Load and Fire

Load and Fire is the story of a young man of seventeen and his friends who lie about their age to join the Union Army and fight in the Civil War. They run away from home, are accepted into the army, and endure rigorous training. They survive a bitter winter in the mountains of Virginia, sleeping in below-freezing weather in tents and sometimes in the open, awakening covered in snow.

Their first battle is an uphill struggle after marching through a driving snowstorm. They fight in several battles and are eventually captured at Port Republic, Virginia. They endure months of near starvation in prison and parole camps before reuniting with their regiment. They continue to fight at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and on Lookout Mountain. After several more short battles above Atlanta, they reach the end of their three-year enlistment.

During their service, they marched almost 1,400 miles, travelled about 1,600 miles by train, and several hundred miles by ship. Although written as fiction, Load and Fire follows the real actions of the men of the 5th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, known as the Cincinnati Regiment, and is filled with actual facts about what soldiers endured during this conflict.

Anyone knowledgeable about the Civil War, or simply a lover of good stories about our history, will find this an excellent read.