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Rifles for Watie Harold Keith Books

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Rifles for Watie Harold Keith Books

A boy becomes a man, in four long years.
He learns that the issues that divide us are
never as clearly defined as we might wish.
Fighting and dying can mean everything,
and nothing. Loyalty and love bring joy and pain.
It's what we all do, as we grow, everywhere we are. And that is the real beauty of this tale.
Action, drama, comedy, battle, saints and sinners... It's all here, well told. You can't help but care about them all. Yankees and Rebels.
Natives and Settlers. Blacks and Whites.
You hate to see either side lose.
We could use some of that now.
To have it served up in a fine story
of adventure and danger, love and intrigue,
is icing on a mighty fine cake. Enjoy!


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Rifles for Watie Harold Keith Books Reviews

Rifles for Watie is a book about the Civil War that is written for school age readers. Despite the intended audience, this book is every bit as interesting for an adult reader.

The author, Harold Keith interviewed, many Civil War veterans living in Oklahoma and found that he had enough information to write a historical novel. As a result, his battle stories pack in the absurd incidents of war intermixed with its horror. In one case, a new recruit rides into battle wearing his wedding suit-he'd joined right after his marriage. The groom is killed in the suit in that same battle.

Oklahoma (then called Indian Territory) and Missouri was packed with adherents of both sides of the war. Consequently the war is very cruel and personal. Keith takes this fact in full. The reader very much gets the cruelty of the war in the descriptive passages.

In researching the book, Keith was able to meet with veterans of both sides. To get that info out-to tell the whole tale of the Missouri/Oklahoma theater of war-Keith uses an interesting literary tactic. He tells the tale through the eyes of Jeff Bussey, a cornpone eating teenage Kansas Pioneer who joins up for the Union. Bussey then becomes a spy, serving in the Confederate Army with the purpose of keeping an eye out for a shipment of rifles for Confederate General Stand Watie and his men.
Jeff Bussey walked up the road towards Fort Leavenworth, on his way to join the Union army volunteers. The year was 1861, in Linn County, Kansas, and Jeff was excited at the prospect of fighting for the North, finally. Rifles for Watie is a historical fiction book written by Harold Keith. The book is about Jeff Bussey and his struggles in fighting in the war while also seeing both sides of it.

In the country south of Kansas there was dread in the air; and the name, Stand Watie, was on every single person in the war's tongue. An angel to the Rebel man, Satan to the Union man, Stand Watie led the Cherokee Indian Nation fearlessly and successfully on brutal raids behind the Union's backs. Jeff came to know the Watie men well, too well.

Jeff was the only soldier in the West to see the Civil War from both sides and live to tell the tale. Amongst the boom of cannon fire, Jeff learns what it means to fight in battle. He learns how it feels never to have enough to eat, to have to search for his food or starve. Jeff saw the green fields of Kansas and Oklahoma laying wasted by Stand Watie's raids; delicious corn purposefully pulled from the ground. Jeff marched endlessly across the hot land, through mud and pouring rain, always hungry, dirty and tired.

People who are looking for a delightful historical book to read for leisure or in a classroom are the perfect people for this novel.

The novel is a rich and sweeping. The beauty is in its panorama of history; in its details so easy to see for the reader to never doubt for a moment that he is there; in its dozens upon dozens of new and exciting people, each one easily recognizable. The story is of a lesser known part of the Civil War, which is the Western campaign, a part that is different in its issues and its problems, and fought with a different type of mentality. The book moves to an unexpected climax, causing a picture of a war that stays in the mind and the men of both sides who fought in it, which makes it worthwhile and a memorable read.
Rating 4.5/5 Stars
Things are not as black and white as Jeff thought and this causes him to struggle as he joins the Union Army in the Civil War. The book is well written and captivates as it teaches the war wasn't about slavery for many. It presents a balanced view from sides of the war many never learn about. This tale makes me wish the story has continued in another book set in the reconstruction period following the war. An enjoyable read for all ages.
This is one of the most effective pieces of historical fiction for presenting multiple perspectives on the Civil War. From the war fever of recruits to understanding the legitimacy and humanity of not only the Confederacy and Union, but also the West and American Indian perspectives, this book covers considerable territory. Told from the perspective of an idealistic northern boy full of vim and vigor, he is quickly and thoroughly humbled by the inhumanity of war and the humanity of the enemy. From witnessing mistreatment of civilians by Union soldiers to inadvertently infultrating the Confederate ranks, he is humbled by the universality of human nature and goodwill juxtaposed with the universal cruelty of war. The audio book is stellar and highly recommended!
A somewhat slow start that might deter some younger readers, but once the central character experiences battle for the first time the pace of the narrative is admirably managed and there are moments of real tension and suspense. This novel does not glorify military action in any way, nor does it laud one side over the other in its depiction of a complex political episode in American history. While the presentation of the African American characters, both in appearance and dialogue, is very much of its time, that of the Native Americans is entirely convincing.

Altogether, this seems to be a worthwhile, thought-provoking read for those in their early teenage years.
A boy becomes a man, in four long years.
He learns that the issues that divide us are
never as clearly defined as we might wish.
Fighting and dying can mean everything,
and nothing. Loyalty and love bring joy and pain.
It's what we all do, as we grow, everywhere we are. And that is the real beauty of this tale.
Action, drama, comedy, battle, saints and sinners... It's all here, well told. You can't help but care about them all. Yankees and Rebels.
Natives and Settlers. Blacks and Whites.
You hate to see either side lose.
We could use some of that now.
To have it served up in a fine story
of adventure and danger, love and intrigue,
is icing on a mighty fine cake. Enjoy!