Summer Storm In Gettysburg
A Story of Friendship, War, And Galantry
by
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"The devil is here!"
Reverend Kriestal loomed tall behind the ornately carved pulpit. Facing the neat rows of crowded mahogany
pews, his voice rose to a shaking crescendo, as he pointed to the hills above
the valley. "He'll rise from those
rocks, and he'll walk across those wheat fields and stamp them down. The sheaths will fall dead at his feet. He'll walk through those orchards, and the
trees will churn. The fruit will fall
dead at his feet. But we can stop him
at that door." He jabbed his
finger at the back of the church, then banged his hand down hard on the
lectern. The water pitcher shook,
clinking against the glass beside it, and the flower bouquets that Mrs. Wade
had arranged on either side of the Bible dropped several petals.
"We want to stop him, don't we?"
"Yes, yes," came the immediate response.
"We want to drive him back to his cave, don't we?"
"Yes, yes," the congregation agreed.
"We want to imprison him in his den, don't we? Down deep within the dark, dank boulders
from whence he came."
"Oh, yes," the voices shouted in unison. "Yes, yes."
Wesley Culp leaned forward, tapped Georgia Wade on the shoulder and handed her a slip of
paper. Georgia's head bobbed up and
down, as she glanced at the note. Then
she quickly slid it between the hymnal pages.
Jennie nudged her older sister, and the hymnal fell out of
Georgia's hand. It made a loud clunk on
the burnished wooden floor, and six-year-old Samuel jumped on the other side of
their mother. Jennie leaned over
quickly and picked up the note that had fluttered to her feet. She hurriedly pushed it under her skirt, but
not before Mrs. Wade tugged at her arm and held out her hand.
"I'll take that, Jennie Wade," she whispered
loudly. Then she turned around with a
disapproving glare at the fourteen-year-old boy behind her. His ten-year-old sister, Anna, stifled a
giggle as she poked her friend, Jennie.
Swift shuffling in the Culp pew followed, and Wesley ended up on
the far side of his mother, directly across the aisle from his best friend,
Jack Skelly. Wesley glanced sideways at
Jack, and the two boys doubled over with sniffles and snorts.
It just isn't right for young-uns to carry on," Mrs. Wade
muttered. "They need some
reverence and respect in the House of the Lord." Her eyes looked upward in apology to Jesus and Mary who adorned
the ceiling in a mural of blues and gold.
"Shhh, Ma," Jennie pleaded. "Everyone's looking."
"The Lord's looking, too," Mrs. Wade stated.
Blessed be the name of the Lord," Reverend Kriestal concluded
his sermon.
As they all stood to sing, Georgia nudged Jennie. "Where's Wesley's note?"
"Ma has it," Jennie whispered in her ear.
"Oh, no," Georgia groaned.
"And when Ma and Pa find out your big plans, you won't be
going anywhere tonight," Jennie added.
Georgia tossed her curls and stuck her tongue out sideways at Jennie as she opened the hymnal.
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Book Details
About the Book
THE GHOSTS OF GETTYSBURG is an historical novel based on real
people and a true incident during the Battle of Gettysburg. Jennie Wade was the only civilian casualty
in the three-day battle that left six thousand soldiers dead and twenty-seven
thousand wounded.
The book begins when Jennie is a pre-teen and introduces her
friends when they all set out on a mission to find the Devil at Devils Den in
Gettysburg. Instead they find
themselves.
Ten years later when Jennie is twenty, the story picks up the
focus on Jennie and her family when they are faced with the reality of the
Civil War in their small, out-of-the-way town.
Her childhood friends have scattered, but they are finally brought back
together by the tragic aftermath of the unexpected combat.
THE GHOSTS OF GETTYSBURG is an honest account of this period in history that children can relate to and learn from.
About the Author
Ann Brophy was born and grew up in Indiana. She graduated from Western College for Women in Ohio with a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature.
She them moved to New York City where she worked with Broadway playwrights and the cartoonist, Walt Kelly.
After marriage, she and her husband moved to Southport, Connecticut where they raised three children and live today.
She has published four books: “Flash and the Swan”, a Young Adult novel, “John Ericsson and the Inventions of War”, and “The Story of Jennie Wade”, both Civil War biographies, and short stories and poetry in children’s magazines.
She taught Writing for Children at Fairfield University and writing workshops, plus freelance editing.