Based on a true person and true event. Billy Laird, a mentally challenged young man, musters in the 17th Maine. Frightened and unsure, he deserts his post in Maryland, meets a runaway slave, and with the help of Quakers and the Underground Railroad, finds his way to Maine. Billy is captured and arrested in Maine and faces a court martial for desertion.
What happens to Billy is a matter of historical record.
Excerpt
"We gonna die? Harry says we won't take a bullet--"
"Truth is, we ain't all coming back, Billy Boy."
Leighton's words frightened Billy. Staring into the darkness, he hesitated for several moments.
"If I don't like it and all, can I go home? I can find my way."
Professional Reviews
Historical Novels Review
This is a fictionalized account inspired by the life of the true Billy Laird, the only American Civil War soldier from the state of Maine to be tried for desertion. Billy’s mind “just don't work the way most folks’ do”; he never learned to read or write and can't figure change. When his friend Harry, the only one in town who’s ever stood up for him, enlists to go fight the Confederacy, however, Billy goes against his father’s advice and joins as well. Billy manages all right with Harry’s help until his fear of gunfire is shifted to an artillery brigade to help care for the horses. Men in the new brigade are merciless to him for his simplicity, so he decides to follow the star his father pointed out to him to return north. He is not far from his posting when he comes across Elijah, a fleeing slave who is almost dead from his exertions. Together, they follow the underground north, one covering for the handicaps of the other.
This first novel is a glorious tour de force. Never have I read a more compelling and sympathetic portrayal from within the mind of the mentally challenged. The dialogue in particular is good, with just a few glitches to throw the reader out. Otherwise, I did not come up for breath as the story rolled along, every beat strong and right. Do not limit this moving tale to young adult readers, as the cover suggests. -- Ann Chamberlin
Maine Sunday Telegram
Flahive's directive skill of rendering conversation throughout her book is remarkable. We are there in the space with Elijah and Billy, with Harry, with the troops under fire in the reality of what it now means, their mustering up for a dangerous rarified cause. . . . Flahive is surely one to be studied for her craftsmanship, her extraordinary interweaving of researched history and imaginitive realism. We see war and its sinister turnings, and the moments of unexpected enlightenment through an inner connection.
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