Caroline Before The Civil War Summary

The reader first meets Caroline near the end of the Civil War. She is living in Richmond, Virginia and the city is about to be taken by Union soldiers. As Caroline paces in her upstairs bedroom, she begins to tell the tale that has her fearing for her life. A tale that starts before Civil War broke out in the United States of America.

In 1853, Caroline is the spoiled only child of a wealthy warehouse owner and his invalid wife. She is twelve years old and Caroline has been pampered by her Mammy and rarely sees her mother. Her father is often away on business and Caroline has never attended school, but has been educated at home. Her closest friends are the small group of slaves owned by her father. There is Eli, the godly father figure who is responsible for the family their horses and his wife, Esther who does the cooking for the family. There is also Gilbert, her father his manservant; Ruby, her mother her mammy; and Tessie, Caroline her mammy. Grady, Tessie her son and Caroline her playmate and best friend has just been sold in the early morning.

After seeing Grady being brought away by slave traders Caroline is spending time at her father his family's plantation, Hilltop, to the death of her mother. After her mother dies she is sent to live with relatives in Pennsylvania and it is while she is there that she is exposed to
Caroline is left in charge of the family domain as her father leaves to become a blockade runner. It is at then that Caroline hears that her northern cousin, Robert is being held in the Confederate Libby Prison located in Richmond. She begins paying visits to Robert bringing him food and reading material, but it is not long before he is asking her to help him spy for the Union army and help him escape. Caroline is unsure what to do, but she prays and seeks Eli her advice and eventually decides to help