Imagine my delight this morning when I discovered my Civil War novel is ranked 20 on an Amazon bestseller list. That bright orange bar proclaiming #20 made my day. Last week during Amazon Prime Days DIVIDED LOYALTIES was specially priced—and I guess that’s what prompted the attention. And the sales. Either way I’m happy to…
Last Saturday, I took part in a Women’s History Month event at the Boonsboro Library. While my two fellow panelists are real historians—John Banks writes a great Civil War blog, and Emilie Amt is a professor of history at Hood College—I was invited because of DIVIDED LOYALTIES. The program was organized by Smoketown-Antietam Hospital Project. It…
When the Battle of Antietam was over, the casualties numbered more than 23,000. No single day of battle has every been more horrific. I have always been amazed by the stories of those who showed up to help, especially the women who rolled up their sleeves and fed wounded soldiers, read to them, offered a…
The soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who fought at Antietam (Sharpsburg, if you like) are remembered for their courage and the sacrifices they made. Some paid the ultimate price. Others paid with pain and suffering for the rest of their lives. But they weren’t the only heroes on the battlefield that day and in the…
I spent many hours contemplating the ultimate sacrifice given by so many during the Civil War Battle of Antietam while I wrote DIVIDED LOYALTIES. Some 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. Last week, while on my way to a travel writers’ conference, I took a…
She had packed some apples from the orchard and then wrapped a few beaten biscuits into a gingham towel. Then Maureen gently drew open the drawer in the pantry. Her father’s gun was in there. There were lots of strangers on the road these days, not all of them good. She lifted the gun out…
Like her brother Joe, Maureen longed to serve her adopted country. An Irish immigrant, she had found a home in the Maryland farming community of Sharpsburg. Instead of famine, she had found abundance. Instead of English troops marching by, she had found peace. She and her family had a new life filled with such promise.…
Maureen and her friends, Eliza and Amy, who lived on the next farm, didn’t know what to expect when they ventured out away from their homes. They weren’t even sure they wanted to see after they’d heard the thunder of battle for a long, horrible day. Amy, married to a Union soldier, led the way…
DIVIDED LOYALTIES, my Civil War historical novel is available in paperback and e-book by Black Rose Writing. When war comes, will Maureen side with family or country? I wrote my Civil War novel for my mother and my daughters. I wrote it to honor Clara Barton, a personal heroine and the women with the healing touch. DIVIDED LOYALTIES tells the story…
When I was researching the history that forms the background of my Civil War WIP, I found all kinds of treasures at the Maryland Historical Society’s H. Furlong Baldwin Library. But one little document brought new life to my story. I wrote the first draft during National Novel Writing Month a year ago. Writing furiously…
Mary K. Tilghman writes 