This is the fictional story set in Mendota, Minnesota of the Simmons family who are faced with the consequences of the Dakota Sioux Uprising of 1862 that swept across the state as well as the Civil War.
The father, Dan enlists in the 1st regiment of Minnesota volunteers as a teamster. His two sons, who are both underage join the 2nd Regiment. John, aged 16 becomes a bugler and William, aged 15 becomes a drummer. Their sister, Sara is left behind with their mother, Louise to fend for themselves. Dan is sent east to fight with the Army of the Potomac while his sons are sent to the western theater to serve in the army of the Cumberland. Back in Mendota, their neighbor and close friend, Colonel Henry Sibley is ordered to stay in the state to control the Indian uprising.
Dan will see action up through the battle of Antietam. He will later find himself in the hospital in Washington DC where he befriends a comrade also from the 1st Regiment. His sons barely miss the action at Shiloh but after, are engaged in all the major battles in the West. While they are passing through Louisville, William falls for a young woman, Mary who works as a hospital nurse. Back in Mendota, Sara befriends a young Chippewa native boy while her mother struggles with the breakup of her family. After Colonel Sibley defeats the Sioux, he is promoted to General and ordered to round up all the Dakota and push resettle them in the Dakotas.
This leads to the punitive expeditions that he and General Sully will command up until 1864. William is captured at the battle up Missionary Ridge and then sent to the prison camp at Belle Isle, VA. and then onto Andersonville. GA. John receives a 30 day furlough and returns to Mendota before he re-enlists. Louise and Sara wait for the war’s end so the family can be reunited, but events may not turn out as anticipated.
My Review
If you love sweeping family sagas set during the American Civil War then you need to add Mendota and the Restive Rivers of the Indian and Civil Wars 1861-65 (The Simmons Family Saga) by Dane Pizzuti Krogman to your to-read list!
I have to admit that when I started reading this book I felt a shred of unease. The writing style does take time to get used to, and there were a few issues with the editing, especially at the beginning, but stick with it because once Krogman settled into his story the novel really took off and became an utterly compelling page-turner.
The story follows the Simmons family as they navigate surviving the war and the Indian uprising.
Louise and her daughter Sara are left behind to fend for themselves while their menfolk go off to war. The vulnerability of their situation is apparent almost from the start, but there is a strength of character in both of these protagonists and a steely determination to hold onto the hope that their family will be reunited one day.
We witness the Civil War through the eyes of Dan Simmons and his sons William and John. I thought Dan's depiction was sublime, and like his sons, his expectation versus the realities of warfare is very different. Dan expected the war to be glorious, like the images in the Bible. However, what he discovers is that war is not gilded with a glorious light, but instead it is more like walking through Hell.
The reasons behind the Dakota Sioux uprising is explored in detail in this novel. The prejudice they faced was horrendous, although Krogman also depicted why many settlers were scared of them. I thought the depiction of Little Crow was amazing. I really enjoyed reading about him and seeing things from his perspective.
The historical backdrop of this novel has obviously been painstakingly researched. I certainly came away from this novel knowing more about this period of history than I did before reading it.
I thought the story was brilliantly compelling. It is the kind of novel that I think will appeal to those who like very well researched historical fiction.
Buy this Book.
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Dane Krogman
The common thread through all of this has been his passion for Japanese design, art, and fashion. He has lived in Kyoto, Japan for the past 20 summers studying Japanese kimono and obi design of the Heian and Edo periods. In 2002 he won the Grand Prize for the best graphic novel at the Hiroshima manga competition. His graphic Novel Skeleton boy was selected for inclusion into the Hiroshima peace memorial library in 2007.
He was most recently an adjunct faculty member in the Graduate Program in Digital Filmmaking at Stony Brook Southampton. He is also an award-winning screenwriter. His screenplay, The Schooner was produced as the Australian film, AUSTRALIA in 2008. He has other award-winning films that have been optioned for production or are in production.
As a Civil War historian he has worked as a technical advisor for the films, Dances with Wolfs, Gettysburg, and Glory. He currently has one Civil War novel in pre-publication; MENDOTA, AND THE RESTIVE RIVERS OF THE CIVIL AND INDIAN WARS 1861-65.
He also works part-time as a crew member on a Grand-Am Rolex series race team. The team won the national championship in 2008
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