The Amish Rebel: A Story of War and Faith and the Men of the Confederate States Naval Academy

Fall, 1861. America has entered a deadly civil war to settle the issue of the rights of the states - notably the right to allow slavery - versus the rights of the central government. From bases at Hampton Roads and elsewhere, warships of the powerful Federal Navy patrol the southern coast enforcing a naval blockade against the South. In Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are a primary hunting ground for Union gunboats ferreting out supplies destined for the rebel army. Raids on the farms, plantations and towns bordering the rivers and inlets are commonplace. When a Union gunboat ascends the Mattaponi River and raids the Amish farm of the Buckner family, Jacob Buckner's long-standing doubts about the Amish way of life reach the boiling point. Violence breaks out, and in a fit of rage, Jacob ignores his parents' admonition to "turn the other cheek". His action unleashes a chain of events that carry him into the Confederate Navy and a world of deadly combat, betrayal and romance as far removed from the Amish way of life as he could possibly imagine. But it is a world that places him on the stage of history and unveils the true Jacob Buckner.

Preston Nuttall is a lifelong resident of Chesterfield County, Virginia, where his family dates to the 17th Century. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Richmond and a Master’s degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He spent forty-five years as an investment manager but is now retired. Preston had nine known ancestors who served in the Confederate Army, including two in Pickett’s Division who fought at Gettysburg. His lifelong hobbies have been the Civil War and writing, and retirement has provided him time to combine these two activities. The Amish Rebel is his fourth historical novel, all focusing on the Civil War. He and wife Pat have four children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.