Local author Tom Huggler to present at First Congregational Church of Portland

First Congregational Church of Portland hosts “The Making of a Historical Fiction” with Sunfield novelist Tom Huggler on Thursday, June 18, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm at the church, located at 421 E. Bridge St. in Portland. The free event is open to all.

Huggler will share the story behind THE WOMAN SHE LEFT BEHIND, his Civil War novel based on true events of a local pioneer widow who traveled alone for 600 miles into a Missouri battlefield to find her stricken son.

In the spring of 1862, Rachel Barnum, who lived on Shaytown Road in Sunfield Township, left three other children with her farm’s hired man to look for Dwight, a 2nd Michigan cavalryman dying from disease or a war wound.

Stuck in Cairo, Illinois, while the swollen Mississippi set new records for flooding and the war raged downstream, Rachel feared she wouldn’t reach Dwight in time to save him. 

Huggler’s research into what happened included retracing Rachel’s journey by horse and buggy, train, and Mississippi riverboat. He will share details and read passages from his 400-page novel, copies of which will be available for purchase.

A month later, on July 23, Huggler returns to the church to further discuss Rachel’s incredible journey and to answer questions.