It’s 1861 and Searcy County, Arkansas, is divided by the Civil War. One man, David Crockett Ruff, has some hard choices. The godson of David Crockett and cousin to the famous cattle driver Charles Goodnight, he wants to fight. But how can he? His state sides with slavery, yet joining the Union means fighting against neighbors, friends, and family. So he chooses peace.

When state officials discover he won’t fight, they send out the militia to arrest him and his fellow Peace Society members. Suddenly, David’s path is set: He will escape with a small group of friends to the north and fight to preserve his country even as his brother, Henry, heads south to join the Confederacy.

Not only can David and his friends fight, but they have experience hunting the forests and mountains of northern Arkansas, making them extremely useful. They are recruited as secret soldiers and placed under the supervision of the Union Army’s chief spymaster. As they fight their way back to peace, they must face gangs of rogue soldiers and worse, their family.

Searcy County: The Civil War’s Secret Heroes tells the heartbreaking story of a brother-against-brother that so many families had to endure. This inspiring saga brings David Crockett Ruff’s true story to life as he and his friends come in contact with some of the most famous and infamous individuals in U.S. history—“Wild Bill” Hickok, Bill Cody, Frank and Jesse James, “Bloody Bill” Anderson, Belle Starr, and Bass Reeves— while they navigate the hell that is the Civil War. And when a madman and his gang slaughter a bunch of unarmed soldiers, can David Crockett Ruff and his crew bring them to justice? Or will that vile act stop the construction of one of our national treasures and expose the beginnings of a scandal?

Take a journey into the past with Searcy County: The Civil War’s Secret Heroes, when our country’s fate rested on the sacrifice, bravery, and often life-or-death choices of ordinary people.