In August of 1862, during the second summer of the American Civil War, Gabriel R. Ballard, a teenage farmer from the quiet hills of upstate New York, signed up to fight for the preservation of his country. ‘Gabriel’ is a fictitious interpretation of said soldier’s experiences in that war, from the day of his enlistment to his participation as a marauding “bummer” in General Sherman’s infamous March to the Sea.
Praise for Gabriel
“Matthew Watros has written a heartfelt and wonderfully evocative Civil War novel that brings to life his ancestor Gabriel and the dramatic times in which he lived. A true storyteller.”
Robert J. Mrazek, Award-winning author of The Indomitable Florence Finch
Matthew J. Watros served four years as a rifleman in the United States Marine Corps, where he did a tour of duty in Iraq and spent three months on a Navy ship in the Caribbean. He was honorably discharged as a corporal in 2010 and now happily lives back home in upstate New York with his wife and three children. He makes his living as a career firefighter.
