Stonewall's Gold: A Novel of the Civil War

Winner of the Civil War Societys Seal of Approval Winner of the Michael Shaara Award for Civil War Fiction . Stonewalls Gold is an adventure story for readers of all ages in the classic tradition of Treasure Island and The Red Badge of Courage. Combining a fascinating and gripping narrative with a portrait of life in the Civil War-era South it is also the moving story of a boy on the edge of manhood taking on difficult challenges that force him to confront the world for the first time. . The year of 1864 is a difficult time to be living in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. The Civil War is drawing to a close and under the orders of General Sheridan Union troops have laid waste to the countryside. Against this bleak backdrop Jamie Lockharts mother takes on a boarder to help her eke out a living until her husband returns from the war.. Soon someone begins desecrating local soldiers graves and Jamie an intrepid fifteen-year-old discovers that their boarder is the culprit. Confronted the boarder assaults Jamies mother; defending her Jamie kills him. In his personal effects Jamie discovers the item he was looking for in the graveyard a cryptic map to Stonewalls gold. Thus begins Jamies quest.. Along the way Jamie is faced with the best and the worst in human nature and meets a young girl and falls in love for the first time. He becomes privy to the hidden politics behind the war when he stumbles upon escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad and he is also forced to confront the ugly realities of war and the absurdity of the lost cause in the final days of the conflict.. A ripping adventure yarn a moving coming-of-age tale and a fascinating portrait of the difficulty of life in the Appalachians at the end of the Civil War Stonewalls Gold is a compelling novel that is certain to appeal to teacher and student alike.