War Memorial

by Elisabeth Grace Foley

At the bottom of an old trinket-box lies a misshapen bit of lead—a bullet from the Civil War, an old family keepsake preserved, but mostly forgotten, by later generations. And behind it lies a story—the story of a young girl’s experiences in the days surrounding the fateful battle of Gettysburg, which force her to examine her own heart and show her the face of war in a way she could not have understood before. “War Memorial” is a short story, approximately 6,500 words long.

Genres: Short Stories, Historical Fiction, Civil War, War

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 2012

About the author

Elisabeth Grace Foley (that’s Elisabeth with an s) is the author of numerous works of historical fiction and historical mystery set mostly in the American West, including the Mrs. Meade Mysteries, short cozy mysteries featuring a lady detective in Edwardian-era Colorado, and the Western comedy A Sidekick’s Tale. Her most recent release, The Smoking Iron and Other Stories, is the latest of several collections of Western short stories.

She was a Peacemaker Award finalist in 2015 with her novella Left-Hand Kelly, and again in 2021 with her short story “Dakota Clothesline,” and won the Peacemaker for short fiction in 2025 with her short story "Valiant-For-Truth." Her historical mystery novel Land of Hills and Valleys was voted one of Readfree.ly’s 50 Best Indie Books of 2021.

When not reading or writing, she enjoys gardening, crocheting, digging further into her family tree, cheering for underdog European football teams, and watching old movies. She lives in upstate New York with her family.

Reviews

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was wonderful!! :D An inspiring, powerful, beautifully written, and thought-provoking short-story – I really enjoyed it. :) It was a quick read, but not one to be missed. ;)

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable story, a little snippet of family history. I wanted it to be longer, but I enjoyed it anyway! Recommended for anyone who enjoys short stories with a strong sense of family.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Elisabeth Foley offered to allow me to review her latest short story, I jumped at the chance. I love historical fiction and, being from the deep south, the Civil War has always held special interest for me.

I don’t read many short stories, because they are just that, short. I like to find myself immersed in a story and learning about a character. I found myself enjoying this story, despite the fact that it was short.

War Memorial is a delightful as well as thought provoking story set during the Civil War, told by a father to his children on a stormy night. I don’t want to give too much of the story away, so I will just say that two people from opposite sides of the war meet, and it changes their lives.

I can imagine this being a perfect family night reading. But I suggest to get the full effect, you wait until it starts raining; turn off all the lights except one oil lamp for your dad to read by. I recommend this book for family read-aloud, for those interested in history, and/or those looking for a well written, short read.

I received this story from the author in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

[Angie Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! A touching little story with a great message. <3 Also, I was trying to steel myself for things not to work out the way I wanted, but they did! My heart is so happy! :') So glad I snapped this up before it goes out of print soon!

Content--mentions of blood and wounds (not graphic); mentions of war and battles

[A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

I thoroughly enjoyed this. What a perfect little story. Elisabeth Grace Foley never fails to disappoint, especially in her short stories.

[Éowyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

~ January 2023 ~

One always wonders if a story found charming in one's teen years will be the same literally half-a-dozen years later, War Memorial passed the gauntlet.

I just finished reading this story minutes ago and can hardly wait to read it again. :) The hero... the feel... every jot of it is absolute perfection!

[Jesseca Wheaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sweet, short story that was a perfect read for a trip to the lake!
I'm looking forward to having my sister read this, and I'm quite sure she'll enjoy it!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not every day you find a good historical fiction writer, especially one who can write really good westerns and Civil-War themed stuff. If you love the west and American history and the Civil War and history generally, you're going to love this new author. I was seriously impressed--and I'm not easy to impress when it comes to one of my favorite genres!
The story is short, set in the Civil War era, and concerns the encounter between a young lady from one side and a young soldier from the other. That's the plot, but the story--the meat of the story, the thing that makes it have emotional appeal--is the heroine realizing that people are people, no matter what side they're fighting for.
But this story doesn't just have a good plot and storyline. It is beautifully performed from an artistic standpoint. The descriptions are beautiful and realistic of the fields around her home, and the narrative very easy and natural. This author is not hampered by the stiff rules of modern writing that make most books feel fake. The heroine's emotional journey felt real, not programmed. And there's a tiny hint of romance in the end of the story--nicely handled and cute.
It feels like it could have really happened. Like it was an actual anecdote from the Civil War, the kind you find in museums and textbooks. And I guess that's the greatest compliment any author can receive.
Keep an eye on this young author. She has some real talent. :)

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet little story that takes place during the battle of Gettysburg and in 1946.

The family is enjoying a nice evening together, when all of a sudden the power goes out. With this in the search for some matches they come across a little bullet in there grandmothers old box. This bullet has it's own story that the father then shares with them all.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This was a sweet story. I like the way the story was written with two time periods. Even though this was a short story and sometimes time jumps don’t work, this one did. I appreciated the fact that this author doesn’t portray one side of the Civil War as all evil and the other all good. Too many books do that.

[Jeanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story!

This was a wonderful, quick read. I even got a little teary at the end in spite of knowing what was coming. The only reason I did not give give stars was because I struggled at times with the writing style. The really long sentences had to be read multiple times to understand the flow and grasp the meaning. However, this did not really detract from the story itself. I would like to read more by this author to see if I can adjust to the writing style. I hope other stories are just as good. I enjoyed the way this was told to children. I could easily see the family sitting with bbq rapt attention as the details unfolded. Overall this was a nice change of of pace for me. I highly recommend it to anyone. Well worth your time.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a little gem, building a story out of one item in a small wooden box of family junk sitting on top of a piano. It turns out that the history of the item goes all the way back to the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Elisabeth Grace Foley tells the story well, and there's some some subtle wisdom on the nature of war. I really loved it.

This book was first published in 2012, but the author was apparently dissatisfied with it, withdrawing it and eventually publishing this revised and improved version in 2024. At about 6,500 words, it lives in the borderlands of short story and novelette.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful little short story (or perhaps novelette) has been republished in revised form as War Memorial: A Short Story (2024).

[Sarah Brazytis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a shorter read, very clean! It has a split timeline, but I don't remember it being hard to follow (I would love to reread for this review, but it appears to now be unavailable?).

One star off for the ending: if my dad just informed me my grandpa was the star soldier in a story he just told, my siblings and I would be beyond excited, not just, "Oh, that's interesting. Thanks for telling us, Dad. Good night." So...not believable?

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely my favorite by Miss Foley! It follows her typical sweet but never sugary style and is perhaps one of the most vivid stories she has written. But best of all, this has become an "old friend" kind of story for me -- the kind that you can read over and over and depend upon to give you the same feeling each time. You shan't regret purchasing this one.