The Black Flower

A Confederate soldier confronts the horror of battle and the power of grace in this poignant, haunting, and important novel of the Civil War (The Tennessean, Nashville). A New York Times Notable Book and Winner of the William Boyd Award for Best Military Novel In November 1864, Gen. John Bell Hoods Army of Tennessee prepares to launch an assault on Union forces near Franklin, Tennessee. Dirty, exhausted, and hungry, the Confederate soldiers form a line of battle across an open field. Among them stands Pvt. Bushrod Carter, a twenty-six-year-old rifleman from Cumberland, Mississippi. Against all odds, Bushrod has survived three years of war unscathedbut his luck is about to run out. Wounded in the battle, Bushrod is taken to a makeshift hospital on a nearby plantation. There, he falls under the care of Anna Hereford, who bears her own scars from years of relentless bloodshed and tragedy. In the grisly aftermath of one of the Confederate armys most disastrous campaigns, Anna and Bushrod seek salvation and understanding in each other. Their fragile bond carries with it the hope of a life beyond the war, and the risk of a pain too devastating to endure. Written with profound empathy and meticulous attention to historical detail, The Black Flower brilliantly portrays the staggering human toll of Americas bloodiest conflict. In his award-winning debut novel, Howard Bahr casts a tale of war as powerful as any youll ever find (Southern Living).