Hired by the Confederate government in Richmond when it was already in its death throes, Sarah Slater was the perfect agent for a courier between Richmond and the Confederate outpost in Montreal, Canada. Beautiful of face, curvaceous in form, spunky, flirtatious, and fluent in French she was the ideal candidate for a role that saw women often better suited for courier. Male agents faced hanging, women far less punishment. An additional benefit of her French fluency, she could claim protection as a Canadian citizen during casual interrogation. On her third and final trip to Canada in April of 1865 as Richmond lay in ashes, Sarah disappeared in New York. The messages for the Montreal office and the Confederate gold she was supposedly carrying also vanished. That mystery has fascinated historians for over 150 years. The Mystery of Sarah Slater…solved?
Cuprins
Author’s Note
Maps
Foreword: Sarah’s Message
Chapter 1 MISERY IN HARTFORD
Chapter 2 AN UNEXPECTED CIRCUMSTANCE
Chapter 3 LIFE WITH THE CAMPBELLS
Chapter 4 TROUBLE LOOMS
Chapter 5 SARAH GOES TO NEW BERNE
Chapter 6 A MATCH NOT MADE IN HEAVEN
Chapter 7 SECRETARY SEDDON FINDS A FRESH FACE
Chapter 8 BLOCKADE RUNNING
Chapter 9 DIRE PROSPECTS
Chapter 10 JUDAH BENJAMIN’S MISSION FOR SARAH
Chapter 11 CROSSING RIVERS
Chapter 12 AT MARY’S HOUSE
Chapter 13 THE AMERICAN IDOL
Chapter 14 NOT THIS TIME
Chapter 15 CAST OF CHARACTERS
Chapter 16 FACTS AND DISCREPANCIES
Bibliography
About the Author
Despre autor
Award Winning Author, Betty J. Vaughn, former department chair and art teacher at Enloe Magnet High School in Raleigh, NC, following years of teaching, launched a career as an author. Previously her books The Man in the Chimney (first published as Muddy Waters) and Turbulent Waters (first published as Blue Waters) won the award for historical fiction from the North Carolina Society of Historians for 2011 and 2012 respectively. She is the 2013 winner for her book Run, Cissy, Run. The fourth book in the series, The Intrepid Miss La Roque, won in 2015. Yesterday’s Magnolia is not part of the historical fiction series. Tiger’s Code, a CIA thriller, is the first book in the Quint Cord series. Dragon’s Sword is the second in the series, and the last book is Lyon’s Claw. All eight books are published by Total Recall Press. In honoring her books, in a unanimous decision, the judges commented: ‘It is gratifying to find an astute historian whose skills far exceed that realm; someone who can take facts and weave them together with fiction and end up with a story that actually could have happened…[It is] a wonderful story full of emotion, unexpected twists and turns, close calls and tragic moments…Mrs. Vaughn can consider herself a seasoned novelist…[Her books] are fast paced, action packed, and full of adventure…Her work simply isn’t just a flurry of words, dry, and boring…She is a master of literary technique as she weaves her tapestry of words.’ A prize winning visual artist with paintings in collections worldwide, Mrs. Vaughn designed the magnet art program at Enloe where her students consistently won top honors. The recipient of a three year Federal Grant to the Wake County School System, she led Enloe Enterprises, Inc. in operating an art gallery, a summer arts camp, and an Emmy award winning television production company. As a result of the Enterprises Enloe was selected as one of the ten best art schools in the nation by Business Week Magazine. She wrote and published a monthly newsletter for the Enterprises and is the author of numerous professional articles. She loves to travel and led study tours of Europe for many years. History, art, and books are a lifelong passion. Both as a teacher of advanced placement art history and as a writer, Mrs. Vaughn brings the story of the past alive through the people who lived it. The Quint Cord series focuses on the issues currently facing us as a people and country.