by Jack Brubaker (Author)
Two aging Civil War veterans mourned the death of their sons at a joint funeral in Knoxville National Cemetery. One, a cavalry general, had fought for the Union. The other had served as surgeon/major of a Confederate cavalry regiment. They met for the first time at the graves of their sons--two army lieutenants and University of Tennessee graduates killed together in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Newspaper accounts presented the encounter as an example of reconciliation between North and South.
This book recounts the meeting of two families from opposing sides of the war--both rooted in East Tennessee, a region harshly divided by the conflict--placing their story in the context of America's reconciliation narrative at the end of the 19th century.
Author Biography
Jack Brubaker, a journalist for 50 years, writes a weekly column on local history and culture for LNP, the daily newspaper in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has written more than a dozen books and magazine articles, and has given more than 150 lectures. He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.