Civil War songs he'd written.
He sang at sites where history unfolded--McLean House in Appomattox, Old Salem Church in Spotsylvania County, Dunker Church at Antietam, the Lutheran Seminary at Gettysburg, the Illinois Monument at Vicksburg.
"From the Fields," a self-produced 13-track album, is the result of his two-week voyage.
Thompson said he feels an emotional kinship with anyone facing certain death, a connection enhanced by his voracious reading of historical accounts and visits to battle sites.
"The experience of facing death and the fragility of human life I share that with them and I think there is a little piece of that 'common experience' in every song I wrote for the CD," Thompson said in an e-mail.
The CD is now for sale at the bookstores at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park's Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg visitor centers, and on the Web at civilwar.org.
Proceeds from album sales will go to the nonprofit Civil War Preservation Trust, which will earmark the funds for battlefield preservation.
The trust recently sent a letter to its members sharing Thompson's story and asking for contributions in his honor.
David Duncan, the trust's director of membership and development, said nearly half the $250,000 goal was raised in a week, and he expects the rest to follow.
The $250,000 will be matched by the HTR Foundation in Florida, and the combined total will be used to secure local, state and federal grants.
Duncan expects the grand total to surpass $1 million--money that could be used to buy land in Thompson's honor.
"That's just a tremendous thing, and I'm honored to be associated with him," Duncan said.
An amateur songwriter since his teens, Thompson has a voice with a deep tone reminiscent of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Thompson recorded with violinist Tad Korn and guitarists Tom Berg and Scott Johnson.
At Old Salem Church, the group played as darkness fell and traffic from State Route 3 quieted. Thompson, his throat muscles weakened by ALS, sucked on butterscotch candies to keep from gagging.
"From the Fields" tells of the courage of Union and Confederate soldiers. Many of the lyrics also evoke Thompson's personal struggle with an incurable disease that leaves victims paralyzed.
Night and day now, the cannon balls a-fly/ Seems that here in Vicksburg we all are gonna die, Thompson sings in "Vicksburg Lament." The fever takes us one by one/ No food to eat and no powder for the gun/ There is no surrender for all the men they kill/ They can break our bodies but never break our will.
In "Angel of the Battlefield," about American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, Thompson sings about a Union soldier's experience.
Every one of us has seen the horrors of death/ Come close to his touch, smelt the stench of his breath/ But any man's heart that was taken by fear/ Regained his courage when Clara came near.
Thompson's musical journey hasn't ended yet. He plans a trip to Yankee Stadium, where he has permission to record a song about Gehrig, the Yankees' first baseman who died of ALS at age 37.
He hopes to do it June 2, the 64th anniversary of the slugger's death. He plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to ALS research.
But it's getting harder for him to move around. He says his "joints are popping" as if he were 105. His energy level is down, his muscle mass declining.
He said the disease has a slow but steady progression. It seems akin to that of a Civil War soldier, marching across many miles to the battle that lies ahead.
"It's like watching a shadow coming across a valley," Thompson said. "Soon enough it's on top of you."
Kyle Thompson can be reached by e-mail at mrstrt@msn.com.
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