Civil War Guest Post by Eric Huebner

 "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.”

A cursory glance at the map will show the importance of rivers for any Union force invading Tennessee in 1862. The road and rail network was limited and supply lines would necessarily lengthen with any forward advance. The Federals rapidly constructed a fleet of gunboats and transports, but the Rebels just as quickly fortified key positions along the Mississippi River. The Tennessee and Cumberland rivers could also provide protected arteries for invasion into the Deep South, so the Southerners began construction of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson to block those routes.

On February 6, 1862 a force of Union gunboats began a furious shelling of Fort Henry on the Tennessee. The Rebels fought gamely, but the fort was poorly situated. CSA Col. Heiman withdrew his brigades before U. S Grant could bring his ground forces into the fight.

Fort Donelson on the Cumberland proved to be a more difficult objective. Once again, On February 14, the Federals brought up their gunboats, hoping to batter the fort into submission. This time, after closing to within 350 yards of the fort, the gunboats were driven away and with loss. Unaccountably, CSA Brig. General Floyd with some 18,000 troops remained passive in the fort while Grant brought up his 15,000 (later reinforced to over 20,000) men and invested the fort.

Recognizing their error, the Confederates decided to fight their way out. The next morning, the rebel attack was initially successful and the way out was open, but the Southern generals did not take advantage of the opportunity provided by their hard fighting soldiers. Federal resistance was stubborn, notably by the 31^st Illinois under John “Black Jack” Logan. A counter attack spear-headed by the Zouave brigade of Brig. General Lew Wallace (author of Ben-Hur, a Tale of the Christ) sealed the escape route.

Seeing the way blocked, Generals Floyd and Pillow decided to escape on two steamers which they loaded with troops. The rest of the Confederates were to surrender. The facts the 2 highest ranking CSA officers would abandon their comrades, and that nearly all of the escaping troops were Virginians did not sit well with the other Southerners. Nathan Bedford Forrest refused to surrender, so he led his command through an icy backwater and escaped.

When asked by CSA Brig. General Simon Buckner for surrender terms, U. S. Grant replied, "No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.” When news of the surrender of 12,000 Rebels reached the North, “Unconditional Surrender” Grant became the hero of the land. The South was open to invasion along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The Confederates were flanked out of Strongholds at Bowling Green, Nashville, and Columbus. Western Tennessee was under Union control.

Unfortunately, and heart-breaking, many of the Confederate prisoners were sent to the notorious prison at Camp Douglas in Chicago. Camp Douglas was one of the worst prisons, period.

GOOBER PEAS

According to Wikipedia ~"Goober Peas" is a folk song mostly known in the Southern United States. It was very popular with the Confederate soldiers during the Civil War, and is still sung frequently in the South to this day.

The words of "Goober Peas" are a pretty accurate description of daily life during the last few years of the Civil War for the Southerners. After being cut off from the rail lines and their farm land, they had little to eat aside from boiled peanuts (or "goober peas") which often served as an emergency ration.

I remember singing this song in elementary school ~ Loree

 GOOBER PEAS

Sitting by the roadside on a summer's day

Chatting with my mess-mates, passing time away

Lying in the shadows underneath the trees

Goodness, how delicious, eating goober peas.

Chorus

Peas, peas, peas, peas

Eating goober peas

Goodness, how delicious,

Eating goober peas.

Verse 2

When a horse-man passes, the soldiers have a rule

To cry out their loudest, “Mister, here’s your mule!"

But another custom, enchanting-er than these

Is wearing out your grinders, eating goober peas.

Chorus

Verse 3

Just before the battle, the General hears a row

He says "The Yanks are coming, I hear their rifles now."

He turns around in wonder, and what d'ya think he sees?

The Tennessee Militia, eating goober peas.

Chorus

Verse 4

I think my song has lasted almost long enough.

The subject's interesting, but the rhymes are mighty tough.

I wish the war was over, so free from rags and fleas

We'd kiss our wives and sweethearts, and gobble goober peas.

Chorus

Tennessee Sunrise near Columbia, Tennessee
Photo by Loree Huebner

Loree Huebner
Writing with one foot in the past...
On Twitter @LoreeHuebner
On Instagram @lunapickles

www.facebook.com/LoreeHuebnerAuthor 

Angel of the Battlefield...

I want to introduce you to a major player in the Civil War, and in American history. This person was not a Major General, Colonel, President, or even marching soldier. She was a woman who heard military stories and the tragic tales of the casualties of war when she was a young girl. She took all of this knowledge, and with a heart filled with compassion and a will of iron, used her assets to start one of the most enduring institutions still in existence today ~ The American Red Cross.

Clara Barton circa 1866
"The Angel of the Battlefield"

CLARA BARTON was one of America's greatest heroines—a genuine patriot and humanitarian. When she saw pressing needs of those in distress, she gave every bit of her courage and strength to take matters in hand, and see them through.

She was born on Christmas day in 1821 in Oxford, Massachusetts, to a farmer, who had been a soldier in his younger days. Her father regaled her with war stories that she would carry deep within her and would inspire her later on in her adult life.

Clara was shy. To overcome her shyness, she started teaching at the young age of 15. At some point, she was requested to teach at a private school. It was during this period that she saw the real need for free education. She helped set up one of the first free public schools in the state of Massachusetts. Eventually, in 1854, she moved to Washington and it became her permanent home. In Washington, she worked in the U.S. Patent Office as a clerk.

In 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, a train loaded with Massachusetts soldiers came to Washington. The regiment had lost all of its supplies when attacked in Baltimore by Confederate sympathizers. The regiment was housed in the unfinished Capitol Building. Clara immediately saw a real need and went to work collecting sheets, handkerchiefs, socks, and anything they could use. She also cooked for the home state regiment.

After the battle of Bull Run in 1861, she heard that there was a terrible shortage of supplies—bandages, blankets, medicine—and set out advertising in local newspapers for donations. The response from the public was overwhelming. She established a supply depot to get the provisions and materials where they were needed quickly. In 1862, she won approval from the government to personally deliver supplies on to the battlefields.

 “In my feeble estimation, General McClellan, with all his laurels, sinks into insignificance beside the true heroine of the age, the angel of the battlefield.”
~Dr. James Dunn, surgeon at Antietam Battlefield.

In September of 1862, Clara Barton arrived at the famous “cornfield” in Sharpsburg, Maryland, not too far from Antietam Creek. How she got there is a story in itself—a true miracle by God. When she arrived, she got a full view of the gruesome side of war during the battle. She watched the fretful army doctors dressing wounds with corn husks or anything else they could find. The army’s medical supply wagon was far behind the quick moving Federal troops, and she gave the grateful surgeons her supply wagon.

Once there, Clara got to work quickly. With artillery shells and bullets flying, she cradled the injured and dying in her arms as she coaxed them to take a sip of water or bandaged their wounds.

As she bent over a wounded man to give him a drink of water, she felt something hit her sleeve. She looked and saw a bullet had pierced the puffy part of the sleeve. Unfortunately, the bullet hit the man she was caring for, and he died shortly thereafter. He died right there in her arms.

"A ball has passed between my body and the right arm which supported him, cutting through his chest from shoulder to shoulder. There was no more to be done for him and I left him to his rest. I have never mended that hole in my sleeve. I wonder if a soldier ever does mend a bullet hole in his coat?"   
~Clara Barton at Antietam

With her dark dress, bonnet, and red bow, she was what we could call a living icon. Her unselfish mercy and compassion for the wounded earned her the title—The Angel of the Battlefield. Her self-appointed duties took her to some of the most horrendous battlefields in the war where she nursed the wounded, wrote letters to home for the men, and listened to their personal stories.

She worked in and out of the field until the end of the war.

In 1865, she started a new project. Clara helped with the effort to identify more than 13,000 unknown dead Union soldiers at the ghastly prisoner-of-war camp in Andersonville, Georgia. Her Civil War duties climaxed when she proposed that a national cemetery be built around the graves of the Union dead there at Andersonville. She helped raise the flag over the grounds at the dedication in 1865.

During a trip to Europe in 1870, she witnessed the conflict between Prussa and France. Once again, she was drawn to the battlefields to help. When she returned to the United States, she was more determined to establish The American Red Cross. The United States government was unenthusiastic about the idea because it could not imagine itself entangled in another brutal Civil War. Finally in 1881, at the age of nearly 60 years old, Clara convinced the government to identify the Red Cross as an aid for natural disasters.

Miss Barton never married. She continued her work in the field well into her seventies. She was the president of the American Red Cross until 1904. She died in 1912 at the age of ninety.

This is just a brief description of her life. In each of these stories, there is the tale of what she endured and fought for—what she won, lost, and battled against—so many depths to the complete story. Clara Barton was a true American heroine.

Who is your favorite real heroine or hero of the past or present?

Between you, me and the gatepost,

Loree Huebner

Loree Huebner
Writing with one foot in the past...
On Twitter @LoreeHuebner
On Instagram @lunapickles

www.facebook.com/LoreeHuebnerAuthor 

The Preacher's Wife with Author, Brandi Boddie

Happy Monday! Today I'm stepping aside and giving the floor over to the lovely and talented - Author, Brandi Boddie. I met Brandi through blogging. We both share a deep love for history. I am so thrilled for her. This past week was the release of her debut novel The Preacher's Wife. Please welcome my dear friend, Brandi Boddie!

A big thanks to my friend and fellow writer Loree for inviting me to guest post on her blog. Loree and I both love history. When I found out that she was a Civil War re-enactor, I thought that was very amazing.

The Civil War had such a profound impact on the people of the United States that its effects were felt years after. The events of my historical romance The Preacher’s Wife take place in 1870 during the Reformation era. Rowe Winford is a young veteran who ventures west to make a new life for himself as a preacher. Despite the wishes of some very vocal family members who insist that he stay to rebuild their Virginia tobacco farm, Rowe leaves for the small town of Assurance, Kansas.

Rowe’s journey is a deeply personal one. Like many Civil War veterans, both Union and Confederate, he finds employment that takes him far from home. Also, he seeks to escape from the grief of losing his wife who died in childbirth a few years before. It is in his new town that he meets Marissa Pierce, a saloon girl who’s in the midst of reforming her life and battling the cruelties of her abusive employer.

At first glance, Marissa seems to be the type of woman that any well-bred southern gentleman is taught to avoid, but Rowe finds himself intrigued by her independent spirit, beauty, and determination to make a better life for herself. But as the town’s new preacher, Rowe is expected to maintain an untarnished image. What will they think if they knew he was developing feelings for a woman of supposed ill repute?

The Preacher’s Wife follows Rowe and Marissa on a journey of faith, love, and trusting in God.

Book Excerpt:

This excerpt takes place shortly after Rowe arrives in Assurance, Kansas. Marissa sees him on her way to deposit the saloon’s earnings in the bank. The town’s gossipy seamstress Linda Walsh stops to have a word with Marissa about the new preacher.

            “That must be our new preacher.” Linda Walsh, the town’s young seamstress, walked up beside Marissa. Always eager for conversation, Linda would speak to anyone who stopped to listen, as Marissa had learned since coming back to Assurance a couple years ago. “We weren’t expecting him for another two weeks. I wonder what made him take off from home so fast.”

            Marissa groaned at the thought of meeting another preacher. Every preacher she came across had turned her away once they discovered her profession.

            She watched the small schooner pull up to the local inn. She recognized the driver Dusty Sterling seated beside the other man. Dusty hopped down and tethered the horses. The man in black stepped onto the dusty curb. His recently polished boots gleamed.

            “Fancy one, he is,” Linda continued. “I hear he comes from a city somewhere in Virginia.”

            “Where did you hear that?”

            “It was in the paper a month ago. Our advertisement for a new preacher was answered from a man back East.”

            Marissa focused again on what was in front of her. The traveler indeed looked foreign to the prairie. Not a hint of travel dust stuck to his long, black frock coat and four-inhand necktie, probably changed into just before departing the train. His gray pants were new and expertly tailored. He removed his hat briefly to wipe his brow, and Marissa saw the dark, wavy hair cropped close to his head.

            “He doesn’t have a wife or children with him. Such a shame.” Linda clucked her tongue. “He’s a handsome fellow, for certain.”

            Marissa agreed with her on that. He must have stood over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a powerful build. The man’s profile was strong and rigid, his square jaw and straight nose a true delight for the eyes. Assurance’s former preacher, Reverend Thomas, did not look like this. “Would having a wife and children make him a better preacher?”

            Linda tossed her a look. “That’s got nothing to do with it. One ought to be settled down at a certain age, wouldn’t you say so? Instead of running wild with the barmen?”

            Marissa absorbed the sting of emotional pain. Anything she said in response would not sway Linda or anyone else’s notion that she was just a beer-serving streetwalker. She put on a polite stoic face. “I’m sure the ladies of this town will clamor for his attention. Will you excuse me, Miss Linda? I should be going.”

            She left the seamstress just as Dusty carried the new preacher’s valises inside the inn. The preacher moved to follow then stopped short, pausing for Marissa to walk past. Marissa saw his blue eyes widen and take in her entire form, from the feathered hat on her head to the dainty-heeled boots on her feet. By his expression she didn’t know whether he admired or disapproved.

            His lips settled into a firm line of what looked to be distaste, and she got her answer.

            The preacher hadn’t been there for an hour and already she drew out his scorn. Marissa returned the stare until her image of him blurred with beckoning tears.

            He jolted from his perusal. His low, straight brows flicked. “Good day to you, ma’am.” He amiably tipped his hat to her.

            She paused, not used to being addressed in that fashion. Kindness was in his greeting, not the sarcasm she normally heard from others. Marissa tilted her head to get a clear look at him. His eyes were friendly, calm deep pools. The rest of his face, with its strong, angular lines, remained cordial.

            “Good day,” she replied, hoarse. Awkwardness seized her
person. Marissa hastily continued on her way to the bank.

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Brandi Boddie holds a juris doctorate from Howard University School of Law and a BA in political science from Youngstown State University. Her love of writing and research has led her to work that includes case management for the Office of the Attorney General in Washington DC and teaching assignments for elementary and secondary students. When she is not working on a story, Brandi enjoys hiking, fencing, and swing dancing. Soon to be a Texas resident, she lives with her husband and a cocker spaniel who aspires to be a food critic. Visit Brandi’s blog at http://brandiboddie.blogspot.com. 

Author, Brandi Boddie

Thank you, Brandi!

I just ordered your book and can't wait to read it! Sounds good. I'm very glad you dropped by to give us a taste. I love that you swing dance, Brandi. That's something I always wanted to learn to do. So great to get to know you better! Congratulations on your book!


Also I would like to wish Author Julie Jarnagin a big congrats! She is now represented by the fabulous Nicole Resciniti with the Seymour Agency! Welcome aboard, Julie!

Have a great week!

Between you, me and the gatepost,

Loree 

Wedded To War And A Giveaway With Author, Jocelyn Green

Author, Jocelyn Green

Welcome everyone! Most of you know how I feel about the Civil War, that’s why this week I’m excited to introduce you to Author, Jocelyn Green. Jocelyn’s debut novel, Wedded to War, takes place during my favorite time period—The Civil War. I invited Jocelyn over to get to know her better and to learn a little more about her book—which, by the way, is an outstanding historical read.

Jocelyn has also graciously offered to give away a copy of Wedded to War. To be entered in the drawing, all you have to do is answer Jocelyn’s question (it’s in bold and green) at the end of the interview. Leave your answers in the comment section, or for those who have trouble commenting on Blogger, leave your answer on my Facebook Author Page on the link to this blog post. Every tweet on this post @LoreeHuebner will get you an additional entry. The winner of Jocelyn’s novel will be drawn at random on Sunday, September, 23rd at 9pm CDT. I will announce the winner on next Monday’s regular blog post, and Jocelyn will be mailing out the book.

Charlotte Waverly leaves a life of privilege, wealth–and confining expectations–to be one of the first female nurses for the Union Army. She quickly discovers that she’s fighting more than just the Rebellion by working in the hospitals. Corruption, harassment, and opposition from Northern doctors threaten to push her out of her new role. At the same time, her sweetheart disapproves of her shocking strength and independence, forcing her to make an impossible decision: Will she choose love and marriage, or duty to a cause that seems to be losing?

I’ve asked Jocelyn a few questions. I hope you enjoy the interview.

Welcome Jocelyn!

Your novel is titled, Wedded to War. How long have you been writing novels? Is this your first book?

This was my first novel! My first nonfiction book was published in 2008, though. I’ve been writing books ever since, with lots of magazine articles thrown in between, too.

The book is a work of historical fiction. What inspired you to choose the Civil War as the setting?

I was working in a nonfiction book which also released this summer, called Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front. That book is a collection of 365 stories about what women have done in times of war, from the French-Indian war up until today’s conflicts in the Middle East. My research for the Civil War time period was by far my favorite, and inspired all four books in the Heroines Behind the Lines series.

They say that there is a bit of each of us in all of our characters. Which character in the book is most like you, and why?

The main character, Charlotte Waverly, but it just happened as a coincidence—I didn’t plan it that way. Charlotte is based on a real Civil War nurse by the name of Georgeanna Woolsey, so I followed her personality, physical traits, strengths and weaknesses as closely as possible. We do have a few things in common though—a real independent streak, a soft spot for the underdog, love of a challenge, and strong desire to make a different not just in our own homes, but in society.

I love Charlotte's strength. I also have that soft spot for the underdog too. Now it sounds as if there is a sequel or series planned?

Yes. Wedded to War is the first in the Heroines Behind the Lines series. (See www.heroinesbehindthelines.com.) All four of these books will be set in the Civil War. The next one comes out in April and focuses on Gettysburg- the battle and the aftermath, and what women did to pick up the pieces after the armies left their gruesome wake.

I’m almost finished reading Wedded to War, and I will be looking forward to the next one for sure! What do you read for enjoyment, Jocelyn?

Lots of fiction! Although I do enjoy research books, I go to novels for fun. Here’s what I have either finished recently or have on my list to read next:

Hidden in Dreams by Davis Bunn

A Love Surrendered by Julie Lessman

With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin

Still Life in Shadows by Alice J. Wisler

Veil of Pearls by Mary Lu Tyndall

Heiress by Susan May Warren

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck

I tend to gravitate toward historical fiction, but you can see I am branching out a little bit in this list to historical romance and contemporary fiction. I have read LOTS of Civil War fiction too, of course.

Awesome list of books! Well, it has been a real pleasure to have you here, Jocelyn! Thank you so much for taking the time to visit.

Thank you, Loree!

Now Jocelyn has a question for you—

Question for readers: I was personally fascinated by the fact that nursing was a male profession prior to the Civil War. What little tidbit have you learned from the Civil War that took you by surprise? (Or if you’d rather share from a different war, that’s OK too!)

Great question, Jocelyn. I would say my surprising tidbit would be that during the Civil War, it wouldn't be unusual for a surgeon to extract a bullet out one soldier/patient and also find a piece of a garment in the wound that didn't match the patient's shirt, jacket, or pants - which meant that the lead ball had passed through another human being before it was found lodged in the patient. Strange stuff.

Jocelyn Green is an award-winning author and freelance writer. A former military wife, she authored, along with contributing writers, Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives and Faith Deployed . . . Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives. Jocelyn also co-authored ofStories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan, which won the Gold Medal from the Military Writers Society of America in 2010, and Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front, which inspired her first novel:Wedded to War.

Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a B.A. in English, concentration in writing. She is an active member of the Evangelical Press Association, Christian Authors Network, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Military Writers Society of America.

She loves Mexican food, Broadway musicals, Toblerone chocolate bars, the color red, and reading on her patio. Jocelyn lives with her husband Rob and two small children in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Visit her at JocelynGreen.com.

Between you, me and the gatepost,

Loree