Welcome Back to our interview with Susan Anderson, the matriarch of the Republic of Ansdale. If you missed part one, click on the link. When we left off our interview, Susan was beginning to tell about her daughter Katherine joining the war effort as a soldier.
CG: You bring up Lieutenant Commander Semmes. Can I infer that you think women should be warriors like your husband?
SA: Women don't belong in the Army. Or the Navy. I know John and James have decided to let women serve because we've got a bigger population deficit than the south did, but I still don't like it. Women should rule the home. That's why one of the first things I did after the last war was to send Katherine off to Mobile Bay School For Girls. To learn to be a lady.
CG: It didn't work?
SA: I should have known better. I did know. I knew it when she first picked up a pistol when she was five. She wanted to be just like her brothers, even though the blast knocked her down. She didn't cry. She wanted to try again, and again, until she mastered it. So while I was disappointed when she told my husband that she wanted to be a soldier, I wasn't surprised. John got her stationed to Fort Shoshone in Wyoming as part of the Territorial Police, which is sort of like a police officer. Then the war erupted and the Territorial Police became Cavalry and she also became a sniper. She was also one of the founding members of the Emerald Guard, which is also tasked with protecting our government officials, including Prime Minister Davis.
CG: Your brother.
SA: Yes. Katherine seems to seek out the most dangerous assignments. A mother wants to protect all her children, so I saw to it that she got her first command with the founding of Fort Republic in Southwest Alaska. One of the reasons J.D. is going to Fort Bannock is because "he doesn't want to be bossed around by his sister."
CG: But you did get half of what you wanted. She did recently get married.
SA: Yes, to Major Morgan of Fort Shoshone. So she is an army wife as well. Though the couple is hardly together. Major Morgan is soon to replace my husband at Reno as Minister of War. It was a grand wedding which would be the envy of every Southern Belle. The distance is not conducive to grandchildren. That may change. Katherine is asking to go back to the Emerald Guard. Perhaps I can get her assigned to Reno.
CG: A related question. What is the status of Sauf Asir?
SA: Sauf Asir is an active plantation. All workers are hired. At twice the freedman's bureau rate, I should add. I inherited the plantation. James wanted nothing to do with it. I think Katherine wants to inherit it from me. That gives me joy. Uncle Ezra manages the estate, and has defended it proudly against United States troops since war broke out. He actually almost shot Katherine during one of her missions east. Another reason I wish she wasn't a soldier. Perhaps Major Morgan will settle her down.
CG: Perhaps. I hear there may be another wedding in the Anderson family. I hear rumors that your son Robert and Captain Quantrill are courting.
SA: They are. Young lovers never realize how obvious their actions are to others. I want Robert to be happy, but he could have done much better.
CG: I take it you don't approve?
SA: Her father was a cold blooded murderer and her mother a saloon girl. They weren't even married at the time of her birth.
CG: There was nothing she could do about any of that
SA: She is a gambler, frequents saloons, and dresses like one of General Hooker's camp followers. Like most gamblers she is probably a cheat.
CG: I have interviewed Captain Quantrill previously. She appears to be a good Christian girl who reads the Bible every day.
SA: Even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. She taught Robert to play poker. Even if she is an honest girl, it is tradition that the bride's family pays for the wedding.
CG: And since Captain Quantrill is an orphan, there's no family.
SA: Captain Quantrill will gain much more from the marriage than Robert.
CG: Pardon me for saying this, Mrs. Anderson, but while your family may have been Southern Royalty, there doesn't seem to be any High Society here in the West.
SA: He could have done much better.
CG: Mrs. Anderson, thank you for this interview. I will not ask you another question, but I hope you will permit me a final comment. You have raised four children who have risen to the highest ranks of prominence in a new nation. That takes character. I believe despite surface appearances Captain Quantrill is a woman of excellent character because of the fact that Robert is in love with her. He learned to judge character from you.
And that concludes my interview with Susan Anderson. Not much left to cover here. Thank you, Mrs. Anderson, for being a talker. Not sure who will be next, but stay tuned.
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