Hardships and tragedies befell many families during the American Civil War. The stories of misfortune and heartbreak are touching, tragic, and seemingly endless. For some reason, one family’s wartime journey stood out to me. The story of their pain—and their loss—eventually led me to a small family cemetery in rural North Carolina. But I’m getting ahead of myself. That is the end of the story—not the beginning. The story begins in Virginia where a young couple—childhood friends—said their nuptials in the parlor of an elegant home. The marriage produced seven children, six of them born in the room adjoining their bedroom. Although the father was a professional soldier all of his life, he was still, by all accounts, a doting dad to his three sons and four daughters, teaching them how to ride, sled, skate, and even to swim. He was also a storyteller who liked to be tickled. It …