Good historical novel about Confederate soldier. Showed endurance, courage, etc. of poor ragtag army. ( )

It may seem strange for an Australian to write a novel about the American Civil War, but Keneally, author of Shindler's Ark which became the basis for the film Shindler's List, does a very good job of putting you in the the misery and terror of a soldier in the Civil War. The story is told mainly through the eyes of Confederate infantryman Usaph Bumpass and his wife Ephephtha. Fellow soldier, Decatur Cate, a Northerner who is caught in the South when war breaks out and is conscripted into the Confederate Army presents an interesting perspective of fighting for a cause you do not like but forced to do so or face imprisonment. British newspaper correspondent, Horace Searcy, is used to bring out how the rest of the world viewed the conflict and why the Southern states were never recognized as a country by it. He was also a Northern spy so through his character and that of a war widow we are introduced to espionage during the War.
The details of the daily life of the soldier and especially those fighting in the impoverished Southern Army, are overwhelming. The irony of poor whites fighting and dieing for the institution of slavery that in turn kept them poor is clearly defined for us. The lack of food, clothing especially shoes meant that the Confederate soldier fought amazingly well considering how poorly he was supported. One scene that defines this occurs when the Southern soldiers surprise the Union garrison at Manassas Junction and discovered warehouses and train cars full of food the like if which they had not seen in months. As well little support was provided for the wounded.
Keneally also puts us inside the mind and motivations of General Stonewall Jackson. According to his bibliography, he did a research via the memoirs of men who served with Jackson.
In all a very entertaining as well as informative historical novel. ( )