jay stafford

At the start of the American Civil War, three best friendsall teenage boysyearn to serve in the Confederate Army but are turned away for being too young. But as soon as they are old enough and brave enough, the boysnow on the verge of becoming menjoin a Southern army unit headed for battle. They are willing to sacrifice everything for what they believe. Low on supplies and with diminishing morale, the Confederate States of America sees itself pressed in on all sides by the advancing Union forces. They find themselves encamped outside of Mobile, Alabama, the most fortified American city at the time. Their camp soon becomes the stage for the final great battles of the war. Pitted against each other in bloody conflict are Americans from farms, cities, and small towns north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Ben, Josh, and Caleb, along with thousands of other Southerners, engage the Northern military might at Fort Blakely in a battle that will set the United States on a new, uncertain course. In a few short months, the boys become men as they experience patriotic zeal, comradeship, and horrors that human beings should never encounter. These young men find themselves locked in a symbiotic struggle for survival. As they mature as individuals, so does the nation. For a young nation on the brink of union, can its citizens leave behind a country struggling for its identity to search for a country united in its quest for greatness?