A Confederate cavalry officer valiantly rescues his sweetheart, Mary, when she is snared by the Union Army and charged with espionage. She must then flee across the South through a gauntlet of danger. While she navigates her way to safety, the officer strikes deep into Union territory with Morgan’s cavalry. When the unit is trapped, he must evade capture working as a spy behind Union lines until he can make his way back to her … if she has survived. The Union Army, out for blood, hunts him as he puts his life on the line to find her again.
This exciting and emotional story, set amid the violence and destruction of the Civil War, is about the special quality that makes fearsome soldiers and indestructible families. Enduring great tragedy, they learn to persevere and protect the things that really matter, soldiering on when hope has no reason beyond one driving force: love.
About the Author
Don Bowman grew up in the South in a family with direct connections to The War, as it was called. An early interest in history planted by stories repeated by the children of these men blossomed when Don received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduation, Don commanded at every level from platoon to battalion and served on staffs at all levels from battalion to Department of the Army. He taught at the Airborne School and the Ranger School where he was the deputy director. By the end of his active duty career, he had been awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal with V device, and the Purple Heart. He holds the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Ranger Tab, the Master Parachutist Badge, the Pathfinder Badge, the Army General Staff Badge, and the Army Recruiter’s Badge. He is currently the treasurer of the National Ranger Memorial Foundation, Inc., and is a certified public accountant in public practice in Columbus, Georgia.
Don has published articles in service journals and contributed to Infantry Magazine. Miss Mary’s Honor Guard is his first novel.
Praise for Miss Mary
Don Bowman tells an intriguing tale of a vivacious southern belle as she travels as a convicted Rebel spy from one end of the Civil War to another to avoid a Northern hangman’s noose. No camp follower Miss Mary, she wields a riding crop for personal defense and employs a swivel gun when outnumbered. She adroitly obtains support for her travels from a bevy of generals familiar to the reader in both blue and gray along the way. Easy read, action packed, grounded in the particulars of mounted warfare, and based on events of that moment. Who says women are better at giving life than taking it – except for an errant husband or two. – Volney F. Warner, General, U.S. Army, Retired
