Seen the Glory
A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
John Hough’s superbly readable historical novel, the revealing coming-of-age story of two young brothers fighting in the civil War, evokes the hardships and camaraderie of ordinary soldiers and civilians set against the bloody drama of the battle of Gettysburg.
• Brilliant characters: raised by their abolitionist father on martha’s Vineyard, eighteen-year-old Luke and sixteenyear- old Thomas Chandler volunteer for the union. They join the Army of the Potomac in Virginia and take part in the long march north in June, 1863, to intercept General Lee. Luke writes home to rose, their black Cape Verdean housekeeper, with whom he shares a secret that Thomas discovers on the eve of the Battle of Gettysburg. The truth enrages Thomas and causes a rift between the brothers. When the battle is over, only one will survive.
• A classic in the making: Seen the Glory re-creates the Civil War experience as vividly as the classic novel The Killer Angels. The soldiers of the storied 20th massachusetts regiment, the sullen Southerners they march past, the hopeful freedmen and worried slaves, the terrified residents of Gettysburg, the battle-hardened Confederate soldiers are all rendered with brilliant realism and historical accuracy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hough's eighth book (after The Last Summer) is a dramatic and tragic tale of Civil War era brutality and suffering as seen by soldiers, slaves and civilians, culminating at the battle of Gettysburg. Hough writes about the Civil War with a novelist's insight and a historian's eye, creating a vivid story of two teenage Massachusetts brothers, Luke and Thomas Chandler, who na vely enlist in the Union army and end up on the killing field of Gettysburg. As privates in the 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Luke and Thomas endure hunger, fatigue, illness and some hard soldiering, with the elder Luke looking after younger Thomas, though their relationship is strained due to a secret love affair that threatens the close bond they will need in battle. When they are thrown into the titanic fight at Gettysburg, they land in the middle of a firestorm of musket balls, exploding shells and the screams of the wounded and dying as Pickett's charge nearly carries away the Union center. Amid the blood and fury of battle, a tender and poignant story of idealism, love and brotherly devotion shines through.
