Fredericksburg

A moving tale of the Irish Soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who fought in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War under freezing conditions in December 1862. The real-life figures such as Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher of the Irish Brigade, Sergeant Michael Sullivan and Lieutenant Garnett McMillan of the Confederate 24th Georgia come to life. Mitchell deftly reveals the sufferings as well as the human triumphs of soldiers on both sides of the 'War Between the States.' Publishers Weekly wrote, "Mitchell starkly showcases real-life generals, captains, sergeants and privates as they fight and struggle to survive."

"Mitchell, in a work reminiscent of such Civil War novels as THE KILLER ANGLES, traces the moment-by-moment flow of the battle; deftly weaves together historical and fictional characters; and renders with conviction this horrific experience of battle. In catching the moment when men discovered how the war had swept away their old lives, Mitchell offers an apt metaphor for the way in which that conflict dissolved and reshaped America's identity. A highly original work of historical fiction."
- Kirkus Reviews

"Approaching his subject as Michael Shaara did in his 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of Gettysburg THE KILLER ANGELS, Mitchell starkly showcases real-life generals, captains, sergeants and privates as they fight and struggle to survive. Mitchell demonstrates that the Civil War Irish fought like demons, but that their courage was no match for the flaming walls of cannon and musket fire that consumed them utterly."
- Publishers Weekly

". . . the Civil War is the great and enduring American story, and Kirk Mitchell uses the story of that dismal battle (Fredericksburg) to fashion a fine historical novel, one that adds to the ever-growing shelf of Civil War literature. . . There is an elegiac note to this book. Perfectly appropriate to the people and the events it so vividly describes."
- American Way (American Airlines inflight magazine)