Remembering Rosetta

150 years ago today, on June 19, 1864, the real Rosetta Wakeman died of dysentery in the Marine USA General Hospital outside New Orleans after having marched 200 miles and fought in The Battle of Pleasant Hill. I’m thinking of her today with admiration for her sacrifice and with the hope that she would be proud of the novel she helped inspire. More than anything, I wanted the book to be a tribute to her and I hoped it would help keep the memory alive of what she and other female soldiers did in service to their country.