Acknowledgments 

Thanks to the countless authors of history I have pored over for years, including Shelby Foote, Bruce Catton, Ed Bearss, James M. McPherson, and Brian Pohanka. My favorite sources for this book were Walking to Cold Mountain: A Journey Through Civil War America by Carl Zebrowski, and Fort Fisher 1865 by Chris E. Fonvielle Jr. This book contains a collection of photographs taken by T.H. O’Sullivan, apprentice to Mathew Brady, who worked in the Washington studio managed by Alexander Gardner, both famous Civil War photographers.

Thanks to Noah Janis and Caitlyn Rifenburg at the Fort Fisher State Historic Site for patiently explaining the minutiae of the fort and historic battle.

Thanks to the wonderful guides at the Bellamy House, the Lattimer House, and the First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington. Special thanks to Janet Davidson, historian at the Cape Fear Museum in Wilmington, for answering an inordinate number of questions and providing archival photos of the area during the Civil War.

Thanks to the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cuyahoga Valley Civil War Roundtable, the Peninsula Valley Foundation of Ohio, and GAR Hall, whose appreciation for Civil War history has kept my passion alive locally.

Thanks to the Wayne County Writer’s Guild Novelists, especially Ruth, Bobbie, Christina, Darrell, Cyndi, and Kira, for your great brainstorming help.

Thanks to my agent, Mary Sue Seymour; my lovely proofreader, Joycelyn Sullivan; my editor, Kim Moore; and the wonderful staff at Harvest House Publishers. Where would I be without your hard work?