Last Tuesday, Jocelyn gave us a post on the Civil War and the fourth of July. A few days before that, her book, Wedded to War, released as our July River North Fiction title. Today, to celebrate her new release, we are giving away 5 copies of her book here on our blog! (That’s 5 terrific things, right?) 

But first, here are five other terrific things you might not know about the Civil War:

1. Companies within regiments were given letters to identify them, beginning with “A”. When assigning letters, they skipped over “J” because it looked too much like an “S” or an “I”. (Source: Bits of Blue and Gray)

2. The Union used hot air balloons to spot enemy soldiers. These balloons were in use for almost two years throughout the Civil War. (Source: CNN.com)

3. General Grant was once asked what his favorite war tune was. He is supposed to have responded,  ”I only know two songs. One is Yankee Doodle Dandy. The other isn’t.” (Source: CivilWarStudies.org) (To see more Civil War songs and poems, read Jocelyn’s post from June!)

4. The Civil War armies were not all male. Unlike the heroine of Jocelyn’s novel, Charlotte Waverly, who becomes a nurse for the Union, some women got involved in the army by pretending to be men and enlisting. Many of these women kept up their alternate identities long after the war was over, because of the independence it provided. (Source: CNN.com)

5. Soldiers often ate “panada”, a gruel made from corn meal, army’ crackers mashed in boiling water, ginger, or bully soup. (Source: Bits of Blue and Gray) For more on Civil War foods, read Jocelyn’s posts, Part 1 and Part 2, for 6 Civil War foods and recipes.

For your chance to win a copy of Jocelyn’s book, tell us one piece of trivia we might not know! It can be about anything – try to find something we’ve never heard before! Winners will be chosen randomly and notified by email before July 20th. Open to US and Canada only.