In Wilmington author's Civil War novel, hiding the family 'Silver' from the Yankees
As the late Florence King observed in "Southern Ladies and Gentlemen," any Southern family worth its salt has a story about burying the family silver to hide it from the Yankees.
John Harrison Meyer of Wilmington took his family lore and turned it into a novel.
Meyer, a former managing editor of the StarNews, has turned his family history research into "Silver," a novel using actual historical figures as characters.
His protagonist is Eddy Harrison, a boy growing up in Amelia County, Virginia, not too far from Appomattox Court House, as "Silver" starts in 1864. Too young even for the Home Guard militia, Eddy longs for excitement, much like young Henry Fleming in "The Red Badge of Courage."
That excitement soon comes as Union cavalry try to cut the Richmond and Danville railroad line — the "Danville Train" from The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down." Before long, Eddy's father, a relatively modest planter, is called up for Home Guard duty.
The Union Army moves closer, as do "bummers," brigands loyal to neither army. Eventually, Eddy's mother sends Eddy and Lucy, an enslaved girl about Eddy's age, into the woods with a shovel with orders to hide the silver. Lucy is calm and clever, and a bond forms between her and Eddy.
Meyer, who grew up in Ohio, is related to the Harrisons on his mother's side. Her ancestors moved north after the war seeking opportunity.
Always a meticulous reporter, Meyer researched libraries, tramped battlefields and visited Amelia County farms to get his details right. He's more honest than most Southern genealogists about how closely connected the Harrisons were to their slaves. (One uncle had a longstanding relationship with an African-American woman, sort of like Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. Unlike Jefferson, however, he acknowledged his children by her.)
Meyer's precision, however, almost becomes a fault. "Silver" often reads like straight history with a little dialogue thrown in. Many characters don't really come to life, and Meyer finds himself dealing with an unwieldy cast of Harrisons, a large family where many members confusingly shared identical names.
Meyer is a good writer, though, and "Silver" will prove of interest to Civil War buffs and anyone who wants to know what "Gone With the Wind" was REALLY like.
'Hello, Wimington'
Just in time for Christmas: "Hello, Wilmington" by local author Amanda Hoffmann, with color artwork by Chris Fowler.
The children's picture book (Sea Leaf Book Editing, $18.95) follows three young friends as they explore the Lower Cape Fear, with stops at Wrightsville Beach, the Battleship North Carolina (complete with alligator), Airlie Gardens, the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher and a garden of carnivorous plants.
Hoffmann, a graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, created the Wilmington Mom website.
Copies of "Hello, Wilmington" are available from the Wrightsville Beach Museum, Little Locals Clothing Co. or from WilmingtonMom.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Historical novel 'Silver' by John Harrison Meyer set during Civil War
