Women served their country in various capacities, not only on the home front but also as spies, nurses, doctors, sutlers, “Daughters of the Regiment,” laundresses, and prostitutes. Mrs. Rose O’Neal Greenhow (aka Rebel Rose) was in fact incarcerated for being a Confederate spy at the Old Capitol Prison until May 31, 1862, and Clara Barton did indeed serve as a battlefield nurse at Antietam until she collapsed of exhaustion, but they and other historical figures who appear in the novel are entirely fictional creations. All names, characters, places, dates, and geographical descriptions are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
I have attempted to render life during this time period and soldiers’ experiences of battle as accurately as possible, consulting soldiers’ and civilians’ letters for details, especially those collected in Robert E. Bonner’s The Soldier’s Pen: Firsthand Impressions of the Civil War and Emmy E. Werner’s Reluctant Witnesses: Children’s Voices from the Civil War. Other works that were extremely useful were William P. Craighill’s The 1862 Army Officer’s Handbook and Howard S. Russell’s A Long Deep Furrow: Three Centuries of Farming in New England. I also strived to portray the movements of the 97th New York State Volunteers faithfully, relying on John J. Hennessy’s Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas, Stephen W. Sears’s Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam, Vincent J. Esposito’s The West Point Atlas of War: The Civil War, and my own experience marching the ground Rosetta would have covered as a member of that regiment at both Bull Run and Antietam. I pored over the many battlefield photographs taken by Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and also the more current ones in William Fassanito’s Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America’s Bloodiest Day. That said, in many places the activities and surroundings of the 97th New York State Volunteers have been condensed, combined, or created out of whole cloth, all in service to the story.
Which is to say, though inspired by real people and events, this book is entirely a work of fiction.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Love and gratitude to my family, who supported this endeavor in every possible way. Doug, who dared this novel into being and has been wholeheartedly devoted from the very first. My parents, Neil and Sue McCabe, for reading to me, teaching me to value words, and being my first readers and editors. Matt and Kristy McCabe for their faith and enthusiasm. The Jastrows, Korpis, and Spragues for their encouragement. The Lindsays for teaching me to play poker and allowing me to step back in time at Tehama.
For their steadfast friendship and reassurance: Mariah DeNijs, Ali Kelly, and Michelle Nye. Michelle, too, for her perspective on the creative process and for telling me that sometimes what’s important is just the doing; your words kept me going many times. Chris DeNijs for the line “punch and don’t get punched.”
I am indebted to the community of writers who have inspired, supported, and enriched my work. M. Allen and Katie Cunningham for showing it was possible. The Jaguar Fiction Collective: Steve Dershimer, Matthew Cunningham (what you told me about fighting should be a story in its own right), and Andrea Kneeland for the courage and fortification I needed, especially at the beginning—RAWR! The Fictionistas: Mikaela Cowles, Rosa Del Duca, Analisa Falcon, Kevin O’Neill, Skye Price, Isaac Smith, Toby Wendtland (who spurred me on in our race to ninety thousand words)—there are traces of your insight throughout this book. The Saint Mary’s College of California creative writing faculty, notably Marilyn Abildskov and Rosemary Graham, for their unparalleled warmth, generosity, and perception; your confidence made all the difference.
I am grateful to my first editor, Sarah Rainone, who helped immensely to shape this novel. To my brilliant agent, Dan Lazar, who believed and kept believing, and always impresses with his dedication, energy, and keen judgment. To Christine Kopprasch for championing Rosetta and Jeremiah, honing their story with such care, crying at all the right spots, and shepherding it into the world with kindness and conviction.
I owe much to the historians upon whose knowledge I relied and research I consulted. Lauren Cook Burgess, for bringing the real Rosetta’s letters to light, and for her work, along with DeAnn Blanton, to find the other women who fought. Ted Alexander, historian at Antietam National Battlefield, for answering my questions about the days after the battle. The re-enactors at Civil War Days in Duncan Mills, California, most especially the members of the California Historical Artillery Society, for answering my questions about artillery, caissons, and horses. While I have strived to be faithful to the history, any inaccuracies in or inadequacies of this novel are entirely my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ERIN LINDSAY MCCABE studied literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and earned a teaching credential at California State University, Chico. After working as a high school English teacher for seven years, she completed her MFA at Saint Mary’s College of California in 2010. She has taught composition at Saint Mary’s and Butte College and resides in Northern California with her husband and son and a small menagerie that includes one dog, four cats, two horses, ten chickens, and three goats.