Review of A House Divided Against Itself

A House Divided Against Itself is technically fiction, though it is based on the true stories of several men and women during the Civil War. Crafted from dozens of letters, journal entries and research of official documents, the story is told from the points of view of four key characters.

John Wesley Culp is literally the little brother, as he stands a mere five feet tall. He and the other characters in the book grew up in Gettysburg, PA. John's job ended up taking him down south to Virginia, where he felt more at home and more accepted than he ever did in Pennsylvania. As a result, when it came time to choose sides for the Civil War, he chose the Confederates.

William Esias Culp is the older brother, who has been disgusted with his younger brother for most of their lives. John's status as a traitor to the family is firmly cemented in his mind after the war begins and they lose their parents. William is fiercely dedicated to the Union Army.

Johnston Hastings "Jack" Skelly, Jr. is John Culp's best friend, but has chosen to remain faithful to the Union army. He is, however, also still faithful to his best friend, though they are on opposing sides.

Mary Virginia Wade, also known as Jennie, is Jack Skelly's girlfriend.

All four of these people really lived. Their lives as depicted in the book are fairly accurate. The historical events, which are described in great detail, all really happened. If you have ever studied the Civil War, particularly Gettysburg, their names are going to be familiar to you. What is fictionalized is some of the personal interactions and thoughts that they may or may not have had. Sometimes it is difficult to discern between the fiction and the nonfiction, but you can trust that the story is a true one.

Each character takes turns telling their story. Oftentimes their stories are the same, just told from different points of view. For example, there is a battle in which brother is actually fighting against brother, which apparently didn't occur as frequently as the Civil War has been romanticized to have happened. You hear about the battle from each brother's point of view, as well as Jack's perspective. Each one is telling essentially the same story, but then as has more to add about other events surrounding it. The stories also begin at the start of the war, from enlistment, all the way through the famous Battle at Gettysburg.

Chapters are meant to cover an extended period of time, but sometimes the narrator inserts a couple of paragraphs that deal with a specific day. The language used by each character is meant to reflect how people actually spoke back then, so some spellings and grammatical structures are a little different than you may be used to. At the same time, it also feels somewhat modernized for ease of reading. The inclusion of numerous photographs, drawings and maps add to the validity of the stories. Its presentation as a collection of memoirs is also designed to feel less dry and oppressive than reading nonfiction can be for some people. Bob O'Connor has clearly done his homework.

A House Divided Against Itself is available on line at www.boboconnorbooks.com or at amazon.com. It is also available on all e-book formats.

Guest Post by Bob O'Connor, Author of A House Divided Against Itself

Today I am honored to share with you a guest post by Bob O'Connor, author of the Civil War novel A House Divided Against Itself.

=======================================================================

It is often said of fiction writers that we don’t have to do any research because we can make everything up. I do not operate that way. I spend months and sometimes years gathering information from individual soldier’s military records, personal letters, regimental histories and the like to gather information I need. I find undiscovered “nuggets” in military records, diaries, etc. I build my story around that information.

When I write I actually add footnotes. That allows me to go back at any time and check figures or specific information. I delete all the footnotes on the final draft before the book is published.

In my novel A House Divided Against Itself, I follow the story of four Gettysburg characters through the Civil War. The book is based on a true story. I know what happened.

A historian asked recently why I spend all that time researching and then write fiction. The answer is complicated. First and foremost, fiction gives me creative license that I would not have with non-fiction. Secondly, it allows me to fill in holes in the story. Thirdly, it is much more fun to write fiction. And finally, more people purchase and read fiction than non-fiction.

My information is based on the record. As an example, Jack talks about the accidental killing of John Colehouse from Company F, the 87^th Pennsylvania Infantry. That incident is described in detail in one of Jack’s letters to his mother.

I talk of the 2^nd Pennsylvania Infantry re-enlisting after their 90-day enlistments were finished. But Nicholas Codori, one of their friends from Gettysburg, did not re-enlist. I know that because I read Nicholas’ service record.

A House Divided Against Itself is a mostly true novel. I try hard to make the story interesting and believable. Many historians cannot tell when I am telling the truth and when I am making something up.

============================================================

Bob O’Connor, a native of Illinois who now lives near Harpers Ferry, WV, has been a life-long student of both the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. As a 7^th grader he attended the Centennial of the Lincoln Douglas debates at Galesburg, Illinois. One year later he portrayed Lincoln in his school play. Today he is the author of six Civil War era books. His subjects are Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguard, John Brown the abolitionist, the U.S. Colored Troops and brothers fighting against brothers.

O’Connor’s books (two non-fiction and four historical fiction) depict real people and real events. His research has uncovered a never before published drawing of the hanging of John Brown and a complete 500 page unpublished manuscript written by Lincoln’s bodyguard. He has made over 500 appearances in 18 states and the District of Columbia in the last six years to talk about his books.

A House Divided Against Itself is available on line at www.boboconnorbooks.com or at amazon.com. It is also available on all e-book formats.

Excerpt from A House Divided Against Itself

Welcome to the first stop on the tour for A House Divided Against Itself by Bob O'Connor. Here is the synopsis of the book:

A House Divided Against Itself is a historical fiction account based on a true story of four Gettysburg residents during the Civil War. Two of the characters are brothers. They fought against each other two different times during the war.  The book is based on over 90 letters from the participants and from regimental records. This is the unpublished beginning of a story for those who know of the Battle of Gettysburg may already know the ending.

Excerpt:

After several hours of fighting, the artillery was still hammering us. When the first rays of sunlit lit the field, Company F and others were ordered to wheel into the battle. Our orders were to attack the battery to protect our line of march. I was on the right flank with Company F and most of my friends from Gettysburg.

When the fight began, we fought gallantly. But we did not make much progress. As we charged ahead, a rebel unit surprised us by hitting our flank. We were unguarded on the flank. Our line crumbled. We were surrounded.

I looked around. Several of the Gettysburg men including myself, William T. Ziegler, Billie Holtzworth, Jacob Rice, David Culp, H. H. H. Welch and my brother Edwin were ordered to surrender.

We had talked often about this very situation. If we got captured, we intended to act like we were surrendering. We were to count silently to five. When one of our boys yelled “five” we were all supposed to run like hell. We had laughed about the plan. We thought the rebels would be so surprised that we would have a few minutes to get away before they recovered from their shock.

One of our boys yelled “five.” I started running as fast as I could. For about ten strides I thought the idea was a good one and that we were getting away. But some lucky rebel boy fired into our boys. I took a hit in my right shoulder. The ball knocked me down. I tried to get back up, but I couldn’t move. Blood was spurting from my shoulder. Billie Ziegler stopped to help.

I laid face down on the ground in intense pain. I had never felt pain like that in my life. When I looked up, everyone I saw standing around me had gray uniforms on except for Billie. The rebels boys told us we were their prisoners.

At that moment, I was not sure whether the other Gettysburg boys got away or not. We had been told that if we ever got captured, we would be exchanged for rebel prisoners within a short time.

I had never planned to become a prisoner of war. I had never planned on being wounded. Now I was both. I wondered if today, June 15, 1863, would be my last day on earth.

The rebels took Billie with them and promised to send back some medical help. I was not trusting that a rebel soldier would keep his word.

As I lay there, I started thinking about the rebel soldier I had shot. Had he laid on the field and thought about home and his family and loved ones. Or had he just fallen dead.

I thought about mother and Jennie mostly. The pain increased as the time went by. Mother. When I gave you my ambrotype and said “If I fall in battle, you will know how I looked before this war brought sorrow upon our land.” I had no idea that I had done it just in case this very thing happened to me.

I thought of my wonderful Jennie. Was this the end of me? Would she now marry someone else? I couldn’t stand that thought.

And for the first time I actually thought about all the men, dressed in blue and gray, who had fallen, like me. I wondered if they had gotten a chance to think about their life like I was doing now. I was thinking about who I had become and whether I had made a difference on this earth.

I started to pray with more fervor than I ever had, asking the good Lord to have mercy on me. I asked that I be given a chance to live and to return home, if that was His will. I was thinking along the lines that in returning home, perhaps I could be a better husband and father than I had been a soldier. And that perhaps I might become a minister and spread His word. Even with that, I knew it wasn’t my decision.

I finally decided that all I really could pray for was a chance to get a message to mother and Jennie. After that, God could take me if He decided that was best for everyone. And that was my prayer.

I don’t know how long I lay on the field. It seemed like a long time. The blood continued to flow. The pain did not go away like I was hoping it would. I was thought I might not make it off this field.

A House Divided Against Itself is available on line at www.boboconnorbooks.com or at amazon.com. It is also available on all e-book formats.