‘One Mason’s Civil War story published’

     

Bro. Robert Jordan, of Sylvan Lodge 303 up in Jamestown, New York, published a book on Wednesday, Alvah: A Thread of Red, chronicling an ancestor’s travails during the Civil War. Bro. Jordan’s familial and Masonic brother Tom explains:


My brother, and our Sylvan Lodge Brother, Robert Jordan has recently published a Masonic themed book about our ancestor and Civil War veteran Alvah Jordan. Alvah provided a written account of his Civil War experiences in March 1910, after being pestered by relatives, friends, and neighbors to write it down before it was lost forever.

Alvah’s written account includes being captured at the Battle of Plymouth, North Carolina; being briefly imprisoned at Andersonville and taking part in the prisoner trials; then being transferred and subsequently escaping from various confederate prisons, including the prison at Florence, South Carolina. Alvah’s written account includes details of his and his comrade’s attempts to make their way northward to rejoin the 85th New York Infantry, and his interesting interactions with his Masonic and non-Masonic captors. My brother takes Alvah’s written account, with other historical information we’ve accumulated over the years, and uses his gift for story-telling to create a very interesting historical novel.


From the publisher:


Take a tour of duty with a man who survived the American Civil War. Based on the personal writings of Alvah Jordan, Alvah: A Thread of Red is a riveting story passed down through generations until Robert Jordan, his descendent, decided to fill in the gaps and create a page-turning biography of a man who lived a fascinating life. In many cases, the information Alvah Jordan left out of his writings speaks louder than that he included. He was a complex man born in simpler times, under the Victorian constraints based on faith and morals. A man of integrity, ingenuity, and humor, he had the innate ability to take the edge off of adversity. Follow him as he explores the importance of character, learns to use his God-given resources, learns about Freemasonry, and copes with life's trials.