Dec 21, 2009

The Return of a Private | The Return of a Private

At a glance:

Author: Hamlin Garland
First Published: 1891
Type of Plot: Domestic realism
Time of Work: 1865
Setting: Near LaCrosse, Wisconsin Territory
Principal Characters: Private Edward Smith, Emma Smith, Widow Gray, Jim Cranby, Saunders
Genres: Short fiction, Domestic realism
Subjects: Rural or country life, Poverty or poor people, Civil War, Farms, farmers, or farming, Veterans, Patriotism
Locales: LaCrosse, WI

The Story

“The Return of a Private” begins on a train from New Orleans carrying Northern veterans back to the Midwest. They are among the last to leave the South; sickness and wounds delayed their departure until August. Only four or five are left to get off the train at LaCrosse. One of them, Private Edward Smith, still suffers from fever and ague. It is two o’clock in the morning, and rather than spend their money for a hotel room, Smith and two compatriots decide to bed down in the train station. The two other veterans arrange their blankets so that their sickly friend...

[The entire page is 1631 words long]

The Return of a Private | The Return of a Private

At a glance:

The Story

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