
A young former Confederate officer, Cornelius, arrives unannounced at the elegant library of a wealthy Hudson Valley family. His unexpected presence unsettles the household, especially Captain Passford, who greets him with a mix of curiosity and war‑time wariness. As the two men exchange uneasy pleasantries, the novel opens a window onto the lingering tensions that still pulse through the nation after the conflict’s end.
Through vivid scenes and sharply drawn dialogue, the story explores how old loyalties clash with new hopes for unity. It captures the delicate dance between memory and forgiveness, offering both sides of the Civil War’s legacy without taking sides. Readers are drawn into a period of tentative reconciliation, where personal honor and the larger question of Union versus disunion shape every conversation.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (341K characters)
Series
Blue and the Gray--Afloat, book 2
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Louise Hope, David Garcia, Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Kentuckiana Digital Libra
Release date
2006-06-15
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1822–1897
A 19th-century American storyteller and educator, he wrote lively adventure books for young readers under the pen name Oliver Optic. His tales of ships, schools, and moral choices made him one of the best-known juvenile authors of his era.
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