None But Heroes

Written from the perspective of a corporal in the Fourth North Carolina, we follow the invasion of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia into central Maryland during the 1862 campaign that culminated in the Battle of Antietam. During the ensuing four-week campaign in Maryland, Jake Thompson and his fellow Tar Heels of Company H experience the joys of fellowship, the tedium of long marches, the wonderment of new territory and new civilian encounters.


But, as the campaign unfolded, how did Robert E Lee and his principal wing commander, James Longstreet, react? A young junior officer of the Fourteenth Alabama, temporarily on loan to Army headquarters and then posted to Longstreet’s staff, lets us experience how developments were discussed and acted upon.


Then came then the bloody horror that was Antietam (or Sharpsburg). One of the most fiercely contested portions of that battle was the fight for an old, sunken wagon road. The chaotic sounds of battle, the smell of gunsmoke, and the whiz of bullets can almost be heard as Jake and his comrades struggle for their lives. Not all his mates survive.


None But Heroes is a welcome addition to the genre of historical fiction, blending narrative history with rich character development. Gerard E. Mayers has blended a story of Rebel soldiers in the ranks, their officers, their commanders and staffs in an engaging and believable style. None But Heroes is an powerful, enthralling work that should be the new standard in Antietam-related historical fiction.