Why did they answer the call by the thousands? Why did they join the Confederate cavalry to face the unknown? What motivated them to ride straight into the barrels of cannon? Hugh Sinclair, a young Georgian, was one of those who joined in 1861 when his beloved South went to war with the Union. Soon Captain Sinclair was riding with the elite cavalry unit of his hero, General JEB Stuart, attacking the enemy across blood-soaked battlefields. Although he and his closest friends, Andy Johns and Wayne Deadwyler, understood the ...
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Why did they answer the call by the thousands? Why did they join the Confederate cavalry to face the unknown? What motivated them to ride straight into the barrels of cannon? Hugh Sinclair, a young Georgian, was one of those who joined in 1861 when his beloved South went to war with the Union. Soon Captain Sinclair was riding with the elite cavalry unit of his hero, General JEB Stuart, attacking the enemy across blood-soaked battlefields. Although he and his closest friends, Andy Johns and Wayne Deadwyler, understood the realities that meant the war would end in defeat, they were willing to fight to the bitter end. The three young cavalrymen became known for their daring and willingness to tackle any mission thrown at them by their commanders, no matter how unexpected. They found themselves sent on spying campaigns into the heart of enemy territory-Washington-where Hugh and Wayne barely escaped hanging. In Charleston, S.C., Andy and Hugh were caught up in another strange quest-helping to identify the mysterious "thing" that seemed to be diving underwater to damage blockade-running ships. Back in Richmond, they continued their regular duties with their cavalry units, until they were summoned for another operation, which could be the most perilous of all. In disguise, they would have to infiltrate a Union fort and get a close look at a powerful, deadly new weapon that the North reportedly had. Could they get away with their own audacious plan-and steal the weapon out from under the Yankees' noses? Theirs is the story of the men in gray, who turned out to fight for the Cause. Why did these men, many of whom never owned a slave, show up bravely to do their part? Why did they willingly take on assignments they had no idea they could carry out-and then do so? Why did they do all those things mostly without question? Why were they willing to lose everything-even their lives? Why? Because they were Southerners, that's why.
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