Week 5 - Go tell the Spartans

[streetnights]

They sleep uneasily, tossing and turning as they have nightmares of the waking world, nightmares which pursue them even in their rest. Every so often, one of them wakes, shifting and shuddering, and I kneel beside the lad to reassure him that all is safe and the enemy is not yet at our gates

Comments

[theun4givables]

Ffff this hits all sorts of like buttons for me when it comes to historical fiction. Seriously, good job with this. I loved that you took the Confederate's side, showing them to be just as human as the Union often is portrayed.

[streetnights]

Thank you! It's a bit longer than I originally anticipated, but I wanted to be able to show a progression instead of just tell it. I had Robert E. Lee in mind when I wrote this, and I wanted to portray something more than 'good guys good, bad guyts bad'.

[theun4givables]

The length of this is perfect for showing the progression. It really is.

Man, you really portrayed that wonderfully. Having grown up north, it always bothered me that the Confederates were always painted with such an awful brush. They were human, too, y'know? They weren't necessarily bad people just because they wanted to be independent. Yeesh.

[cheshire23]

I wanted to portray something more than 'good guys good, bad guyts bad'.

<3

Also, have you read The Tamarack Tree? It was an interesting historical novel, from the perspective of a British girl who had recently moved to the South when the Civil War began.

[streetnights]

Thank you for the kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[alycewilson]

Well-done historical fiction. I like how you found the heart of this brutal battle.

[streetnights]

Thank you for reading!

[agirlnamedluna]

Interesting to see the other side, as history's usually written from the winners' POVs. Well written!

[streetnights]

Thanks! Historical fiction isn't usually my thing but it felt right this time. I think I generally like the loser's POV better than the winner's :)

[halfshellvenus]

Really good historical fiction, and I say that as a die-hard Northerner.

The soldiers who fight and die in any war always have the least say about its existence. This story shows that really well.

[streetnights]

Thank you! I don't think the South was right by any means (and not just because the North got to write history), but I think at the unit level, most soldiers aren't fighting for any ideals, grandiose or not; they're just trying to get by. I'm glad you enjoyed it!