Scarecrow In Gray
by Barry Yelton

Description

We ran headlong across the fields. Minie balls filled the air with that strange, buzzing sound. Every now and again I could feel the air whip my neck as one flew close by. One of the balls ripped a chunk out of my left ear. Dirt flew up all around us where balls struck the ground. Men were dropped everywhere, most dead where they fell.A peaceful hill country farmer from North Carolina, Francis Marion Yelton, is torn from his beloved family and thrust into the barbarity of America's deadliest conflict: the War Between the States. Forced to become a soldier and fight a war in which he has no stake, Francis struggles to come to grips with his new role.Blood and battle threaten to transform Francis from a man of peace to a brutal warrior, and he struggles to hold on to his ideals. Wracked with doubt and guilt, tormented by the violent acts he has been forced to commit, Francis looks to his faith in God and to the memory of his devoted wife and loving children to sustain him through the dark night of war's insensate butchery.Battle after battle, through hailstorms of lead and waves of cold steel, Francis fights to survive. Will he ever see home again?