It didn't take long for me to decide that I wanted to get in this war and whip those Yankees. I had a hard time deciding about me and Stella. It looked like the war was going to be what I was gonna do, but I felt I would ask Stella to marry me after the war. She said she would, and for the first time we shared a kiss together.
When Columbus Layson is growing up on a small farm in central Georgia, he knows he wants to do more with his life than farm. Years later, he leaves the farm and finds work at a cotton mill. Columbus finds the love of his life at this cotton mill. He also finds something that threatens to take him away from her forever.
A Soldier's Journey is author Van Layson's imagined account of his great-grandfather's experiences before, during, and after the American Civil War. As a young man in love, Columbus dreams big about the life that lies before him and his bride to be, Stella. As a soldier for the Confederacy, he faces Union raids, critical wounds, and time in prison. But even in the turmoil of war, he never stops thinking of Stella and praying that someday he'll see her again and build the home they've always imagined. In touching, honest prose, Van Layson reveals the power of his great-grandfather's courage, determination, and love as he sweeps readers away on A Soldier's Journey.