Rifles for Watie

I recently read Rifles for Watie, by Harold Keith. The book is about a sixteen-year old teen named Jeff David Bussey whose sole dream is to join the Union and fight against the South. He learns very quickly that war is not a fun game however. He sees lots of pain and sadness, and has struggles of his own. As a personal opinion of this book, it is one of my favorite books that I have ever read. The book is full of descriptive details, for example: "A double column of dusty figures rode horseback through the fort's great wooden gate. Their black campaign hats and their blue shoulders bobbed over the top of the fort's sharply pointed, close-set log palisades. As they drew closer, Jeff saw they were cavalry. Their faces were raw and swollen from the stings of horseflies and the scratches of tree branches striking them as they traveled through the woods..." (Keith 176). Keith's narrative of Jeff Bussey's life is just so realistic and informative, and the novel is written so well that the story hooks you in from the beginning. It took Mr. Keith 5 years to write this book, and I see why. There is so much Civil War information packed into this novel, and the author actually went around and interviewed several Civil War veterans. He definitely deserved the Newberry Medal awarded to Rifles for Watie.

If you want to learn more about The Civil War, click here.