Not sure what to say about this one. The ghost of Union loyalist Elizabeth Van Lew of Richmond tells the story of the Union underground. She definitlely was, according to the historical record, a central figure in a network of Union spies that even had a member working in the Confederate White House. I had the problem I have with a lot of historical fiction -- wondering what was historical and what was fiction. The author cleared some of that up in her afterword. I enjoyed most of the story of what was going on during the war with the spy network; though I normally like ghost stories, I didn't like the way she used the ghost gimmick, the parts where the story moved into the present time and the spirits were hanging around "revening." I also didn't appreciate the strident, preachy tone of the commentary about a host of issues. I agree already: slavery was horrible; secession was a bad idea; women weren't treated fairly in those days, etc., etc. I didn't need a sermon with my story. It is an interesting subject, however, one that history has mostly neglected out of necessity. (Most of these people continued to live in the South after the war, and didn't want their activity publicized.)
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Only Call Us Faithful is a story of the American Civil War based on the life of Elizabeth Van Lew, known to some as "Crazy Bet", a spinster of breeding in Richmond, Virginia with abolitionist views, was a supporter of the Union and operated a spy ring of loyalists to feed the Union army information during the war. The story focuses on the war period from December 1862 through to the Union Army arrival in Richmond in April 1865. While military strategy and political maneuvering is mentioned to bring the events as they unfold into focus, the story stays true to its mission. This story focuses on the impact the war had on the residents of Richmond, the Union prisoners on Belle Island and in Libby Prison, and the lives of the loyalists spies, including freed slave Mary Elizabeth Bower who went to work in the Confederate White House and Sam Ruth, superintendent of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad.

The story, interestingly, is told from the point of view of Elizabeth's ghost, visiting the reader in what I take to be our time period, or near enough to our time period. Elizabeth's ghost is tired of the tales that have been told over the past 140+ years since the war ended about those desperate and confusing times, and has decided to speak up. Conveyed to the reader in a narrative told through a series of memory flashbacks and conversations with other ghosts from the time period, including writer Cooper DeLeon, it was easy to slide into the story as an observer, and watch the Civil War come to life.

Favorite sections of the story for me include Jakober's account of life in Libby prison and the Libby prison jail break of February 10, 1864, where 109 Union officers tunneled out of the Confederate POW camp to freedom. Also conveyed in vivid detail is the social decline of Richmond and the glorious Old South over the war years. It really brought home how the war was thrust upon, and was damaging to the well-being of the majority of people living on either side and that Richmond was really comprised of the whole spectrum of war supporters, both Confederate and Union. The cameo appearances by Scarlett O'Hara of 'Gone With The Wind' fame as representative of the quintessential Southern lady are, in my opinion, entertaining, witty and used to full affect by Jakober to help bring across the message that most of the world's understanding of the South and the time period are based on myths, fictitious characters and that while most of the world has heard of Scarlett O'Hara, hardly anyone has heard of Elizabeth Van Lew and her network of loyalists.

Overall, a great story about a historical moment in American history and some of the lesser known individuals that played an important part in shaping that history. ( )