Rifles for Watie
Rifles for Watie is an American children's novel by Harold Keith. It was first published in 1957, and received the Newbery Medal the following year. Commonly shortened "Rifles", Rifles for Watie is written at an 8th grade advanced - 9th grade level.
The Civil war was a fight for many things such as slavery, rights , ideals and land . The setting, west of the Mississippi, is also not typical of Civil War novels, so the reader gets a perspective on the war not generally available in Civil war works. In Rifles for Watie, Jefferson Davis Bussey is sixteen when the Civil War breaks out. He can't wait to leave his Kansas farm and defend the Union against Colonel Watie, the leader of the dreaded Cherokee Indian rebels. But Jeff soon learns that there's more to war than honor and glory. As an infantry soldier, he must march for miles, exhausted and near starvation. Passing himself off as a rebel, Jeff waits for the information he needs
Plot summary
Main Characters in Rifles for Watie
- Jefferson (Jeff) Davis Bussey – the protagonist
- Lucy Washbourne – Jeff's love interest, a young woman living in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (then Indian Territory)
- Lee Washbourne – Lucy's brother, a Confederate soldier and scout. Killed in a firing squad in which Jeff unknowingly took a part in. Jeff, however, did not shoot and did not realize that it was Lee, whom he had heard about from Lucy and Mrs. Washbourne, until he saw Lee's name engraved on his watch.
- Noah Babbitt – an itinerant printer, older than Jeff, and a Union soldier.
- Stand Watie – historical character, the last Confederate general to surrender at the war's end.
- James G. Blunt – historical character, Union general who battled to control Indian Territory.
- David Gardner – Jeff's hometown friend who joins the Union Army with him.
- John Chadwick – Another of Jeff's hometown friends who joins the Union Army with him.
- Captain Asa Clardy – Jeff's commanding officer in the Union Army, and a major antagonist against Jeff. He is the one smuggling the Spencer Rifles to the Rebels.
- Heifer Hobbs – company cook and mentor for Jeff in the Indian cavalry, a part of the Confederate States Army.
- Sparrow – The cook in Jeff's regiment on the Union side. He is murdered my Clardy after he finds out Sparrow told Jeff about the woman he killed.
- Bill Earle – A friend Jeff made in the war, on the Union side
- Pete Millholland – One of Jeff's sergeants. He's killed by Rebels while cooking supper in Choctaw country
- Jimmy - The 14 year old drummer boy for the Union army. He's critically injured and eventually dies.
Main themes
- Love (Lucy Washbourne and Jeff always find a way to get over their different beliefs no matter how passionate they are.)
- War spies of the Civil War
Awards and nominations
- Winner, 1958 Newbery Medal
- Notable Children's Books of 1957 (ALA)
- 1964 Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Release details
- 1957, USA, Thomas Y. Crowell, NY (ISBN NA), Pub date ? ? 1957, hardback (First edition)
- 1960, UK, Oxford University Press (ISBN NA), Pub date ? ? 1960, hardback
- 1974, UK, Oxford University Press (ISBN 0192720511), Pub date 20 June 1974, paperback
- 1987, USA, Harper Trophy Books (ISBN 0-06-447030-X), Pub date ? September 1987, paperback reissue
- 1987, USA, HarperCollins (ISBN 0694056138), Pub date ? June 1987, paperback reissue
- 1991, UK, HarperCollins (ISBN 0-690-70181-0), Pub date ? June 1991, hardback reissue
References