The Cliffs of Leavenworth is a Civil War novel. Leavenworth is a very real and charming town on the Ohio River in Indiana. A large group of well-equipped Confederate soldiers cross the Ohio to "buy" horses in Indiana. The small towns in the area have only citizen soldiers to defend them. All the fit men have gone to war. This ragtag group finally confronts the Confederates in a last-ditch effort to thwart their efforts in Leavenworth. The novel explores the lives and eventual interactions of people on both sides. Although the work is fiction, the storyline is plausible all along the way. Our country has long benefited from the citizen soldiers starting with early militia, home guard and leading to the National Guard and Reserves today. We owe them all a great debt.
