photo © 2008 liz west | more info (via: Wylio)THE RAID BEHIND LOVE'S RAID
The story for Love's Raid was inspired by a little know (at least to me) battle of the Civil War: St. Albans Raid.
Several Confederate soldiers drifted into the town of St. Albans, Vermont, over the course of several days in October, 1864. On Wednesday the 19th, they held up three separate banks in St. Albans and claimed the town for the Confederacy.
By that point in the war, Sherman's Army had rolled through Atlanta. The Confederate Army came up with a daring plan: take refuge in neutral Canada and raid northern New England - sting the Union army enough to divert attention from the southern campaign in order to defend its northern borders.
The plan never went further than the single raid on St. Albans. After claiming the town, the soldiers took over $200,000 back across the border into Canada with them. The Canadians authorities refused to extradite the soldiers, and they were never brought to justice for robbing the banks.
When I read about the raid, I immediately asked myself "what if. . .there was a copycat crime after the raid?" That question led to Love's Raid. Constable Daniel Tuttle, a wounded Civil War veteran, seeks the men who rob his grandfather's bank - with the help of an inquisitive schoolmarm, of course.
It didn't hurt that I got to weave a little bit of mystery into the romance.
Have any of you heard of the St. Albans Raid before?
I hadn't heard of the St. Alban's Raid before. I can see how it would spark story ideas!
ReplyDeleteInteresting story, new history for me!
ReplyDeleteThis is new history for me as well Darlene. The book sounds intriguing!
ReplyDeleteHistory is chock full of surprising tidbits. That's why it's so much fun to write historical fiction! Thanks for stopping by.
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