Meet local Author Buck Buchanan and get signed copies of his newest book, Smoke Over The Square.

n 1860, Marietta was a quaint resort town in north Georgia and the Southern way of life there was as prevalent as it was in Charleston, Savannah, or Atlanta.

Long before it heard cannon fire from nearby battlefields, the town began to feel the impact of the Civil War. The Western and Atlantic Railroad’ train depot, the center of Marietta’ commerce, also became the distribution point for Confederate supplies and troops. The young station manager, Eli Alexander, had to grow up fast as he dealt with all the challenges that came with being in the middle of national hostilities. 

Eli, still a teenager, found himself contending with thousands of Confederate recruits being trained at nearby Camp McDonald, an entire train stolen from Marietta, deserters who took over a downtown hotel that ended in a deadly gun fight, a horrific train wreck, a prominent Marietta citizen who was also a Union spy, hotels, churches, and homes turned into hospitals, the fierce Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the Union occupation, and the burning of the city. 

Ride along with Eli as he handles wave after wave of passenger, cargo, troop, refugee, and prisoner trains, grieves over his war losses, enlists in the Confederate cavalry, and tries to nurture his first true love. You won’t soon forget this coming-of-age tale set in 1860s’ Marietta.