When talks of secession gain traction in the Northern press, the son of an immigrant tenant farmer sees an opportunity to change his life. He enlists in the regular army, two months before the fall of Fort Sumter, and the start of the Civil War, and is assigned to the Third U.S. Artillery.

He shares the terrifying realities of front line duty with new-found friends seeking the same adventure. After his hospitalization for treatment of wounds received in battle, he's sent home to recover.

It's only after he learns how to live with the physical and psychological wounds, through the influence of godly men, can he be open to develop meaningful relationships with his family and the girl next door. The fictional narrative takes readers into the tumultuous era, and the relationships with people he lived with, loved, and lost.

the Artillerist, a Civil War novel, is taken from service records of the author's great-grandfather, the involvement of his units' activities in the great conflict, and family lore.