Sunflower Sisters

Chapter 1

Mary Woolsey

Charleston, South Carolina

1859

No one suspected the blond boy s cargo as he drove his crude pony cart through the streets of Charleston.

Mother, my younger sister Georgy, and I had come to South Carolina by the invitation of Pastor Cox at the African Free Church for a two-day stay. We d stepped out the previous morning past the mansion houses and palmetto trees, the atmosphere so gentle and refined, to make our daily calls and leave Mother s ecru cards on the silver trays.

Mrs. Charles Woolsey, 8 Brevoort Place, New York City.

Certainly nothing forced itself unpleasantly on our attention, but every black face in the street or greeting us so kindly at a front door reminded us of the system of slavery so robust there and strengthened our resolve to continue the fight.

Upon our walk home from Sunday services, the scent of crape myrtle in the air, a boy driving a pony cart drew up beside us dressed in a clean white shirt and homespun trousers. His rear wheel in disrepair, it bumped with every rotation, keeping his rate of speed not much greater than ours.

We find ourselves a bit lost, Mother called to the boy. Can you guide us to the Charleston Hotel?

I m going that way, ma am. Will point you there.

I warmed to his southern accent, a good-natured boy, milk-skinned, twelve years old or so, yellow hair shining in the sun. That brought to mind my own towheaded daughters, left back at the hotel with our friend Mrs. Wolcott, who no doubt stood near the door waiting for my return. Though we d been gone less than two hours I missed them terribly as well.

Where do you live? Mother asked the boy.

Here and there. He set his face toward the sun. You? Sound like a Virginian.

Mother smiled happy when someone recognized her accent from her former home. Indeed I am. Left there when I was a girl but suppose I still speak with a trace of it. Live in New York City now. We are here as the guests of

Martha Hall Kelly is the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls and Lost Roses. She lives in Connecticut, where she spends her days filling legal pads with stories and reading World War II books.

A beautifully written, intricately researched window into the lives of women in a world we can scarcely imagine today . . . Sunflower Sisters took me on a journey that swept me up in its pages and left me pondering deeper truths in the end. It s a read filled with sisterhood, risk, reward, and plenty of fodder for book clubs. Entertainment Weekly

Kelly s prose flows beautifully across every page, bringing to life the women impacted by the horrific war that tore apart the country and countless families. . . . Much of Sunflower Sisters is heartbreaking . . . but there is also much hope and joy in the courage, fortitude and victories of those courageous and determined to succeed and survive. Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

A well-researched, realistic narrative . . . It s the women and their activism that tell the story of the struggle to end slavery. They become the real heroes of the war. Kelly tells this story without either romanticizing or sweeping over the horrors that split the nation in the nineteenth century and continues to do so today. The Spokesman-Review

From Southern spies to nurses on the northern battlefields, Sunflower Sisters weaves an exquisite tapestry of women determined to defy the molds the world has for them. The journeys of Jemma and the Woolsey sisters will have readers celebrating those who came before us, who fought for what they knew was right, and became timeless women ahead of their times. Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours and The Book of Lost Friends

Sunflower Sisters marks the third installment of Martha Hall Kelly s tales of the formidable Woolsey Women, with this chapter unfolding across the plantations, battlefields, and parlor rooms of one of history s most dramatic moments. The Civil War roils as a sweeping backdrop and an era of both heartbreaking and inspiring humanity. Kelly s vivid prose, stunning historical research, and