By Scarlet Torch and Blade

In the summer of 1776, a young farmer named John leaves his fields behind and takes up a musket for a cause he barely understands. What begins as patriotic fervor becomes a crucible of blood and fire as he rises through the ragged ranks of the Continental Army, from raw recruit to trusted officer. Along the way, he meets Elizabeth, a woman who carries a musket of her own and a secret that could cost them both everything. Anthony Euwer's forgotten novel captures the Revolution not as legend, but as mud, hunger, and the terrible mathematics of men dying in rows. The love story between John and Elizabeth unfolds against the crackle of musket fire and the bitter winter at Valley Forge, asking what any person might sacrifice for an idea. This is historical fiction at its rawest: intimate, violent, and unflinching about the cost of freedom.