Set in late 1874, this is the story of the citizens of Savannah, Georgia on the eve of the takeover of the town by General Sherman, the Union general famous for the trail of destruction he left behind as he and his army advanced across Georgia in 1864.
The main character is spunky Hattie Lester, twelve, the only child of an landowning widow whose spouse died in the war. Hattie is an ardent supporter of the Southern cause, mainly because her father died for it.
As Sherman draws closer, the citizens of Savannah are understandably nervous, given the destruction for which he is famous. As the Union forces draw nearer, Hattie and her mother leave their rice plantation and move in with a family friend, Vee, a spinster piano teacher in Savannah. Vee lives in constant fear of being attacked by looters, thieves or Union troops. That is until she makes the acquaintance of a wounded Yankee soldier, who was shot defending her and her home from Yankee looters.
Meanwhile, Hattie gets into a confrontation with General Sherman and kicks him in the ankle. At the time, she did not know who he was. But whether that would have made a difference in her actions is debatable. The General becomes a benefactor to Hattie because he is missing his own family and she reminds him of his daughter. (I believe this part of the story is entirely made up.)
In the end, the fearful citizens of Savannah had little to fear from Sherman and his arrival ended the Northern blockade of the city, which enabled food and goods to once again enter the city at a time when resources had grown very thin for many people there.
This was a pretty good read, if a bit pat in its handing of the different plots in the story. I did find the first part of the book much less interesting than the later part where the Union Army took over the city.
Here is a review by the Historical Novel Society.
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