Annie's Civil War: The Girl Who Played Soldier

ISBN-10: 0989519430
ISBN-13: 9780989519434
Category: Fiction
Pages: 378
Language: English
Published: 2014-06-12
Author: Charlotte Joy Basner

Description

Of all the shocking facts about the Civil War, one of the more remarkable is the fact that a number of women fought as soldiers, disguised as men. Feisty and clever Annie Rumsey is one such "woman of valor" who challenges the unfair oppression of women in her day. Young Annie defies her family, dresses in a man's Union blue uniform, enlists and fights her way across the entire Northeast theater of war, including some of the bloodiest and most pivotal battles- 1st and Bull Run, the Peninsular Campaign and 2nd Bull Run. And, in taking on the identity of a male soldier, she risks not only her life and safety; but also her female identity... Annie matures surrounded by nature and old world traditions in New York's rugged Neversink Valley. As a naturally gangly and athletic young girl, Annie eagerly shoulders responsibilities of both man and woman to help her family on their struggling farm. And when she insists on winning shooting competitions and hiking up her long skirts to ride astride, she just doesn't fit her day's standards of a woman as a passive and fluffy ornament. Relatives and community begin to single Annie out and bully her as a freak. Even though Annie craves a happy future like other girls, she can't pretend to be stupid or weak. In her late teens, she grows big and strong enough to fight her abusers; and a series of violent confrontations send her fleeing from her home. Then, disguised as a man, Annie enlists in the Union Army determined to use her unique talents as a warrior to finally do something with her life. At the start of the War, America is in crisis, beginning with a mob attack on unarmed Union recruits in Baltimore. And the Union Army needs an adaptable and wily recruit like "Andrew" who's equally adept with horses, sharpshooting and her father's hunting knife. In her male persona, Annie takes risks to protect her men from ambush; and rescues civilians at the infamous counterattack at Bull Run. And she quickly rises through the ranks with no one guessing her Union blue tunic hides bound breasts and heart of a maturing young woman. While Annie can anticipate many more battles, she despairs of love, since she can't imagine any man ever embracing Sergeant "Andrew," her valiant, independent side. But then Tien Dorsey, a brooding and untamed "breed" Indian scout for the Army comes from the West to supply horses to their Virginia encampment. Strong, resourceful and philosophical, Dorsey is an "accidental" warrior still haunted by childhood memories of the Army's atrocities against his people. And, like Annie, Tien feels driven to fight for freedom and never lose. In winter, Dorsey finds himself under young Sgt. "Andrew's" command, and the two bunk in a crude shelter surrounded by the menace of the enemy, while preparing for campaigns that may take their lives. As unlikely friends, the two "men," Annie and Dorsey, once again learn to trust and to care. They start conquering personal demons- yet neither dares express what appear to be forbidden desires. The country's bloodiest war abruptly pulls the two apart- Tien fighting in the notorious battle of Chancellorsville, and Annie fighting through a string of battles in the Southern states, and riding as a Union spy. Today, at least in theory, women can have it all. But, in Annie's world of the Civil War United States, death might be the only doorway to rebirth. In the mysterious city of Old New Orleans, as the War Between the States rushes toward conclusion, the shroud of secrecy dramatically lifts on Annie's sexual identity. And, in this fictional novel based in part on true stories of women soldiers in the Civil War, the secrets revealed about Sgt. "Andrew" will either open the way to love and freedom, or may bring the ultimate destruction.

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