When I began to write my historical novel Brookhaven, my jumping off point was a family story. My father often told me about my great-grandfather, Samuel Young, and his Civil War experience.
The story was this: Samuel was 13 when the war began in April of 1861. He was too young to enlist, so he signed up as a messenger boy. He had been in that position for a good deal of the war. When the war ended with the surrender of General Lee’s Army at Appomattox Courthouse to General Grant and the surrender of General Johnston’s army to General Sherman at Greensboro, Samuel found himself in the East, with no way to get home except by foot.
The story went on,
To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.
Photograph: My paternal great-grandparents, Samuel Franklin Young and Octavia Montgomery Young.
Some Wednesday Readings
Is the End of Reading Here? – Zach Franzen at Story Warren.
Education and Marxism – Jerry Newcombe at Real Clear Politics.
No comments:
Post a Comment