Refusal to Obey - J. Aaron Courts

Some orders should not be followed.

Beginning in the winter of 1855, Refusal to Obey follows Quinton Stoddard as friendship, conviction, and a restless young nation pull him into Bleeding Kansas, the Civil War, and the violent push westward.

Alongside his friend Silas Soule, Quinton fights for causes he believes in and carries out the duties expected of a soldier. But when Colonel John Chivington and the territorial government move toward the massacre of defenseless Cheyenne and Arapaho people at Sand Creek, the two men face an order that leaves no clean way forward: obey and take part in an atrocity, or refuse and accept the consequences.

Blending a fictional protagonist with historical figures including Silas Soule, Kit Carson, John Chivington, Chiefs Black Kettle and Bull Bear, and Walt Whitman, J. Aaron Courts brings the American West to life without sanding down its contradictions.

A historical novel about war, conscience, loyalty, and the line between serving your country and surrendering your own judgment.

Book Details

• Full title: Refusal to Obey: A Novel of the Massacre at Sand Creek
• Author: J. Aaron Courts
• Historical fiction
• Debut novel
• Set during Bleeding Kansas, the Civil War, and the Sand Creek Massacre
• Published by Pane Books