Summary

Chapter 1. In “Soldiers”, the first chapter of Book One, Confederate troops are fleeing across a plantation on a summer day. A young slave girl called Ticey is ordered by her mistress to provide water for the troops known as Secesh, a derivation of the word secession. While performing her duties, the girl hears one of the men express his opinion that the war effort should be abandoned and the slaves freed. The men soon depart as the enemy Yankee army advances. Upon the arrival of the other troops, the girl is again sent to deliver water and meets a soldier by the name of Corporal Brown. He goes on to tell the girl that the slaves are about to be freed and that she is invited to come visit him in Ohio once she is able to leave. To mark...