My Alter Ego Mrs Cook part four How she became Unhinged

The evening before she was going to go to meet her Husband, There was two horrible events that would be so tragic that Mrs Cook would suffer the consequences for the rest of her life.  Her home where she had resided for her entire married life became engulfed in flames!  While she and her sons fiance escaped with their lives, and a few packed bags, The home was an entire  loss.
  She managed to save her boarding passes, and some money.  A neighbor offered to buy her remaining stock, at a reduced rate to take it off her hands very quickly.  And so the life she had know was gone forever.  She would become very bitter about the war and southerners because she was sure that if her husband and son had been at home her home probably would have been saved!  
  Little did she know that that very day a letter was being sent informing her that her husband had been wounded when a cannon had accidentally been fired and her husband had been knocked unconscious by the  blast. She did not know he was being transported to a hospital in another city, not her original destination!  
  Mrs Cook had never been to a big city, and her fragile state of mind did not have her prepared for the sights and sounds of a place that was so effected by the war, soldiers were everywhere, men and woman shuffled about in a hurry, she needed to find her husbands unit, but she had no idea of where to look.   
Her sons fiance tried to help but she too was  overwhelmed by everything.  They managed to find a place to board, but it was very expensive, and took more money then they had planned on.  
  Their disheveled appearance had caught the eye of someone else, an escaped prisoner and a very desperate and dangerous man.  He watched for them and was determined to make his move on the unwitting travelers.
   It did not take him long.  His name was Charlie and he was starving and desperate to escape south,  he had been captured but he was crafty and had escaped.  The two woman he had his eye on, were newly arrived and he figured they had money on them.  As they left the boarding house the next day, he followed them, and then came around towards the back of them, Charlie put a knife to Mrs Cooks throat, and said "Sister don't want to hurt you but you had better hand over that bag you got and do not scream!"  Mrs Cook fainted, and her sons fiance tried to catch her, She caught a glance of him as he ran away, long yellow hair flowing out, and the ripped and dirty cloths that the Reb wore. In his hands he  carried away all of what was left in the world that they had! 
  A young soldier saw the young woman struggling to help the older woman and rushed to her aide, "What happened" He asked looking around to see, "We were robbed!"  she told him crying, by that time more people had gathered
  And a few of them ran to see if they could find the Reb, Charley, but he had vanished out of sight!   Tomorrow A glimmer of hope, Thanks for looking in, Mrs Cook