Across Five Aprils

This story takes place in rural Illinois and chronicles the life of Jethro Creighton, a young farm boy, as he grows from a protected and provided for nine year old, to an educated and responsible young adult during the chaos of the Civil War. Jethro's parents, Matthew and Ellen Creighton were married in the 1830's. Jethro was the youngest of twelve children and during the year of his birth, 1862, three of his siblings had died …

…into a responsible young man over the last four years. The fighting was over with that April morning and the shadows seemed to have been lifted. The visions that Jethro had of war when he was nine were shattered by the reality of what war was really like and he knew that his flights of fancy were that of an inexperienced child. He knew then what war is and he had grown from his experiences.