Central Kansas Library System

Mel Carroll, a self-sufficient hill farmer, just wants to plow and harvest, tend to his stock, marry his sweetheart, and live quietly in the rugged Ozark country of southwest Missouri. But with the arrival of a northbound Confederate army, his farm is transformed into a fortified military camp. When the enemy arrives the outmanned Confederates collapse, and Mel is captured. Later, he barely escapes with a single goal in mind: make his way to the farm...

"Will Hartman's sons and daughters were a fierce and determined American family, with a legacy of honor and a bold dream to build new lives on the Missouri frontier. But long before America declared itself at war over the issue of slavery, Kansas and Missouri were in pitched battle. John Brown's bloody raids into Missouri were answered with retaliatory strikes at the homes of the abolitionists. The Hartman family was caught up in the division on opposite...