Description:
Keith presents the Civil War from a different viewpoint: that of a Kansas farm boy who joins the Union Army to protect the family farm from rebel Bushwackers across the Missouri border. Like Michael Shaara's THE KILLER ANGELS (Pulitzer Prize winner about the Battle of Gettysburg), this book presents a fair portrayal of conditions and mindsets on both sides of the Mason/Dixon line. There are no clearcut military antagonists--just men in opposing uniforms. Keith's detailed research offers a variety of reasons for enlisting with one side or another, plus the tragic case of displaced Native Americans who were caught in the political
Keith presents the Civil War from a different viewpoint: that of a Kansas farm boy who joins the Union Army to protect the family farm from rebel Bushwackers across the Missouri border. Like Michael Shaara's THE KILLER ANGELS (Pulitzer Prize winner about the Battle of Gettysburg), this book presents a fair portrayal of conditions and mindsets on both sides of the Mason/Dixon line. There are no clearcut military antagonists--just men in opposing uniforms. Keith's detailed research offers a variety of reasons for enlisting with one side or another, plus the tragic case of displaced Native Americans who were caught in the political crossfire of a nation undergoing rebirth.
Sixteen-year-old Jeff (Jefferson Davis Bussey, if you please) serves his country first in the Infantry then in the Cavalry. While on a dangerous scouting expedition (Spy mission), he is tricked into enlisting with Col. Watie's Mounted Cherokee Rifles. Poor Jeff endures more than the normal risks of battle though: he falls for a Rebel gal--part Indian too. Befriended by kind and generous Southerners, he experiences increasing guilt as he grows to respect his erstwhile enemies. He develops true bonds with the common soldiers who become his new messmates.
Yet Jeff privately realizes that time is relentlessly drawing him to the brink of a fateful decision: when he must choose which ideal (Union or division) to champion. Whichever way he goes, he will be branded a traitor by former friends--either his sweetheart or his family! How can the youth maintain his honor, especially when his heart is set on his sleeve? Even worse: he knows a dangerous secret about a sadistic Union officer who might well shoot or stab him during battle--just to assure his silence.
Toward the end of the war the 7-shot Spencer Repeating Rifles were phasing out the older, one-shot Springfield rifles, but if both sides possess these new weapons of destruction, will the war be strung out even longer? Can Jeff prove his loyalty by ferreting out the identity of the traitor who is selling repeating rifles to the South? Excellent details of the dilemma of the border states and the regrettable suffering endured by many Indians, who were tragically divided in their loyalties--just like countless white border families. This is a very good read (based on research for a Master's Thesis), but too long and detailed to appeal to most high school students. The plot and supense eventually capture the reader's imagination.
Source: Amazon review
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Manufacturer: HarperTeen
Release date: 31 October 1987
ISBN-10 : 006447030X |
ISBN-13: 9780064470308
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