Starbuck Chronicles [1-4] - Bernard Cornwell

Written by Bernard Cornwell
Read by Hayward Morse
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 64 Kbps

#1 Rebel

A powerful and evocative story of the Civil War’s first battle and the men who fought it.
When Richmond landowner Washington Faulconer snatches young Nate Starbuck from the grip of a Yankee-hating mob, Nate is both grateful and awed by his idealistic rescuer. Turning his back forever on the life he left in Boston, Nate agrees to join the newly formed Faulconer’s Legion, even though it means fighting against his native North.

But Nate’s dilemma is only one of many within the Legion. Faulconer’s own son cannot bring himself to fight, while his daughter’s cheating fiance plots for control of the family fortune. As they come together to march into battle, the men are prepared to start a war…but they aren’t ready for how they, and the nation, will be forever changed by the oaths they have sworn for their beloved South. (16 hours and 50 minutes)

#2 Copperhead

It is the summer of 1862 and the northern army is threatening to capture Richmond, the Confederate capital.
Captain Nathaniel Starbuck, born in Boston but a Confederate hero at Manassas, is again in the thick of Civil War action. Bloodied but victorious at the battles of Ball’s Bluff and Seven Pines, Nate suddenly finds himself accused of being a Yankee spy. Proving his innocence and finding the real spy will require courage and endurance rarely seen even in the brutal fog of war. Failure could mean the fall of Richmond and a career-ending defeat for Robert E. Lee. (16 hours and 56 minutes)

#3 Battle Flag

Distinguishing himself at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Confederate Captain Nate Starbuck’s career is jeopardized through the suspicion and hostility of his brigade commander, the grandiose General Washington Faulconer. Their simmering enmity flares to life at Dead Mary’s Ford, where Nate Starbuck has to fight the enemy as well as his own commanding officer.
The outcome of that vicious fight drastically changes both men’s fortunes, and propels Starbuck into the ghastly bloodletting at the Second Battle of Manassas, and into a severe test of his ability to lead men who are on the very edge of disaster. As the endless war rages on, neither Yankees nor rebels can guess how the tide may turn. Only time, courage, and belief in the cause will tell. (16 hours and 53 minutes)

#4 Bloody Ground

It is only weeks after the Second Manassas in September 1862, and Robert E. Lee takes the war north, where he will be met by “Little Mac”, General George McClellan, whose northern army far outnumbers and outguns the invading Confederates. In Richmond, Virginia, Starbuck is given command of a punishment battalion, a motley collection of cowards, thieves, deserters, and murderers, officered by men who do not welcome Starbuck’s arrival. Setting off to join Lee’s army, Starbuck’s men reach Harper’s Ferry in time to take part in Stonewall Jackson’s capture of the Union garrison. From there, it is on to the legendary horror of Sharpsburg beside the Antietam Creek, forever to be remembered as the bloodiest single day of the war. There, in the cornfield, Starbuck and his despised men will have their courage and commitment tested as never before. (14 hours and 15 minutes)

Audio CDs: ISIS Audio Oxford, 2000-2004
HarperAudio 2022