Some Acknowledgments
It has been a long time since I wrote anything in this blog. My apologies to those who are gracious enough to read this blog. I have been working on a new book, a work of historical fiction called June Rise. It is set in the Civil War era, before and during, in Western Missouri. The border war between Missouri and Kansas was particularly brutal in that area, and civilians were often dragged into the fighting merely for their beliefs regarding slavery or the preservation of the union.
I did a lot of reading for this book and I wanted to share some of the titles with others fascinated by this period in our history. One of the greatest finds was a little book called Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott. It is a sentimental but poignant collection of stories about a nurse working in a Union hospital during the war, which Alcott did for a period of several months. It is a real treasure. Another interesting book I used was The Devil Knows How to Ride by Edward Leslie. This is the “true story” of William Quantrill and his raiders who struck terror into Missouri citizens and helped shape the life of Jesse and Frank James. One of the most fascinating books is a large and detailed volume written by Tom A. Rafiner. It is called Caught Between Three Fires and chronicles life in Cass County, Missouri between 1860 and 1865. Mr. Rafiner is an amateur historian who has done a brilliant job of combing archival material and writing a book which takes the reader into the daily lives of ordinary people. Two other “straight history” books for those interested in the this time and place, are Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border by Donald L. Gilmore and Civil War on the Western Border 1854-1865.
Of course, I consulted with lots of archival material, mostly on the internet. One book I want to call your attention to is called Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs. This small volume is the first person account of a slave who hid in an attic for seven years before she was able to escape to freedom. It is fascinating, well written and a truly heroic tale. I learned so much about slave life from it.
I am indebted to these books for lots of background material I used in my own book, June Rise.
I did a lot of reading for this book and I wanted to share some of the titles with others fascinated by this period in our history. One of the greatest finds was a little book called Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott. It is a sentimental but poignant collection of stories about a nurse working in a Union hospital during the war, which Alcott did for a period of several months. It is a real treasure. Another interesting book I used was The Devil Knows How to Ride by Edward Leslie. This is the “true story” of William Quantrill and his raiders who struck terror into Missouri citizens and helped shape the life of Jesse and Frank James. One of the most fascinating books is a large and detailed volume written by Tom A. Rafiner. It is called Caught Between Three Fires and chronicles life in Cass County, Missouri between 1860 and 1865. Mr. Rafiner is an amateur historian who has done a brilliant job of combing archival material and writing a book which takes the reader into the daily lives of ordinary people. Two other “straight history” books for those interested in the this time and place, are Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border by Donald L. Gilmore and Civil War on the Western Border 1854-1865.
Of course, I consulted with lots of archival material, mostly on the internet. One book I want to call your attention to is called Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs. This small volume is the first person account of a slave who hid in an attic for seven years before she was able to escape to freedom. It is fascinating, well written and a truly heroic tale. I learned so much about slave life from it.
I am indebted to these books for lots of background material I used in my own book, June Rise.
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