The Raid of the Guerilla, and Other Stories

A threatened raid unsettles Tanglefoot Cove after Ethelinda Brusie helps Union cavalry escape through a mountain cave. In a community depleted by the Civil War, her family fears the consequences of her intervention. They also reproach her for sharing precious coffee with sick soldiers on the opposing side. The opening story places an act of kindness amid military danger, divided loyalties and anxious conversation around a cabin hearth.

Charles Egbert Craddock's collection brings together stories of Tennessee mountain life, with regional speech and closely observed household concerns. Elsewhere, a young woman called Meddlesome brings bread to a hunting camp whose food supplies have suffered a series of mishaps. She spots spoiled sugar and an uncovered coffee can, then sends her younger brother for sorghum. These scenes offer readers both wartime tension and a more domestic view of the hills, where practical help, family arguments and local customs shape encounters between people.