Civil War Sergeant - Softcover

Keim, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0759660220 ISBN 13: 9780759660229

Publisher: AuthorHouse, 2001

Synopsis

Try to imagine that you are a young Union infantry soldier and that you are marching toward your hometown of Gettysburg to fight what is to become the greatest battle of the Civil War. Owen Young is doing just that. He has already tasted Union failures at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and now he must help to defend his own home against the forces of the seemingly indomitable Robert E. Lee. Sergeant Owen Young is among the first infantry soldiers to face Lee's army and to later repulse the famous Picket's Charge on the third day of the battle. His fighting is far from over as he participates in nearly all the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac until Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomatox. Owen's best friend Jim Wright has a sister with whom Owen falls in love. Virginia Wright is very unlike the clinging vine types who are so often portrayed. Like Owen's Abolitionist mother, she is strong as well as beautiful. But there is mystery and romance in the story that are introduced in the Prologue and not solved until the very end of the novel. Civil War Sergeant is a fast-moving epic story of the GIs, the grunts, who did the fighting in the American Civil War.

About this title

About the Author

Many of you may already have met William Keim when 1st Books Library last summer published his novel And Youth Was Gone, a highly autobiographical study of his own life in the military during World War II. Again, in Civil War Sergeant, William Keim takes one back to another war viewed this time from the mind of a sergeant who fought in that war. The author, a retired teacher and school superintendent, grew up in the small town of Meadville, Pennsylvania, where as a child, he often watched parades in which a few Civil War veterans participated. His memories of several childhood conversations with these old fighters led him to study that war with great care and to the writing of this novel. Like millions of veterans of World War II, where William Keim was a medic, he came home and was educated at Allegheny College, Penn State, Delaware and several other colleges through the famous GI Bill. He started his long educational career in 1949 and is happy to say that he still hears often from his former students, many of whom are now senior citizens, themselves. For William Keim, teaching was both a love and really full-time occupation. Outside of some professional writings about education, he had little time to write fiction - something he has always wanted to do. Retirement after ten years as an innovative school superintendent has offered that opportunity to write. He feels fortunate that he has been given the time to pursue a second career. He and his wife, who has Alzheimer's, now reside in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He currently is writing a third novel and taking care of his beloved wife who he feels deserves most of the credit for being able to pursue his careers.

Edition details

• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0759660220
• ISBN 13: 9780759660229
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248