Action At Aquila

by Hervey Allen

A novel of the Civil War set along the border territory of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Born William Hervey Allen. 1915 University of Pittsburgh graduate. In WWI served as a Lieutenant in the 28th (keystone) Division, US Army and fought in the Aisne-Marne offensive July-August, 1918. He wrote "Toward the Flame" (1926), a nonfictional account of his experiences in the war.

Allen is best known for his work Anthony Adverse, a 1933 bestseller. He also planned a series of novels about colonial America called The Disinherited, of which he completed three works: The Forest and the Fort (1943), Bedford Village (1944), and Toward the Morning (1948). The novels tell the story of Salathiel Albine, a frontiersman kidnapped as a boy by Shawnee Indians in the 1750s. All three works were collected and published as the City in the Dawn. Allen also wrote Israfel (1926), a biography of American writer Edgar Allan Poe.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an historical novel about the Civil War written in the 30s. As such, it reminds me a lot of "Gone With The Wind." It's partly a romance and while it is not pro-Southern like GWTW, it glosses over the issue of slavery and its role in causing the war. In fact, a black character is caricatured in the story.
The hero of our story is Colonel Nathaniel Franklin, commanding the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. In my edition of the book, it is 311 pages. Fully half the book involved Franklin's long ride from Philadelphia to the Shenandoah Valley to rejoin his unit following his furlough. We get a good picture of the Northern home front and, as the colonel travels in the Valley, we get some beautiful descriptions of the area. The Shenandoah Valley does seem to be one of the loveliest places in America!
For the most part, the story moves slowly even after Franklin rejoins his regiment. This is the fall of 1864 and Sheridan's Valley Campaign is underway. But Franklin has time to romance a Southern woman who is hiding away in an isolated part of the Valley with her family. Finally, after 200 pages, we have some action-and it is intense and well-described. The author calls it "the Battle of Aquila" and it's fictional ( the author says it's a forgotten battle ). We see Franklin leading a mad charge rather than dismounting his men and holding the line....
At the end, I thought the story was at its most moving--as the old Civil War vet with his white beard goes to see the soldiers marching off to fight in the Spanish-American War, the men marching to the drums, always marching, each generation...

[Nancy Welbourn]

This book is the story of Colonel Nat T. Franklin of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry. The time of most of the story is 1864 and the climax is the battle of Aquila Creek, which was probably a minor battle of the Civil War. The book hasn't much romance until about the middle, but when it has, it is not mushy. The Colonel was a bachelor until after the battle of Aquila in which he lost his left leg. After the battle, he marries Elizabeth Crittendon who was widowed a few years earlier by the civil war.

The book is very well written, and it makes you feel that you really know the characters. The person I liked best, besides the colonel, was William Farfar, a young mountaineer who gets killed in the battle of Aquila. The battle is a very vivid and well described bit of literature. You feel as if you were an eye witness.

This review is by my grandmother, from her "Books I Have Read" diary, started in 1938. It is the first book reviewed, page 1.

Additional details
Publisher: Farrar and Rhinehart
Recommended by: The Mary C. Wheeler School, Providence, R.I.
Borrowed from: Young Books Inc, New York

This book is available for free on Google books: https://books.google.com/books?id=50E...

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impacts of the Civil War on the people of the Shenandoah valley and southwest Pennsylvania.

[Nancy]

My Dad loved this book when he was a boy. I got partway through but it started disintegrating...

[Hpbsr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Book, Good thoughts


I would recommend to a high school or college student. Book captures the feelings of the late 30’s something now a little lost.