Sweetgrass: Book Ii

Book excerpt: When Johnathan Traver joined the Union Army in October of 1861, he imagined a glorious and noble death awash in crimson. Eight months later, a survivor of Shiloh, Johnathan is still alive, serving as a master sergeant. To the dismay of his superiors, he makes it his mission to update battle training techniques, even if it means becoming an outlaw. He believes modern weapons should dictate modern battle strategies, but the army still trains men as if they had muskets. Johnathanthe disowned son of a wealthy Vermont Squire who endured an abusive childhoodmeets Esher, an illiterate orphan from the prairie, and they become warrior companions. Adventure is Johnathans word for their union; love is Eshers. Whats more, the vast difference in their backgrounds forms an obstacle for them. Esher belabors this difference; Johnathan doesnt. Sharing a tale of the Union soldiers in the midst of the Civil War, Sweetgrass: Book II remembers them for their bravery and communicates a triumph of the spirit.