Part One: Georgia; Chapters 11 through 14 Summary

In Chapter 11, Morrison, an officer on General Sherman's staff, is perplexed by the general taking this strange young drummer boy into their unit, but another officer offers an explanation. Two years earlier, the general had brought his family from Ohio for a visit and his young son had died of typhiod on the trip, so Sherman is thought to be using this boy — Pearl — for solace. While Sherman continues to think Pearl is a boy, the other men soon realize she is a girl and agree to keep her secret, making arrangements for her privacy. When she refuses to reveal her name and speaks rarely, Sherman assumes she has been traumatized by the horrors she has seen, but he is thrilled when she addresses him as Uncle Billy, as his men do. Pearl...