Suwannee Divide

In this realistic novel about the Civil War in Florida, the reader will experience actual events, but more importantly, will feel the tumult of the time through the eyes of historical personalities and fictional characters. A beautiful, mulatto slave escapes from her abusive owner and falls in love with a runaway who is captured by the Union navy and recruited as a scout. A Unionist farmer enlists in the Florida militia to avoid Confederate conscription. He must leave behind his wife, children and slaves to fend for themselves against marauders, soldiers and deserters. Shortly before Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, black Union soldiers under the command of a white, glory-seeking general make a final assault on Tallahassee. Desperate Florida troops repulse the Federal invasion at the Battle of Natural Bridge to save the capital from destruction. Author Gene Jones, a fifth generation Floridian, sets out this little known history from a gripping human perspective. Before readers realize it, they have absorbed more history than set out in learned nonfiction while experiencing a touching tale with memorable characters. Suwannee Divide relates how war tears apart the lives of friends, lovers and families. Above all, it conveys how the will to survive prevails.