Girls of the South

In 1865, General James Minschew's Confederate Army of Georgia secretly marches into the Shenandoah Valley to take the fight to the Union Army and secure a foothold in Maryland and attempt to free twenty thousand Confederate POWs. Among those who fight for General Minschew's army are Abby and Minnie Fuller, an African-American woman and a white woman. While part of the CSA medical corps that travels with the regiment, they take up arms in the man-starved Confederate army, inserting themselves into the battle with the same courage and bravery as any other soldier. After many battles and heart-pounding encounters, Minnie is injured and the lifelong bond of the two girls is shattered. Sixty-five years later, in Wilmington, North Carolina, Minnie Fuller lives out her twilight years with her daughter Sarah, giving her granddaughter Dora daily history lessons through the stories of her youth in the Army of Georgia. At first not sure if the stories are true, Dora soon believes, leaving Sarah as the lone skeptic. One day, while talking to Dora, Minnie finally releases her pain and guilt over having left Abby on the battlefield. To her surprise, their decades-long search for Abby almost immediately reaches a climax that will forever bring closure to the war for Minnie and her entire family. Historically accurate and emotionally resonant, the final novel of Robert Hester's epic trilogy is a satisfying conclusion to an extraordinary story about deliverance from the horrors of war. Graphic descriptions and precise recounting of skirmishes between the Army of Georgia and Union troops demonstrate profound truths regarding the Union invasion of the Confederate states. What elevates Girls of the South to a higher level is its devotion to the human faces of the war, reminding us that all can be healed through the salvation of love.