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From the Next Generations Short Story Winner of "Khalil's Wall"
Centuries and continents apart, two American soldiers deploy in the years after “mission accomplished”—only to discover a land far from peace.
In 1870, eighteen-year-old Henry McDonald enlists in the U.S. military and is sent south to the Reconstruction front, where his sharp shooting and sharper mind earn him the title “Private Trouble.” But Henry finds real trouble in rebellious Georgia, where local Ku Kluxers continue to lynch, loot, and terrorize.
In 2006, Lieutenant Sam Musgrave serves her second tour in Baghdad, Iraq. Stuck in a violent, unwinnable war, Sam seeks refuge in letters home to her partner Brighid—but discovery of their relationship could cost Sam her career. Meanwhile, in the dusty archives of Massachusetts, Brighid makes a discovery of her own: one that leads back to Private Trouble himself.
Based on real Reconstruction-era papers and the author’s own military journals, CAPTAIN HENRY follows the spirit of Catch-22 and MASH—literary fiction written by people who lived the reality of war.
"A deeply humane, authentic and nuanced exploration of moral ambiguity and courage through the lenses of two very different wars and two very different lovers. " — Craig Higginson, Shadow Country
I.M. AIKEN is a novelist, short story writer, and decorated civilian member of the U.S. military. Captain Henry is the third novel in her Trowbridge Dispatch series, alongside The Little Ambulance War of Winchester County (2024) and Stolen Mountain (2025). Aiken’s short story “Kahlil’s Wall,” based on her year-long tour of duty in Iraq, was awarded the 2026 Next Generation Short Story Award for Inspirational Story.