Join the Lincoln Presidential Foundation for a discussion with author and historian Candice Shy Hooper on her book Delivered Under Fire: Absalom Markland and Freedom’s Mail. The book tells the story of the resourceful and courageous Kentuckian who created the military mail service during the Civil War that delivered millions of priceless letters for soldiers and their families and bolstered morale throughout the North. As Special Agent of the US Post Office Department, Markland visited Lincoln once a month during the war. A childhood friend of Ulysses Grant, Markland served with him throughout the war, and during Grant's Presidency, he played a crucial role in Grant's battle against the Ku Klux Klan. Nationally famous during his life, this American hero is all but forgotten today.

After a career in communication, politics, and the law in Washington DC, Candice Shy Hooper’s interest in military history led her to George Washington University in 2006 to get a master's degree. She is the author of Lincoln’s Generals’ Wives: Four Women Who Influenced the Civil War for Better and for Worse, which won three national awards. Her historical work has appeared in The New York Times and the Journal for Military History, and to Candice's amazement, her poems have appeared in prominent literary journals and one even won a prize.