Book Description

Father Abraham's Children was first published in 1961, the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Civil War. This volume is a collection of anecdotes and legends, a retelling of stories and reminiscences culled from a wide variety of written sources and from personal interviews with Civil War veterans. Among the episodes recounted with a wealth of colorful detail are: Michigan's participation in the Underground Railroad; the strange tale of Sarah Emma Edmonds, alias Private Franklin Thompson; the ill-fated strategy that led to the slaughter at the Crater; an odyssey of escape from Danville and from Libby Prison; the bizarre plot of the Confederates to capture a Federal sloop-of-war on Lake Erie; the Michigan Cavalry Brigade's exploits under the picturesque George Custer; the chance encounter with a Michigan soldier that brought death to the gallant Jeb Stuart; impressions and description of camp life and the ordinary routine of a soldier from the diary of Private Frank Lane; the disaster of the First Michigan at Bull Run; the story of Michigan's medical services and the origin of Harper Hospital; the Detroit Riot of 1863; and the nightmare explosion of the steamer Sultana with a death toll of over 1,200 soldiers on their way home from Confederate prisons.