Rebellion and Rectitude
Returning to Natchez with money, Solomon Witcher reunites with family and friends. The Dundee family and Solomon disagree over treatment of slaves. Solomon informs Sawyer of his premonitions of the upcoming war and of a visit with Miriam at Clifton when she calls him a traitor. War erupts, and Sawyer and Solomon volunteer to serve the Confederacy and go their separate ways. As the war progresses, the two cousins meet by chance during the siege of Vicksburg when Solomon crosses the siege lines between the two armies. Sawyer and Solomon talk with soldiers from Avoyelles Parish (LA), hear wounded soldiers discuss a female redheaded healer at Windsor Plantation, and endure the Union bombardment and share the hardships of the siege. Back in Union territory Solomon finds Zethro in a stockade. Zethro tells Solomon about what happened at Windsor Plantation as they search for Egiap, who has left an enigmatic missive. Vicksburg surrenders, and Sawyer is a prisoner-of-war.