Marcy, the Refugee

"Marcy, the Refugee" by Harry Castlemon is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. The story centers around Marcy Gray, a young Union loyalist from North Carolina, and depicts his struggles during the Civil War as he navigates a world filled with treachery and shifting loyalties. As the narrative unfolds, Marcy's interactions with Confederate sympathizers and the challenges his family faces create a vivid backdrop of conflict and moral dilemmas. The beginning of the story introduces Marcy's recent adventures, including a dangerous journey he undertook with his brother to enlist him in the Union navy. Upon returning home, he finds the plantation in turmoil, with his family's loyalties under threat from rebellious neighbors. Marcy grapples with feelings of responsibility as his mother becomes increasingly anxious over threats from local Confederate sympathizers. The arrival of rebel officers at their home deepens the tension, revealing a web of espionage and intrigue that both Marcy and his mother must navigate while considering the fate of their plantation and the hidden money that could endanger them. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Charles Austin Fosdick, better known by his nom de plume Harry Castlemon, was a prolific writer of juvenile stories and novels, intended mainly for boys. He was born in Randolph, New York, and received a high school diploma from Central High School in Buffalo, New York. He served in the Union Navy from 1862 to 1865, during the American Civil War, acting as the receiver and superintendent of coal for the Mississippi River Squadron. Fosdick had begun to write as a teenager, and drew on his experiences serving in the Navy in such early novels as Frank on a Gunboat (1864) and Frank on the Lower Mississippi (1867). He soon became the most-read author for boys in the post-Civil War era, the golden age of children's literature.