The Boy of Chancellorville and Other Civil War Stories

James Marten, history professor at Marquette University, edited this collection of eight stories originally published in children's magazines of the Civil War era. The Boy of Chancellorville and Other Civil War Stories will likely appeal more to adult readers with an interest in the history of children's literature or in the Civil War period, rather than to today's young readers. These tales might, however, prove quite useful and interesting as background reading for history lessons pertaining to the Civil War, slavery, and racial inequality. In general, these short stories are written from a northern perspective, offer characters (Yankees and escaped slaves) with high moral standards, but typically show the Rebels as less honorable and sometimes cruel. These children stories do not view the rebels as simply misguided, but consider them, and especially their leaders, as traitors without honor or morals. The stories in this collection include Dog Carlos (Louise E. Chollet, 1865), Winning His Way (Charles Carleton Coffin, December, 1865) , The Boy of Chancellorville (Edmund Kirke, 1865), Nelly's Hospital (Louisa May Alcott, 1865), The Two Christmas Evenings (Lydia Maria Child, 1866), The Return of a Private (Hamlin Garland, 1899), Eleanor's Colonel (Annah Robinson Watson, 1900), and The Doll (Charles Waddell Chesnutt, 1912). Dog Carlos is a boy, a slave, that attempts escape from a cruel master. Dog Carlos is nearly recaptured, but unexpectedly salvation occurs with the appearance of the Union Army as General Sherman and his men march through South Carolina. Liberty transforms Dog Carlos into a young man; Carlos is Dog Carlos no longer, but becomes a soldier in the United States army. Young Paul Parker is an emaciated, severely ill prisoner held at the infamous Andersonville prison in the story Winning His Way. It says - of the prisoners - that, "Above them floated the Rebel flag. They were kept there beneath its fold by Jefferson Davis and General Lee, till thirteen thousand had been starved and murdered." The Boy of Chancellorville offers this portrait of General Lee: the man who neither smokes, drinks, nor chews tobacco; who has, in short, none of the smaller vices, but all of the larger ones; for he deliberately, basely, and under circumstances of unparalleled meanness, betrayed his country, and, long after all hope of success was lost, carried on a murderous war against his own race and kindred. The two middle tales are sugary in flavor, emphasizing the virtues of generosity and caring. Nelly's Hospital and The Two Christmas Evenings exemplify children, even quite young ones, concerned with helping with the war effort. The final three stories were written in the decades after the war. Eleanor's Colonel presents a generous, forgiving attitude on the part of the Union forces occupying Shenandoah Valley. I especially liked The Return of the Private, a story marked with realism, poignancy, and sadness. The Doll, dating from 1912, is