Find Out What Happened "UPON THESE STEPS" In The 1860s

Based On Actual Characters & Events

                                       Description

 

Two brothers are faced with whether or not to join the Confederate Army.  One decides to voluntarily enlist, while the other joins only after being drafted.  The brothers’ episodes reflect the chronicles of the “Granville Rifles,” a Company within the NC 23rd Regiment.   From the Battle of Bull Run to Sherman’s occupation of Raleigh, the plight of each boy gives the reader an insider’s glimpse of the war.

 

Left behind on the family farm are their parents and siblings. Relive what a Southern family had to endure during the war years.  All major events seem to originate on the home’s unique circular rock steps. Soldiers leave for and return from war, slaves are freed, Yankees pay a visit, and suitors come a calling.

 

The epic story of this Southern family is a unique blending of historical fiction with a storyline that reflects the resilience of the human spirit. The book is the result of over 35 years of genealogy research of the author. All characters are based on actual people living during the Civil War, with many events being based on eyewitness accounts as recorded by the soldiers in letters written home.

Excerpts from "ForeWord Clarion Reviews"

"The author grew up in the house where these soldiers were raised, walked the fields where they farmed, and visited the battlegrounds where they fought. His thirty-five years of research into family documents, local records, and military histories and reports yielded a treasure trove of detail, but these are merely the buttons and braid to the well-tailored uniform that is Upon These Steps."
"Reavis, however, does not lose sight of the Confederate aspect of this tale, and scenes such as when one of his principals is patted on the shoulder by Stonewall Jackson less than an hour before the legendary general is mistakenly shot by his own men is the stuff of which Southern family legends are born."

"Upon These Steps is a solid piece of both Civil War and family history. Its few shortcomings aside, it deserves a place on the nightstand of any who are intrigued by works of either genre."