"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my
heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14
James R. Elstad
BiographyJames R. Elstad is a retired
Army National Guard Sergeant living in Barstow, CA, with
his wife Bonnie Jean.
He was born on Staten Island, NY, lived for a year in Ohio, moved to Southern California until completing his sophomore year at California Lutheran College. Enlisted in the Marine Corps during the height of the Vietnam War, volunteered and was never sent overseas. After being discharged from the Marines he received a B.A. in U.S. History from California State University, Northridge in May 1974. In 1979 he enlisted in the California Army National Guard. After a job transfer interrupted his Guard career, He enlisted in the Washington Army National Guard in 1981. Another job transfer caused his transfer back to the California Guard in 1985. In 1990 He accepted a full-time, Active GuardReserve position in the California Guard. He retired from the California Army National Guard in August 2007 with 28 years of service. He currently works for a contractor at Ft. Irwin, CA. He writes short stories, poems, and is currently preparing his book "Comes the Southern Revolution" for publication. "Comes the Southern Revolution" is an action/adventure novel about the resumption of The War Between The States. |
Prologue, "Comes the Southern Revolution"As
a student of U.S. History it’s always fascinated me how one side of the
conflict could be so different than the other. To the Northerners, Slavery was one
of the main causes of the Civil War. To
the South it was States Rights.
To the Northerners, the South had such a large amount of their economy tied up in the institution of slavery that the aristocracy could not afford to abolish it. To the Southerners, the North was two-faced about slavery. They believed the North didn’t really care about the slaves. They just wanted to force their will on the South. It was more than whether a new state would be slave or free. It was if the North would be able to control the South. They main reason they believed that slavery wasn't one of the foremost reasons for the Civil War was proved by the North not enacting the Emancipation Proclamation at the beginning of the war. To do so could’ve alienated Slave States that chose not to secede with the other Slave States (I.E.: Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and the newly formed State of West Virginia which had itself seceded from Virginia). During my twenty-eight years of service in the Marines and Army National Guard I participated in many computer war games. One such event was held at Ft. Lee, VA. During one of our days off a friend and I toured the Petersburg National Battlefield. After walking the same route those soldiers traveled decades ago, we caught up with a Virginia Army National Guard Battalion that was also walking the battlefield as part of a Battle Staff Exercise. When they stopped at the major points of the battlefield each Staff Officer briefed the Battalion Commander on their area of responsibility. It was fascinating to hear these Soldiers, in American Army uniforms saying: “At this point the Federals had two-thousand Soldiers dug in; we had our fifteen-hundred Soldiers massing for an attack at dawn…” It was obvious which side of the Civil War (“War Between The States” in their terms”) they were on. I wondered: “What if some well-connected members of the Southern Aristocracy were to resume the War?” In answering my own question I drew on events that I’ve witnessed over the years. |
