Beyond their years : stories of sixteen Civil War children

Sometimes a war's greatest heroes are its survivors, those who manage to forge new lives despite the tragedy they have experienced. For the sixteen unsung heroes profiled in Beyond Their Years, surviving also meant surrendering their childhood. These children found themselves on the edge of the fray - both in combat and in the throes of daily life - helping, or simply enduring, as best their interrupted youths allowed. Their behind-the-scenes stories illustrate what it was really like for children during the Civil War. Meet Ransom Powell, a thirteen-year-old drummer boy who survived grueling Confederate prison camps; writer and patriot Maggie Campbell, only eight years old when the war ended; Ulysses S. Grant's son Jesse, who rode proudly alongside Abraham Lincoln's son Tad and Ella Sheppard, daughter of a slave mother and a freed father, who lived through the backlash of slave rebellions. Each of these young survivors' lives represent an amazing contribution to the war effort and to postbellum life. Learn the inspiring stories of these American children who displayed courage, devotion, and wisdom beyond their years. Part I. Union The natural and accepted order of existence?: Jesse Root Grant "Sojer boy, will you marry me?": Maggie Campbell And then the trouble began: Edwin Fitzgerald (Foy) A drop of blood for every tear: Ella Sheppard Little red cap: Ransom Powell "I can and shall never forget": Susie Baker King Bound to go: Elisha Stockwell Jr. A straw to hold: John Henry Crowder Part II. Confederate "I wanted to fight to music": Opie Percival Read Little rebel: Rose Greenhow Flashes of bursting bombs: Eliza Lord "We cannot win": Anne Augusta Banister Young in the ghastly game: John Sergeant Wise The light in the window: Sallie LeConte A perfect sheet of bullets: Albert Butler Blocker Want of leadership: William H.S. Burgwyn.