One particular difficulty was choosing Josh’s regiment, and those of other characters. Regimental histories are unbelievably detailed—and yet, not. Trying to match where he came from with a particular regiment was possible, but then finding a regiment present at Chickamauga with a history that lined up with other elements I needed to include, or fixing exactly where he could have been on any given day during a battle? Much more difficult. So to any Chickamauga historian reading this, please know that any errors on my part are either unintended or just a bit of literary license. Likewise with describing troop movements and other tactical events during this time. Regretfully, I am not Jeff Shaara, so I leave the very detailed descriptions of military matters to others.
A particular regiment of note, however, is the Fifteenth Wisconsin, which I found mentioned among the other participants of Chickamauga. It had the distinction of being comprised mostly of Norwegian immigrants (some estimate as much as 90 percent, with the rest being Swedish, Danish, and Dutch), which earned it the nickname of the Norwegian Regiment or Scandinavian Regiment. Many of these farmers and tradesmen from northern Wisconsin spoke very little English but were full of pride to be able to fight on behalf of their adopted country. My character of Berndt Thorsson is a tribute not only to these men but also to the many residents of my current home state, which is so strongly Norwegian you can still hear the Scandinavian lilt in the local accents of North Dakota and Minnesota.
One pre-reader asked about my mention of signals during the battles of Chattanooga. An entire chapter of Hardtack and Coffee by John D. Billings is devoted to describing the use of flags and torches to signal across distance during the Civil War. Both Federal and Confederate used a system developed by Albert J. Myer, who entered the army in 1854 as an assistant surgeon but became the first Chief Signal Officer. Later, the armies of both sides developed their own Signal Corps. I haven’t, however, researched these methods of communication in any depth beyond being aware that they existed.
Amputations during the Civil War—yes, they seem just as bad as all the rumors say, although lack of anesthetic was possibly more the exception than is often portrayed. One source insists that anesthesia, usually chloroform, was used in every case possible, that the screams heard were more likely the soldier receiving the news that he was about to lose a member. Cases do exist of men forcibly extricating themselves from the surgery setting and doggedly treating the wound on their own—and saving said members. Having seen sketches of minié ball damage, however, I think I can safely say there would have been no saving Josh’s hand.
And speaking of minié balls—Civil War weaponry is far more varied than that of the American Revolution but just as interesting, as the introduction of breech-loading rifles (as opposed to muzzleloaders) and repeaters and revolvers came into play. I hope I haven’t unduly bored my readers by dipping into just a fraction of what I learned in that area. It is possible that, as a merchant’s son, Josh could have afforded a Henry rifle and likely would have deeply mourned its loss.
My fictional MacFarlane family is of no relation to the real-life McFarlands of Rossville, Georgia, for whom a local mountain gap is named. Lucy Ann McFarland, wife of Xzanders G. McFarland, is the prominent citizen I refer to, who agreed to house and care for Federal wounded in exchange for the house remaining unburnt. My MacFarlanes first appeared in a Revolutionary War novel that is yet unpublished, and Pearl is their great-granddaughter, as well as the granddaughter of Kate and Thomas from The Cumberland Bride. If Josh’s last name seems familiar, it is his grandfather and great-uncle who appear in my novellas The Highwayman and The Counterfeit Tory.
I often draw, however, from real-life families for patterns of history in my stories, and the Bledsoe family of Tennessee, Kentucky, and later Missouri were indeed based in fact. Pearl and her brothers and cousin Travis are related fictionally to real-life Bledsoe brothers Anthony, Isaac, Abraham, and Loving—two of whom appear as characters in my novella Defending Truth. Yes, I may like borrowing from real history a little too liberally—but the name stood out to me as being in common with a fellow homeschooling family back in South Carolina—who also are likely related, although I haven’t taken the time to trace the connections.
Another character inspired by real life is that of Johnny, for whom Pearl dictated a letter home. In The Chickamauga Campaign: Barren Victory, David A. Powell tells of a young soldier from Dekalb, Illinois, who died of wounds sustained in the Battle of Chickamauga, and of his letters home, expressing both sadness but hope of eternity. History is full of such nuggets of individual drama, and it is the personal stories such as these that push me to write as real and vividly as I possibly can.
My reader might ask if there’s any provenance for the relationship between Jeremiah and Lydia. One Southern history source tells me it was unheard of for the son of a well-respected white family, in this region, at this time, to live openly with a woman of color, even or possibly especially a light-skinned one. I knew from my research that legal marriage would be impossible, no matter what people might wish, and that societal pressure (often in the form of acts of violence) would not allow a woman of color to live alone under such an arrangement, official or otherwise. I also know, however, of at least two cases where a white man honored a commitment to a black woman, spoken or not, by providing for her and her children and, in at least one of these cases, remaining faithful to that woman by never marrying anyone else. Of course, maybe only the rich and famous could get by with this—the first was a member of the wealthy Ball family, planters in the Charleston, South Carolina, area (Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball), and the second is Jubal Early, an officer of the Confederacy (drawn from a complaint within a letter from another Confederate officer to his wife—at the time of this writing I cannot find the source, having lost the bulk of my research links to a recent computer crash).
So, this is why Pearl offers the explanation of Lydia being Jeremiah’s “Creole housekeeper.” Could Jeremiah and Lydia have gotten by with being man and wife, if they kept things quiet? Possibly, but most likely not. And the relationship might seem too convenient for some, and too politically correct, but—in the context of this story, it felt right.
Likewise with Portius. Despite the debates, evidence exists of black men fighting in support of the South. Lee, in fact, argued for arming black men for the Confederacy in exchange for their freedom after the war, and this plan was finally agreed to in early 1865—but too late to make a difference for the Confederacy. A similar event occurred eighty-five years earlier when John Laurens begged South Carolina planters to arm their slaves in defense of Charleston—and then as the planters dragged their feet, British troops took the city and occupied it for a year and a half. The delay occurred because too many feared a repeat of the revolt in Haiti, where white men, women, and children were indiscriminately killed, no matter their support or lack thereof for abolition.
So why would a black man support the Confederacy? Or give his loyalty to a man from a slaveholding family? Many former slaves stayed on as hired labor for their former owners, depending upon what sort of relationship they had beforehand—and not every slaveholder abused his position, although it was arguably too easy to do so. Much abuse and ridicule, however, occurred at Yankee hands toward enslaved folk taking refuge with the Federal army and elsewhere. Many Federal soldiers made it clear that although they took up arms to preserve the Union, they really cared nothing for black people. Some were afraid of job scarcity. Some did believe that dark skin equated with inferiority in intellect or spiritual worth, which is the true definition of bigotry from any side. So it isn’t at all implausible that Portius could have suffered at the hands of Federals, or that Travis intervened, and thus a strong mutual respect and loyalty was born as a result. People do tend to respond with respect and loyalty to someone who extends the same to them.
Lastly, was the Civil War about slavery? That seems to be the question on everyone’s mind. My answer? Well, yes. Even the cry of “states’ rig
hts” seems, to our modern eye, to be mostly, “The right to do what? Spread slavery, of course.” But did the people of that time perceive it as such? In many cases, no. In some cases, most emphatically no. The reasons are far too complex to properly explore in a novel, although I’ve tried to offer at least a glimpse, especially of things I have no memory of hearing before my research for this story. And 150 years later, the debates are still raging on ….
Are moderns able to be objective about the issues of our own time? For the most part, certainly not.
I did find it fascinating that Lincoln is quoted in his early career as having said he felt the Negro race were inferior and would never be equal to whites. Many Southerners felt it was their Christian duty not to “lord over” the enslaved blacks but to care for them, as fellow eternal souls who found themselves in unfortunate circumstances. Some felt that God used the war to judge the South for its sin of white men continuing to hold their own flesh and blood in bondage (in the case of slave owners who had children with slave women). That was a view I hadn’t encountered before. They also felt the Emancipation Proclamation was a cheap ploy to add numbers to the Federal army, since it was not enacted until midway through the war and did not completely free the slaves but essentially only gave them asylum wherever the Federals occupied, and then only in particular states. Tennessee history is particularly interesting where abolition is concerned, though, because on October 24, 1863, right in the middle of the events of this story, Governor Andrew Johnson decreed slavery at an end in the state—this after freeing his own slaves on August 8, 1863. No, I make no mention of this momentous occasion in my story because, well, there is only room for so much.
Whatever the reasons, I endeavor here to portray people in the context of their own society, and as they perceived their own times. That portrayal, I suspect, will not satisfy some of my readers. That I cannot help, because no single story will hit every reader’s “sweet spot.” Also, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to accurately portray beliefs and opinions of the time without seeming to condone them.
My heart aches, however, over the contradiction of Christian men on both sides—sometimes men of the same family—taking up arms against each other because they felt it violated their convictions to do otherwise, and meeting on the battlefield with the express purpose of taking each other’s lives. Such a thing could have brought only grief from the heart of our Creator, could it not? Yet He, in His infinite love and power, promises to work “all things … together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Even this.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As with all stories, I could not have written this without the help of many. Thank you so much to—
Lee … for prayers, tears, and encouragement;
Jen … for your prayers, always, and strong exhortation even when I haven’t always wanted to hear it;
Corrie … you literally kept me going! Thank you for being willing to discuss anything—even if we’ve already hashed it out a hundred times before;
Breanna … for the encouragement, for hours of heart-to-heart talks … and with apologies as well;
Kimberli … for your very kind words and encouraging comments;
Denise … for providing a much-needed historical and Southern perspective;
Michelle … a sharp eye on critique, as always, and so much more;
Ronie … a strong ally on the journey, regardless of where it has taken us;
Beth … darling friend, unfailing encourager;
Ian … second-born of the Barbarian Horde, for your willingness to sidetrack from almost anything in order to discuss history with your nerd mom;
Skyler … my brother, Lt. Col. USMC, Jarhead extraordinaire, for very thoughtful and informative conversation while this story was still barely an idea;
Becky and Becky … for making the whole publishing and editorial process a joy; and
Troy … for always coming back to me. ♥
Lastly, my gratitude for the work of David A. Powell, whose study of the past two decades I wish I had discovered earlier; for the online work of Richard “Shotgun” Weeks, with one of the most comprehensive online sites of all things Civil War, including very thoughtful and reasoned articles on the political history of the conflict; and the effort and expense of the many living historians and Civil War reenactors who brought the era to life for me—especially Lornia Winnen and family, and James Snow, a true Southern gentleman who many years ago gave my family a personal tour of the camps near Augusta on a cold February weekend. We have never forgotten your kindness!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abbazia, Patrick. The Chickamauga Campaign, December 1862–November 1863. Wieser & Wieser / Combined Books, 1988.
Price, William H. Civil War Handbook. L.B. Prince Co., Inc., 1961.
Billings, John D. Hardtack and Coffee: Or the Unwritten Story of Army Life. 1887.
Chadwick, Bruce, ed. Brother Against Brother: The Lost Civil War Diary of Lt. Edmund Halsey. New York: Citadel, 1997.
Civil War Times Illustrated. Great Battles of the Civil War. New York: Gallery Books, 1984.
Commager, Henry Steele, ed. Illustrated History of the Civil War. Victoria, Canada: Promontory Press, 1978.
Fain, John N., ed. Sanctified Trial: The Diary of Eliza Rhea Anderson Fain, a Confederate Woman in East Tennessee. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press, 2004.
Foote, Shelby, ed. Chickamauga and Other Civil War Stories. New York: Dell Publishing, 1993.
Lawless, Chuck. The Civil War Sourcebook: A Traveler’s Guide. New York: Harmony Books, 1991.
Lewis, John H. A Rebel in Pickett’s Charge, 1860 to 1865. 1895. tenant, Confederacy, 1895, Reprint, Big Byte Books, 2016.
McPherson, James M. For Cause & Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Muhlenfeld, Elisabeth. Mary Boykin Chesnut: A Biography. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1981.
Potter, William. Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife. San Antonio, TX: Vision Forum, 2002.
Powell, David A. Battle above the Clouds: Lifting the Siege of Chattanooga and the Battle of Lookout Mountain, October 16–November 24, 1863. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2017.
Powell, David A. The Chickamauga Campaign: Barren Victory: The Retreat into Chattanooga, the Confederate Pursuit, and the Aftermath of the Battle, September 21 to October 20, 1863. El Dorado Hills, CA: Savas Beatie, 2016.
Robertson, William Glenn. River of Death: The Chickamauga Campaign. Vol. 1, The Fall of Chattanooga. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2018.
Symonds, Craig L. A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War. Mt. Pleasant, NC: The Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1983.
Watkins, Sam R. “Co. Aytch,” Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment; or, A Side Show of the Big Show. 1872.
Williams, George F. Bullet and Shell: The Civil War as the Soldier Saw It. New York: Smithmark Publishers, 2000.
Transplanted to North Dakota after more than two decades in Charleston, South Carolina, Shannon McNear loves losing herself in local history. She’s a military wife, mom of eight, mother-in-law of three, grammie of three, and a member of ACFW and RWA. Her first novella, Defending Truth in A Pioneer Christmas Collection, was a 2014 RITA® finalist. When she’s not sewing, researching, or leaking story from her fingertips, she enjoys being outdoors, basking in the beauty of the northern prairies. Connect with her at www.shannonmcnear.com, or on Facebook and Goodreads.
NEXT IN THE SERIES…
The Blizzard Bride (coming February 2020!)
Abigail Bracey arrives in Nebraska in January 1888 to teach school … and to execute a task for the government: to identify a student as the hidden son of a murderous counterfeiter—the man who killed her father.
Agent Dashiell Lassiter doesn’t want his childhood sweetheart Abby on this dangerous job, especially when he learns
the counterfeiter is now searching for his son too, and he’ll destroy anyone in his way. Now Dash must follow Abby to Nebraska to protect her … if she’ll let him within two feet of her. She’s still angry he didn’t fight to marry her six years ago, and he never told her the real reason he left her.
All Dash wants is to protect Abby, but when a horrifying blizzard sweeps over them, can Abby and Dash set aside the pain from their pasts and work together to catch a counterfeiter and protect his son—if they survive the storm?
Paperback / 978-1-64352-293-7 / $12.99
More in the Daughters of the Mayflower series:
The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1620 Atlantic Ocean
The Pirate Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo – set 1725 New Orleans
The Captured Bride by Michelle Griep – set 1760 during the French and Indian War
The Patriot Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1774 Philadelphia
The Cumberland Bride by Shannon McNear – set 1794 on the Wilderness Road
The Liberty Bride by MaryLu Tyndall – set 1814 Baltimore
The Alamo Bride by Kathleen Y’Barbo – set 1836 Texas
The Golden Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1849 San Francisco
The Express Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse – set 1860 Utah
The Rebel Bride Page 25