Surrender the Wind (39 page)

Dear Readers,

It has given me particular pleasure to write,
Surrender the Wind
for you. There is no greater compliment to me as an author than for my readers to become so involved with the characters that you want me to write more. That said, I’m happily immersed in a series, with the powerful Rourke family of Virginia and their three strong-willed sons. As you know, my first installment detailed the journey of legendary Confederate General John Daniel Rourke, the eldest son and his providential meeting of Catherine Fitzgerald from New York during the American Civil War.

My second installment acquaints us with John’s younger brother, Lucas Rourke. Of a different sentiment than his family, Colonel Lucas Rourke is honor bound to uphold the Union and is responsible for a vast network of spies. But when Confederates abduct him, his only hope is the enigmatic spy, Rachel Pierce. How unfortunate, for Lucas to have his orderly world turned upside down by the stubborn Rachel, even worse that he has to depend on her to navigate him through enemy territory.

Although I can’t tell you much more I can promise you this: like my last novel, it is written with one goal in mind—to make you experience the laughter, the love, and all the other myriad emotions of its characters. And when it’s over to leave you smiling…

Warmly,

Elizabeth St. Michel

Author’s Note

Winston Churchill once claimed that the
Great American Civil War
was, “…considered the noblest and least avoidable of all the great mass conflicts of which till then there was record.”

Preceding
Surrender the Wind
was the second
Battle of the Wilderness
. Fought on May 5-6, 1864. The opening engagement of the Overland Campaign has gone down in the annals of American History as one of the bloodiest battles, and the turning point in the war in the Eastern Theatre. As a fresh appointment to the General-in-Chief to the Union Armies, Ulysses S. Grant led the Army of the Potomac south in what he anticipated to be a rapid ploy to outflank the right of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. Chaos exploded in the lines, and tangled in the monstrous undergrowth of the Wilderness, many men perished in uncoordinated fighting and, a terrible fire that swept through the forests. Grant almost succeeded in breaking the Confederate lines. For Lee, the battle was a tactical victory.

Five Points District
was a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, New York. In the Five Points District, large numbers of Irish Catholics fleeing the Irish Potato Famine suffered extreme population density, disease, infant and child mortality rates, unemployment, prostitution, political corruption, violent crime, and other archetypal ills of the city’s deprived. Inhabited by gangsters and other criminals, Five Points bore the highest murder rate of any slum in the world at that time.

Elmira Prison
was a prisoner-of-war camp constructed by the Union Army in Elmira, New York during the American Civil War. Twelve thousand Confederate soldiers were imprisoned with twenty-five percent, dying from malnutrition, exposure to harsh winter weather, overcrowded conditions, disease, poor sanitary facilities and lack of medical care. Despite the excellent harvest that year, the Confederates were given little or rancid food to eat. Dubbed “Hellmira” by its inmates, many charges were alleged that the camp was not a prison but a death camp and consequently, the North’s brutal answer to the South’s Andersonville.

General Jubal Early’s raid on Washington:
To lessen Ulysses S. Grant’s pounding blows to Petersburg, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee sent General Jubal Early and his Army of the Valley up the Shenandoah to make a daring raid on the northern capital of Washington, D.C. With ten thousand Confederate firebrands breathing down the Capitol’s neck, reinforcements were led by General Lew Wallace (author of Ben Hur) to help hold them off. The real skirmishing began at Fort Stevens outside the Union capitol. President Abraham Lincoln walked the parapets to view the action, his height, making him easy pickings for Rebel sharpshooters. Captain Oliver Wendell Holmes concealed below chastised the President. “Get down, you fool.” (He later became a Supreme Court Justice.). General Early realized the strength of Union reinforcements and withdrew across the Potomac, ending his attack on Washington D.C.

Boxing
during the War Between the States took on a life of its own. Cultivated by the Irish masses in New York City, the sport soon stretched to the farmlands of the South. Bare-knuckled boxing seized the day and was a popular pastime with soldiers between long marches and battles to amuse themselves. Of course, gambling accompanied the sport. It is rumored that, when officers were not present, sometimes Yanks and Rebs would cross picket lines and secretly assemble for a bare-knuckled boxing event. Two men with nowhere to go and with only their fists to determine their fate, endured as a symbol for good against evil, mental power versus brute strength. North against South. If caught, the men would face execution for this treasonous act. With irony, it is sad to disclose that they would be shooting at each other again the next day.

I always say that I’m a storyteller, not a historian, and as a storyteller, I’m more concerned with the what-ifs than the why-nots. I so enjoy taking a bit of license in order to bring you the most exciting, sensual, love story that my what-if imagination can create.

Acknowledgements

Most books wouldn’t be written without the help of some special people. I would like to acknowledge Caroline Tolley, my developmental editor and Linda Styles, my copy/line editor. Their insight and expertise were indispensable. Hugs also to my spouse, Edward, five children, eight grandchildren, Dr. Marcianna Dollard, and posthumously, Loretta Bysiek—your love and comfort surround me.

Many thanks to the gracious support of Nancy Crawford, Linda Bysiek, Brenda Kosinski, Paula Ursoy and Western New York Romance Writers Group.

Finally, a special note of gratitude to my readers. You will never know how much your enthusiasm and support enrich my work and my life. You are the best.

Surrender the Wind

Published by Elizabeth St. Michel

Copyright © 2016 by Elizabeth St. Michel

Cover by The Killion Group Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-9974824-1-6

Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2016905728

All rights presently reserved by the author. Published in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Elizabeth St. Michel.