Easterner Johnathan Traver joined the Union Army to die a glorious, crimson death. He feels a valiant death will liberate him from his abusive boyhood. Yet in April of 1862, right after the victory in the battle of Shiloh, he is still alive while thousands of others have perished. Sergeant Traver faces a challenge; he firmly believes they're fighting a modern war that calls for modern tactics. Traver's new training techniques could change the course of the Civil War, and he teaches them to his squad, company, and regiment. But the army regards his efforts as seditious and views Traver as a traitor. On a personal level, Traver's authority could be threatened when he falls in love with eighteen-year-old Esher Coley, a new recruit from the West. As they become warrior companions, their focus shifts. A profound Civil War love story that overcomes ingrained pain and heals old wounds, "Sweetgrass: Book I" communicates a triumph of the spirit.