As the fires of war spread across a divided nation, three brothers from Louisiana are swept into the storm that will decide the fate of the Confederacy-and perhaps the future of America itself.
In the bloody aftermath of Fredericksburg, young Confederate officer Johan Lutze escapes Union captivity through courage, cunning, and sheer determination. Returning to General Robert E. Lee's army just in time for the Battle of Chancellorsville, Johan performs an act of heroism that saves the life of the legendary General Stonewall Jackson and thrusts him into the inner circle of Confederate power.
Now, with Vicksburg under siege and the Confederacy teetering between survival and collapse, Johan's bold strategic ideas begin to influence President Jefferson Davis himself. But in Richmond, ambition and politics can be as deadly as bullets, and not everyone welcomes the rise of the young officer from Louisiana.
While Johan helps shape daring military campaigns alongside Generals Lee, Beauregard, and Johnston, his brothers wage battles of their own. Paul Lutze Jr., maimed at Shiloh and fitted with a prosthetic leg, enters the shadowy world of Confederate espionage, where secrets and sabotage may alter the course of the war. Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Jacques Lutze marches north with the ferocious Louisiana Tigers, consumed by grief, vengeance, and a burning desire to kill Yankees before they kill him.
From the fields of Pennsylvania to the banks of the Mississippi, from the halls of Richmond to the courts of Europe and the rising empire in Mexico, the war expands into a conflict of global consequence. Armies maneuver. Governments scheme. Brothers bleed.
And as the summer of 1863 approaches its reckoning, the Lutze brothers will stand at the center of history-where triumph and tragedy walk hand in hand.
Sergeant Poisson hushed Jacques, who itched to stand up and shoot the Yankee horsemen. “Not now, boy. Wait for General Hayes to give the command.”
The hell with waiting, thought Jacques. His vision was exceptional, and he could see the mass of Yankee horsemen beginning to ascend Fleetwood Hill. Five hundred yards, four hundred…
“Company,” called out an officer. All along Fleetwood Hill, General Hayes's entire 1,500-man command stood to the shock of Gregg’s oncoming Yankee division. “Ready, aim!” Jacques, as a sharpshooter, had to wait no longer. His rifle at the ready, he located his first victim, aimed, and fired his Sharp’s Rifle. The first casualty on either side in the battle of Fleetwood Hill was Lieutenant Colonel Brodrick of the First New Jersey Cavalry, with a bullet to his left lung. He would die almost instantly from Jacques Lutze’s well-placed shot.
“Fire!” Came the command from General Hayes. In near unison, almost seven hundred rifles went off, mauling the front ranks of Wyndham’s and Kilpatrick’s commands. Stunned momentarily, the Union cavalry slowed, regrouped, and continued its charge up Fleetwood Hill, as thousands of Union cavalry troopers were now committed to the fight. At 200 yards, the order to fire came again, and this time, the second half of Hayes’s Tigers fired their rifles. The First New Jersey, which had been leading Wyndham’s brigade, effectively ceased to exist after the second Confederate volley.
Gregg’s command slowed to a near stop after the second volley. Hayes had played a masterful trick by creating two volleys quickly and having half of his command participate in each one. But as the Yankees began reorganizing and ascending Fleetwood Hill again, there would only be time for one last volley, this time from the entire brigade, before Gregg’s entire cavalry division was upon the lone Confederate brigade and General Lee.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Justin has always had a passion for storytelling. This writing process has always been important to Justin, a lifelong history nerd, who received a Bachelor’s in History from the University of New Orleans.
After he is done with his day job, Justin loves to come home and play with his two wonderful kiddos and watch movies with his wife.
Follow the tour HERE!
No comments:
Post a Comment