Claire Sanders's Blog
June 2, 2021
Giveaway!
I'm participating in the June Giveaway! For a limited time, you can download "The Baseball Bride" totally free. "The Baseball Bride" is the first book in my "Masons of Brightfield" series. I'm sure you'll love this story set in 1910. The heroine is a great baseball player, but she's hiding that fact because she wants to be a "lady". What will she do when the hometown team needs her to help win the championship?
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
March 17, 2012
The Quakers of New Garden
My novella “New Garden’s Inspiration” is set in August, 1861 and tells the story of Leah Wall. Believing it is her only chance, Leah agrees to an arranged marriage with a non-Quaker farmer.
I had to do quite a bit of research in order to make the details of this story historically accurate. Quakers affirm a Testimony of Peace and members of the Society of Friends struggled with their consciences when the Civil War began. Although they were known as pacifists, they also worked tirelessly in abolitionist causes. The common belief is that Quakers did not fight in the Civil War, but my research showed this was not true. The book Indiana Quakers Confront the Civil War by Jacquelyn S. Nelson states many Quaker men volunteered to join regiments made up of their neighbors.
Another excellent resource on the question is the web site “Patriotism and Paradox”. (http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his480...) In this essay, Mark A. Schmidt writes “…some Quakers concluded that making war was the only way to end war. A Quaker minister, in a eulogy delivered at the funeral of a fallen Quaker soldier, pointed to war as an all- consuming evil created by slavery that caused men to engage in evil in order to destroy evil. "To make war in his country forever impossible, by eradicating human slavery, its permanent cause, he took up arms. There seemed no other way of doing it. He would thankfully have used other means, had other means been permitted... You need not be afraid of shocking your principles by receiving him here from battle ... . Do we hate war less in these days than formerly? Nay, Friends, we hate it, if possible, a thousand times more, when we see them, father and son, doing such deeds as this."
In addition to learning more about Quakers’ participation in the Civil War, I also enjoyed discovering what life was like in Washington, D.C. at that time. An excellent book, Freedom Rising by Ernest B. Furgurson, painted a detailed and captivating portrait of our nation’s capital from 1860-1865. Until I read this book, I did not realize the Capitol Building was under construction during those years. The book also gave wonderful insights into life in the Lincoln White House.
If you’re interested in reading more about this time period, I highly recommend Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott. Although we know her better as the author of Little Women, Alcott served as a nurse in a military hospital in Georgetown. Her recounting of experiences she had there are heartbreaking, especially considering the advances in medicine since that time.
I look forward to corresponding with readers about my stories. You can learn more about me and find a book trailer about my novella at my website, www.clairesandersbooks.com. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to check out my page there.
I had to do quite a bit of research in order to make the details of this story historically accurate. Quakers affirm a Testimony of Peace and members of the Society of Friends struggled with their consciences when the Civil War began. Although they were known as pacifists, they also worked tirelessly in abolitionist causes. The common belief is that Quakers did not fight in the Civil War, but my research showed this was not true. The book Indiana Quakers Confront the Civil War by Jacquelyn S. Nelson states many Quaker men volunteered to join regiments made up of their neighbors.
Another excellent resource on the question is the web site “Patriotism and Paradox”. (http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his480...) In this essay, Mark A. Schmidt writes “…some Quakers concluded that making war was the only way to end war. A Quaker minister, in a eulogy delivered at the funeral of a fallen Quaker soldier, pointed to war as an all- consuming evil created by slavery that caused men to engage in evil in order to destroy evil. "To make war in his country forever impossible, by eradicating human slavery, its permanent cause, he took up arms. There seemed no other way of doing it. He would thankfully have used other means, had other means been permitted... You need not be afraid of shocking your principles by receiving him here from battle ... . Do we hate war less in these days than formerly? Nay, Friends, we hate it, if possible, a thousand times more, when we see them, father and son, doing such deeds as this."
In addition to learning more about Quakers’ participation in the Civil War, I also enjoyed discovering what life was like in Washington, D.C. at that time. An excellent book, Freedom Rising by Ernest B. Furgurson, painted a detailed and captivating portrait of our nation’s capital from 1860-1865. Until I read this book, I did not realize the Capitol Building was under construction during those years. The book also gave wonderful insights into life in the Lincoln White House.
If you’re interested in reading more about this time period, I highly recommend Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott. Although we know her better as the author of Little Women, Alcott served as a nurse in a military hospital in Georgetown. Her recounting of experiences she had there are heartbreaking, especially considering the advances in medicine since that time.
I look forward to corresponding with readers about my stories. You can learn more about me and find a book trailer about my novella at my website, www.clairesandersbooks.com. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to check out my page there.
