Prayer & Valor - Paperback

by Rhonda-Lee Whitehair (Author), Whitehair (Author)

Prayer & Valor is the second book in The Bloody Harvest trilogy; Prayer & Valor follows Jacob Martin, Benjamin Kelly, Rachel Kelly, and Amanda Wilson.In the first book, Jacob Martin served in the United States Army before America's Civil War. When he planned to marry his childhood sweetheart Rachel Harrison months before the war, the United States War Department sent him to Richmond, Virginia, as a spy. Jacob posed as a respected banker. His orders required him to disappear without notice, causing him to break his engagement with Rachel, a move he later regretted. By the second year of the war, Jacob had infiltrated the Confederate Secret Service. He became a courier carrying documents and information to the spy mistress, Amanda Wilson, in Washington, D. C. The charismatic and witty Amanda had infiltrated the highest levels of the United States Government. Regularly, she received confidential information from a prominent senator and passed it through the enemy's lines to Richmond. Amanda's scheme did not play out as she planned after meeting Jacob. Eventually, Jacob proved to be more than enough trouble for Amanda.Lieutenant Benjamin Kelly had also been a childhood friend of Rachel and Jacob. Benjamin and Jacob were like brothers, except when it came to Rachel and the war. Rachel proved to be Benjamin and Jacob's weakness. After Jacob disappeared, Rachel eventually married Benjamin and lived on his family's farm near the Martin homestead. Rachel was conservative and happy until she encountered Jacob in Richmond.Book one ended with Benjamin and Jacob meeting along Antietam Creek, Maryland. Benjamin was surprised by Jacob's news from home. In Prayer & Valor, the story picks up with Benjamin Kelly serving on General Robert E. Lee's staff after receiving a promotion to major. The Battle of Chancellorsville is being fought with plenty of participation by Benjamin. Simultaneously, Jacob Martin continued his covert and spying activities for the United States War Department at Vicksburg, Mississippi.After Jacob narrowly escapes certain death or capture by Confederate agents at Vicksburg, Benjamin and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia begin their march toward Pennsylvania. Jacob returned to Washington for his next assignment. He received orders to learn the individual's identity who stole the plans for a sophisticated warship under construction by a private contractor for the Union Navy and eliminate them after recovering the ship's plans. For the mission, he requested the help of Amanda Wilson.Since the winter of 1863, Amanda Wilson had been operating as a Union spy in London, England. She managed to infiltrate British sympathizers and Confederate covert agents, making it possible to assist Jacob in recovering the ship's plans. The mission leads Jacob to New York City. He became knowledgeable of a much larger spy ring. While planning and preparing for covert activity in New York City, Jacob is suddenly sent to observe the Battle of Gettysburg for President Lincoln. At Gettysburg, Benjamin was wounded and discovered by Jacob. Jacob sent for Rachel to take Benjamin home. How will Benjamin and Rachel's relationship evolve after Gettysburg? What about Jacob and Rachel? After Gettysburg, Jacob and Amanda travel to New York City to deal with the Confederate spy ring. What challenges await them? How will their working and personal relationship evolve?