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Period: to
Span of time
This is the timespan of the book. -
First battle
The battle of Fort Sumter begins the start of the war. -
Winona, Minnesota
Charley Goddard is fifteen. There is excitment in his hometown about the war. Since he is underage, he can't sign up in his hometown. He goes to Fort Snelling so no one will recognize him. -
Fort Snelling
Though Charlie is underage, he signs up for the war at fifteen. He signs up thinking that his side will win easily. All he wanted was to go on an adventure, so he signed up for war. When he signed up he is really unprepared. He is so young that he belives he won't even have to put up a good fight. -
Fort Snelling
Charley doesn't get caught signing up underage. He is given a musket and a cheap uniform. He trains at Fort Snelling. They were training so much he wanted to leave. Charley is very bored with the contineues drills and bad food. -
Traveling
Charley and the other troops march on to luxurious steamboats. They are eating like kings. Charley thinks it's a grand war. They travel through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and into Maryland. On his way, Charlie sees his first Reb grabbing a slave and waving a fist at the Union train. Sees very poor Rebs living in a shack and thinks that the Union will destroy them. -
Battle of Bull Run
The real battle starts. Originally called Battle of Manasas. The first major battle of the Civil War. -
After Bull Run first day
Charley is in shock. He sees fireflies in the battle meadow, but he realizes there lanterns looking for lost dead ones. -
First day of Battle of Bull Run
Finally fighting after days of training. Charley is in Manasas. He is screaming, "Make it stop!" He sees dead everywhere he looks. He doesn't even fire because he is so scared. He realizes that the Union is losing. Finally, he decides to run like the other union soldiers. He lies down to prevent from getting shot. Charley sees gruesome and gory things happening. He ran behind a tree and felt like he lost his soul. -
Battle of Bull Run second day
He goes to fill up his canteen, but notices the waters pink. Looking up, he sees the pink is blood from the dead bodies in the water. Charley has to walk across the meadow again to fight, already guarenteeing that he will die. The dead all looked like broken dolls from Charley's point of view. Rebs had left. They didn't fight that day. -
After Bull Run
Charley gets paid 33 dollars in gold coins. He sends all of it to his mom and brother back home, leaving only 4 dollars for him. The Union had gotten a new general, General George McClellan. The troops start farming. Farming is stealing other persons food to eat. -
Battle of Athens
Charley fights again. He meets a kid named Nelson. Nelson thinks they will win the battle just like Charley did after his first battle. Charley doesn't measure in years, but in meadows crossed. He feels he is a lot older than what he actually is. Charley gets so mad he ends up running after the retreating Rebs. He goes to look for Nelson. Nelson was shot in the stomach. Charley cries even though he barely knew Nelson. Nelson ends up shooting himself. -
Camp life
Charley is back in camp. The troops live in log huts and disease is spreading like wild fire. -
Seasons changing
The camp has turned to coldness. They don't have thick clothes. Charley learns to only take care of himself. The prices kept going up around the camp. -
Charley meets a Reb
Charley is approached by a southerner across the river he was patrolling. They trade coffee and tobacco. Both of them talk about how the war was fighting against their own people. Charley gets yelled at. When he comes back the next day he gets shot at. Charley just wants to be alone. -
Winter
Charley still feels alone. He has to kill horses to feed the sick men. Killing the horses causes Charley to feel sick. -
Start heading to battle
Charley knows he is going to be in battle again. He is angry over the slaughtering of the horses. -
Charley is hit
Charley goes to see the surgeon. He sees a pile of legs and arms. Getting shot in the shoulder should make you feel pain, Charley never felt the pain. Surgeon pronounced it was other persons blood. He was never hit. He had to stack up dead bodies to block the chilly wind. -
Battle of Richmond.
Charley has to fight once again. When the Confederates are coming, he has to kill horses once again. He shoots and takes down some. They were taken down and he thought that couldn't be the end. 2,000-3,000 more soldiers came barreling towards Charley. Charley turns into a beast and only wants to kill. He gets hit in the shoulder. -
Pickett's Charge
Charley is forced to swing around and go into the middle of the battle. He is hit again and again. Charley thinks he is dead. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Almost a year after his last battle, Charley has to fight once again. Finally, Charley felt that he had a chance to live because they had the advantage point. He even felt sorry for the Confederates because they were dying constantly. -
Charley is 21 years old
He still remebers every one of the details, good and bad. Charley still measures his age in meadows and feels he is to old to get married and have kids. He is an outcast from his town now. Everyday he has pain. Charley now walks with a cane and has a "Soldier's Heart" or post dramatic disorder. Now living in a shack with a Confederate gun. He goes on picnics with his gun a lot. He feels like he wants to kill himself, but he never does.