When the Civil War broke out, Vifquain enlisted in an ill-fated unit that fell apart February 26, 1862.
Rather than seek a new outfit, Vifquain and his friends—Alfred Cipriani and Maurice de Beaumont—swore to be modern Musketeers: all for one, one for all. And they would kidnap the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis.
Off they rode to South Carolina, still wearing Yankee officers' fatigue dress.
On their way, twenty men tried to stop them. "Go back to Yankeeland!"
"We're Frenchmen," Vifquain said, "not Yankees."
The men ran toward them. "Dismount or we'll pull you off."
"Stand back," Vifquain said, "or we'll fire."
The crowd pulled back. Then Beaumont began to sing, in pure French, La Marseillaise. His remarkable voice possessed the crowd.
"Give us another!" someone cried.
Beaumont sang another verse, and the throng parted, letting the "Frenchmen" pass.
Coming soon in
THIEVES, RASCALS & SORE LOSERS
by Marilyn June Coffey
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