Birthright

Brother is pitted against brother in this Civil War novel, but not in the usual one-fights-for-the-North, one-for-the-South way. As the nation moves inexorably toward war, two brothers in Mississippi become embroiled in a bitter feud over the inheritance left by their father, a wealthy Vicksburg planter. Winston, the older son, is given most of the estate, including Magnolia, the family plantation. Jeremy, the excluded brother, a rake, then hires a larger-than-life killer named Pritchard to help him scheme the money back. But war breaks out and their plan falls apart, forcing Jeremy and Pritchard to flee to the North; they will, of course, be back. Meanwhile, Vicksburg becomes an early target of Union forces who want control of the Mississippi River. The town's high position on a bluff makes it easy to defend, and Union General U.S. Grant lays a siege. As the fighting moves closer and closer to home, Winston's son Andrew joins the Confederate forces. Rich details about the war and especially the siege help keep the story moving along. Once the fighting ends, the characters must struggle back to Vicksburg - across a fractured, war-torn landscape peopled with thieves, ex-slaves, and mercenaries - to resolve the blood feud over the disputed birthright.
Telling a story of the Civil War through the intrigues of criminals and conmen, landed gentry, and the uneducated soldier, Birthright mines the rarely seen underbelly of nineteenth-century American life in a tale of greed, familial violence, and revenge.
And there's also a love story.