Gettysburg by Morning

by Randy O'Brien

It's July 4, 1861, and the featured speaker at this year's Independence Day celebration at Concord, MA, is high-spirited and fiercely patriotic Eloise Jacobson. She rails against the South's attack on Fort Sumter and the injustice of slavery. A newspaper article recounting the speech inspires her brother Edward to enlist. The siblings' father, a War of Independence veteran, dies, and Edward decides he doesn't want to join the Union army after all and runs away. Heartbroken, Eloise returns to the family telegraph office, committed to a life of boredom and servitude. The disappointment in her brother devastates Eloise.

In a dramatic moment, she decides that she will take her brother's place and fight for the honor of her family and the country. She joins the Massachusetts 20th and lives through several horrific battles, including the most devastating conflict in U.S. history, Gettysburg. General George Custer discovers her talent as a telegraph operator, and she soon rises through the ranks and to the war room at the White House, where she works daily with President Abraham Lincoln. One night, as Eloise sleeps at her post, Lincoln sees a copy of the newspaper article featuring Eloise's speech. He reads it, is inspired by it, and borrows key phrases for the most famous speech in American history, The Gettysburg Address.

There are over two hundred documented cases of women dressing as men to fight in the Civil War. Gettysburg by Morning places you on the battlefield with a patriotic young woman fighting arm-in-arm with her fellow soldiers. Historical characters like Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, George Custer, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others make reading this story like walking hand-in-hand with history.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

264 pages, Hardcover

Published November 16, 2021

Reviews

[Deviant Quill Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

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An excellent historical fiction set in the Civil War Period. The main character, Eloise Edwards lost her mother shortly before the story begins and has dreams like any other girl of her age, but that soon changes after she loses her father as well and her brother runs away because "life is too short to waste". Eloise decides to take his place in the Union Army, cuts off her hair, dresses in her brother's clothes and sets off for the adventure of her life assuming a new identity. The story takes her to one of bloodiest battlefront in American history, Gettysburg.

Eloise mirrors a more famous character in the Asian culture, Mulan, who also went to fight for her family's honor. Another would be Ecaterina Teodoroiu, a Romanian woman who fought and died in World War I. One thing that makes Eloise such a strong and believable character is that, aside from her family's honor, she believed in the same things as the male soldiers fighting on the same side, a belief that can be seen right at the start of the story in her speech. The period after the American Civil War was just the start of open fight for equality.

Overall, this book is a must-read for all those who enjoy a good 19th century historical fiction with a great character development, and a strong female lead.

[Rita Welty Bourke · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I loved about this book was the "snapshots" of what was happening not just in Concord, MA, at Gettysburg, and in Washington, but also across the South.

There are lots of stories about brother-vs.-brother in the Civil War, but this one is unique in that Eloise Edwards, a 17-year-old girl, is fighting for the Union, while her brother has joined the Rebel forces. Through different points of view we get a picture of what was happening on plantations in the south, with slaves not yet free, the KKK, the resistance that continued after the war was over.

By including historical figures such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, George Custer, and Abraham Lincoln, the author provides us with an authentic picture of those terrible years, but their appearances do not detract from or overshadow the fact that this is a story about the men and women who fought and died in the war and were forever marked by it.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great fictional story about a woman serving in the infantry in Civil War. Eloise takes the place of her brother, Edward, in Massachusetts 40th in the Union army. After Edward signed up, he had second thoughts and headed west. Eloise decided to take his place, dressing as a man and saying she was Edward.

Edward ran into a group of Confederate soldiers on his travels. They accused him of being a deserter and made him a member of the southern forces. He becomes a major after some battles in the west. The book follows the events of each of the siblings.

There were many women during this war like Eloise. Several are documented but many were like Eloise and were never caught and made until the end of the war without being discovered as a woman.

[Dee DeTarsio · Rating 5 out of 5]

The bravery of young 17-year-old Eloise, combined with her powerful character, brings to life what it must have felt like in the shadows of the Civil War. When Eloise (who is disappointed by her brother’s desertion from the army) commits to fighting for the Union, she embarks upon a foot soldier’s adventures that have her crossing paths with Oliver Wendell Holmes, George Custer, and eventually, Abraham Lincoln himself. Eloise’s skill, at both hiding her true identity as a woman, as well as surviving the war, led her to be of service in the telegraph office. (Such a great scene where her patriotic speech from the 4th of July is seen by the president himself and ties together with his Gettysburg Address.) This novel really makes me think about what it must have been like to live during those times, with sisters and brothers on opposite sides of a warring nation.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gettsyburg by Morning takes a completely different twist on a Civil War-era novel by following a heroine who selflessly decides to become an undercover soldier. There are so many twists and turns, it’s hard to review without giving too much away, but suffice to say there are plenty of surprising plot twists to keep the reader engaged and wondering about the characters’ outcomes until the very end.

O’Brien obviously spent a great deal of time researching the places and events during which the novel takes place and he added interesting color by including factual characters such as Abraham Lincoln within the fabric of the plot. I found most interesting the notion that a female soldier could blend into the front lines without recognition; but in fact, several did successfully!

In the end, this is a novel about standing up to principles, and how some human beings rise to the occasion of a challenge, while others, weakly, do not. The twists in the plot offer several “fork in the road” moments where the reader has a chance to consider, “What would I do?” These moments would make for some great discussion topics after reading this unique historical novel. Kudos to O’Brien for finding a fresh story among the many written about our country’s greatest internal war.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tale of Eloise Edwards, her family and the times in which they lived. The story, which is taken from history during the civil war, is intriguing and a great look at how women had more to do with shaping American history than they were ever given credit for. The author tells the story from various perspectives. I found the story well written and a great way to learn about historical events rather than regular stories people learn in school.

[Randy O'Brien]

It’s July 4, 1861, and the featured speaker at this year’s Independence Day celebration at Concord, MA, is high-spirited and fiercely patriotic Eloise Jacobson. She rails against the South’s attack on Fort Sumter and the injustice of slavery. A newspaper article recounting the speech inspires her brother Edward to enlist. The siblings’ father, a War of Independence veteran, dies, and Edward decides he doesn’t want to join the Union army after all and runs away. Heartbroken, Eloise returns to the family telegraph office, committed to a life of boredom and servitude. The disappointment in her brother devastates Eloise.

In a dramatic moment, she decides that she will take her brother’s place and fight for the honor of her family and the country. She joins the Massachusetts 20th and lives through several horrific battles, including the most devastating conflict in U.S. history, Gettysburg. General George Custer discovers her talent as a telegraph operator, and she soon rises through the ranks and to the war room at the White House, where she works daily with President Abraham Lincoln. One night, as Eloise sleeps at her post, Lincoln sees a copy of the newspaper article featuring Eloise’s speech. He reads it, is inspired by it, and borrows key phrases for the most famous speech in American history, The Gettysburg Address.

There are over two hundred documented cases of women dressing as men to fight in the Civil War. Gettysburg by Morning places you on the battlefield with a patriotic young woman fighting arm-in-arm with her fellow soldiers. Historical characters like Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, George Custer, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others make reading this story like walking hand-in-hand with history.

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