Friends of the Wigwam: A Civil War Story

by John William Huelskamp

Overview

FRIENDS OF THE WIGWAM is a historical novel and love story about six young friends whose innocence is stripped from them seemingly overnight in the brutal setting of the American Civil War.

Meticulously researched and based on real-life people and true events, FRIENDS OF THE WIGWAM spans 1857-1865 and introduces you to the courageous men and women from Illinois who staged one of the first contested national conventions, were responsible for getting Abraham Lincoln elected and made the ultimate sacrifice during the American Civil War.

From the true story of a young woman who successfully masqueraded as a man during the Civil War and was buried with full military honors to the often heart-wrenching letters home to wives and families and actual military correspondence between military leaders, author John William Huelskamp brings to life a volatile nation at war.

Celebrate each friend's successes and struggles on the battlefields, learn the story of those who led the battles, and meet a magnificent war-horse that is a steadfast survivor in the face of many tragedies.

Without at doubt, FRIENDS OF THE WIGWAM is one of the most moving Civil War novels you will ever read.

*** A WGN Emmy Award nominee news video on this fascinating Civil War novel can be viewed at friendsofthewigwam.com***

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780692348826
Publisher:	BARRINGTON GROUP PUBLICATIONS
Publication date:	03/15/2016
Pages:	386
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

John William Huelskamp is a historical novelist whose early passion for Civil War history was ignited when he discovered a cavalry saber in the Maryland woods near his boyhood home. An avid research historian, he is a consultant to Civil War scholars, writers, and artists and has been a frequent guest commentator on national television broadcasts raising public awareness of forgotten Civil War heroes. He was appointed an honorary Board Member for the General Longstreet Memorial Project at Gettysburg National Military Park and continues to promote Civil War legacy through monuments, museums, and battlefield preservation.

VIDEOS with Author at: friendsofthewigwam.com

Editorial Reviews

2017-01-03
A Civil War tale tracks the braided lives of six friends whose lives are upturned by national tumult. In this debut novel, best friends Will and Aaron, 16 and 13 years old, stumble upon a wigwam in 1857 in the Illinois woods, a makeshift Native American hut concealed on the river bank. In the wigwam, they find a tomahawk and a medicine bag filled with colored beads. Over time, the structure becomes the official meeting spot for their extended group of youthful fellow travelers, and the physical symbol of their unbreakable bonds. Within the group, romance blossoms between Will and Allie, a self-assured tomboy who eventually disguises her gender to fight in the war, and between Aaron and Jenny Putnam, the daughter of a fire marshal. Another friend, Elmer Ellsworth, particularly close to Allie, becomes a colonel in the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry, and dies taking down a Rebel flag, a harsh reminder of the war brewing in the background. Huelskamp has crafted a scrupulously researched historical novel, culled from the exhaustive study of previously unpublished letters and diaries. Both characters and events are factual, embellished only when the demands of dramatization—largely the concoction of dialogue—must be met. Unfortunately, the dialogue is the volume's weakest component, often so sentimental and emotionally overwrought it borders on the outright cloying. At one point, Allie learns that Elmer commands a regiment of his own: " ‘I don't want Elmer killed!' Allie stated. Her voice began to crack a little. ‘He's my friend and brother. He taught me how to fish and trap muskrats. He should be comin' back home. I don't want him to be hurt!' " The book as a whole, though, is a scholarly triumph, deftly bringing alive the volatile atmosphere of a nation in peril. Major historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Congressman Elihu Washburne appear prominently, humanizing a conflict too often interpreted as a contest of impersonal factions. But the story's real driving force is the stark juxtaposition of youthful innocence—radiated by the self-professed "friends of the wigwam"—and the savagery of war. Huelskamp's investigatory rigor is the principal virtue of the novel, but it also manages to be an entertaining, and tender, tale of the relentlessness of love against daunting odds. A marvelously researched historical novel about Union soldiers and sympathizers, both moving and educational.

Kirkus Reviews