I Shall Be Near to You

My heart hurts and my stomach aches. This book wrecked me, but in the best way possible. When an Author can write a story that is based around a tragic historical time and make it beautiful I am held captive by ink. This book made me feel like few others have. It pulled me in and swallowed me up. My whole heart was filled with hope and compassion and towards the end the words slowly broke me. Tears filled my eyes and butterflies eased their way to my stomach. Each page led to an intense inner battle that not only affected the fictional world, but also my reality. My mood fell somber and I had to let the words carry me through the final pages.

To say Rosetta is a fierce heroine is an understatement... For the pains that she experienced show more and things she willingly gave up for love made her not only strong on the inside, but also on the outside. She took on a new role and did everything she could to protect the one she loved. She served her country and fought like few other women could. The relationship between her and Jeremiah is one of devotion, sacrifice, friendship, and compassion. Things weren't always simple, but together they faced it with unity. It was a classic timeless romance they shared, but also a tragic gut wrenching love. It brought commitment into focus and showed us that it's not about the time together, but how we spend that time...

The book seemed to wrap around me like a ribbon... With each page, I turned in another circle. And another. And another until finally my arms were bound at my sides with nowhere to go. It took self identity and strength to cut the ties and get the freedom I searched for. I picture that is how Rosetta felt... Wrapped up in secrets, lies, and love. Completely and utterly lost until the point of being found. I imagine that she always felt safe in the shadow of Jeremiah, but desperately needed to find herself in order to let go completely. Love grounded her, but fight is what pushed her to live.

I obviously was overwhelmed and have all kinds of personal feelings I could spill, but I will stop and leave you with this. If you love an epic love story with historical roots and inspirational ties, BUY THIS BOOK. It shall be near to your heart forever. That I can promise you. show less

I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe
Crown Publishers
978-0-8041-3772-0
$24, 305 pgs

“Plenty of things that ain’t usual ain’t wrong.” – Rosetta Wakefield

In I Shall Be Near To You Erin Lindsay McCabe has created a rare thing in this day and age: an unabashed romance, an unironic love story. Of course, she had to go back to the nineteenth century to do so. Our heroine, Rosetta, is spirited and unconventional, a woman ahead of her time, for the most part. A tomboy who preferred harvesting in the fields to sewing in the house, Rosetta refuses to let the social and gender restrictions of the time dictate her behavior.

Rosetta and Jeremiah have imagined a future on a farm of their own in Nebraska Territory. In order to obtain show more the needed funds, Jeremiah plans to volunteer for the Union Army. Everyone is convinced that the Civil War won’t last long and he can come home in no time with the money and they can begin the rest of their lives together.

All the Union needs is one good General and one good win. Then this war will be over and we’ll have our country back and be home to our kin before harvest time.

Rosetta and Jeremiah are married in upstate New York in January, 1862, and a couple of weeks later Jeremiah and a handful of local boys march off to join the war effort. Rosetta is heartsick without him. When she is attacked by another man fear and desperation drive her to cut her hair, bind her breasts, hem some of her husband’s clothes and set out to follow him. She joins the 97th New York Volunteers as Private Ross Stone, which is a joke between her and Jeremiah; he has often told her that her head is as hard as stone. It soon becomes clear that this war will not be over soon, that they will see plenty of combat and not everyone will make it out alive. I cannot say much more about the plot or there will be spoilers all over the place.

As it turns out, many women impersonated men to join the army during the Civil War, most of them following husbands, fathers or brothers. The research that must have gone into this book is tremendous and Ms. McCabe should be commended for her diligence. Someone should hand over a doctorate in American history, actually. The period details of speech, clothing, and technology, among other things, are meticulous. McCabe describes the process of firing a musket, “load charge ram prime aim fire,” and I am amazed that anyone anywhere ever actually managed to fire a weapon, let alone actually hit something.

The juxtaposition between the boasting and tough talk at the encampments and the reality of broken bodies and minds in the field hospitals is stark and heartbreaking. Overheard by Rosetta at one of the hospitals:

“I was a fool to have such an itch to fight,” Bed Twenty-six says. “It ain’t how I thought, having Rebel artillerymen laying their shells down in front of us. Canister. It tears right through the lines, cuts down whole Companies of men. And if it don’t get you, you got to keep moving forward into it. That’s bad enough. But at Shiloh the trees caught fire. … It was a sight to see. Like a halo over every tree, the way the leaves caught first. Except then the branches started falling.” Bed Twenty-six takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. “You ever heard a hog at slaughter?”

McCabe has a gift for metaphor and a talent for a particularly affecting turn of phrase. This is Rosetta holding her baby sister for the first time:

I held her, thinking of the time I broke Mama’s special china teacup and feeling scared what would happen if I dropped this, the only sister I’ve ever had, if it would be like that baby bird all skin and dark lids and what happened when it fell out of its nest. I couldn’t get to Mama’s bed fast or slow enough…

And this is Rosetta on the anticipation of battle:

Our bugles sound and voices roar as we march past the stone house and up a steep hill. Our blue Company flag waves ahead of the officers on their horses and the drums roll and my feet move without me even willing them. The air around us is tight like before lightning, and I think of Mama’s pregnant belly stretched out taut.

I am reminded of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain and that is a fine thing indeed. show less

Perhaps you're aware of the fact that during the Civil War, brother fought against brother. You probably also knew that boys falsified their age in order to go off and fight. But did you know that women also fought in the Civil War, disguising themselves as men in order to fight alongside fathers, brothers, husbands? Well, they did. And we know this because of the letters they sent home to loved ones. In Erin Lindsay McCabe's debut novel, I Shall Be Near to You, she has imagined what drove one woman to fight for the Union Army.

Rosetta Edwards has never felt terribly compelled to act the way a girl is expected to act. She's always preferred farm work with her father to parlor work with her mother. She'd rather be out of doors in nature show more than trapped inside with mending, and she's always trying to fill the gap her father feels as a result of having no sons. Although she may not meet the usual standards of young women in her small New York community, being mocked and shunned by the conventional girls, including her younger sister, for her less feminine pursuits, she is not willing to be forced into the constraints of her sex.

When the love of her life, Jeremiah, decides, with a group of friends, to join up with the Union Army, she is furious. He promises that he is simply joining to earn the $150 enlistment bonus so that when he gets back from the war, he and Rosetta will have the money to head west and buy their own farm. Insisting that Jeremiah marry her before he heads out, Rosetta comes up hard against the chafing expectations for women once more when Jeremiah leaves. As unwilling to knuckle under to convention as a wife and daughter-in-law as she had been as a daughter, Rosetta makes the drastic decision to cut off her abundant hair and disguise herself as a young man in order to follow Jeremiah and join up with the army herself.

Going by the name Ross Stone, Rosetta does find Jeremiah and the boys from her home town. But they are not pleased to see her, only grudgingly willing to keep her secret and allow her to stay with them through training. Both Rosetta and Jeremiah struggle with her decision, what that means for them as a couple, and how far either of them are willing to carry her charade. And when they start to see fighting, they are forced to confront their own mortality and the fact that no future is ever guaranteed.

McCabe has used the real life experiences of women brave enough to go to war to great effect in creating Rosetta, a woman who knows her heart and happiness depend on her being close to Jeremiah, not waiting at home for news of him and pretending to be the dutiful daughter-in-law. Her stubbornness, determination, and her doubts as well are very realistically drawn. Jeremiah's dismay at his new wife's arrival in the camp is also well done. And the way they have to come to terms with both of their needs and wants, both shared and in opposition to the others', during this horrific and monumental time intensifies their feelings. While they do love each other, they also hurt each other, have disagreements, and treat each other carelessly at times, which makes their relationship very realistic. McCabe doesn't minimize the appalling horrors of the war and she doesn't spare her characters either, forcing them to see the waste and destruction, the devastating loss of life, and the unnecessary and brutal suffering that war creates. There are a few small bits that seem anachronistic but in general this is a well researched and well written historical look at the women of the Civil War. show less

" ...there's still most men who can't see a thing a woman does, even when she's doing them right under his nose."

Rosetta Wakefield loves her husband dearly, so much that she can not stand to be apart from him. When her husband leaves early in their marriage to join the Union effort in the Civil War, Rosetta soon cuts her hair, dons men's clothing and trudges her way up to his camp in order to enlist and fight by his side.

I love stories that tell of strong women throughout our history. In I Shall Be Near To You, Erin Lindsay McCabe masterfully weaves the information we know of the countless real-life women soldiers from the Civil War into the fictional story of Rosetta Wakefield. This was beautifully written and I had a hard time parting show more with Rosetta's story, even when it was heart-breaking. I felt an instant bond to Rosetta's character within the first few pages. She does not quite fit the role of a women for her time, she can't sit still, she says what she means, she would rather be outside doing men's work and she has strong emotions. Rosetta's love for her childhood friend, Jeremiah is sweet but fierce and the bond is not forced. There are flashbacks throughout the book that give the inside look to their relationship, imperfections and all.

One of the things that I have always wondered about women who have fought as males in the Civil War was how they managed to cover up their identities for so long. McCabe tackles some of these issues with Rosetta, it of course helped that Rosetta was with her husband and was able to share a tent, but there were also other men from her town that knew her secret. Rosetta had to bind herself, take care of her business farther away, and deal with her menstrual cycle. She also had to learn how to not stand with her hand on her hip and run with a larger stride. Rosetta's time within the Union Camp and within battles was the most intriguing, giving an inside, intimate look to the time period and a camp during the Civil War. Rosetta drills with the men and learns to shoot, she also uses her limited cooking skills and cares for the wounded, she becomes a valuable part of her regiment.

Compelling and unforgettable, Rosetta's story is valuable as insight into just one of the many women who fought in the Civil War under the guise of a male.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. show less

My heart hurts and my stomach aches. This book wrecked me, but in the best way possible. When an Author can write a story that is based around a tragic historical time and make it beautiful I am held captive by ink. This book made me feel like few others have. It pulled me in and swallowed me up. My whole heart was filled with hope and compassion and towards the end the words slowly broke me. Tears filled my eyes and butterflies eased their way to my stomach. Each page led to an intense inner battle that not only affected the fictional world, but also my reality. My mood fell somber and I let the words carry me through the final pages.

To say Rosetta is a fierce heroine is an understatement... For the pains that she experienced and show more things she willingly gave up for love made her not only strong on the inside, but also on the outside. She took on a new role and did everything she could to protect the one she loved. She served her country and fought like few other women could. The relationship between her and Jeremiah is one of devotion, sacrifice, friendship, and compassion. Things weren't always simple, but together they faced it with unity. It was a classic timeless romance they shared, but also a tragic gut wrenching love. It brought commitment into focus and showed us that it's not about the time together, but how we spend that time...

The book seemed to wrap around me like a ribbon... With each page, I turned in another circle. And another. And another until finally my arms were bound at my sides with nowhere to go. It took self identity and strength to cut the ties and get the freedom I searched for. I picture that is how Rosetta felt... Wrapped up in secrets, lies, and love. Completely and utterly lost until the point of being found. I imagine that she always felt safe in the shadow of Jeremiah, but desperately needed to find herself in order to let go completely. Love grounded her, but fight is what pushed her to live.

I obviously was overwhelmed and have all kinds of personal feelings I could spill, but I will stop and leave you with this. If you love an epic love story with historical roots and inspirational ties, BUY THIS BOOK. It shall be near to your heart forever. That I can promise you. show less

I've always enjoyed stories about women disguising themselves as men in order to do things that wouldn't otherwise be permitted, so it was no surprise that I also liked this story about a woman who disguises herself as a man to enlist as a soldier in the American Civil War and accompany her new husband to battle.

This book pulled me in from the very beginning, even before the disguise element came in. I enjoyed reading about Rosetta's life on a farm in the mid-nineteenth century, as she struggled against the constraints imposed on women at the time. She wanted to be working outside, not sitting inside sewing and cooking, and she was teased by other girls at school.

In some ways, I'd actually say that I enjoyed the first half of the book show more more than the second. Stories of war tend to be bleak and not particularly pleasant, and this was no exception. There was the expected death and bloodshed, without a lot of optimism. I'd still say that I enjoyed this book on the whole, but not unreservedly so. It was a compelling read, just not an uplifting one. As Civil War stories go, I'd say that Geraldine Brooks' March was slightly more satisfying. show less

I Shall Be Near to You is the story of a girl who disguises herself as a man and joins up with the Union Army during the American Civil War to stay with her husband, disputing the "fact" that her place is at home waiting for news, believing that her true place is at her husband's side even if that might put her in mortal danger. McCabe brings the Civil War to life in all its confusion and horror. Rosetta is a great character, determined, strong, and sympathetic; and she's as good a soldier as any. Ironically, during her time posing as a man, her character makes an impressive transformation from an impulsive girl to a strong, thoughtful woman. This is a great book that had me just about in tears while reading it in public.