Divided by loyalty to the King of England and the idea of democracy, the Van Buskirk family struggles from the Boston Tea Party to the Battle of Yorktown to preserve a way of life or forge a new nation. This novel includes descriptions of major battles, transcriptions of letters from George Washington, John Adams, Benedict Arnold and many other prominent figures of the American Revolution as well as important documents such as the Declaration of Independence and articles by Thomas Paine.

The Van Buskirk family saga continues with the exploration of the Louisiana Territory and the War of 1812.Held captive by the British aboard the warship HMS Surprise, American lawyer, Francis Scott Key, witnessed the British bombardment of American Fort McHenry through the long, rainy night of September 13th and 14th, 1814. As the sun rose the following morning, illuminating the American flag, still flying, he wrote these words on the back of an say can you see by the dawn’s early lightWhat so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.O! say does that star-spangled banner yet waveO’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

The Van Buskirk family becomes embroiled in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican War when Thomas resigns his commission and purchases a land grant from Stephen F. Austin.

The American Army officers that served together in the Mexican War must now take sides in the growing issue of secession. Beginning immediately after "Home of the Brave", "Antebellum" follows the lives of the Van Buskirk family as they interweave with those of Abraham Lincoln, Winfield Scott, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, William Tecumseh Sherman and John Buford. This is a continuation of the Gone For Soldiers series and the first book in a Civil War trilogy called Johnny Comes Marching Home.