Peggy's warren

A real story of Anabaptist nonresistance this meticulously researched novel adheres closely to the true story of Margaret Peggy Rhodes and the young Mennonite and Dunker men she protected during the Civil War She is a fiercely loyal Union woman living in the Shenandoah Valley a region of Virginia that strongly supports the Confederacy While her husband is slowly dying of consumption Peggy conceals draft dodgers and deserters in a secret cellar under their bedroom floor She does this while managing a farm raising five children and serving as a postmaster for the Underground Railroad Confederate forces capture one large group of fugitives many of them Peggy s cousins and take them to Richmond s notorious Castle Thunder Then the rebels charge Peggy s uncle Gabriel Doc Heatwole with treason and imprison him in the Rockingham Courthouse with Dunker Elder John Kline The story climaxes during Sheridan s burning of the Valley when Custer s cavalry gives Peggy 15 minutes to empty her house and barn before they set them on fire Peggy s WarI must say the cover did not attract me to the book in the least Overall I thought it was a fairly engaging story based on the story of a Mennonite woman in the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War 9798988495208 Peggy s War explores Civil War history from the perspective of the Mennonite and Dunker communities in the Shenandoah Valley In today s thpught they were conscientious objectors whose religious values rejected military involvement a delicate balancing act in 1860s Virginia In this historic recounting Margaret Peggy Rhodes of the title is not always central to the narrative with equal or attention given the men surrounding her This may reflect research sources availability as well as the role of women in these Germanic faith communities The reader is often left to speculate on her thoughts motivations and actions The reference to underground railroad here relates to white disserters and conscientious objectors on their flight to free states not enslaved persons or fleeing freed Blacks The Rhodes family provided this unique group of disserters objectors refuge though Peggy s direct interactions are not described with consistent specificity Although the immediate area had many small farms with few slaveholders the role of slavery in the conflict and the overall economy of the Valley is infrequently mentioned though John Brown s raid is described and in one case fleeing slaves join the dissenters While describing the Mennonite farms minimal attention is given to the overall role of the Valley as breadbasket of the Confederacy or its economic importance to the US pre Civil War The horrific description of its devastation in the final stages of the Civil War is acknowledged. Peggy's world cic The merit of this book is introducing readers to frequently overlooked aspects of Civil War history in this unique area The writer likely maximized the limited primary research available on this topic 9798988495208