The Unknown Soldier

I wish I had found this image of a confident young Confederate cavalryman before I had written a word of Measure of Devotion. In truth, though, the book was nearly finished and I was actually looking for something else when I encountered him in a huge sheaf of old family photos. 

The photo you see is the original daguerreotype and more than likely was taken in 1861, just as this young man was heading off to war. I do not know his identity, but probably he is either a relative from my father’s maternal line (a Devereux or a Hinsdale), or maybe a beau of one of my long-ago Confederate grandmothers or aunts. My father’s mother had chairs exactly like the one he rests his hand on. 

I could read a dozen Civil War history books and not gain as much visceral information as this portrait gives me. There is defiance in the gaze that looks straight into the camera, athleticism in the strong, slim carriage, years of horsemanship in the well-worn riding boots, controlled violence in the spurs. He is beautiful, proud, elegant. 

I have slave-owning great-grandfathers who fought for the Confederacy, and I do not applaud their choices nor share their beliefs. Neither they nor this soldier in the photo were entitled to their lives of privilege, enjoyed at the expense of other lives. Yet I do acknowledge that they suffered in their journeys through violence and destruction.

At the moment his photograph was taken, this young man has always had a fine horse to ride, and with his pistol holster and fresh white leather gauntlets, he believes he has everything he needs to dispatch the Union army. With the benefit of history, I look into this young face and see that he does not know what he is up against. He does not imagine half-rations, and then half of those half-rations. He has not yet seen a minié ball grind through a friend’s body and ruin—or take—his life. There will be cholera and typhoid, body lice, sleeping on the ground, interminable days in cold rain, mud, boredom, terror, homesickness. 

This young man’s photo did not show up in time to be an inspiration for Francis Shelburne, the Confederate soldier son in Measure of Devotion. But he is an affirmation of Francis. He contains all the arrogance and beauty and unworthiness of the young man I imagined for my novel. And the same disillusion and suffering also await him.

MEASURE OF DEVOTION

Set against the tumultuous backdrop of the American Civil War, this intricately woven novel delves into the life of Susannah Shelburne, a thirty-six-year-old woman residing in South Carolina with her older husband, Jacob. Their son, Francis, defies his parents’ wishes by enlisting in the Confederate army, sparking bitter familial discord. In October 1863, devastating news arrives: Francis has been critically wounded near Chattanooga, Tennessee. Susannah embarks on a perilous journey to bring her son home, finding Francis delirious with fever and haunted by the horrors of battle. Their reunion is overshadowed by the conflicts at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, culminating in Francis being captured as a prisoner of war. As the war exacts its toll and tensions escalate between mother and son, Susannah confronts impossible choices amidst harrowing revelations from home. This gripping narrative explores themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the profound impacts of war on family bonds, painting a vivid portrait of one woman’s relentless fight for survival and reconciliation in a time of unprecedented turmoil.

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Nell Joslin is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and practiced law there for the better part of twenty years. She received an MFA in Creative Writing from North Carolina State University in 2006, and has published short fiction and memoir. Measure of Devotion is her first novel. She takes inspiration and comfort in gardens, birds and anything nature-related. The mother of three daughters and grandmother of five, she currently lives in Raleigh.

Novel website: measureofdevotion.com

facebook.com/nell.joslin

@nelljoslin2607

 

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers