The Second Mrs Hockaday by Susan Rivers

The Civil War is going on and South Carolina teenager Placidia comes back from a ride one day to discover a dashing stranger at her father's home--a Confederate major named Hockaday, who has come to buy a mule. There is an instant spark between the major and the girl and before you know it, they're married and heading off to his homestead way out in the country. He soon has to head back to the front lines, leaving her to run the farm, manage the slaves, and raise his small son (whose mother, the first Mrs. Hockaday, had died). Despite her age and lack of experience, Placidia manages to do fairly well with keeping things running (despite floods, marauders, and various other obstacles) and truly loves her stepson, Charlie. But when Hockaday finally makes it back home after 2 long years, he finds his wife in jail for killing a baby that he knows couldn't have been his.

The story is told in letters and diary entries--and you have to pay close attention to the dates on each entry because the action bounces around from during the war to after the war to many years after the war, which can be a little confusing. But it's a compelling story and Placidia is a strong, appealing heroine. She clearly knows how she ended up pregnant (but isn't saying) but truly seems baffled about what happened to the baby. And those mysterious details keep you reading.

Notes at the end of the book say the story is loosely based on the true story of Arthur and Elizabeth Kennedy. He came home from the war to find legal proceedings underway into the birth and death of his wife's illegitimate child.

The Second Mrs. Hockaday is a good story well told.