Across Five Aprils combines a compelling story of a young man growing up with a history lesson, the reader
looking over Jethro Creighton’s shoulder as he follows the U.S. Civil War through letters and newspaper accounts. This meticulously researched novel begins with speculation that war might be declared and ends just after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination; in between, Jethro learns that war is not the exciting and romantic adventure he imagined.
Jethro is nine years old as the novel opens, living with his extended family on a farm in southern Illinois. Although their life is hard, the Creightons are a loving family, drawing strength from one another. In this part of the country, all the talk is of war. Most local people favor the Union but have family ties to the South. As Jethro listens to the adults discuss the possibility of war, he hears something of both sides of the issues of slavery and industrialization that divide the nation. Late one night, the local schoolteacher, Shadrach Yale, brings the news that the Confederates have fired upon Fort Sumter. War is declared soon after, and the people of the North cheer, believing that it will be short and decisive for their side. As battle after battle rages and more men die, the talk becomes more solemn.
Jethro’s
brother Tom and cousin Eb leave to
fight that summer. Bill, the brother to whom Jethro is closest, exchanges blows with the oldest brother, John, and also leaves to fight—for the South. The Creightons respect Bill’s decision, which they know to have been carefully made. Still, the thought of their sons fighting on opposite sides of the war is painful. As months go by, letters from the boys indicate how brutal war is. Shadrach encourages Jethro to continue his education by following the accounts of the war in the newspapers—advice Jethro takes, although the reading is difficult for him at first. Soon Shadrach and John, too, have gone to fight.
With the older sons gone, Jethro takes on more responsibility at home. On his first trip to town alone, he is nearly attacked by a small group of rowdy townsmen, who resent the family because of Bill’s defection to the South. These men continue to threaten the Creightons, finally setting fire to their barn. When Jethro’s father, Matt, suffers a heart attack, Jethro takes on all the farm work, assisted by neighbors, who rally to the family’s aid.
The war continues. Tom is killed, and Eb runs away in a moment of panic. To help Eb, Jethro writes to President Lincoln, who orders the army to pardon deserters if they return to their units. Shadrach is injured, and Jenny travels to Washington to care for him and to become his wife. Slowly, the North gains ground and finally wins the war. Peace comes, and surviving soldiers return home, but happiness is shattered again when Lincoln is assassinated. Jethro is able to deal constructively with this pain, however, because the war years have given him wisdom and strength.