Although Eben Holden is the title of the book, it's really about the life story of the narrator, Willie Brower. Willie is orphaned at a young age. Old Eben carries the child away, literally, into a new life in what I take to be New York. Willie records the travels through the wilderness, their adoption into a new home, and the homespun yarns of Eben and others. As he grows up, Willie becomes Bill, tries his hand at wooing the talented Hope, gets a job as a journalist only to quit and join the army just in time for the first battle of Bull Run. It's a quaint, simple story published in 1900 and would be suitible reading for young people. There is a description of the battle but I wouldn't consider it too bloody.