From Our Past

Fun Facts from my research, This Week in History, etc.

New Release-Audiobook for A Rebel in My House!

/ sandramervillehart

I’m thrilled to announce the release of an audiobook for my Civil War romance, A Rebel in My House!

Tom Campbell, the narrator, does a fantastic job of drawing in listeners with his storyteller style. The novel is set during the turbulent days of the Battle of Gettysburg. when the War Between the States came to a small borough in Pennsylvania.

A Novel of Love and Sacrifice set during one of our nation’s most famous battles

Jesse has promised his sister-in-law that he’d bring his brother home from the war. Sarah has promised her sister that she’d stay clear of the enemy. Can the two keep their promises amid a war bent on tearing their country apart?

Buy it today on Amazon!

The Miracle Women of WWII

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Today’s post is written by fellow author and sweet friend, Carole Brown. Welcome back to Historical Nibbles, Carole!

World War Two was raging across the seas. Women were lining up to answer the United States call for help in the factories. Patriotism and loyalty flew high and strong. They were determined to do their part, not only for their military men, but also for their country. Rosie, the Riveter was an encouraging figure for mothers, wives and women everywhere to do their duty.

Housing at times, for the women in certain parts of the country, was hard to find. Many of them shared beds, one going to work as the other went to sleep. The patriotic appeal had two aspects: The positive: “do your part” and the negative: “a soldier may die if you don’t do your part.” The Germans and Japanese already had a headstart on weaponry, so the pressure—as the war continued—increased as time went by. Stockings, certain fabrics, metals, etc. were all sacrificed.

Abigail, the young wife in Christmas Angels, is a mother to Sarah Beth, her baby. In the top apartment of a boarding house filled with elderly and middle-aged people, she spends her days caring for her daughter. But when the checks from Patrick, her husband, cease coming, when the letters aren’t in the mail box, and the bills are piling up, what is she to do? Prayers are shakily breathed to God, but the reader can easily sense her doubts and timid faith. Her mother called her a failure but her husband had always called her strong and brave. Was it wrong to fear the unknown?

Is she strong enough to get through her fears and doubts? What happens that gives her the courage to carry on? Miracles do happen, but does one occur for Abigail?

–Carole Brown

Carole’s Short Story Christmas Angels in From the Lake to the River:

Her mother called her a failure, and maybe she was. Her husband was gone—in the service, yes, but if he loved her—really loved her, why didn’t he write? Or call? Or send the money she needed?

She loved this sweet little bundle of joy—her baby—but she was scared. Was she smart enough and strong enough to raise her?

Watch for this book’s release on September 1st!

 

Bio:

An author of ten books, Carole Brown loves weaving suspense and tough topics into her books, along with a touch of romance and whimsy. She and her husband have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, and the simple life.

 

Buy Link:

Amazon Author Page

 

 

 

 

Announcing Next Book Release for Sandra Merville Hart

/ sandramervillehart

 

I’m thrilled to announce my next book release! From the Lake to the River: Buckeye Christian Fiction Authors 2018 Anthology releases on September 1, 2018.  Nine Ohio authors writing novellas/short stories set in Ohio. What fun to be part of this anthology!

 

My novella in the collection, Surprised by Love, is set during the 1913 Great Miami River Flood in Troy, Ohio. Here’s a blurb about my story:

Lottie’s feelings for an old school crush blossom again during the worst flood her town has endured in years.

Lottie shoulders the burden for her siblings after their mother’s death. Her seventeen-year-old brother’s disobedience troubles her, especially since she also cares for the boarders in their home. When the flooding river invades not only the town of Troy but also her home, Lottie and her family need to be rescued. 

Desperate circumstances throw Lottie and Joe, her schoolgirl crush, together. Can tragedy unite the couple to make her long-buried dream of winning his love come true?

And there are eight other stories in the anthology!

“Whether you like romance, young adult, women’s fiction, a touch of mystery or danger, some humor, some holiday cheer, a second chance at love, set in Ohio’s colorful history or the present–there’s something for nearly everyone in this collection.”-per the Editor at Mt. Zion Ridge Press, Publisher.

The collection From the Lake to the River is available for preorder on Amazon!

 

 

Another Award for A Rebel in My House

/ sandramervillehart

 

I’m thrilled to announce that A Rebel in My House celebrated its first birthday with another award!

 

 

This novel set during the turbulent Battle of Gettysburg won 2nd place in this contest and was named 2018 Finalist Faith Hope & Love Reader’s Choice Award.

 

This is the novel’s second award–the first was the 2018 Illumination Silver Award. Here’s a bit about the story:

When the cannons roar beside Sarah Hubbard’s home outside of Gettysburg, she despairs of escaping the war that’s come to Pennsylvania. A wounded Confederate soldier on her doorstep leaves her with a heart-wrenching decision.

Separated from his unit and with a bullet in his back, Jesse Mitchell needs help. He seeks refuge at a house beside Willoughby Run. His future lies in the hands of a woman whose sympathies lay with the North.

Jesse has promised his sister-in-law he’d bring his brother home from the war. Sarah has promised her sister that she’d stay clear of the enemy. Can the two keep their promises amid a war bent on tearing their country apart?

 

 

Top of the Rock, Branson

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

 

In May, 2015, heavy rains in the Ozarks created a large sinkhole—40 feet deep and 70 feet across. This occurred at Big Cedar Lodge and Top of the Rock Golf Course, located a few miles south of Branson, Missouri.

The sinkhole created a beautiful landmark now known as Cathedral of Nature or simply Cathedral. It is awe-inspiring.

John L. Morris, owner of the property and founder of Big Cedar Lodge, is a conservationist. A big dig is underway.  Morris is exploring, hoping to find a secret passageway and a large system of caves.

Excavations crew have removed dirt and rock. The original 70-foot wide sinkhole is now 350 feet across. The depth of 40 feet has been expanded to 200 feet. Gorgeous!

Visitors can ride a golf cart through the Lost Canyon Cave and Nature Trail.

The Sunset Ceremony was a highlight of a recent family vacation for me. A bagpiper plays as the sun sets. A Civil War cannon fires as the sun dips over the horizon. Simply beautiful.

We visited the church next to the sinkhole. A floor-to-ceiling window on the main floor faces the valley. The view of the water nestled in a tree-lined valley was breathtaking at sunset.

My family loved this place. Consider adding this stop to your trip if you are in the Branson area on vacation.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Welcome to the Top of the Rock,” Top of the Rock, 2018/06/18 http://www.topoftherock.com/.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas–A Fun Way to Spend a Day

/ sandramervillehart

Christ of the Ozarks

A family trip to Branson, Missouri, led us to spend a day in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The quaint, historical feel of the older part of town made me glad we’d made the hour’s drive.

Folks had already discovered healing properties in the springs by the founding of the city on July 4, 1879. Using the spring’s waters, Dr. Alvah Jackson treated and cured his son’s eye ailment in 1856. The doctor also cared for wounded soldiers during the Civil War. After the war, a few Confederate soldiers recuperated near the springs.

Though the town started with tent dwellings and shanties, thousands visited Eureka Springs for the healing springs.

Visitors still flock to the city today. There are many specialty shops in historical downtown. We arrived around noon ready to dine at our favorite restaurant, Mud Street Café. Since it was closed that day, we enjoyed lunch at the balcony restaurant at the Basin Park Hotel. The hotel opened in 1905.

After lunch, we shopped before heading to Thorncrown Chapel a few miles away. What a beautiful spot! Built in 1980, the chapel has 425 windows—6,000 square feet of glass. Nestled in the woods, the chapel and its surroundings filled me with a serene sense of peace.

 

Then we drove to an area where the Passion Play is enacted from May to October. (Check the schedule for dates and times.) The Christ of the Ozarks is there, standing 67 feet high. Impressive sight!

We’ll have to return to attend The Great Passion Play. I’ve heard it’s worth the trip.

All in all, a fun place to spend a day.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Eureka Springs History,” Eurekasprings.com, 2018/06/18 https://www.eurekasprings.com/historical/.

“Thorncrown Chapel,” Thorncrown Chapel, 2018/06/18 https://thorncrown.com/.

Battle of Gettysburg: Lee’s Long Line of Ambulances

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Ambulance outside Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s plan to transport thousands of wounded soldiers after the Battle of Gettysburg was a daunting task. He ordered General John Imboden to lead them to Cashtown before heading south to Williamsport, Maryland. When they reached Williamsport, they paused for a break. Once men and horses rested, they resumed their journey back to Virginia.

The ambulance wagon train stretched for 27 miles.

Tragic.

And 7,000 Confederate soldiers, wounded too severely to travel, were left behind in Gettysburg. Characters in my novel set during the Battle of Gettysburg, A Rebel in My House, had to deal with this issue.

Conservative estimates for Confederate wounded number around 13,000. Other sources report over 18,000. Either way, 27 miles of ambulances means a distressing number of injured soldiers traveled south, groaning in agony as rickety wheels jostled them over rutted dirt roads.

I wondered how many ambulance wagons might have been required and thought it might be fun to try to figure it out.

Ambulance outside of Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg.

Many models in use at the time were 10 feet long or 10 feet, four inches. The heavier wagons required 4 horses to pull them while lighter ones needed only 2.

Some carried 10 patients—4 prone and 6 seated. The driver and 2 patients sat on a closed chest holding medical supplies.

A lighter model carried 5—15 wounded, depending on how many needed to lie prone for the journey.

It seems almost certain—with the number of wounded requiring transportation to Southern hospitals—that folks squeezed onto wagons meant to hold fewer men.

I confess that I got lost trying to figure the length of an average horse—it seems the larger horses are about 6 feet long. An ambulance 10 feet in length with a two-horse team might require about 20 feet. A four-horse team and wagon might need 30 feet.

Allowing 30 feet for each wagon to estimate how many ambulances might have been in this ambulance train … a staggering 4,752 wagons. The actual count was probably less because some patients with minor injuries walked.

Some ambulances held only 5 patients. If folks had to travel in a laying down, less patients could ride with them.

7,000 were left in Gettysburg. Going with the highest estimate of 18,000+, some 11,000 wounded traveled south. That means 2-3 folks traveled in each wagon.

If we allow 50 feet of space for each wagon, there are about 2,851 or 3-4 patients per wagon. If this is true, then lots of soldiers were in bad shape along the way. Possibly greater numbers of slightly injured weren’t included in the total count.

Has anyone run across this in their research?

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Battle of Gettysburg,” Encyclopeadia Britannica, 2018/06/15 https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Gettysburg.

“Battle of Gettysburg,” HistoryNet, 2018/06/15 http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-gettysburg.

“Battle of Gettysburg Facts,” Stone Sentinels, 2018/06/15 http://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/battle-of-gettysburg-facts/.

“Civil War Ambulance Wagons,” Civil War Home, 2018/06/17 http://www.civilwarhome.com/ambulancewagons.html.

Compiled by Editors of Combined Books. The Civil War Book of Lists, Da Capo Press, 1994.

Edited by Kennedy, Frances H. The Civil War Battlefield Guide, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990.

“Gallery: Field Medicine,” Trans-Mississippi Theater Virtual Museum, 2018/06/17, http://www.civilwarvirtualmuseum.org/medicine/field-medicine/ambulance.php.

Long, E.B and Long, Barbara. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865, A Da Capo Paperback, 1971.

Sheldon, George. When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg: The Tragic Aftermath of the Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War, Cumberland House, 2003.

 

Fireside Talk Radio Podcast about A Rebel in My House

/ sandramervillehart

 

Cathy Krafve of Fireside Talk Radio interviewed Sandra Merville Hart, author of A Rebel in My House, a Civil War romance set during the turbulent Battle of Gettysburg. Cathy is a talented host and made Sandra feel a warm Texas welcome!

Here is Cathy’s introduction to the interview:

 

Outside the Box. Her Wisdom, Translating Compassion into Fiction Writing with Sandra Merville Hart

“Award-winning Author Sandra Merville Hart joins Cathy Krafve to talk about her wonderful Civil War era book, A Rebel in My House. Both sides of the conflict receive tender grace from Sandra in this engaging, action-packed story. With compassion, Sandy creates characters to love. Cathy asks questions about her inspiration and decision-making when it comes to handling history respectfully.  With five books out by this time next year, Sandra is a rising star in publishing circles. For Sandy, climbing out of the box means creating stories that reflect compassion for people and respect for history.”

Here is the podcast for those who’d like to download and listen:  Fireside Talk Radio A Rebel on My Land Interview

Thank you for a fun visit on Fireside Talk Radio, Cathy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

The Story Behind the Story-A Rebel in My House

/ sandramervillehart

After I wrote A Rebel in My House, my Civil War romance set during the turbulent Battle of Gettysburg, other authors and readers asked me why I wrote the novel. Since the anniversary of the historic battle is almost here, I thought I’d share the “story behind the story” with you, my readers and blog family.

Something drew me yet again to Gettysburg. I knew there was a story waiting there for me. My husband and I walked the battlefields. Ideas stirred when I found Tennessee troops in Archer’s Brigade, part of Heth’s Division who began the fighting on the first day. Nothing solidified so I kept digging. I discovered fascinating history at the Gettysburg Seminary Ridge Museum in Lutheran Theological Seminary. Surely my story touched this place. Spending several hours exploring the museum and surroundings sparked no ideas so I trudged on.

I explored Gettysburg museums, spending hours at the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, Gettysburg Museum of History, Gettysburg Railroad Station, General Lee’s Headquarters Museum, and The David Wills House where President Lincoln stayed. I learned captivating facts at the Jennie Wade House, Shriver House Museum, and “The Women of Gettysburg Tour,” an evening walking tour.

Ideas swirled as my husband and I walked the town’s streets around the “Diamond” or the town square. This is where the women and children suffered through a nightmare from which they didn’t awaken for many months.

Then we spent another afternoon and evening at the battlefield.

Three Tennessee regiments fought the beginning battle on July 1st. They didn’t fight again until they joined in Pickett’s Charge.  

The sun sank low on the horizon as I stood alone on Cemetery Ridge. The expansive field crossed by Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863, captured my imagination. Though the land is peaceful once more, it still tells a story. My imagination soared while the sun disappeared.

As an author, I had to tell what the townspeople endured. What if a Gettysburg woman fell in love with a Confederate soldier? What if they both made promises to loved ones? Some promises are impossible to keep …

I reluctantly left the ridge. I had a story to write.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Release Day for Audiobook!

/ sandramervillehart

Thrilled to announce Release Day for my first audiobook!

Robin Jasper does an excellent job at narrating A Stranger On My Land, my first Civil War romance. Robin has a way of captivating listeners and not letting go. I wrote the story and she drew me in!

A Stranger On My Land is set on Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, at the time of the famous Civil War Battle Above the Clouds. A Southern woman finds a wounded Union soldier on her land after the battle. He will die if she doesn’t help him.

Buy the audiobook today or get it free with Audible trial. Please leave a review as encouragement to both author and narrator. Thanks for celebrating this release with us!