A Gamble on Liberty by Robert W. Smith

If you are a fan of historical fiction, and especially the Civil War, you will enjoy Robert W. Smith’s new novel, A Gamble on Liberty. It is based on the true story of Robert and Permelia Gamble and how their lives in East Tennessee were affected during the Civil War. It is a gripping story and has some fiction mingled with the history of this family and their neighbors.

Blurb

Inspired by a true story, A Gamble on Liberty shadows the struggles of an East Tennessee community during the American Civil War. Captain Robert and Permelia Gamble lead the charge, both at home and on the battlefield.

Compelled by loyalty and circumstance, Robert enlists in the Union Army. Desperate to help their families, Robert and his comrades shuffle tirelessly between battlefield and home to smite their common enemy and deliver justice to their oppressors, while Permelia and their two slaves are left to lead the family and defend their home from bushwackers, deserters, and hostile neighbors during his absence.

Fueled by a deep love for one another and a mutual sense of patriotism, Robert and Permelia endure tragedy, imprisonment, estrangement, and loss in their struggle against the forces of darkness. Although simple farmers, the Gambles rise to extraordinary heights in their resolve to persevere despite unspeakable suffering and loss. As their beloved Tennessee Valley goes to war against itself, the Gambles, bound by faith in Abraham Lincoln, and driven by love of country, risk all in a desperate gamble on liberty.

Before we take a look at the cover and read an excerpt, Robert is going to tell us about his book.

From the Author

My Editor: “So Bob, why the Civil War? I wasn’t expecting that.”

Bob: “What are you, my mother now? If you must know, the Civil War has always fascinated me, Smartipants, not so much the battles and the killing, but the people. So I’ll tell you what I tell my readers in the Acknowledgments…

If this new novel flops, blame it on my friend, William Newton Sanders (Bill), C.P.A., of Meigs County up on Gunstocker Creek, for entrusting me with this story of his great grandparents, Robert (R.L.) and Permelia. Bill began to leak small pieces of their history to me seven or eight years ago, teasers, I finally understand, usually over a Gentleman Jack after dinner. Over several years, the story gnawed at my writer’s brain, and eventually I became interested. Then my friend started coming up with more stories, enticing old photos and a twenty-page family history from around 1920 that nearly blew my socks off, but he never once asked me to write this book, not so much as a suggestion.

Eventually, “I” came up with a great idea. I would write a novel, a work of fiction, but based on the lives of these two humble giants in American history. Bill, of course, acted surprised and immediately warmed to my suggestion in his own “country boy” way. I now understand, after having studied the Gambles and the history of East Tennessee and her people, that Bill was simply playing the long game, waiting patiently, baiting the hook to catch this old Yankee catfish, much like he used to do with his daddy up on Gunstocker Creek. Patience and perseverance, I now understand, are hallmark personality traits of the Gambles. And so, over the course of two years, Bill taught me old Tennessee anachronisms, laboriously explaining the logistics and techniques of logrolling and the protocols of a  “hog killing.”

As the world of nineteenth century religion is far from my comfort zone, I am indebted to my friend, Walt Draughon, Ph.D., retired pastor, currently residing in Waynesville, NC. Before I met Walt some years back, the only thing I knew about Baptists from my Midwestern Catholic upbringing was that they didn’t dance and they couldn’t go to heaven, no matter how hard they prayed or how virtuously they lived. They were, after all, Protestants. Walt spent many patient hours informing my ignorance of Protestant traditions and assisting me to navigate this world of Baptists and Presbyterians with a dash of Methodists. “Yes, Bob, even many Baptists danced in those days.”

     There were multiple stories to be told through the eyes of this Civil War-era family, and the stories that lie within are the ones most worth telling. The first was the Gambles’ story of fighting two conflicts simultaneously, one on the battlefields of Franklin, Nashville, Okolona, and Sugar Creek against the rebel army and another on their own Meigs County farm against bushwhackers, deserters, secesh neighbors, rebel troops, and unscrupulous moneylenders. The second story, the macro story, if you will, was the story of East Tennessee itself, a story of patriotism, of tragedy, endurance, and generational estrangement.

I began with the National Archives, and their Compiled Military Service records, through which I was able to recreate a reasonably accurate picture of R.L.’s and his brother, John’s military service, postings, promotions, R.L.’s two POW experiences, and the wound he suffered at Sugar Creek.

Through the Archives material, including prisoner of war records, I was able to recreate R.L.’s war experiences from his flight over the Cumberland Mountains to Kentucky in 1861 to his release from the Union hospital at Pulaski, Tennessee, in early 1865, following treatment for a bullet wound to the thigh suffered at Sugar Creek.

Perhaps my most exciting find from the Archives, however, was a copy of R.L.’s personal letter to the regimental commander, Colonel Thornburgh, threatening to resign his commission if the colonel did not approve a thirty-day leave to go home and help his family in “desperate condition” after having been “exiled” from their home. What he did when he got home remained a secret known only to R.L. and Permelia, a secret that died with Permelia in 1929. But the clues are there, and I attempted to create a reasonable scenario of events and thoughts.

 A Gamble on Liberty shadows the couple’s struggles during the Civil War as they grapple with two horrific conflicts simultaneously. Compelled by loyalty and circumstance, Robert enlists in the Union Army, forcing Permelia to lead the family and its two slaves in a defense of their property and lives from bushwhackers, deserters, and hostile neighbors during his frequent absences.

Desperate to help their families, Robert and his comrades shuffle tirelessly between battlefield and home to smite their common enemies, protect their people and deliver justice to their oppressors.

Fueled by a deep love for one another and a mutual sense of patriotism, Robert and Permelia endure tragedy, imprisonment, estrangement, and loss in their struggle against the forces of darkness, all while forced to struggle with the age-old question of human bondage. But theirs is also a story of their beloved Tennessee Valley, a place at war against itself. Although simple farmers, the Gambles and their two slaves rose to extraordinary heights in their resolve and capacity to persevere despite unspeakable suffering and loss. Bound by faith in Abraham Lincoln and driven by love of country, they risked all in a desperate gamble on liberty.

“Now, smart alec, you got any more comments?”

***

Of course, I do! You may be surprised, though. I “like” your reasons, and I am fascinated by the story. I loved it! How’s that for a comment?

Robert, I’m ready for everyone to see your cover, but first, I want to tell the readers about the paintings on the cover. Oftentimes, it is difficult to find paintings that are in the public domain and have high enough resolution. Robert found both of these paintings (and more) and sent them to me, all public domain with good resolution. The two we used were perfect, and what is even better is that the man on both the front and back looks similar to Robert Gamble. (The book has pictures of the Gambles inside as well as several other images. When you read the book, you will see the resemblance.) It is almost uncanny how much the paintings look like him.

The back cover shows a scene from the book, and it is one that was experienced by more than this family during the Civil War. This was a happy scene.

Robert and his book will be the featured guests in Cleveland, Tennessee, in October. There will be a TV interview, events at the museum, and other places in the area. More information will be coming later, so if you have a chance to be in the area around October 9th, there will be a lot going on.

If you want to purchase this book, you can find it at any Amazon where you shop. Use this Amazon Universal Link to take you to it.

Robert has an excerpt to share with us, so let’s not delay any longer.

Excerpt

She watched the young folks dancing there on the porch in the lamplight and the sight lifted her spirit. They depended on her now, all of them, and Permelia would do her best to hold back the oncoming tide until Robert’s return. But if she was truly strong, that strength had been nurtured and encouraged through the bond that had blossomed from the union with her beloved Robert Gamble.

Permelia was anything but naïve. She knew she had helped make Robert a better man through her common sense, her practical nature and her ability to read folks. Reciprocally, Robert had become her rock, the confidence behind every opinion and suggestion. Despite all her recent misfortunes and loss, Robert’s continuing absence pained her most.

Permelia had barely started picking a second tune when shots rang out from the darkness accompanied by flashes of light from the muzzles, screams, and galloping horses with the silhouettes of men framed by the moonlight. “Inside!” Permelia hollered. “Git the guns.”

Nero was ready. He’d stood a shotgun and a long gun on the porch before their impromptu shindig. He handed Permelia the shotgun as they entered the house. Robert had rehearsed their response with them all in advance, so everyone knew his or her firing position inside the house. Permelia spotted two figures on horseback entering the barn as the gunfire raged. She figured the gang was more interested in stealing than killing because the gunshots had not penetrated the windows. They were shooting high, but Permelia would not. “Come with me, Nero,” she called. “We’ll go out the back and swing around on ‘em.”

They stayed low out the door and bore left for the cover of a pair of old shade trees as Charles and Sarah gave covering fire from the windows. Permelia and Nero easily reached the trees less than thirty yards from the barn but facing pitch blackness. Then the sound and flashes of gunfire set the night ablaze like lightning strikes as men came marauding out the barn door on horseback.

In the flashes of light, Permelia could see one of the men leading Captain Buttons from the barn followed closely by another raider leading their two milk cows. Permelia took aim at the leader with Captain Buttons. She wanted desperately to fire, but the Captain was within the spread of buckshot. As she moved to the next tree in search of a better angle, a loud rifle shot rang out, its ball ejecting the rider violently from his horse onto the dirt, whereupon the other bushwhacker abandoned his hold on the slow-moving cows to avoid becoming an easy target. Permelia could make out three men riding hard away into the darkness and the cover of night. They all kept firing until the men were out of sight.

The shot man was lying face down and motionless in the dirt, his pistol still within arm’s reach beside the hat. Kicking the pistol away, Nero turned the man over and said, “This one’s done for, Miss Permelia.”

“Good shootin’, Nero, but the trouble’s just startin’.”

“Whatchoo mean, ma’am?”

Reaching out with the shotgun, she said, “The others will be out here in a second. Here, you take the shotgun. Give me the rifle. Now listen carefully. I shot this man with the rifle. You hear?”

Nero nodded. “Whatever you say, Miss Permelia.” She knelt down beside the man and lifted his head by the hair to get a good look. There was no mistaking that face. Still holding the hair, she turned to find the others had joined them in front of the barn armed to the teeth, even Miss Sarah was holding a Colt.

Attie took one look at the corpse’s face and said, “This ain’t good, Permelia.”

***

Trouble is brewing! What will happen next? Who was this man? For the answer to these and other questions, get your copy of A Gamble on Liberty. You’ll be glad you did.

Giveaway

Meryton Press is giving away two eBooks of A Gamble on Liberty. Leave a comment below to be entered. Let us know what you think about the excerpt and the blurb. We want to hear from you. The giveaway will end on June 6th at midnight, central time. Good luck to everyone.

Other Books by Robert W. Smith

A Long Way from Clare and To Pledge Allegiance are available on Amazon in eBook, Paperback, and Audiobook format.