Kincaid's Battery

"Kincaid's Battery" by George Washington Cable is a historical novel written in the early 20th century. The story unfolds in the backdrop of the Louisiana Delta during the Civil War era, centering around various characters linked to a newly formed field artillery battery and their intertwined destinies. Key figures include Hilary Kincaid, who serves as a captain, and Anna Callender, whose layered emotions and aspirations come to the forefront as the narrative progresses. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to the picturesque setting of Carrollton Gardens in New Orleans, where an old soldier named General Brodnax reflects on his family and their connections to the war, particularly focusing on Anna and her sisters. General Brodnax is contemplative about the future of his estate and wishes to marry Anna to Hilary Kincaid, believing their union would secure the family's legacy. As the opening sequence unfolds, we see the tension between the expectations of society and the personal desires of the characters, emphasizing themes of love, duty, and the impending storm of civil conflict. The initial chapters lay the groundwork for the relationships and emotional complexities that will develop as the story progresses. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

George Washington Cable was an American novelist notable for the realism of his portrayals of Creole life in his native New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been called "the most important southern artist working in the late 19th century", as well as "the first modern Southern writer." In his treatment of racism, mixed-race families and miscegenation, his fiction has been thought to anticipate that of William Faulkner.