Bonnie Droddy

Confederate Hearts Bonnie Droddy

Confederate Hearts is a Civil War love story. Sarah, a lovely sixteen-year-old resident of Gettysburg is engaged to a young man named Daniel. Bur Sarah's father won't let her marry until she turns eighteen. Daniel's cousin is volunteering into the 42nd Pennsylvania Bucktails, a sharpshooter regiment, and wants Daniel to join up with him. Frustrated that he can't marry the girl he loves for two more years and feeling a commitment to his cousin and his country, Daniel enlists with his cousin. Sarah determines to wait for his return as patiently and as optimistically as she is able. She is supported by her father and brother and three close friends. Daniel dies at Antietam. Sarah's intense mourning gradually abates. A year later, after the Battle of Gettysburg, she and her brother find a wounded soldier. They, and their doctor, r care for him despite the fact that he is a Confederate. Captain Seth Conlon grows to like everyone and falls in love with Sarah. When he finally heals, the family faces a difficult decision: turn him in to go to prison or allow him to return to his regiment. Seth has pursued Sarah at every opportunity and when her father sees the growing feelings she has for him, his decision is made. How can he hurt his daughter more than she has already endured? He agrees to take Seth to the Maryland state line and let him go. Seth has promised Sarah that he will return, but toward the end of the war, he and his friend are captured and sent to Elmira Prison. They endure through their mutual support, their wits, and their unfailing humor. But they are not released when the war ends. Held until July, everyone thinks them dead. Will Sarah lose hope, her faith, and once again her love?