An all but forgotten battle in the Civil War, the battle for Arkansas Post forever changed the future and the faith of one Iowan family.
Job Trites was thirty-nine years old when he was mustered into Iowa’s 26th V.I. He was nearly twice the age of most of the men who enlisted with him. Chronicles of War follows Job’s and his family’s experience of the Civil War.
President Lincoln had called for 900 volunteers from Iowa to join the cause. Job was the 899th to register. Inner struggles to balance his callings to family and country, and his wrestling with God over matters of faith and fear--his own and those of the young men around him--proved a bloody battle for Job before any engagement with the enemy. The Battle of Arkansas Post simply provided punctuation to a story that was written on the way.
Job is an ancestor of mine. Through historical documents, Civil War records, soldier’s diaries and letters, I’ve endeavored to take readers back to the times and experiences of the Army of the Mississippi during the fall and winter of 1862-1863, and particularly, the days and events leading up to and including the Battle for Arkansas Post.