Friday, April 3, 2015

Daughter of the Regiment - Stephanie Grace Whitson

Daughter of the Regiment
Stephanie Grace Whitson
FaithWords, Mar 24 2015, $15.00
ISBN: 9781455529032

In 1861 residents of Little Dixie, Missouri are divided between supporters of the Union and the Confederacy.  Frustrated the recently arrived Irish immigrant Maggie Malone wants her family to remain out of the internal strife as she firmly believes they will be used as expendable cannon fodder.  However, her brothers (Jack and Seamus) join the Union Irish Brigade.  Maggie quickly concludes staying at home amidst the Southern belles is torture.  The war comes to Maggie when two bandits, targeting her, attack her elderly Uncle Paddy.  When she learns one of her siblings was hurt in a skirmish, Maggie heads to the Union encampment in Boonville to nurse him back to health, and remains there tending to the wounded.  Sergeant John Coulter is attracted to her courage, determination and nurturing.  To Maggie’s astonishment, Colt wants to see her.

In Little Dixie, her Southern sympathizer brother Walker Blair drafts his frustrated sister Elizabeth to serve as hostess to his Confederate Wildwood Guard compatriots at their affluent plantation.  When the war arrives in Little Dixie, Libbie knows her home is an obvious Union target, but instead of seeking a safe shelter she remains steadfast trying to protect those she cares about.

The Daughter of the Regiment is a terrific Civil War drama that centers on the role of women from various social strata when the loyalties of families and neighbors are divided.  Stephanie Grace Whitson authors a tremendous historical based on the premise that war obviously is hell on those at the front, but also takes a toll on civilians of the “host” nation. 


Harriet Klausner

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