I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863

Lauren Tarshis's I Survived the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 is a hard-hitting American Civil War story for 9 year olds about a boy who runs from slavery and ends up on a battlefield.

What happens

Thomas has lived his whole life on Mr Knox's farm in Virginia. He's eleven, and his sister Birdie is five. She's the sort of child who catches a muddy little snake and thinks it's beautiful.

Their cousin Clem used to look after them. He told Thomas about the states up north where slavery was against the law, and about the star you follow to get there. Then Clem was sold.

So when the same men come back for Thomas, he grabs Birdie and runs.

In the woods, Thomas sees two soldiers with a third man at gunpoint, and he stops them with a skunk. (Yes, a skunk. He throws it.) The man he saves is Henry, a schoolteacher from Vermont, and Henry's regiment takes the children in.

For a little while, life is good. Henry makes Birdie a doll out of an old sock. He tells them about snow, which neither of them has ever seen.

Then the order comes to march to Pennsylvania.

It's told in short, quick lines with plenty of Kaboom! and it moves very fast. Your reader doesn't need any American history first. Thomas has no idea why the North and South are fighting either, and he works it out by listening to the soldiers.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

This one's dark. Thomas remembers Clem being whipped so badly for learning to read that he couldn't walk for two weeks. A soldier is shot dead right in front of him and the wound is described. Men who want to sell the children tie ropes round their necks. And the first pages show Thomas himself being shot.

It's a real battle too, so some of the soldiers he's grown fond of are killed.

For a child who's upset by blood, or who hasn't yet heard how enslaved people were treated, this is one to read together or save for later. If you've got a reader who wants history told straight and can cope with the sad parts, it's a very good place to start.

What to read next

If it goes down well, try I Survived the American Revolution, 1776. Nate is eleven as well and stuck with a cruel uncle, and the only people who feel like family are Eliza and her little boy, who are enslaved in the same house. He ends up on a battlefield too.