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Starbuck Chronicles

by Bernard Cornwell 4 books in this series

The Starbuck Chronicles follow Nathaniel Starbuck, the son of a prominent Boston abolitionist preacher, after chance and personal loyalty draw him into Confederate service at the outbreak of the American Civil War. Serving first in the Faulconer Legion, Starbuck must prove himself among soldiers who distrust his Northern birth while his family and closest friendships are divided by the conflict.

The four published novels carry Starbuck through the eastern campaigns of 1861 and 1862, from First Bull Run to Antietam. Bernard Cornwell combines battlefield action with espionage, rivalry and questions of conscience, placing a fictional regiment inside a Confederacy founded to preserve slavery and showing how private loyalties are tested by military command, political ambition and the escalating cost of war.

Reading order

Books in this series (4 books)

Rebel cover

1. Rebel

Bernard Cornwell

First published 1993

4.2(3,020)

Richmond, 1861. Nathaniel Starbuck, the son of a prominent Boston abolitionist preacher, is stranded in Virginia as the country moves towards civil war. Rescued from an angry crowd by wealthy landowner Washington Faulconer, Nate accepts a place in the newly raised Faulconer Legion and chooses to…

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Copperhead cover

2. Copperhead

Bernard Cornwell

First published 1994

4.4(2,447)

After surviving First Bull Run, Nathaniel Starbuck remains with the Faulconer Legion as the war moves from improvised clashes towards organised campaigns. The fighting at Ball’s Bluff and the Union advance up the Virginia Peninsula place Richmond under threat, while Starbuck’s Northern birth makes every setback…

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Battle Flag cover

3. Battle Flag

Bernard Cornwell

First published 1995

4.4(2,083)

In the summer of 1862, Nathaniel Starbuck returns to field service as command within the Faulconer Legion becomes increasingly dangerous. Personal enemies inside the Confederate hierarchy threaten his position, while the regiment’s battle flag becomes a symbol of honour, ownership and the loyalty of soldiers who…

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The Bloody Ground cover

4. The Bloody Ground

Bernard Cornwell

First published 1996

4.5(2,477)

Late summer, 1862. As Robert E. Lee carries the war north into Maryland, Nathaniel Starbuck is placed in command of a punishment battalion made up of men regarded as shirkers, criminals and cowards. The appointment is intended to ruin him, but Starbuck must turn the despised…

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