In the book “A Year in the South: Four Lives in 1865” the author Stephen V. Ash is able to inform his audience about the true story of the lives of four individuals living in the North and South during the year 1865. These four individuals consisted of a slave (Lou), a Confederate soldier (John), a wife of a Confederate colonel (Cornelia), and a minister ( Samuel). John, Cornelia, Lou and Samuel played different roles during the Civil War and all changed their way of life after the war ended. While some lived a decent life during the war, everything changed when the war ended. Louis Hughes (Lou) worked the salt works along the Tombigbee River in Alabama during much of the Civil War. Lou had a background as a butler that set him apart from Commissioner Benjamin Woolsey from all the other slaves who worked on the salt flats. And his wife Matilde also stood out for her delicious cuisine; they were soon both hired as butlers and cooks at the factory. Both became beloved slaves of Salt Commissioner Benjamin Woolsey and Superintendent Brooks. Brooks helped Lou create a small business within his local slave community selling tobacco caps. Benjamin Woolsey approved of Lou's actions and was able to make a good income. “In two weeks he had grossed 1,600 dollars” (21). When it became known that Union troops were moving into Tombigbee to enforce the freeing of the slaves, Woolsey and Brooks sent Lou, Matilda, and their newborn baby to Master Jack's plantation in Mississippi. Master Jack was determined not to let any blacks leave the plantation. Lou and another slave George took master Jack and his family to church every Sunday. Lou received word from George that the slaves were now free. ...... half of the paper ...... n I gave up. Her energy had to be devoted to her family's survival, so she "became increasingly anxious and distraught" (163). John Robertson was a Confederate soldier, living in a predominantly Union town in eastern Tennessee. When the Union Army succeeded in establishing control over eastern Tennessee, Robertson had no choice but to flee. He was captured and became very religious. He wanted to settle down and start a family with a woman he had met, but William Brownlow refused to allow the former Confederates to live a private life. John Robertson knew he was in danger, so he set out on a journey north to Indiana and Chicago. John, Cornelia, Lou, and Samuel were all Americans who lived during a harsh period of time in the North and South. Works Cited: Ash, Stephen V. A Year in the South 1865. Palgrave Macmillan: St. Martin's Printing Division, LLC. 2002