Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty

Lillie Ravenel is a teenage girl from Louisiana, brought to the north by her loyalist father at the outbreak of the American Civil War. She is pursued by two contrasting suitors. Captain Edward Colburne is a virtuous New Englander whose bland goodness makes him seem a perfect match for the uninspiring Miss Ravenel. Her second suitor, Colonel John Carter is a native Virginian, but loyal to the Union. Opposite to Colburne likes to drink and gamble, but he is a man of honor and an admirable military officer. Friendship with these men of the North brings the change in her belief, eventually converting her to the cause of the Union. She returns to New Orleans only to find herself shunned by her old circle of friends for having too many associations with the enemy. Civil War battles that Lillie's suitors go through are described as a bloody and inglorious hell.

John William De Forest (1826-1906) was an American soldier and writer of realistic fiction, best known for his Civil War novel Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty. De Forest served in the Civil War as a captain in the Union Army. Upon returning he published several works on the theme of war.