I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis

Author:Lauren Tarshis [Tarshis, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780545532259
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2013-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

It was getting dark when they arrived. The fighting had ended for the day, and at first, the news about the day’s fighting seemed grim: The Union troops had been badly outnumbered. They had lost thousands of soldiers.

But then Captain Campbell learned that somehow, the scrappy Union soldiers had managed to hold the high ground. “Our cannons are in the hills,” he said. “We’re dug in!”

Troops had been pouring into Gettysburg all day, and tens of thousands more would arrive overnight.

The roads around the town were so crowded that the wagon Thomas and Birdie were riding in could barely move.

They got out and walked with Henry.

Thomas had never seen so many people in one place — thousands of Union soldiers. As they made their way through the town, it seemed that every inch of grass was covered by a tent. Supply wagons lined the roads. Horses and mules were tied to every fence and tree.

Henry talked to some of the soldiers they passed, eager for news of the day’s fighting. But these men were just arriving, too. Some men looked more ragged than Birdie’s doll. One soldier said his regiment had been marching for more than three weeks.

Birdie stared at the crowds of men.

“They’re all here to protect us?” she said, her eyes wide in amazement.

Thomas almost smiled — of course Birdie would think that this was her own personal army.

Henry picked Birdie up. “Yes, Bird,” he said. “They are here for you.”

Thomas could see Henry wasn’t joking.

And maybe Birdie wasn’t wrong.

These men were fighting for him and Birdie, weren’t they?

Fighting so that they could be free.

Henry carried Birdie as they passed a long line of supply wagons stuck on the side of the road.

Suddenly Birdie gasped.

“Look at those men!” she cried, pointing.

Thomas turned, and he too stared at the crowd of men surrounding the front wagon.

“They look like us!” Birdie exclaimed.

The men were black.

“They’re teamsters,” Henry said. “They’re paid by the Union army to run supplies from camp to camp. It’s tough work. Dangerous, too. We’ve got thousands of those men working for us. We couldn’t fight this war without them.”

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