Ian Carlyle, British Guards officer, is brought into the American Civil War and a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln at the Gettysburg Address. This is the second in the Ian Carlyle Series.
The second book in the Ian Carlyle Series. Ian David Carlyle, a seasoned officer of the Crimean War, is brought into the American Civil War as an observer for Her Majesty, Queen Victoria.He is forced against his will to become entangled in a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.He must protect his Queen, his country, the family name, and, indeed, the President of the United States.Follow Ian’s adventures through battles, romance, political intrigue, and betrayal to the brink of his own destruction in a small Pennsylvania town named Gettysburg.
Excerpt
The Gettysburg Conspiracy
by Will Hutchison
Chapter 1
19 November 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Cadmus loved this new rifle musket with its finely checkered stock and telescopic sight along the left side. His hands were sweating as he embraced the grip of this elegant killing machine. It was sighted directly at the speaker’s platform.
They gave him an Enfield when he was with the army. They had no Whitworths, no telescopic sights, in his ragtag regiment. Cadmus had found the Enfield was good only to about 900 yards. But this little beauty could kill at 1500 yards, and play hell on an enemy at a mile. Today, his target was only 212 paces away—a clean shot, impossible to miss.
He leaned into the eyepiece, saw the white-haired animated speaker magnified three times, filling the scope. It was as though he was right in front of him. If he reached out, he could touch him—if he spoke, the man would answer. It always gave Cadmus a thrill to see the target loom so close through the sight; but this was not his target, not yet. Nerves exposed, mouth dry, he waited, his nostrils wide to breathe deep. He knew this was his one chance to make everything right, only one shot.
At twenty-three, Cadmus Buell, formerly of the South Carolina Palmetto Sharpshooters, was not tall, but thin and muscular, with shocks of auburn hair bristling like a porcupine from his head. He habitually used a lot of grease in a futile attempt to slick it down. Cadmus’ rather fat nose flattened into his pointy face, framed by large, bulbous ears. He tried to grow a full beard, perhaps to cover what only a mother could call handsome, but the final effect was an abysmal failure.
On this clear, crisp afternoon in November 1863, Cadmus wore his faded Confederate uniform with the sharpshooter’s badge on the left sleeve—a red diagonal stripe with a red star above it. According to plan, his uniform was covered under a long white smock. He did not want to frighten the folks in this small northern town before his big moment. Then it would be different. Then they would all know.
He had moved a chair and a large chest over to the window. It was still uncomfortable, with all the photographic paraphernalia jammed in around him. It was the perfect disguise to conceal the rifle among equipment, camera, and tripod legs. That did not make it any less unpleasant.
Crouched in the upper room of the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse for several hours, Cadmus was cramped all over—especially his right leg. He leaned out the window and tried to see “Dodger” Kally, who was guarding the photography wagon and the door to the tower. Normally, he could not have missed the huge man scowling up with those knife-like dark eyes, his hairless head shining in the bright sun; but there was no way Cadmus could bend out far enough to spot him. Cadmus genuinely feared this surly Englishman.
Although a crowd milled about the base of the tower, and indeed, the entire gatehouse, no one looked up or bothered with the photographer in the window. He was anonymous, just as they hoped. All eyes were on the platform where the short man with conspicuous white hair was closing his long, tedious speech.
Cadmus perked up. A big, stocky man stood and shouted a few words, but that was not the evil one, either. A murmur rippled through the crowd as they stirred, shifting feet, pressing forward. The soldiers surrounding the platform held their ground, preventing the shoving masses from moving any closer.
A tall, extremely thin man, whose long arms hung loosely by his sides, stood quietly for a moment, then moved to the platform center. Wearing white gloves, he took spectacles from a pocket of his black frock coat and placed them on his nose; he adjusted them as he glanced briefly at the paper in his hands, and in a steady voice, he began speaking. The crowd grew silent.
At the tower door Dodger Kally pulled three times on a rope attached to Cadmus’ chair, signaling that this was indeed, the target. It wasn’t necessary. Cadmus recognized the evil one as soon as he stood. He could almost feel Satan’s presence as the tall man spoke. He had caused it all.
This man caused the war—wanted to free the slaves—invaded his sacred home. This man was the root of the constant sharp pain in Cadmus’ leg, like being stabbed with a knife twenty-four hours a day.
Most of all, this man was the reason Cadmus was discharged by his own army, ignored as an unwanted piece of trash. Wounded in the knee more than a year ago, the Confederate army dubbed him unfit for service. They pronounced the war over—for him—said he would limp for the rest of his life.
Cadmus was not ready for that. No, indeed, he relished military life. He came from nothing, an unknown, a nobody. Then almost overnight, in what he considered a stroke from the mighty hand of God, he became a hero! He, Cadmus, was admired by everyone as a sharpshooter … a killer of Yankee scum.
Cadmus took profound pleasure in the killing and savored the power it gave him. He wanted, craved, that feeling of supremacy and control. He would show them. He thought, How could they not take me back after this daring act. I’m changin’ the world?
The cramping was gone now, as was the sweat. Even the pain in his leg disappeared, replaced by the satisfying coldness that always overwhelmed him before a kill. He made certain the rifle was securely resting on the trunk, and the percussion cap was solidly seated on the nipple. He rubbed his hand affectionately over the wooden stock, smiling to himself, touching the checkered grip gently, as he would a woman.
Cadmus cleared his mind, centered his entire being on the kill, all sounds and distractions gone. Just as his father taught him, he relaxed, letting out some breath, focused on the chest of the tall evil presence on the platform, and squeezed the trigger …
Professional Reviews
Hutchison certainly reached his goal.
“I started writing this book and I got one chapter into it and it dawned on me that I was writing a British officer who got his combat experience six years before in the Crimean War,” Hutchison said of “The Gettysburg Conspiracy.” “I knew about the Crimean War, but I didn’t know a lot about the Crimean War like I did the Civil War.”
So the Gettysburg author, Vietnam veteran and former undercover drug agent put “The Gettysburg Conspiracy” on hold to write “Follow me to Glory,” which introduces readers to Ian Carlyle. The book’s hero is the second son of the Earl of Dunkairn who comes of age during the Crimean War.
Six year’s later, in “The Gettysburg Conspiracy,” the now seasoned soldier finds himself in America as a member of the British Observers in the American Civil War.
Carlyle finds himself transforming from observer to participant when he is forced into a plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg’s Evergreen Cemetery.
As he was writing the book, Hutchison was careful to stay “below the radar scope of history,” and focus on plots that could have actually happened.
“I think you don’t change history, and that’s a tough one,” Hutchison said.
Creating a realistic character who becomes entangled in a plot that could have, but didn’t, happen during a war that so many people know about isn’t easy; but Hutchison was up for the challenge.
He traveled to the United Kingdom to find his hero, Carlyle.
“I went through a lot of service records books and found two officers who were on McClellan’s staff in the Civil War who were on the Scots Fusilier Guards,” he said. “I took their service record books, combined them together, and developed the character.”
The book is definitely a yarn about history, but a believable one. During a book launch that will be held Nov. 20 at the Majestic Theater, Lincoln Historian and portrayer Jim Getty will tell those in attendance how the plot to assassinate the president in Gettysburg is not that far-fetched.
“A president’s security certainly was not what it is today,” Hutchison explained.
Since he has been lecturing on the Civil War for more than 20 years, the research required for “The Gettysburg Conspiracy,” was much less daunting than the three years of preparation that was required for “Follow me to Glory.” But he also had to be careful not to inundate readers with his knowledge.
“If it doesn’t further the story, it is not an important fact,” he explained. “Non-fiction books are meant to inform; fiction is meant to entertain. If I managed to do that, I succeed.”
Hutchison certainly reached his goal. Readers of “The Gettysburg Conspiracy” will learn about the Civil War without even realizing it. The book does not bore you with facts that weigh down the dialogue.
“I learned a lot about writing novels from a screen writer, because screen writing is all about dialogue,” he said. “You have to keep that story moving.”
He also mimicked the style of a book a lot of people have read in middle school, Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage.”
“The Gettysburg Conspiracy” will be available at several local book stores, as well as online dealers such as www.amazon.com. To learn more about the Nov. 20 book launch, visit www.gettysburgconspiracy.com.
- Gettysburg Times Article Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 7:04 AM EST
His most explosive adventure yet !
Within the fabric of his meticulous research and tightly-woven prose, Will Hutchison leaves us straddling a line between fiction and plausible truth. Ian Carlyle is back with his most explosive adventure yet in 'The Gettysburg Conspiracy.' The fate of the Union lies in the hands of this Scottish nobleman, who grew as an officer serving valiantly in the Crimean War. They intend to kill President Lincoln. Carlyle is caught in a crux of deceit at the wane of the American Civil War in this story of love, loyalty, and betrayal. Were it not for the intuition and heroics of Ian Carlyle, this could have indeed been Lincoln’s last address. - Editor, Gettysburg Times
Compelling read from start to spectacular finish
Will Hutchison’s latest Ian Carlyle adventure, The Gettysburg Conspiracy, is a compelling read from start to the spectacular finish. Full of twists and turns which surprise and delight the reader. His rigid attention to historical detail make the story even more convincing, as he weaves his fictional characters in and out of real historical figures. In the end you are left wondering why Abraham Lincoln wasn’t assassinated sooner, and wanting more of Ian Carlyle. - Marion Reale, Historian
Available Now! Rated 5 ***** by readers and listeners.
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