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The story of the Brannon family of Culpeper County, Virginia, turns to the west and the Southern stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where Cory Brannon is working to keep the town supplied by wagon train and railroad from Texas.
Vicksburg is the key to the Mississippi River and the linchpin to the Confederacy, and Abraham Lincoln wants to put that key in his pocket. For almost a year the Federal army and navy have tried to dislodge the Confederates, but they have gained nothing. Finally, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, the hero of Forts Henry and Donelson and the battle of Shiloh, is dispatched to take the town by any means possible.
Meanwhile, Cory and the woman he loves, Lucille Farrell, are working with her uncle, Col. Charles Thompson of the Mississippi Home Guard, and a small contingent of dedication Southerners to keep the supplies rolling in. In the waning months of 1862, as the Union army advances closer and closer, Cory must abandon the wagon train to undertake a vital mission for Confederate Gen. John Pemberton, the commander in charge of Vicksburg's defenses, a task that eventually takes him dangerously close to the Union lines in Middle Tennessee. At the end of Cory's journey, however, is an even more dangerous foray into Western Tennessee on a critical mission for the horse soldiers of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Cory's mentor from the battle of Shiloh. Nothing is as easy as it seems, especially in war, and Cory finds that he cannot return to Vicksburg as quickly as he would like.
Cory's efforts to save Vicksburg are unable to prevent the inevitable, as the Yankees eventually surround and lay siege to the city. In the meantime, Lucille most also cope with unexpected challenges as she encounters a family friends with some secret plans of his own. There also are some within the city who are working toward a Yankee victory. The Federal bombardment, illness, injury, and starvation all take their toll on the defenders of Vicksburg, forcing Cory and Lucille to face decisions that threaten not only their love but also their lives.
Vicksburg is the fifth book in a series of historical novels spanning the Civil War.
About the author
James Reasoner is a veteran writer of historical fiction. Author of several volumes int he Wagons West series, he has also written Westward, Expedition, and Outpost, a frontier trilogy set in the years before the Lewis and Clark expedition. Reasoner lives near Azle, Texas.
Summary
This historical novel features the Brannon family of Virginia. Young Cory Brannon is working to keep the town supplied by wagon train and railroad, but the pressures of the Civil War force him to leave his family and fiancee to become a cavalry rider and spy.
