Nathaniel Starbuck

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Nathaniel Starbuck is a fictional Confederate Army officer, Copperhead, and the main character in Bernard Cornwell's Starbuck Chronicles.

[edit] Life Before the Books

Starbuck is born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of radical abolitionist minister the Reverend Dr. Elial Starbuck. He lives a relatively pious childhood and is regularly beaten by his father, which leads him to be unprepared for the outside world.

Starbuck goes to the Yale Seminary, as his father hopes he will follow him into the ministry. Here Starbuck meets several notable figures including Oliver Wendell Holmes and his son Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., he also meets his close friend Adam Faulconer, who is also studying at the seminary.

[edit] Major Events in the First Book

After becoming enamored with an actress, Starbuck abandons school to run away with her. Unfortunately for him, the actress scams both Starbuck and her boyfriend/director. With all of his money gone, Starbuck goes to Virginia to seek aid from Adam Faulconer. However, before he can get to Faulconer's house, news of the attack on Fort Sumter causes a riot to break out in the streets. The crowd grabs Starbuck and another man, who turns out to be a dentist from the north. The crowd then proceeds to tar and feather the dentist, and are planning to do the same to Starbuck when Adam Faulconer's father rides in and saves him.

The two return to the Faulconer estate and Starbuck agrees to join the "Faulconer Legion".

Although Faulconer is generous to Starbuck, people continuously warn him that Faulconer's generosity will remain only as long as Starbuck reveres him. They say that Faulconer is in reality a spiteful and weak man who craves admiration and glory and receives it only by his wealth. Starbuck however continuously defends his savior and despite the growing number of people, who give the same damning opinion of Faulconer, refuses to believe that the man who saved his life and treat him so well could be a bad man. The truth of Faulconer’s character and in what people say about him is confirmed on the Legions first mission to destroy a rail bridge and major supply route of the Union. Faulconer over estimates the importance of the bridge as it can be re-erected in a matter of days, plans the entire operation badly, mainly by not bringing adequate water-proofing and allowing the equipment and supplies, most importantly the gunpowder to become damp. This dampness stops the gunpowder from igniting at the crucial moment. Frustrated with the failure and unable to admit responsibility Faulconer blames a delay which he believes to have been caused by Starbuck. When it transpires that the delay is not Starbuck’s fault but instead Sergeant Thomas Truslow’s whom Faulconer fears, it is too late to back away from blaming the delay and rather than blame Thomas Truslow he insists that the blame lies on Starbuck, an easy target.