Defending his flag: or, A boy in blue and a boy in grey

Defending his flag by Edward Stratemeyer is a historical adventure novel written in the early 20th century. It follows two close friends—Pennsylvanian Louis Rockford and Virginian Andy Arlington—who take opposite sides as the Civil War begins, offering a balanced, action-driven view from both the Union and the Confederacy. The focus is on duty, loyalty, and a friendship tested by gathering war.

The opening of the novel sets the premise and stakes: a preface promises a fair picture “from both sides,” then the story launches with Louis and Andy debating slavery and states’ rights as South Carolina secedes, leading to local tensions in Lee Run. Louis is nearly mobbed, escapes, witnesses secret Confederate drilling, is captured and robbed by mountaineers led by Sam Jacks, and is freed by a passerby before making it home. After Fort Sumter falls and Lincoln calls for volunteers, Louis’s injured father can’t serve, so Louis joins Captain Paulding’s Goreville Volunteers, drills, and marches through Maryland—enduring hostile taunts, a comic-but-dangerous bull incident, and a wary, nonviolent encounter with Confederate cavalry—before reaching Washington as defenses rise under General Scott. In parallel, Andy, thrilled by Sumter, enlists with Montgomery’s Grays and rides toward Manassas; on the first leg at Parker’s Mills, rumors of slave unrest and a midnight commotion hint at the dangers ahead.