The Seventh Trumpet

By John H. Frye

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159129035X
• ISBN13: 9781591290353
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Publishamerica Inc
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding Civil War book

I thoroughly enjoyed Judge Frye's book about the fictional General Page, whose character was based on that of General William Pendleton. Gen. Pendleton was the rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Frederick, MD, but who left the parish after an argument with the members of the vestry over the construction of a new church building. He did become the one of Gen. Lee's staff officers, as the head of artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia. Nevertheless, Judge Frye's sensitive portrayal of a conflicted man, husband, father, and officer touched me deeply.

Doing the Impossible

Everyone in this book expects to do the impossible. The South will not only win a war against a superior adversary, but will preserve the white man's God given "right" to own black men in the process. Page, a devout minister past middle age, will direct the slaughter of his countrymen without flinching or doubting his cause. Page's slave, Wilson, will serve his master, keep his self respect, and return home to his own loved ones without going mad over his impossible situation. A combination of resignation, insight, and patient manipulation of the more powerful men around him allow Wilson to suceed.Page and his fellow officers lack Wilson's saving graces, and the tension builds as they struggle to convince themselves that God is on their side. This is a well paced book with a number of humerous scenes, but it drives Page relentlessly towards a grim confrontation with the reality of the glorious struggle he had envisioned. By the end of the book, I felt as if I knew not only the American Civil War, but two complex and very human men who had participated in it. Out of all the civil war novels on the shelf, this may be the most original.

A Close Look at "The Lord is On Our Side" thinking.

John Frye's excellent narrative follows the career of Page, a clergyman and general in the Confederate army, whose skills as an artilleryman and conviction that God favored the Confederate side in the Civil War lifted him above both his competence as a soldier and his ability to rationalize the slaughter of young boys in the name of "freedom" - a word that means different things to the two sides of the war. Frye's touch is deft, allowing us to watch along with Page's (slave) servant Wilson as the contradictions and suffering that flow from his commitment to the Confederacy slowly undermine and finally destroy Page's ability to serve. This is a great story and one that keeps you thinking long after you finish reading.

Intimate View of a conflicted CSA participant

The Seventh Trumpet is well written, developing characters through many difficult battles and events during the Civil War. The main character, Page, an Episcopal priest, is called to be Robert E. Lee's Chief of Artillery. He takes his personal servant to war with him, Wilson. Wilson's wisdom and his great sense of caring for his fellow humans makes him an outstanding character and allows the reader to appreciate his emotion and intelligence as he makes his evaluation of slavery vs. freedom. The reader watches the priest win battles, pray to be the winner of a terrible war, and watches Page develop as a more caring and thoughtful person as he experiences the devastation of war. Other vivid characters add humor and insight to the main characters, Page and Wilson. By book's end, The Seventh Trumpet has become a very emotionally moving book. I think the book has special merit by making the reader intimate with the perspective of Virginians before and during the war, without being an apology for the 'Southern cause'.