Susan Dobson Chilmark

Susan is fourteen when the novel begins. Susan is the daughter of Southern parents. Susan lives in Richmond with her mother, Charlotte, as the Civil War rages around them. Susan's mother will not allow Susan to join any of the common sewing circles or other charitable organizations that work to further the Southern Cause because of rumors around Richmond about Susan's brother, Lucien. Lucien has anti-Southern ideas and has refused to join the Confederate army.

Susan adores her father, but he is absent during most of the novel because of his work in outfitting the warship, Virginia. This leaves Susan chiefly alone with her mother, Charlotte, who is considered insane by many of the people in Richmond because of her behaviors that resulted after the death of her daughter, Isabel, and two stillborn children. Susan will learn later in the novel, however, that Hugh also has...