By J.D. Solomon

April, 1898 — As America steamrolls toward war with Spain, Major Patrick Sherman Tinen, an aging Union veteran of the Civil War and a hero at Gettysburg, is sleepwalking through old age at the mammoth National Soldiers’ Home in Elizabeth City, Virginia. But then Tinen’s son, a failed Klondike prospector, is murdered after a clumsy attempt to blackmail one of Philadelphia’s most powerful financiers.

Conducting the investigation is the popular and politically ambitious county sheriff, Jed Roberts. Although Roberts is the son of a brave Confederate officer killed in Pickett’s Charge, the sheriff has no interest in the past. His focus is on the unlimited future offered by the new century, and he is already planning a run for Congress in the keystone year of 1900. First, though, he must solve this horrendous crime; if he fails, his promising political future will never get off the ground.

Meanwhile, the powerful financier behind the murder has troubles of his own. Decades of financial double-dealing are finally catching up to him; creditors are closing in and his respectable name is in jeopardy. Out of options, he decides to turn one last time to a dark business he learned from his grandfather years ago—the buying and selling of human beings.

Sheriff Roberts enlists Tinen’s help in tracing the crime to Philadelphia, where he gets unexpected assistance from the major’s estranged daughter. There they will come to terms with the ruthless financier, who has ordered his allies to stop the investigation at all costs.

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The 1887 Reunion


Our reunion in Gettysburg in 1887 was a terrific event. Like the book says, it was one of the earliest battlefield reunions attended by veterans North and South, and, according to the papers, it really did spark the start of national reconciliation. Mrs. Pickett was there, and there were lots of speeches. The best was delivered by William R. Aylett. Here's what he said:

“Above the ashes left by the War and over the tomb of secession and African slavery we have created a new empire, and have built a temple to American liberty in which you and I can worship together.”

Here is a picture of the lads at our monument during the reunion. -- PST
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