Seen the Glory: A Novel of the Battle of Gettysburg

Luke and Thomas Chandler grew up on Martha's Vineyard, raised by their abolitionist father and Rose, their headstrong and beautiful Cape Verdean housekeeper. When a recruiter comes to the island, the boys, who have already witnessed their father and Rose helping a runaway slave to freedom and who are determined to join the fight against slavery, eagerly enlist in the storied Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Rose, however, finds that without the protection of the brawny Luke, even she, a free woman of color in the North, can be a victim of malicious prejudice.

Luke and Thomas join the Union Army in Virginia as it recovers from a devastating loss at Chancellorsville. Throughout the hot days of early summer the brothers march with the army through Virginia and Maryland, crossing the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania. They experience unaccustomed hardships: food that is barely edible, terrible thirst, chilly nights, and rain-soaked marches. They share in the camaraderie of their fellow soldiers, spending their evenings discussing over card games what they will do when the war ends, alternately exhibiting anxiety and bravado as the next battle looms.

The brothers quickly discover that their abolitionist views make them unpopular with many of their fellow soldiers. They witness the hostility of the Southerners whose homes they pass on the march, and the cheers of the Pennsylvanians, who welcome them back north. And then one day their march ends in a little town none of them has ever heard of, Gettysburg. On the eve of battle, Luke shares a secret with his younger brother that causes a rift between them, a separation that they will take onto the field.

Seen the Glory portrays life in the Army of the Potomac as no other novel ever has. The climactic battle at Gettysburg is rendered as vividly as in the classic Civil War novel The Killer Angels. John Hough does full justice to the townspeople, including free blacks suddenly imperiled by the arrival of the Confederate army, and the Rebel soldiers themselves, battle hardened, war weary, yet convinced they are fighting for a just cause. But above all this is a heartbreaking story about two brothers united and then separated by the powerful bond that only love can forge, and break.