NIGHT MARCH

by Bruce Lancaster ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Dahlgren's proposed raid on Richmond was planned to free the Union prisoners at Belle Isle and Libby Prisons. Two officers- cavalry- of the raiders, Stedman of the orphan troop, and Jake Pitler, of the 1st Maine, had played a major part in planning the raid. And then treachery entered in -- Dahlgren was tricked- the raid failed- and an ambush took the gallant one-legged colonel's life, and brought Stedman and Pitler to Libby. The title might come from the eerie ""night march"" of the projected raid; but even more, it defines the grim and hair-raising escape from Libby, the trek south into the heart of the Confederacy, passed from doubtful Unionist to doubtful Unionist, through Virginia, across the mountains of North Carolina, into Tennessee- harassed, threatened, weakened by mixed loyalties -- and finally achieving their goal- the Union forces. The tale builds to a climax in the Battle of Nashville- near the war's end. It is adventure and romance and an odd slice of history, which will appeal to those who like Sinclair's The Horse Soldiers. Lancaster is building a sound pattern with his historical novels. This is, perhaps, his best.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown-A.M.P.

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1958

Categories: FICTION