Turtledove
Bathsheba
Fictional Character
Southern Victory
POD: September 10, 1862
Appearance(s): Blood and Iron
through
The Grapple
Nationality: Negro resident of the Confederate States
Religion: Protestantism
Date of Birth: c. 1886
Date of Death: 1943
Cause of Death: Killed in the Population Reduction (Second Great War)
Occupation: Housewife, maid
Spouse: Scipio (as "Xerxes")
Children: Cassius, Antoinette

Bathsheba (c. 1886-1943) was Scipio's wife and widow, though she knew him primarily as Xerxes. She was imprisoned in Camp Determination in 1943 along with Scipio and their daughter Antoinette. A deeply religious woman, Bathsheba refused to give up her faith even in the face of the horrors of life in a concentration camp.

She developed a friendship with camp guard Hipolito Rodriguez, who carried messages to Scipio from her and returned Scipio's responses--until Scipio's death, at which point he pretended to carry the messages and made up responses. Bathsheba could tell Hip was a good man despite his occupation, and quietly reproved him for his role in the Population Reduction--ultimately leading to his suicide.

By the end of 1943, Bathsheba and Antoinette were killed when camp commandant Jefferson Pinkard ordered the deaths of all the blacks in Camp Determination. The buildings were blown up and the mass graves filled in, with the operation moving further east.