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Roman Hasford #1
Elkhorn Tavern
Martin Hasford is away fighting with the Confederate Army and his family must struggle to survive in northern Arkansas--where they are caught in the middle of the Battle of Pea Ridge
311 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1980
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January 22, 2018
"This book is dedicated to the memory of those women, no matter whether their loyalties were North or South, who tried to survive in the savage vacuum left after a seldom recalled battle of 1862. The fact that they lived at all is marked only in tiny, forgotten clusters of scarred headstones scattered among the hickory groves and oak ridges of that land, but their progeny are still there."
I decided to include the author’s dedication in my review, since after reading this outstanding book I am truly in awe of these unknown women who sacrificed much, including their personal safety and their property, in order to hold onto the bits and pieces they could still call their own. Elkhorn Tavern tells the story of one such fictional family, the Hasfords, who represent a slice of history that was far from familiar to this reader at least. All war fiction is gripping, in my opinion, but Civil War stories in particular are so poignant when we see how neighbors and even relatives were often pitted against one another. This novel is no exception, and Douglas C. Jones’s storytelling abilities are superb. I was engrossed in the story from start to finish.
Ora Hasford’s husband, Martin, has gone off to fight with the Confederates. The Hasfords live in the northwest section of Arkansas, just a few miles from the border of Missouri. Martin was not a supporter of slavery, yet he chose to fight for the South. "He was still steadfast against human bondage, yet he saw a bitter wickedness in outsiders trying to tell anyone how they should run their affairs. Although he would never own a slave himself, neither would he ever think of dictating his views to another man." Ora has been left behind to run the farm with the help of her two children, Roman, aged fifteen, and Calpurnia, aged seventeen. Perhaps Martin would have stayed home had he known that his little family would soon be in the midst of a bloody yet little-known battle, The Battle of Pea Ridge, in 1862. Not only that, the Hasfords find themselves threatened by bands of marauders, as the troops leave behind a land devastated and with little protection. Ora and her children are visited by some very unwelcome guests, as well as by one mysterious injured man who is lucky that the Hasfords put compassion and duty before political beliefs.
The battle scenes are absorbing and oftentimes as gruesome as one would expect, but without being gratuitous. The characters are expertly developed; Jones breathes life into every single one, even the minor ones. Roman is the ‘typical’ adolescent, wanting to show his brawn and maturity and angering when he feels his mother and sister don’t value him as the man he believes himself to be. When he sees firsthand the reality of war, he realizes that fighting is not necessarily a privilege and the glory he once believed it to be. Calpurnia is a bright young woman who has always respected her mother, but this respect quickly turns to awe when she notes the real strength behind her mother’s quiet ways. What a competent and upstanding woman we see in Ora Hasford – and one that you would be well-advised not to torment! I don’t know who could fail to admire her. "Calpurnia knew she would never again look at her mother without feeling her indomitable will." Just the sort of woman you need around in a tight spot. Of course, I can’t forget to mention Tulip Crozier, "a shrewd old man who knew how to make ends meet and who was sometimes a little strange." A penchant for whiskey as well as some other quirks might turn off some folks, but he was a true friend to the Hasfords. And then there’s Spider Epp – the misfit, the ignored, the despised. He’ll seek his revenge by aligning himself with the wrong crowd.
This book was a complete surprise. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Civil War historical fiction, as well as just plain good storytelling. It’s going on my favorites shelf, and it won’t be long before I pick up a copy of Jones’s The Barefoot Brigade which tells Martin Hasford’s story as a soldier for the Confederate army.
"It would never make an epic story, like those great struggles in the east – Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Cold Harbor. But for these men, coming across the eastern spur of Pea Ridge, it would last forever in memory because they had survived it."
I decided to include the author’s dedication in my review, since after reading this outstanding book I am truly in awe of these unknown women who sacrificed much, including their personal safety and their property, in order to hold onto the bits and pieces they could still call their own. Elkhorn Tavern tells the story of one such fictional family, the Hasfords, who represent a slice of history that was far from familiar to this reader at least. All war fiction is gripping, in my opinion, but Civil War stories in particular are so poignant when we see how neighbors and even relatives were often pitted against one another. This novel is no exception, and Douglas C. Jones’s storytelling abilities are superb. I was engrossed in the story from start to finish.
Ora Hasford’s husband, Martin, has gone off to fight with the Confederates. The Hasfords live in the northwest section of Arkansas, just a few miles from the border of Missouri. Martin was not a supporter of slavery, yet he chose to fight for the South. "He was still steadfast against human bondage, yet he saw a bitter wickedness in outsiders trying to tell anyone how they should run their affairs. Although he would never own a slave himself, neither would he ever think of dictating his views to another man." Ora has been left behind to run the farm with the help of her two children, Roman, aged fifteen, and Calpurnia, aged seventeen. Perhaps Martin would have stayed home had he known that his little family would soon be in the midst of a bloody yet little-known battle, The Battle of Pea Ridge, in 1862. Not only that, the Hasfords find themselves threatened by bands of marauders, as the troops leave behind a land devastated and with little protection. Ora and her children are visited by some very unwelcome guests, as well as by one mysterious injured man who is lucky that the Hasfords put compassion and duty before political beliefs.
The battle scenes are absorbing and oftentimes as gruesome as one would expect, but without being gratuitous. The characters are expertly developed; Jones breathes life into every single one, even the minor ones. Roman is the ‘typical’ adolescent, wanting to show his brawn and maturity and angering when he feels his mother and sister don’t value him as the man he believes himself to be. When he sees firsthand the reality of war, he realizes that fighting is not necessarily a privilege and the glory he once believed it to be. Calpurnia is a bright young woman who has always respected her mother, but this respect quickly turns to awe when she notes the real strength behind her mother’s quiet ways. What a competent and upstanding woman we see in Ora Hasford – and one that you would be well-advised not to torment! I don’t know who could fail to admire her. "Calpurnia knew she would never again look at her mother without feeling her indomitable will." Just the sort of woman you need around in a tight spot. Of course, I can’t forget to mention Tulip Crozier, "a shrewd old man who knew how to make ends meet and who was sometimes a little strange." A penchant for whiskey as well as some other quirks might turn off some folks, but he was a true friend to the Hasfords. And then there’s Spider Epp – the misfit, the ignored, the despised. He’ll seek his revenge by aligning himself with the wrong crowd.
This book was a complete surprise. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Civil War historical fiction, as well as just plain good storytelling. It’s going on my favorites shelf, and it won’t be long before I pick up a copy of Jones’s The Barefoot Brigade which tells Martin Hasford’s story as a soldier for the Confederate army.
"It would never make an epic story, like those great struggles in the east – Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Shiloh, Cold Harbor. But for these men, coming across the eastern spur of Pea Ridge, it would last forever in memory because they had survived it."
July 22, 2017
It's a terrible thing when your home is no longer a safe haven. On a small farm in northwest Arkansas, Ora Hasford has her hands full trying to run the farm with only the help of her 15 year old son and her 17 year old daughter. Father is away, fighting in the war. The farm is down to two old horses, a milk cow, some chickens, and an ill-tempered mule who is just as likely to take a chomp out of your backside as not. Still and yet, they have more than most folks.
The bloody Battle of Pea Ridge takes a heavy toll on everyone in the area. Remnants from both sides remain all too close. Worse still are the marauding bands of bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, who rob and pillage indiscriminately and burn what they can't carry off with them, leaving fear and misery in their wake. It is a time and place with no order, no authority.
Ora Hasford doesn't mince words and she doesn't cotton to those who do. She is as tough as an old hickory stick, and is apt to meet uninvited callers at the door with an ax in hand. She has no compunction about using it to protect her family and what little they have managed to keep.
Excellent slice of the time, the hardships endured, and the area where it all took place.
The bloody Battle of Pea Ridge takes a heavy toll on everyone in the area. Remnants from both sides remain all too close. Worse still are the marauding bands of bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, who rob and pillage indiscriminately and burn what they can't carry off with them, leaving fear and misery in their wake. It is a time and place with no order, no authority.
Ora Hasford doesn't mince words and she doesn't cotton to those who do. She is as tough as an old hickory stick, and is apt to meet uninvited callers at the door with an ax in hand. She has no compunction about using it to protect her family and what little they have managed to keep.
Excellent slice of the time, the hardships endured, and the area where it all took place.
February 21, 2020
When The Southern Literary Trail (a terrific group here at Goodreads) read Elkhorn Tavern in 2018, I purchased the book with intent to join the read. Something happened (heaven knows what, because I cannot remember) and I wasn’t able to read it...so, I put it on the shelf and thought I would get to it someday. Well, someday is here, and I am riddled with regret that I missed reading this with the brilliant people in the group, because there is much I would love to say to a fellow reader about this story.
Ora Hasford, her daughter Calpurnia, and her teenage son, Roman, are trying to survive life alone on a farm in the midst of the Civil War and in the absence of husband and father, Martin. Douglas Jones must have known some strong women in his life, because his characters, Ora and Calpurnia, are exactly that, strong and determined and capable. In many ways they dwarf the men around them, not because they are not feminine but exactly because they are. Where less is expected, much more is forthcoming. They take care of themselves, and often of the men they encounter as well. For Roman, this is almost a coming-of-age story, and I liked that aspect as well.
The cruelty of war is blazoned across the pages in the battle that is fought at Elkhorn Tavern, a North Arkansas town that never expects to be the center of the conflict. The Hasford’s live in the borderland between the North and the South, and the sentiments and loyalties are equally divided. Often neighbors cannot be trusted, and marauding gangs of bushwhackers and jayhawkers sweep down on the population and decimate the farmlands, stealing and killing with impunity. A dangerous time to live, and one that would stretch the reason and resources of most of us.
Douglas Jones does a remarkable job of capturing both the times, the conflict, and his characters. They are full-bodied and real from the beginning, and the fear for them begins almost immediately and never subsides throughout the course of the book. I am now aware that Jones wrote a series of books about these characters over the years, and I will, of course, be hunting them down.
Late to the feast, but thankful to The Trail once more for introducing me to another fantastic Southern writer. My only fear is that I will not have the time left to me to read all the great books that spring from my association with this group, but by-golly, I am going to try.
Ora Hasford, her daughter Calpurnia, and her teenage son, Roman, are trying to survive life alone on a farm in the midst of the Civil War and in the absence of husband and father, Martin. Douglas Jones must have known some strong women in his life, because his characters, Ora and Calpurnia, are exactly that, strong and determined and capable. In many ways they dwarf the men around them, not because they are not feminine but exactly because they are. Where less is expected, much more is forthcoming. They take care of themselves, and often of the men they encounter as well. For Roman, this is almost a coming-of-age story, and I liked that aspect as well.
The cruelty of war is blazoned across the pages in the battle that is fought at Elkhorn Tavern, a North Arkansas town that never expects to be the center of the conflict. The Hasford’s live in the borderland between the North and the South, and the sentiments and loyalties are equally divided. Often neighbors cannot be trusted, and marauding gangs of bushwhackers and jayhawkers sweep down on the population and decimate the farmlands, stealing and killing with impunity. A dangerous time to live, and one that would stretch the reason and resources of most of us.
Douglas Jones does a remarkable job of capturing both the times, the conflict, and his characters. They are full-bodied and real from the beginning, and the fear for them begins almost immediately and never subsides throughout the course of the book. I am now aware that Jones wrote a series of books about these characters over the years, and I will, of course, be hunting them down.
Late to the feast, but thankful to The Trail once more for introducing me to another fantastic Southern writer. My only fear is that I will not have the time left to me to read all the great books that spring from my association with this group, but by-golly, I am going to try.
April 4, 2016
This is a well-crafted novel of a family in northeast Arkansas caught up in early Civil War turmoil typical of the border state. This means communities close to transient skirmishes and battles between the two armies and, in between, prey to ravages by roving bands of violent human locusts known as jayhawkers and bushwackers. The former being gangs that claimed affinity with the Union and the latter to the Confederacy, but often tended to terrorizing and pillaging any civilian population that got in their way. The story is of a family of subsistence farmers of German immigrant origin, a woman and teenaged son and daughter, and their resilience in dealing with the violence and chaos of the war around them while the father is away in the Confederate Army.
I loved the way the characters developed and took heart in their engagement of people in the community to work together with them to ride out this madness. The mother, Ora Hasford, rises to the task of keeping the wolves at bay from the four sets of dangerous people with guns. Roman, fifteen, is so awkward and inarticulate, but his awakening to a role of helping keep the family safe begins to turn around his more self-centered urges to break free of the family to become a man. His older sister, Calpurnia, seventeen, talks circles around him and constantly embarrasses him with her taunting. He can never communicate his caring for her, but she knows it. Various factions passing through rob them of livestock and food, and the threat of rape and murder brings the family together. It’s the “irregular” forces that are the most treacherous, as they enlist people from their community. A particularly nasty kid, a cobbler in the nearby village of Leetown, uses his Union sympathies to act on his hate for Ora and anger over rejected lust for Calpurnia, directing the jayhawkers to oppress them.
Suddenly, active war comes to this remote Ozark community. About 10,000 Union forces under Brigadier General Curtis move in from Missouri in March 1862, and set up defenses along Little Sugar Creek and Pea Ridge, with headquarters at the Elkhorn Inn, located on the main road north and a mile away from the Hasford farm. From Fort Sumter and Bull Run in the east to Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, the Confederate’s string of victories made Curtis particularly eager to match General Grant’s success in taking of a couple of key river forts in Tennessee. Major General Van Dorn, overall commander of the Trans-Mississippi District, is equally eager to consolidate the hold on Missouri against by turning back this incursion into Arkansas and potential doorway to Alabama. He brings his army of about 14,000 up the road from Fayetteville under General Sterling Price of Missouri and Benjamin McCulloch of Texas, splitting half off a bypass road around the backside of Pea Ridge. Attack from the north catches Curtis off guard, and they relinquish Elkhorn Tavern. Despite superior numbers, the Confederates gambled speed for limited supplies and the Union forces, backed by superior artillery, eventually force Curtis to retreat, with the butcher’s bill of about 1,300 casualties for the North and 2,000 for the South. As a result, Missouri stayed in the Union and Grant had less worry about a flank attack as her worked down the Mississippi valley toward Vicksburg.
The narrative puts you into the battle around the Elkhorn (called either the Battle of Pea Ridge or of Elkhorn Tavern) based on the perspective of Roman and of other civilians at hand who work at the inn and the nearby mill. The Hasford farm is used as part of the line of defense by the Union soldiers. Their cobbler nemesis, out helping guide the Union forces, gives us the perspective on fighting around Pea Ridge. After the exciting portrayal of the battle is over, life has to go on with grave depravations and the ongoing dangers from the irregular marauders. A slave suddenly freed by the evacuation of the inn’s owners and the old man who runs the mill take some initiative to help the Hasford family when they take in of a seriously wounded Union officer. Their mercy and struggle to help him recover makes them a target of both pro-Union and Confederate factions. The growing affection between Calpurnia and this man drives a wedge between Roman, who sees the officer as an enemy, and Ora, who sees him as honorable despite his membership with the invaders from the North. They will all have to work together to meet the dangers coming their way. Extra help comes from surprising people, such as a Cherokee hiding out in the woods nearby after deserting from the Union Army.
In the end I got the same great pleasure I reaped from other more well-known books about families in the Civil War, such as “Cold Mountain”, “Coal Black horse”, “Woe to Live On”, and “Sweetsmoke”. I owe it to Howard for turning me toward this author of some 16 novels of historical fiction, who seems unfairly neglected in readership. This one, published in 1980, has only 111 ratings and 8 reviews. Yes, I could be biased because of particular fondness for the setting, so close to where I grew up in eastern Oklahoma, and because of a special interest in the battle dating from visits to the site on family vacations in my youth. Still, I felt the rendering of a family and community transforming themselves in a tough situation was well-told, emotionally engaging, and historically, and its reading left me with a wise perspective on the best in human nature rising above its worst. A nice animated map of the campaign and battle is hosted here.
I loved the way the characters developed and took heart in their engagement of people in the community to work together with them to ride out this madness. The mother, Ora Hasford, rises to the task of keeping the wolves at bay from the four sets of dangerous people with guns. Roman, fifteen, is so awkward and inarticulate, but his awakening to a role of helping keep the family safe begins to turn around his more self-centered urges to break free of the family to become a man. His older sister, Calpurnia, seventeen, talks circles around him and constantly embarrasses him with her taunting. He can never communicate his caring for her, but she knows it. Various factions passing through rob them of livestock and food, and the threat of rape and murder brings the family together. It’s the “irregular” forces that are the most treacherous, as they enlist people from their community. A particularly nasty kid, a cobbler in the nearby village of Leetown, uses his Union sympathies to act on his hate for Ora and anger over rejected lust for Calpurnia, directing the jayhawkers to oppress them.
Suddenly, active war comes to this remote Ozark community. About 10,000 Union forces under Brigadier General Curtis move in from Missouri in March 1862, and set up defenses along Little Sugar Creek and Pea Ridge, with headquarters at the Elkhorn Inn, located on the main road north and a mile away from the Hasford farm. From Fort Sumter and Bull Run in the east to Wilson’s Creek in Missouri, the Confederate’s string of victories made Curtis particularly eager to match General Grant’s success in taking of a couple of key river forts in Tennessee. Major General Van Dorn, overall commander of the Trans-Mississippi District, is equally eager to consolidate the hold on Missouri against by turning back this incursion into Arkansas and potential doorway to Alabama. He brings his army of about 14,000 up the road from Fayetteville under General Sterling Price of Missouri and Benjamin McCulloch of Texas, splitting half off a bypass road around the backside of Pea Ridge. Attack from the north catches Curtis off guard, and they relinquish Elkhorn Tavern. Despite superior numbers, the Confederates gambled speed for limited supplies and the Union forces, backed by superior artillery, eventually force Curtis to retreat, with the butcher’s bill of about 1,300 casualties for the North and 2,000 for the South. As a result, Missouri stayed in the Union and Grant had less worry about a flank attack as her worked down the Mississippi valley toward Vicksburg.
The narrative puts you into the battle around the Elkhorn (called either the Battle of Pea Ridge or of Elkhorn Tavern) based on the perspective of Roman and of other civilians at hand who work at the inn and the nearby mill. The Hasford farm is used as part of the line of defense by the Union soldiers. Their cobbler nemesis, out helping guide the Union forces, gives us the perspective on fighting around Pea Ridge. After the exciting portrayal of the battle is over, life has to go on with grave depravations and the ongoing dangers from the irregular marauders. A slave suddenly freed by the evacuation of the inn’s owners and the old man who runs the mill take some initiative to help the Hasford family when they take in of a seriously wounded Union officer. Their mercy and struggle to help him recover makes them a target of both pro-Union and Confederate factions. The growing affection between Calpurnia and this man drives a wedge between Roman, who sees the officer as an enemy, and Ora, who sees him as honorable despite his membership with the invaders from the North. They will all have to work together to meet the dangers coming their way. Extra help comes from surprising people, such as a Cherokee hiding out in the woods nearby after deserting from the Union Army.
In the end I got the same great pleasure I reaped from other more well-known books about families in the Civil War, such as “Cold Mountain”, “Coal Black horse”, “Woe to Live On”, and “Sweetsmoke”. I owe it to Howard for turning me toward this author of some 16 novels of historical fiction, who seems unfairly neglected in readership. This one, published in 1980, has only 111 ratings and 8 reviews. Yes, I could be biased because of particular fondness for the setting, so close to where I grew up in eastern Oklahoma, and because of a special interest in the battle dating from visits to the site on family vacations in my youth. Still, I felt the rendering of a family and community transforming themselves in a tough situation was well-told, emotionally engaging, and historically, and its reading left me with a wise perspective on the best in human nature rising above its worst. A nice animated map of the campaign and battle is hosted here.
November 17, 2017
My GR friend Howard recommended this book over a year ago, and wrote such a great review that I immediately ordered a used copy from Abebooks. Well, you all know how it works. The book arrived, I put it on my shelves with every intention of getting to it soon, then life events and other books pushed it aside. Then, a few days ago I was looking for something I could count on to be fantastic, not just good. My eyes lit on this one and my thinking was: Howard loved it, it's a Civil War novel by an author new to me, I'll give it a go.
Long story short, Howard 's reputation is safe, I have a new author to recommend, and I just finished a fantastic book.
Ora Hasford has a farm in Arkansas to keep running, with just her 15 year old son, Roman, and her 17 year old daughter, Calpurnia. Her husband has gone to fight for the Southern cause, not because they have slaves or even believe slavery to be moral, but because he doesn't like the Federal government intruding on people's rights. Arkansas is a border state, so sympathizers on both sides are about even. But it's still a surprise to everyone when the small settlement around Elkhorn Tavern erupts with the Battle of Pea Ridge, leaving death and destruction among the citizens. The Hasford family is right in the middle, with the added distraction of a wounded Yankee officer literally left on their doorstep.
This novel was meticulously researched, character development is stellar, every detail is perfect as far as plot, and once again, I'm left overwhelmed when I think of what people dealt with at that time, and the strength and courage they needed to survive.
"He had begun to understand some of the things that were happening and the things that could happen. In a war, he thought, it is hard for a body to mind his own business".
There is another book by Douglas C. Jones, "The Barefoot Brigade", which chronicles the father's experiences in the army at the same time his family is trying to get by in this one. I've already ordered it, and will not let it get lost on my shelf this time. This was an excellent Civil War novel that focused on what people caught in the cross hairs of the fighting had to deal with.
Thanks again, Howard.
Long story short, Howard 's reputation is safe, I have a new author to recommend, and I just finished a fantastic book.
Ora Hasford has a farm in Arkansas to keep running, with just her 15 year old son, Roman, and her 17 year old daughter, Calpurnia. Her husband has gone to fight for the Southern cause, not because they have slaves or even believe slavery to be moral, but because he doesn't like the Federal government intruding on people's rights. Arkansas is a border state, so sympathizers on both sides are about even. But it's still a surprise to everyone when the small settlement around Elkhorn Tavern erupts with the Battle of Pea Ridge, leaving death and destruction among the citizens. The Hasford family is right in the middle, with the added distraction of a wounded Yankee officer literally left on their doorstep.
This novel was meticulously researched, character development is stellar, every detail is perfect as far as plot, and once again, I'm left overwhelmed when I think of what people dealt with at that time, and the strength and courage they needed to survive.
"He had begun to understand some of the things that were happening and the things that could happen. In a war, he thought, it is hard for a body to mind his own business".
There is another book by Douglas C. Jones, "The Barefoot Brigade", which chronicles the father's experiences in the army at the same time his family is trying to get by in this one. I've already ordered it, and will not let it get lost on my shelf this time. This was an excellent Civil War novel that focused on what people caught in the cross hairs of the fighting had to deal with.
Thanks again, Howard.
February 1, 2018
The characters are unforgettable, the atmosphere wonderfully detailed, the action and suspense skillfully maintained. -- Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Beginning with this book, Jones launched what would become a series of novels recounting the lives of the fictional Hasford-Pay families. The major theme that runs through them is a sense of family loyalty and solidity, especially during times of stress and social change. And what could be more stressful or cause more social change than the Civil War, especially if a major battle were fought in your very neighborhood?
It is 1862 and Martin Hasford is away from his home and family serving in the Confederate army in Virginia and Tennessee (His experiences are recounted in Jones' The Barefoot Brigade). Left at home in the Ozark hills of northwestern Arkansas is his wife Ora who must protect their few animals and possessions, but more important, their two teen-aged children, Calpurnia and Roman.
Among her many burdens is the necessity of fending off the depredations of roving bands of Jayhawkers and bushwhackers who are roaming freely around the countryside while indiscriminately stealing for their personal gain.
If that isn't enough, the battle of Pea Ridge, also known as the battle of Elkhorn Tavern, erupts on and around the Hasford farm. Even though the family sympathizes with the Confederacy, Ora provides shelter for a young Yankee officer, Alan Eben Pay, who has been seriously wounded. Much to the dismay of Roman, it soon becomes evident that his sister is attracted to Allan and that the feeling is mutual.
It is also a coming-of-age story for young Roman, who, as the story progresses, takes on more and more of the responsibilities of the man of the house.
Douglas Jones brings two gigantic themes in American literature together -- the raw struggle for survival on the American frontier and the grand martial conflict of the American Civil War -- and he successfully weaves them into one seamless story. -- Jack Trammel, Civil War Book Review
Beginning with this book, Jones launched what would become a series of novels recounting the lives of the fictional Hasford-Pay families. The major theme that runs through them is a sense of family loyalty and solidity, especially during times of stress and social change. And what could be more stressful or cause more social change than the Civil War, especially if a major battle were fought in your very neighborhood?
It is 1862 and Martin Hasford is away from his home and family serving in the Confederate army in Virginia and Tennessee (His experiences are recounted in Jones' The Barefoot Brigade). Left at home in the Ozark hills of northwestern Arkansas is his wife Ora who must protect their few animals and possessions, but more important, their two teen-aged children, Calpurnia and Roman.
Among her many burdens is the necessity of fending off the depredations of roving bands of Jayhawkers and bushwhackers who are roaming freely around the countryside while indiscriminately stealing for their personal gain.
If that isn't enough, the battle of Pea Ridge, also known as the battle of Elkhorn Tavern, erupts on and around the Hasford farm. Even though the family sympathizes with the Confederacy, Ora provides shelter for a young Yankee officer, Alan Eben Pay, who has been seriously wounded. Much to the dismay of Roman, it soon becomes evident that his sister is attracted to Allan and that the feeling is mutual.
It is also a coming-of-age story for young Roman, who, as the story progresses, takes on more and more of the responsibilities of the man of the house.
Douglas Jones brings two gigantic themes in American literature together -- the raw struggle for survival on the American frontier and the grand martial conflict of the American Civil War -- and he successfully weaves them into one seamless story. -- Jack Trammel, Civil War Book Review
June 2, 2022
It was impossible for her to imagine that across the valley were those who would do them harm. Wars were stories told in the books her father had given her, stories that had happened a long time ago.
This Civil War novel tells the story of the Hasford family who live on a farm in northwest Arkansas on the border with Kansas and Missouri. Ora and her two teenaged children, Calpurnia and Roman, desperately struggle to keep their farm afloat and survive the rough living left to them after the patriarch, Martin left to fight for the Confederacy. The Hasfords don’t actually have any slaves and seem to be very neutral in their leanings except that Martin isn’t fond of the being told what he can and cannot do by the Federal government. He was still steadfast against human bondage, yet he saw a bitter wickedness in outsiders trying to tell anyone how they should run their affairs. While the family await his return and decide to remain in their home when advised to leave, they learn what it means to stick to your guns and protect your family and possessions.
This area is swarming with jayhawkers and bushwhackers who lurk about robbing and threatening families for their own gain. One of the local boys named Spider Epp gets tangled up in some selfish decisions with the vigilantes without a bit of regret or remorse for his neighbors.
When they find themselves surrounded by the Battle of Pea Ridge, also called the Battle of Elkorn Tavern, the family farm is in jeopardy as the guns blast and cannons fire all around the safety of their home. Ora, being the generous and admirable woman she is, takes in a wounded Yankee soldier proving the saying she lives by and teaches her children: I told you before. When you’re decent to folks, it always comes home.
We have a first hand look through the eyes of 15 year old Roman (caught up at the Tavern when the battle erupts) of the short-lived 2 day battle where Union forces under General Samuel Curtis clash against the Confederate army of General Earl Van Dorn who would ultimately lose. Douglas Jones captivates readers with his descriptions of events and places them right in the middle of the fighting. He provides historical background on the generals involved and sets up the fearsome atmosphere experienced by soldiers and civilians alike.
This Civil War novel tells the story of the Hasford family who live on a farm in northwest Arkansas on the border with Kansas and Missouri. Ora and her two teenaged children, Calpurnia and Roman, desperately struggle to keep their farm afloat and survive the rough living left to them after the patriarch, Martin left to fight for the Confederacy. The Hasfords don’t actually have any slaves and seem to be very neutral in their leanings except that Martin isn’t fond of the being told what he can and cannot do by the Federal government. He was still steadfast against human bondage, yet he saw a bitter wickedness in outsiders trying to tell anyone how they should run their affairs. While the family await his return and decide to remain in their home when advised to leave, they learn what it means to stick to your guns and protect your family and possessions.
This area is swarming with jayhawkers and bushwhackers who lurk about robbing and threatening families for their own gain. One of the local boys named Spider Epp gets tangled up in some selfish decisions with the vigilantes without a bit of regret or remorse for his neighbors.
When they find themselves surrounded by the Battle of Pea Ridge, also called the Battle of Elkorn Tavern, the family farm is in jeopardy as the guns blast and cannons fire all around the safety of their home. Ora, being the generous and admirable woman she is, takes in a wounded Yankee soldier proving the saying she lives by and teaches her children: I told you before. When you’re decent to folks, it always comes home.
We have a first hand look through the eyes of 15 year old Roman (caught up at the Tavern when the battle erupts) of the short-lived 2 day battle where Union forces under General Samuel Curtis clash against the Confederate army of General Earl Van Dorn who would ultimately lose. Douglas Jones captivates readers with his descriptions of events and places them right in the middle of the fighting. He provides historical background on the generals involved and sets up the fearsome atmosphere experienced by soldiers and civilians alike.
February 1, 2018
Having read and heard so many positive things about this book from fellow GR members whose taste I trust, I decided to look for a used copy of Elkhorn Tavern online and found a copy in time to synchronize with On the Southern Literary Trail's group reading. And I am so glad I did. Those rave reviews were correct. This portrait of a quiet Arkansas valley and the farmers' lives disrupted or lost to marauding nightriders or to battles between Confederate and Union troops, with their infantry, cavalry and artillery, is powerful and has the ring of reality to it. It also reminds me very much of another Civil War historical fiction that I also admired, The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War by Howard Bahr, the first of his trilogy, which was written more from the point of view of the soldiers in battle.
Elkhorn Tavern presents the Hasford family as "salt of the earth" farmers, people who work hard and live by their work. The father, Martin, has gone to war, fighting for the South, which is where most, though not all, of the sympathies in the area lie. His wife Ora is at home with daughter Calpurnia and son Roman. Much of the story is told from their viewpoints as part of the war was fought in the area around their home. How often do we even consider these families who lived in the places where the Civil War battles were fought. There were families there, lives being lived, not all of whom could just up and move away with no real warning and no resources. (It happens in our world today and international charities try to help!) Instead, these people stayed.
Douglas Jones combines evocative prose used to describe the changes in nature over the many months that pass during the course of the novel with descriptions of action in battle and terrible carnage that drained me. He is such a skilled writer. He also knows the small tics and signs that reflect human thoughts and feelings, all those unspoken messages that others might see and he can capture on the page.
Along with many other readers, I highly recommend reading Elkhorn Tavern.
Elkhorn Tavern presents the Hasford family as "salt of the earth" farmers, people who work hard and live by their work. The father, Martin, has gone to war, fighting for the South, which is where most, though not all, of the sympathies in the area lie. His wife Ora is at home with daughter Calpurnia and son Roman. Much of the story is told from their viewpoints as part of the war was fought in the area around their home. How often do we even consider these families who lived in the places where the Civil War battles were fought. There were families there, lives being lived, not all of whom could just up and move away with no real warning and no resources. (It happens in our world today and international charities try to help!) Instead, these people stayed.
Douglas Jones combines evocative prose used to describe the changes in nature over the many months that pass during the course of the novel with descriptions of action in battle and terrible carnage that drained me. He is such a skilled writer. He also knows the small tics and signs that reflect human thoughts and feelings, all those unspoken messages that others might see and he can capture on the page.
Along with many other readers, I highly recommend reading Elkhorn Tavern.
January 7, 2021
A nicely written Civil War story of an Arkansas family caught up in the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862.
The horrors and cruelty of war as well as the landscape of the area were beautifully described by the author.
I recommend this book as it will appeal to both male and female readers.
The horrors and cruelty of war as well as the landscape of the area were beautifully described by the author.
I recommend this book as it will appeal to both male and female readers.
January 24, 2018
Portrait of the Hasford family, Ora whose husband has gone to fight for the Confederate army, and her almost grown children Calpurnia and Roman, who struggle to survive on their Arkansas farm in the midst of the Civil War. A book I enjoyed much more than expected, especially the last two thirds which were more about the family than the battle. Called by many Douglas C. Jone's best novel, a much missed reading friend would have really liked this one and most likely placed it front and center on his " Strong Women" shelf. Read for On The Southern Trail January- 5 stars
February 2, 2018
In 1862 the fictional Hasfords were a resilient farming family living in northwestern Arkansas, five miles from the important Civil War border state of Missouri. While Martin Hasford was away fighting with the Confederate Army, his wife Ora and their teenage son and daughter were left running the farm. The Battle of Pea Ridge was centered around Elkhorn Tavern, close to the Hasford farm. In addition to the danger from the battle, families had to deal with jayhawkers and bushwhackers stealing food and valuables from their farms and burning their homes.
Ora was an admirable, tough woman with a kind heart. She took in an injured Union soldier who was fighting gangrene, and felt that the enemy soldier was a good man. All three Hasfords found the inner strength to do what was needed. The book was a coming-of-age story in some ways as fifteen-year-old Roman had to fill his father's shoes.
The author wove many historical and military details into the story. The characters, both good and bad, seemed very real. I was happy to read that members of the Hasford family are featured in more books written by Douglas C. Jones. The rebuilt and restored Elkhorn Tavern is now a part of the Pea Ridge National Military Park. 4.5 stars.
Ora was an admirable, tough woman with a kind heart. She took in an injured Union soldier who was fighting gangrene, and felt that the enemy soldier was a good man. All three Hasfords found the inner strength to do what was needed. The book was a coming-of-age story in some ways as fifteen-year-old Roman had to fill his father's shoes.
The author wove many historical and military details into the story. The characters, both good and bad, seemed very real. I was happy to read that members of the Hasford family are featured in more books written by Douglas C. Jones. The rebuilt and restored Elkhorn Tavern is now a part of the Pea Ridge National Military Park. 4.5 stars.
October 2, 2018
5★
American Civil War historical fiction at its best.
This book and author will be discovered because a friend enthusiastically recommends them to you. Once again I'm grateful for my GR community of book friends and their excellent reading tastes and reviews for a thoroughly satisfying read.
American Civil War historical fiction at its best.
This book and author will be discovered because a friend enthusiastically recommends them to you. Once again I'm grateful for my GR community of book friends and their excellent reading tastes and reviews for a thoroughly satisfying read.
August 19, 2016
This is Civil War era historical fiction from the down home place of the people left behind.
Or not. Because war filters through their lives in Arkansas, not far from Missouri. Ora the farmer wife and her two children are the core of the novel. But there is so much more. Pea Ridge and the battle surrounding Elkhorn Tavern during the early years of the War subject this family to a variety of conditions and people who become embedded in their lives. Their food, their stock, their animals are not the only losses. And Martin is in the East on the Confederate side.
The long years of the war did not stop the family needs or economic survival.
The characters are developed well. And this is the middle book of a trio which follows this family until the post-war years.
It seemed realistic and yet at points a tad bit sentimentalized. It was a war that left no home place in disputed or occupied territory to continue upon the usual. And there were always those who played both sides or preyed upon the homesteads and towns with continual criminal intent. All this quite beyond the horrors of battle and its legacy of dying and maimed men.
This gives a sharp lens into the border state situations and characters. And some of the occasions when "side" was not the most connecting feature toward a longer survival.
Or not. Because war filters through their lives in Arkansas, not far from Missouri. Ora the farmer wife and her two children are the core of the novel. But there is so much more. Pea Ridge and the battle surrounding Elkhorn Tavern during the early years of the War subject this family to a variety of conditions and people who become embedded in their lives. Their food, their stock, their animals are not the only losses. And Martin is in the East on the Confederate side.
The long years of the war did not stop the family needs or economic survival.
The characters are developed well. And this is the middle book of a trio which follows this family until the post-war years.
It seemed realistic and yet at points a tad bit sentimentalized. It was a war that left no home place in disputed or occupied territory to continue upon the usual. And there were always those who played both sides or preyed upon the homesteads and towns with continual criminal intent. All this quite beyond the horrors of battle and its legacy of dying and maimed men.
This gives a sharp lens into the border state situations and characters. And some of the occasions when "side" was not the most connecting feature toward a longer survival.
January 26, 2018
A riveting and heartachingly brutal story of one small Civil War battle told through the Hasford family and neighbors. Martin Hasford wasn't the only hero in the family while serving in the Confederate army, his wife, son, and daughter were courageous and resourceful protecting their home and livestock as well as other soldiers who were fortunate enough to cross their path.
February 4, 2018
Northwest Arkansas during Civil War. Middle book of a trilogy that can be read as a stand-alone. Follows Barefoot Brigade and is followed by Roman.
The Barefoot Brigade
Roman
**
The following linked article provides much useful information about Douglas:
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net...
Quotes from The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History
... "He spent most of the next two years composing The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer, which was adapted into a 1976 TV movie starring James Olson and Brian Keith.
That success led Jones to pen a string of historical novels. Several—including Arrest Sitting Bull (1977) and Remember Santiago (1988)—fictionalized actual events. Others, such as This Savage Race (1993) and Shadow of the Moon (1995), followed generations of characters determined to tame the West. In addition, Jones authored yarns sympathetic to Indian conflicts with white settlers, among them Season of Yellow Leaf (1983) and Gone the Dreams and Dancing (1984); frontier mysteries, including The Search for Temperance Moon (1991) and A Spider for Loco Shoat (1997); and a trilogy that followed Roman Hasford, a deeply scarred child of the Civil War, from the Ozarks through the latter half of the nineteenth century—Elkhorn Tavern (1980), Roman (1986), and Come Winter (1989). Jones’s single short-story collection is Hickory Cured (1987). He also wrote the novels A Creek Called Wounded Knee (1978), Winding Stair (1979), Weedy Rough (1981), and The Barefoot Brigade (1982). His work won him three Golden Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America and, in 1993, that association’s Owen Wister Lifetime Achievement Award.
"A lifelong smoker, Jones died at his Fayetteville home on August 30, 1998, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was cremated, and his ashes were sprinkled over northern Arkansas’s Boston Mountains. His seventeenth novel, Sometimes There Were Heroes, which dramatizes early Texas history, was published posthumously in 2000. An eighteenth novel, set amid the action of World War II, as of 2006 has yet to see print."
(Seeing the insightful comments about the strong women DCJ created, I particular admired the main character in Season Yellow Leaf.)
**
Here's a piece about "Come Winter" which many "Elkhorn Tavern" readers may want to read after finishing "Roman."
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/02/boo...
The Barefoot Brigade
Roman
**
The following linked article provides much useful information about Douglas:
http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net...
Quotes from The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History
... "He spent most of the next two years composing The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer, which was adapted into a 1976 TV movie starring James Olson and Brian Keith.
That success led Jones to pen a string of historical novels. Several—including Arrest Sitting Bull (1977) and Remember Santiago (1988)—fictionalized actual events. Others, such as This Savage Race (1993) and Shadow of the Moon (1995), followed generations of characters determined to tame the West. In addition, Jones authored yarns sympathetic to Indian conflicts with white settlers, among them Season of Yellow Leaf (1983) and Gone the Dreams and Dancing (1984); frontier mysteries, including The Search for Temperance Moon (1991) and A Spider for Loco Shoat (1997); and a trilogy that followed Roman Hasford, a deeply scarred child of the Civil War, from the Ozarks through the latter half of the nineteenth century—Elkhorn Tavern (1980), Roman (1986), and Come Winter (1989). Jones’s single short-story collection is Hickory Cured (1987). He also wrote the novels A Creek Called Wounded Knee (1978), Winding Stair (1979), Weedy Rough (1981), and The Barefoot Brigade (1982). His work won him three Golden Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America and, in 1993, that association’s Owen Wister Lifetime Achievement Award.
"A lifelong smoker, Jones died at his Fayetteville home on August 30, 1998, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was cremated, and his ashes were sprinkled over northern Arkansas’s Boston Mountains. His seventeenth novel, Sometimes There Were Heroes, which dramatizes early Texas history, was published posthumously in 2000. An eighteenth novel, set amid the action of World War II, as of 2006 has yet to see print."
(Seeing the insightful comments about the strong women DCJ created, I particular admired the main character in Season Yellow Leaf.)
**
Here's a piece about "Come Winter" which many "Elkhorn Tavern" readers may want to read after finishing "Roman."
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/02/boo...
August 19, 2020
This is the kind of book you read slower and slower as you get to the end because you hate for it to end. A wonderful new favorite. Can’t wait to read more about the Hasfords.
May 19, 2020
4.5 This was a gut-wrenching story of the Civil War in Arkansas during 1862. The featured characters were the Hasford family, who had to be tougher than any of us can comprehend. Ora, the mother, has to keep her two teenage children safe while her husband is off fighting. Her fight has to be at least as rough as his. One of my grandmothers was her kind of old-South spirited women. The lesser characters surrounding the Hasfords were memorable, if not always admirable, as well. Highly recommended. The half-point off was simply for my adverse reaction to battle scene writing, and for all the animal slaughtering (which I realize is authentic, but still...).
April 9, 2020
This story of the Battle of Pea Ridge during the Civil War looks at not only the fighting but also the people who lived in the area. Jones breaks his book down into two parts, the clash of arms followed by a look at one local family, the Hasfords. Ora Hasford's husband has already left to join the fighting; now she tries to protect her teenage son Roman and daughter Calpurnia from the danger. This includes not only the battle itself but the widespread looting and border bandits who follow in its wake. A large cast of well-drawn characters give this novel a great deal of realism. The best compliment I can give this book is that it feels like it has an epic sweep even though it is not much more than 300 pages. An excellent addition to the literature of the Civil War.
October 17, 2011
What's the difference between a dime-Western and literature? I think the difference is standard, two dimensional characters dealing with one cliche after another on one hand vs. characters with some depth involved in interesting situations on the other. By that definition, Elkhorn Tavern is more than a dime novel.
I enjoyed the book very much. It (mainly) follows the Hasford family on their farm near Leetown, Arkansas. Mr. Hasford is out of the picture, having left to join the Confederate Army - despite his opposition to slavery - when the Civil War comes to town. Ora and her children, Calpurnia and Roman, are left to the homestead and to deal with ruffians and soldiers.
The narrative of the novel is fast and interesting in its own right but the questions raised are at the base of my enjoyment. What would you do if war came to town? Would you leave your family to join the cause? What cause would justify that? How would you protect your family if faced with lawlessness or, more than that, the laws of warfare? Could you endure? How would you? Would you be forever changed?
Douglas Jones does a great job of making the reader feel like a member of the Hasford family and making you care about think about the answers to those questions.
I enjoyed the book very much. It (mainly) follows the Hasford family on their farm near Leetown, Arkansas. Mr. Hasford is out of the picture, having left to join the Confederate Army - despite his opposition to slavery - when the Civil War comes to town. Ora and her children, Calpurnia and Roman, are left to the homestead and to deal with ruffians and soldiers.
The narrative of the novel is fast and interesting in its own right but the questions raised are at the base of my enjoyment. What would you do if war came to town? Would you leave your family to join the cause? What cause would justify that? How would you protect your family if faced with lawlessness or, more than that, the laws of warfare? Could you endure? How would you? Would you be forever changed?
Douglas Jones does a great job of making the reader feel like a member of the Hasford family and making you care about think about the answers to those questions.
August 2, 2022
If you like historical fiction about civil war battles this is a pretty good effort. Elkhorn tavern is one of the remaining buildings to be viewed if you visit the Pea Ridge Battlefield in Pea Ridge Arkansas. The park is just over the MIssouri border.
the first half of the book deals with the battle and the second half deals much more with the people and how they are impacted after the battle has been fought.
Overall, a pretty good read, not great, but pretty good.
the first half of the book deals with the battle and the second half deals much more with the people and how they are impacted after the battle has been fought.
Overall, a pretty good read, not great, but pretty good.
February 6, 2018
Very entertaining read.
June 17, 2022
Civil war with decent and evil people on both sides
Read
July 27, 2011About Civil War battle in Arkansas. Main focus is on a family left behind to run the farm during the war. Manages to tie together the horrors of war as it runs over the country with bushwackers and jayhawkers, Yankees and Confederates, German immigrants, American Indians, and Jews. There's even some coming of age and a bit of romance. I liked it.
May 30, 2019
Don’t miss this book! The author’s writing style is slow but it’s worth the time. This is book one in a series of three. I’m so going to miss these characters when I finish the 3rd one! More than a civil war book, it is a book about family and community.
August 8, 2024
3.5 stars
Elkhorn Tavern is a novel pulled in two directions. On the one hand, it is a gritty look at the hardscrabble conditions of a family (and their neighbors) in Northwest Arkansas in 1862 when the Civil War is raging about them. The threats to the family are real and frightening, not only from battling soldiers but also from marauding gangs who are terrorizing the locals. The scenes of battle and suffering are detailed and graphic. On the other hand, the novel is a fairly pat in terms of characterization and plot development, with most characters largely defined by a single trait (or two) and with most of the plot, whatever turns it takes, easily resolving itself, not exactly in pure sentimentality but at times pushing toward it.
At the center of the novel is Ora Hasford, the strong and resourceful matriarch of the family. Martin, her husband, is off at war, fighting for the Confederates, and Ora is now running the small family farm, with the help of her two children, the youthful Calpurnia and the chafing Roman. Danger lurks everywhere, but Ora is not to be messed with, and there’s little doubt that she will win out over every adversity. Calpurnia meanwhile is falling in love with a wounded Yankee officer whom the family has taken in, and there’s little doubt as well where this relationship is going. Other subplots are almost as predictable, satisfying on one level (we like the good guys to win) but disappointing on another (given the chaos of wartime one expects more chaos in terms of resolutions).
All that said, Elkhorn Tavern is very well written, with the prose sharp and the plot racing along. The novel also provides rich insight into the people who settled into the corner of Northwest Arkansas, a rough and tumble frontier area that for a long time remained that way (it’s now better known as the home of Walmart, in Bentonville, just down the road from where the action of the novel takes place). One passage is particularly insightful: “There was nothing unusual about Martin and Ora Hasford. They were so like others of this hill country, they might have been interchangeable, like the parts of Colt revolvers. They had become part of the land, of this particular land with all its particularities. They were a new race, come from many races. They had cut a culture from a country others did not want and seldom even passed through.”
Elkhorn Tavern is a novel pulled in two directions. On the one hand, it is a gritty look at the hardscrabble conditions of a family (and their neighbors) in Northwest Arkansas in 1862 when the Civil War is raging about them. The threats to the family are real and frightening, not only from battling soldiers but also from marauding gangs who are terrorizing the locals. The scenes of battle and suffering are detailed and graphic. On the other hand, the novel is a fairly pat in terms of characterization and plot development, with most characters largely defined by a single trait (or two) and with most of the plot, whatever turns it takes, easily resolving itself, not exactly in pure sentimentality but at times pushing toward it.
At the center of the novel is Ora Hasford, the strong and resourceful matriarch of the family. Martin, her husband, is off at war, fighting for the Confederates, and Ora is now running the small family farm, with the help of her two children, the youthful Calpurnia and the chafing Roman. Danger lurks everywhere, but Ora is not to be messed with, and there’s little doubt that she will win out over every adversity. Calpurnia meanwhile is falling in love with a wounded Yankee officer whom the family has taken in, and there’s little doubt as well where this relationship is going. Other subplots are almost as predictable, satisfying on one level (we like the good guys to win) but disappointing on another (given the chaos of wartime one expects more chaos in terms of resolutions).
All that said, Elkhorn Tavern is very well written, with the prose sharp and the plot racing along. The novel also provides rich insight into the people who settled into the corner of Northwest Arkansas, a rough and tumble frontier area that for a long time remained that way (it’s now better known as the home of Walmart, in Bentonville, just down the road from where the action of the novel takes place). One passage is particularly insightful: “There was nothing unusual about Martin and Ora Hasford. They were so like others of this hill country, they might have been interchangeable, like the parts of Colt revolvers. They had become part of the land, of this particular land with all its particularities. They were a new race, come from many races. They had cut a culture from a country others did not want and seldom even passed through.”
November 19, 2023
In the right hands, this book would make an excellent movie. And yet, Jones does so well in placing the reader in the time and place of his story that it almost feels that I actually have watched the movie. The characters are well-drawn, the dialog flows well and naturally (with the exception of a single exchange between two characters in the book's latter portions). The book does a great job in showing how difficult life was for civilians who lived in border areas where loyalties were divided. Jones' writing here would make a good guide for anybody interested in writing historical fiction, at least for the time period portrayed.
July 16, 2019
Wow! I have a new favorite author! Douglas Jones is a wonderful historian and writer. This historical novel based around the events of the Battle of Pea Ridge during the War Between the States, was just wonderful! Loved the characters and the story-line. I plan to read more of his work, now that I have been introduced to his writing. The book takes you into the world of the early 1860s so masterfully, and the characters take on a reality that tells you that you will never forget them. Then the writing...poetic and profound! Highly recommended!
July 25, 2021
Compelling, straight-forward historical fiction set in western Arkansas in 1862 at the site of the Battle of Pea Ridge, this novel focuses on the strong, hard-working Hasfords, a hill family whose patriarch has gone to fight for the Confederacy. Located close to the Missouri border, they reside in an area divided in loyalty but equally tormented by bandit marauders allegedly representing both sides in the national conflict. The characters are memorable, and though terrible situations unfold, the central family's bonds remain intact.
August 28, 2022
I live in Arkansas, which is where the author is from and the setting of this book, and I love anything Civil War. This book was a wonderful look into what life would have been like during that time. Can't wait to read more by Jones.
January 10, 2024
Remarkable story and writing. So much more than another civil war story or western, I expect Ora Hasford to be in my thoughts for a good long time! I'm looking for other books by this author, hoping this one wasn't all he's got.
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