Mr. Robert Espenscheid

Shiloh Firefly Mr. Robert Espenscheid

An adored brother and the family honor were at stake. Mr. Lincoln's Army needed a Mackenzie. Who cares which one. Nineteen-year-old Emma cleverly masquerades herself the common foot soldier and falls-in with the Iowa volunteer infantry. She would allow her brother, Josef, time to reconsider his desertion. Plus, his newly formed regiment was only headed to St. Louis for training. But Army orders are changed. Emma's regiment is suddenly on the quick march to a place called Pittsburg Landing to join Major General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee. In the haste and confusion accompanying the regiments travel, no one is afforded an occasion to unmask the girl within the ranks. And Emma is fine. As she writes her Pa: Forsake worry. I am surrounded by hundreds of Iowa's sons, the safest place possible. What might go wrong. It was April 1, 1862. Five days prior to the bloody battle of Shiloh