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A Novel Of The Battle Of Gettysburg
Simon & Schuster
July 2009
On Sale: June 30, 2009
Featuring: Luke Chandler; Thomas Chandler
432 pages
ISBN: 1416589651
EAN: 9781416589655
Hardcover
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Historical
In this superb novel, John Hough brilliantly renders life in
the Union Army during the Civil War as he tells the story of
two young brothers coming of age who volunteer to serve
their country. Luke and Thomas Chandler grew up on
Martha's Vineyard, raised by their abolitionist father and
Rose, their headstrong and beautiful Cape Verdean
housekeeper. When a recruiter comes to the island, the boys,
who have already witnessed their father and Rose helping a
runaway slave to freedom and who are determined to join the
fight against slavery, eagerly enlist in the storied
Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Rose, however,
finds that without the protection of the brawny Luke, even
she, a free woman of color in the North, can be a victim of
malicious prejudice. Luke and Thomas join the Union Army
in Virginia as it recovers from a devastating loss at
Chancellorsville. Throughout the hot days of early summer
the brothers march with the army through Virginia and
Maryland, crossing the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania.
They experience unaccustomed hardships: food that is barely
edible, terrible thirst, chilly nights, and rain-soaked
marches. They share in the camaraderie of their fellow
soldiers, spending their evenings discussing over card games
what they will do when the war ends, alternately exhibiting
anxiety and bravado as the next battle looms. The brothers
quickly discover that their abolitionist views make them
unpopular with many of their fellow soldiers. They witness
the hostility of the Southerners whose homes they pass on
the march, and the cheers of the Pennsylvanians, who welcome
them back north. And then one day their march ends in a
little town none of them has ever heard of, Gettysburg. On
the eve of battle, Luke shares a secret with his younger
brother that causes a rift between them, a separation that
they will take onto the field. Seen the Glory
portrays life in the Army of the Potomac as no other novel
ever has. The climactic battle at Gettysburg is rendered as
vividly as in the classic Civil War novel The Killer
Angels. John Hough does full justice to the townspeople,
including free blacks suddenly imperiled by the arrival of
the Confederate army, and the Rebel soldiers themselves,
battle hardened, war weary, yet convinced they are fighting
for a just cause. But above all this is a heartbreaking
story about two brothers united and then separated by the
powerful bond that only love can forge, and break.
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