First published 1991
Chris Brabson seethes with rage every time he sees a blue uniform. Union raiders have stripped his Tennessee mountain family bare, stealing their harvest, winter meat, and only horse. A Yankee soldier even grabbed the deerskin shirt Chris spent months preparing, taking it before Chris could wear it once. His brother joined the Northern Army, while his parents refuse to pick sides despite the devastation around them. Chris knows where he stands. He will fight for the Confederacy. When a Union supply train moves through the valley, Chris reports its location to Confederate forces. Only then does he discover his brother likely marches with those troops. Dawn brings a Confederate surprise attack, and Chris finds himself trapped in the bloody chaos he helped create. The battle forces him to confront his father's words about war making people act against their nature and the difference between hatred and courage.
Genres: american-civil-war, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Tennessee
Period: Civil War
156 pages · Paperback · Scholastic Inc
Content warnings: violence, war