CONFEDERATES by Thomas Keneally

This Civil War story follows Stonewall Jackson’s Shenandoah men through 1862 to a crescendo that was their experience at horrific Antietam Creek. Their tale is mostly told through the senses of a common soldier, validating one man’s take that it was a ‘rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.’ The Shenandoah boys are portrayed as mostly indifferent to the cause but fiercely loyal to Jackson, their leader, and proud of their successes. The nitty gritty of the march, camp experiences, and ultimately battle scenes are quite convincing, and moving in many cases. Tens of thousands of young men who faced each other across Antietam Creek experience sheer helplessness as to their own fates and their range of emotions is palpable. The gore and carnage before them surely burdened survivors for a lifetime. But the soldier’s perspective isn’t at the expense of providing the reader a sense of campaign strategy. Political events and players like Stonewall and ‘ol Abe are portrayed to provide perspective on how Stonewall’s men end up at the bloody creek. A well-researched, fast-paced imagining of gallant Shenandoah confederates on their path to a gruesome battle that looms large in the study of the Civil War. Written by an Australian author who also wrote Schindler’s List.