When The Southern Literary Trail (a terrific group here at Goodreads) read Elkhorn Tavern in 2018, I purchased the book with intent to join the read. Something happened (heaven knows what, because I cannot remember) and I wasn’t able to read it...so, I put it on the shelf and thought I would get to it someday. Well, someday is here, and I am riddled with regret that I missed reading this with the brilliant people in the group, because there is much I would love to say to a fellow reader about this story.

Ora Hasford, her daughter Calpurnia, and her teenage son, Roman, are trying to survive life alone on a farm in the midst of the Civil War and in the absence of husband and father, Martin. Douglas Jones must have known some strong women in his life, because his characters, Ora and Calpurnia, are exactly that, strong and determined and capable. In many ways they dwarf the men around them, not because they are not feminine but exactly because they are. Where less is expected, much more is forthcoming. They take care of themselves, and often of the men they encounter as well. For Roman, this is almost a coming-of-age story, and I liked that aspect as well.

The cruelty of war is blazoned across the pages in the battle that is fought at Elkhorn Tavern, a North Arkansas town that never expects to be the center of the conflict. The Hasford’s live in the borderland between the North and the South, and the sentiments and loyalties are equally divided. Often neighbors cannot be trusted, and marauding gangs of bushwhackers and jayhawkers sweep down on the population and decimate the farmlands, stealing and killing with impunity. A dangerous time to live, and one that would stretch the reason and resources of most of us.

Douglas Jones does a remarkable job of capturing both the times, the conflict, and his characters. They are full-bodied and real from the beginning, and the fear for them begins almost immediately and never subsides throughout the course of the book. I am now aware that Jones wrote a series of books about these characters over the years, and I will, of course, be hunting them down.

Late to the feast, but thankful to The Trail once more for introducing me to another fantastic Southern writer. My only fear is that I will not have the time left to me to read all the great books that spring from my association with this group, but by-golly, I am going to try.
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Elkhorn Tavern by Douglas C. Jones is much more than a comprehensive record of the Battle at Pea Ridge, Arkansas. He has obviously researched this battle in order to supply the details that are included but his main story revolves around the Hasford family. The father is gone, serving in the Confederate army and the mother, Ora and her two children, Calpurnia and Roman are tending the farm in the shadow of Pea Ridge. As March 6, 1862 approaches the armies are gathering with both Elkhorn Tavern and Ora’s farm standing right in the middle of this western battleground.

Never shirking from displaying the horrors of battle, Jones tells the story of this family as they struggle for survival amidst raids from Jayhawkers, Union soldiers and a neighbour’s treachery. The author does a great job of bringing this era to life and giving the reader much to learn and think about.

This is a well-researched, well written account and he manages to make the history come alive on the pages as he paints a vivid picture of the Civil War and the people that were caught up in it. ( )

The Civil War comes to the Hasford family's home in a secluded Arkansas valley. Father Martin Hasford is off somewhere with the Confederate army, leaving behind wife Ora and a teen-aged daughter and son. Confederate-leaning Ora lives by the philosophy that "when you're decent to folks, it always comes home." That philosophy is tested by the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought around their home, and by armed raids by both bushwhackers and jayhawkers leading up to and following the battle.

The author describes in detail the family, their home, the hard work necessary to maintain their subsistence-level farm, the soldiers, the partisans, and the battle, yet these descriptions never slow the pace of the story or the building dread of the inevitable crisis. Since I'm interested in family history and 19th century migration patterns, I liked the way the author incorporated the Hasford's German roots into the story. I was fascinated by the ethnic diversity of the characters, including people from German, Jewish, Native American, and African American backgrounds. It's not a book I'm likely to read again, but I'm very glad I've read it once. Warmly recommended to readers of historical fiction, western fiction, and Civil War aficionados. ( )