Devils on Horseback

"The battle was over, but the town did not look at peace. Broken glass glittered in the dust of the square. Cannon shot had torn through walls and storefronts, leaving ragged holes in the clapboards. Here and there lay abandoned muskets, cartridge boxes, and blood-darkened blankets. The smell was a mixture of gunpowder, horse sweat, and suffering." (excerpt)

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It was meant to always be kept secret, but you know how it goes with secrets. Sooner or later, they leak out. Coming this fall, the long-kept secret of my family's struggle to survive during the Battle of Kirksville is revealed.

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Growing up in the Midwest my imagination was fueled by weekends spent searching dry creek beds for arrowheads and Civil War artifacts. Although I once dismissed the family stories my mother and great-aunt whispered around the kitchen table as fable, years later I learned that they were true.

 

Hearing the tale of the struggle of simple farm women to save a wounded boy stayed with me.  haunted me and prompted me to begin writing Devils on Horseback. Coming this fall. Watch for it!

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