In November of 1864 the Civil War is close to its end. But a fierce
battle is about to take place in Franklin, Tennessee, pitting loyal
Confederate soldiers against a staunch Union Army that greatly
outnumbers them. An outlying plantation named Carnton belongs to
John and Carrie McGavock. General Nathan Bedford Forrest orders the
house and grounds to become a hospital for the anticipated wounded
and dying. Mrs. McGavock is reclusive because she grieves for her
three children, dead in the recent past. She is unwilling to turn
her home into a respite for any army, but the General is firm in
his demand.

More than 9,000 men die on the battlefield at Franklin in the
following days. The Confederacy is near its demise; its loss at
Franklin is a step closer to eventual surrender at Appomattox
Courthouse. Carrie's close friend and former slave, Mariah, stands
beside her for support when hundreds of broken bodies are brought
to Carnton.

In historical memory, perhaps Franklin is not a formidable one. But
Robert Hicks writes its story and brings to life the men who
fought, healed or died there. The romantic interest in THE WIDOW OF
THE SOUTH is between two unlikely personalities --- Carrie McGavock
and a Confederate Sergeant named Zachariah Cashwell. He's severely
wounded and transported to Carnton; Carrie finds him a compelling
patient and yearns to know him better. She's instrumental in saving
his life but cannot keep him under Carnton's protective wing when
soldiers in gray are herded like cattle to Union prison
camps.

Franklin's rural residents, some in abject poverty and others in
comfortable homesteads, provide a colorful panorama of lives
affected by civil war. Side plots involve townspeople whose lives
will change forever. The grieving widow takes strength from the men
who have resided within her house, however short their time.
Carnton's halls are filled with activity, then abruptly emptied.
But she cannot forget those who died at Carnton. She begins a
correspondence with families of the dead to provide relatives with
knowledge about boys they've lost, eventually leading to their
reburial on her land. She wears black in memory of them all.

Hicks's chapters are laid out much the same as those written by
Jeff Shaara in his compelling Civil War books. Sections are titled
by characters whose points of view are explored within, or by dates
that story actual wartime timelines. Some are written in first
person, others in third person, but the book flows forward in an
easy read that catches readers' attention throughout.

Will Baylor, Franklin's elitist businessman, is a stubborn anti-war
zealot who sacrifices his only son rather than accept the boy's
passion for the cause. In addition, the son has dared to fall in
love with a girl whose family lives in poverty. Baylor's whims
affect the fates of the entire populace, ultimately changing the
stance that Carrie takes against him.

THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH is the product of Hicks's research about
Franklin, in particular the restoration of the Carnton plantation
as a historical site, home to the cemetery Carrie McGavock built to
honor the thousands of dead who lost their lives at Franklin,
Tennessee. Relationships between Carrie, husband John, Mariah and
her son Eli, and Zachariah Cashwell are fictional, but the reality
of the battle and the losses sustained by the Confederacy are fact.
Promotional material compares THE WIDOW OF THE SOUTH to the likes
of GONE WITH THE WIND and DR. ZHIVAGO. I would not classify Hicks's
book with such lofty classics, but I do recommend it as a
historical novel with enthralling personalities.