When Johnathan Traver joined the Union Army in October of 1861, he imagined a glorious and noble death awash in crimson. Eight months later, a survivor of Shiloh, Johnathan is still alive, serving as a master sergeant. To the dismay of his superiors, he makes it his mission to update battle training techniques, even if it means becoming an outlaw. He believes modern weapons should dictate modern battle strategies, but the army still trains men as if they had muskets.

Johnathan-the disowned son of a wealthy Vermont Squire who endured an abusive childhood-meets Esher, an illiterate orphan from the prairie, and they become warrior companions. Adventure is Johnathan's word for their union; love is Esher's. What's more, the vast difference in their backgrounds forms an obstacle for them. Esher belabors this difference; Johnathan doesn't.

Sharing a tale of the Union soldiers in the midst of the Civil War, "Sweetgrass: Book II" remembers them for their bravery and communicates a triumph of the spirit.

Easterner Johnathan Traver joined the Union Army to die a glorious, crimson death. He feels a valiant death will liberate him from his abusive boyhood. Yet in April of 1862, right after the victory in the battle of Shiloh, he is still alive while thousands of others have perished. Sergeant Traver faces a challenge; he firmly believes they're fighting a modern war that calls for modern tactics. Traver's new training techniques could change the course of the Civil War, and he teaches them to his squad, company, and regiment. But the army regards his efforts as seditious and views Traver as a traitor. On a personal level, Traver's authority could be threatened when he falls in love with eighteen-year-old Esher Coley, a new recruit from the West. As they become warrior companions, their focus shifts. A profound Civil War love story that overcomes ingrained pain and heals old wounds, "Sweetgrass: Book I" communicates a triumph of the spirit.

When Johnathan Traver joined the Union Army in October of 1861, he imagined a glorious and noble death awash in crimson. Eight months later, a survivor of Shiloh, Johnathan is still alive, serving as a master sergeant. To the dismay of his superiors, he makes it his mission to update battle training techniques, even if it means becoming an outlaw. He believes modern weapons should dictate modern battle strategies, but the army still trains men as if they had muskets.

Johnathan-the disowned son of a wealthy Vermont Squire who endured an abusive childhood-meets Esher, an illiterate orphan from the prairie, and they become warrior companions. Adventure is Johnathan's word for their union; love is Esher's. What's more, the vast difference in their backgrounds forms an obstacle for them. Esher belabors this difference; Johnathan doesn't.

Sharing a tale of the Union soldiers in the midst of the Civil War, "Sweetgrass: Book II" remembers them for their bravery and communicates a triumph of the spirit.

Easterner Johnathan Traver joined the Union Army to die a glorious, crimson death. He feels a valiant death will liberate him from his abusive boyhood. Yet in April of 1862, right after the victory in the battle of Shiloh, he is still alive while thousands of others have perished. Sergeant Traver faces a challenge; he firmly believes they're fighting a modern war that calls for modern tactics. Traver's new training techniques could change the course of the Civil War, and he teaches them to his squad, company, and regiment. But the army regards his efforts as seditious and views Traver as a traitor. On a personal level, Traver's authority could be threatened when he falls in love with eighteen-year-old Esher Coley, a new recruit from the West. As they become warrior companions, their focus shifts. A profound Civil War love story that overcomes ingrained pain and heals old wounds, "Sweetgrass: Book I" communicates a triumph of the spirit.