"Michael Curran, "the oldest second lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac," has a plan to bring the siege of Petersburg to an end and perhaps shorten the Civil War. He wants to tunnel under the enemy lines and destroy the Confederate artillery with a huge explosive charge. A mining engineer in civilian life, he has the expertise to bring it off; an Irishman, he has the blarney to convince General Grant it is a viable plan." "As the army begins to dig, an unforgettable cast of characters comes to life: Anton Zaretski, the colonel in charge, who stakes his reputation on Curran's plan; Willie Washburn, the black sergeant who creates a legendary commando force; Edmund Service, the general who has made a fortune selling caskets to the government and filling them with the bodies of men he has led to their deaths in reckless charges. Most of the tunnelers are immigrants; like the Union they are pledged to defend, they draw their strength from their very diversity. And what a riot of color that diversity is!" "You will not soon forget these men and women who in their various ways fought to change the course of history. They will make you laugh and cry, and they will remind you powerfully what America is all about."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved