PUSH TO APPOMATTOX is an epic, panoramic novel chronicling the “national push” of Ulysses S, Grant from March 1864, when he receives his three stars, to the surrender at Appomattox and the death of Lincoln in April 1865, Included in this purview are all of the transcontinental military engagements under Grant’s central command including those in eastern Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, Georgia, and Texas.
PUSH TO APPOMATTOX is, also. in addition to being an epic novel, a quasi-legalistic document which, through its seven-threaded thematic structure; “presents the case” for who did what, and why they did it, or claimed to, in the conduct of the war on both sides. The novel advocates for both sides with equal passion and with equal regard showcases the gallantry of soldiers on both sides of this often inglorious war not lacking in sacrifice and heroism..
The seven threads investigated in the novel are: (1) conception and execution of Grant’s “national push;” (2) acceptance of “total war”, (3) changing status of women; (4) changing status of blacks; (5) confederal versus federal concepts of government; (6) division versus reconciliation; and (7) the pacifist perspective (‘total rejection of war’), which in the novel brings the Northern officer Josiah Derr to a precursor form of existentialist reasoning as he continues to fight, feeling that he must respond to his moral freedom by making a choice between the options presented to him of fighting or walking away.
As an example of how the novel is quasi-legalistic, Hiram Stone, an owner of slaves and an idealistic Confederate soldier, comes upon an editorial in the Richmond newspaper, in March 1865, that he takes a great interest in because it purports to “defend the Southern lost cause.” This editorial, included in its entirety in Chapter 78 of the novel, is a carefully reasoned. fervent apology for why the South left the Union and fought the war,
The editorial begins like this: “For those who would deprecate the conduct of Virginians in the leading up to and prosecution of our long and difficult war, those who would deprive our brave and good people of their due gratitude and honor for their generous defense of our society and government, let us set the record straight for any American, in North or South, in this or any future generation, who would consider the true history of the war with an intelligent and open mind. We say to all of you, do us justice as Virginians and Americans.”
At another place in the novel, in Chapter 57, a counter-sentiment (though not a counter-argument, exactly) is presented by Rep. James Rollins of Missouri, a former slave holder who delivers an eloquent statement supporting the anti-slavery 13th amendment. In this speech Rollins says in part: “If we can march safely through the dark and dreary wilderness of rebellion and civil war, and if we can come out of it with the American Union as formed by Washington and his compatriots, if we can come out of it with our free and matchless Constitution maintained substantially in all its parts, … and further boast that we have caused the sun of freedom to shine on an additional four million of human beings, where is the man who feels a just pride of country and who cannot bring himself up to the standard of realizing the great influence which the American Republic … shall exert on downtrodden humanity in every land?”
As with all other such quotes in this historical novel, this quote is not made up but is taken from a reliable historical record such as the New York Herald Tribune.
PUSH TO APPOMATTOX has historical as well as fictional characters. The historical characters include presidents Lincoln and Davis, and commanders Grant, Lee, Sherman, Sheridan, and Early. Frederick Douglass and Thaddeus Stevens are also characters, and the wives of Lincoln and Davis (Mary and Varina).
This novel features two fictional families, the Derr’s and the Stone’s,—with soldiers on opposite sides of the conflict,—”related” through one man, Elias Derr, Josiah’s father, who in subsequent marriages, has fathered children on both sides. Out of this across-the-war family dynamic come “non-kin cousins” who are romantically involved, interaction with slaves on the Southern side of the family, and war-related role changes for women on both sides.
There is also an educated slave named Terner Ross,who in the chaos of Southern defeat tries to begin a new life as leader of his fellow former slaves and a newly free man.
Hiram Stone, just mentioned, is Terner’s master, and was also his boyhood friend, and the novel makes no attempt to introduce sensational maltreatment on Hiram’s part, only to demonstrate that Hiram stops short of providing the full justice that he knows Terner deserves. The novel takes the attitude that slavery is bad enough in itself, on a moral level, and is more strongly revealed in its injustice when combined with an attempt at love and fairness as is the case between these two men who had grown up like brothers.
All military details in this novel are accurate as to dates, order of battle, units involved, and battle dynamics in major engagements such as The Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and the attack on Atlanta, The novel has an extensive “Acknowledgements” section listing all resources used for the novel.
The novel documents the military strategy and prosecution of the war as put forward by both sides, and at the same time describes the inner struggle and remorse of those of these military leaders who could not command violence without profound personal involvement, including Lincoln and Sherman most markedly, This is not a fictionalized or sensationalized depiction, but rather the manifestation of actual mentalities disclosed in speeches, letters, and reported interactions.
Women are a major components of this novel. Of the two major female fictional characters, close friends since childhood, one is Hiram’s cousin, Louisa Stone, a nurse in the Confederate army (which was permitted); the other is Josiah’s sister, Emily Derr, a store owner and manager of a camp for former slaves in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. She is also a writer and an advocate for the 13th amendment. Varina Davis and Mary Lincoln are depicted as energetic agents alongside their husbands, as shown to be by historical records.
Blacks are also a major component of the novel as some seek like Terner Ross to become educated full persons while others seek the right to risk their lives in combat. Blacks are shown left adrift and abandoned after the fighting stops when attempts fail to materialize providing them with land and reparations.
PUSH TO APPOMATTOX provides a muralistic physical. political, and social view of America at this time of national division preceding the “realization westward” of America’s “great experiment in democracy” following the Civil War.
Roland Menge (2025)