The Copper Road by Richard Buxton

This review originally appeared in the November 2020 edition of the Historical Novels Review.

Sherman’s advance on Atlanta in 1864 is the backdrop for a sweeping tale that converges on Shire, an Englishman who fights for the Yankees; Clara, an Englishwoman of noble birth whom Shire has followed to America; and Tod, a Confederate captain. Shire is wounded when his Ohio regiment fights south of Chattanooga and is taken to Comrie, Clara’s plantation in Tennessee, to convalesce, where old feelings begin to awaken. Meanwhile, Tod has been taken prisoner, escapes in Pennsylvania, and begins a roundabout journey south, marveling along the way at the might of the northern war machine. Tod returns to the johnny rebs and learns that Confederate resources are dwindling, and much rides on the mission when he is assigned to the Copper Road, behind the Union lines and not far from Comrie. Tod has had separate chance encounters with Shire and Clara, and the fates lead towards their inevitable reckoning.

Characters are memorable, both admirable and flawed in various ways, and have their convictions tested by relationships and wartime experiences. The prose sometimes evokes the grandeur of America’s defining conflict: “Cannon-fire roared in front and behind, their thunder intruding from some greater world.” Many battle scenes are drawn with grit that might bring to mind one of the author’s declared writing influences, Bernard Cornwell. Sherman’s Atlanta Civil War campaign is well-chronicled, and officer characters are shaped by real historical figures.

The Copper Road is the second book in the author’s Civil War trilogy, and the final installment promises to provide a satisfying resolution to the fates of Clara, Shire and Tod.