Before Noah leaves to enter the battle on the Mississippi, he, Tilly, and Delphine have their photograph taken. As the narrator, Tilly says that she still has that photo sitting on her bedside table in the present day. Tilly wishes that they had found Dr. Hutchings in time for him to be in the photo, but they didn’t see him until afterward. He was in uniform, having joined as a military doctor. He and Noah were in the 31st infantry under U. S. Grant. Tilly and Delphine stand with countless other families as the soldiers march onto the boats.

Dr. Hutchings urged Tilly and Delphine to return to Grand Tower, but Tilly knows she can’t return home without Noah. As the boat full of soldiers sails toward the battle, Tilly looks at Delphine and sees that she is, indeed, in love with Noah. Tilly then realizes that Delphine didn’t nurse Noah because she wanted him to be too sick to fight and die in the war.

The next morning, Delphine and Tilly wait by the docks for the boats to return. The battle Noah fights in becomes known as the Battle of Belmont and launches U. S. Grant’s military career.