“You Would Not Want to Be a Kid in the Civil War”

“You Would Not Want to Be a Kid in the Civil War” Wizards of Words 2013 Lauren Tarshis Trinka Hakes Noble

Can think of a place somewhere in the world where a civil war is taking place right now? • During the Civil War (1861-1865) children in both the North and South had to come to terms with life in a war-torn country; they had to grow up quickly.

Children in the Civil War • They served as soldiers, spies, and musicians. They volunteered as nurses or took over the operation of the family farm or business. With fathers and older brothers gone, they were left to protect and defend families, farms, and homes.

It was called the “States’ War” and most American thought it would all end in a few months… • During the War, boys were not supposed to enlist without their parents’ permission if they were under eighteen years old. Some would lie about their age – boys as young as ten or eleven would be accepted as drummers or buglers; most knew NOTHING about music!

-- yet – the drummer’s and bugler’s job was incredibly important… • All parts of an army’s routine had it’s musical call or cadence – from “assembly”/”extinguish lights” – to “charge” and “retreat” – the entire movement of a huge army was the duty of the drummers and buglers.

During the War, children had many responsibilities - • Children had to take responsibilities of maintaining farms and property while fathers and brothers were away. Children also were enlisted to work in field hospitals – to care for the wounded and sick soldiers. Like today, children far away from the battlefields, supported soldiers through fundraising and the making of “care packages”…

Orphans • Even before the Civil War ended, Americans realized that something had to be done for the many children of killed or crippled soldiers. Religious groups in major cities began building orphanages and schools to house the thousands of children who became orphans during the War. These also included the children of freed or runaway slaves.

Humiston Children and Gettysburg The most famous story about the need to care for orphans grew out of a national search for the children of a dead soldier killed on the battlefield at Gettysburg – the unidentified soldier was found clutching this picture. Nobody knew who he was, or who the children were.

Lauren Tarshis and TrinkaHakes Noble have written books about Gettysburg… The Last Brother is the story of a young bugler in the Union Army who needs to make a difficult decision at the Battle of Gettysburg during ‘Pickett’s Charge’. I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg focuses on a young runaway slave caught in the middle of the intense fighting that took place between July 1st and 3rd, 1863.

“You Would Not Want to Be a Kid in the Civil War”