Author chronicles Civil War through the 123rd PA Regiment in "Dearest Issabella"
Mark Hubman, a virtual lifelong follower of Civil War history, researched the 123rd PA Regiment - which was recruited from the Philadelphia area - and wrote his romance/historical fiction book, "Dearest Issabella," from their vantage point.

DOYLESTOWN, PA, July 21, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As you read Willow Grove author Mark Hubman's book, "Dearest Issabella," you can almost see the Civil War soldiers from the 123rd Pennsylvania Regiment huddled over the fire, cooking their rations and preparing to march to the next battle. And, in the case of fictional union soldier Samuel Ripley, penning heartfelt letters home to his wife Issabella in Philadelphia.

Hubman, a virtual lifelong follower of Civil War history, researched the regiment - which was recruited from the Philadelphia area - and wrote his romance/historical fiction book from the vantage point of Ripley, incorporating actual facts, sights and people into Ripley's telling of the war that pitted north against south ... and separated him from his beloved Issabella.

"One hundred percent of the story concerning the regiment is true. All the letters were written at a time and from a place where the regiment would've been, discussing the things that the 123rd had to endure during the war," Hubman said, adding that illness sidelined the regiment from fighting in the Battle of Antietam. "I thought that would make an interesting letter from Samuel to Issabella because he would've had regret, like any soldier in a regiment that's not able to take part in a battle."

Hubman's creation of Samuel transformed what could have been a straight history book into a touching portrait of love interrupted by war, a theme revisited through the author's invention of modern-day character Cassandra Losch, whose husband has been deployed to Afghanistan. The 140-page book criss-crosses between 1860s and present-day Philadelphia and is as much a love letter reflecting Hubman's fascination with the Civil War as it is a series of tender notes from Samuel to Issabella.

The author's love affair with the Civil War began at 11 years old, during his first trip to the Gettysburg National Military Park. "Since I was young and seemed enthusiastic about learning, the tour guide took a special interest in me," Hubman recalls. "He was just so engaging, and he himself was enthusiastic about it. I got interested in our country's history just from that experience."

Then, years later, while attending Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., Hubman practically lived on the battlefield. During frequent visits, he hiked the same trails that soldiers had traversed so many years before and peered across the same grassy fields where decades before, the war that pitted brother against brother had played out. Nearly 150 years since the start of the Civil War, Hubman notes a definite parallel between the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as compared to the Civil War. "The wars are still being fought by people who have families at home," Hubman said. "The soldiers want to be home. They want the war to be over. But they also want the war to be over in a successful way. My character Samuel mentioned several times that he wanted the next battle to be the last one, but only if the Union army had won the war as a result."

While much of the book is centered on our nation's conflicts, both then and now, the message Hubman would like to get across most lies more in the roots of his own deep-seated passion. "Love is timeless," he said. "Being in love today and being in love 140 years ago is still the same. The language is the same. The feelings are the same. The emotions are the same."

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Theresa Katalinas
Theresa Katalinas
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