The Yankee Widow
Caroline Hammond has never traveled far from her home, a farm nestled just outside Gettysburg. But in June 1863, when her husband Jacob is listed among the wounded in the newspaper, Caroline boards a train to Washington, DC to find him amidst the endless sea of medical tents. In a few days, he succumbs to his wounds and is brought home for burial. Meanwhile, the war is knocking on Caroline’s front door. A handsome Union officer named Rogan McBride asks Caroline to keep food and medical supplies hidden from encroaching Confederates. Reluctantly, she agrees. After the Battle of Gettysburg, union soldiers return to the farm, many wounded and dying. Hidden in their ranks is a Rebel named Bridger Winslow who’s suffered a grievous wound. Captain McBride has disguised Bridger, his school friend, in Union blue. When Rogan receives his next orders, he reveals the truth to Caroline and asks that she keep Bridger safe until he’s healed. Caroline questions what nursing back to health a confederate soldier could mean for Union officers like her husband. Unexpectedly, Caroline develops feelings for Bridger. But what sort of future is possible between a Southern gentleman and a Yankee widow?
Miller poignantly explores this tumultuous time in American history. She brings characters together from opposing sides and teaches them the true measure of a person. Caroline runs an emotional gauntlet as her home becomes an emergency field hospital with sights, smells, and sounds exactly the same as where her husband died. Caroline reconciles the person she was with Jacob while exploring who she’s becoming and how it feels to move on. This is a well-crafted story with absorbing characters and a hearty helping of period details. The setting and vernacular provide a divine frosting over the story’s decadently gooey and sweet emotional center. Recommended.
