For book group this month we read Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith. This is historical fiction and won the Newberry Award the year after it was published, 1958. It is a story of sixteen year old Jefferson Davis Bussey who lives in Kansas and is anxious to join the army as the Civil War breaks out. The novel tells of his experiences during the war, marching, fighting, scouting and spying. Harold Keith deals with a part of the Civil War I knew nothing about, the Cherokee Indian rebellion led by Stand Watie. Jeff fights for the Union, but towards the end of the novel, as he is trying to scout enemy activity, he ends up a part of the Rebel army. He finds the men fighting for the South to be as nice as those fighting for the North and is glad when the war comes to an end.
There is a secondary plot involving a beautiful young Indian girl, Lucy Washbourne, Jeff falls in love with, even though they are on opposite sides of the conflict.
I liked this book. I knew nothing of the Cherokee involvement in the war. They blamed Andrew Jackson for the Trail of Tears and were in the practice of keeping slaves. The chief of the Cherokee, John Ross, was adamant that the Union not be dissolved, but another leader, Stand Watie, was eager to join the Confederate cause. Mixed-blood Cherokee supported Watie and in 1862, he was elected Chief of the Southern Cherokee Nation. Watie was the last Confederate general to end fighting in 1865. I thought Keith did a good job of making the characters real and interesting, and I wanted good things for them. The book is written for an 8-9th grade reading level, and would appeal to boys more than girls.
