March Toward the Thunder

I will readily admit that The Civil War is not my favorite time period in history.  However, after having created a thorough unit on The Holocaust teaching solely through literature, I came to realize how much more interested my students were about learning about historical events.  To that end, I am in the process of creating a literature unit for early American History.  March Toward The Thunder is a story about The Civil War from a Canadian Indian boy's point of view.

Louis is barely 15, but he looks far older.  A member of the Abenaki tribe, he works with his mother selling hand-made baskets.  He is approached by an army recruiter and convinced to join up.  This is how Louis's army career begins.  He is a member of the 69th Irish Brigade.  At first he meets with a bit of resistance and teasing from his fellow soldiers; however, once others realize that he won't be bothered by their ribbing, he is accepted.

The story follows the brigade for no more than six months, although through Louis's eyes the battles seem to go on for so much longer.  Famous places like Andersonville are mentioned, as are famous people:  General Lee, General Grant, President Lincoln and even the famous poet Walt Whitman.  Author Joseph Bruchac carefully and extensively researched every aspect of his novel.  He stated that although Louis is not a real character (although based a bit on his great grandfather), every character is rooted in factual information.

While the book dragged for me at times, there were enough surprises to keep me reading.  I obviously won't divulge them, but Bruchac definitely has an art for keeping a reader on her toes!  This book would be an interesting addition to my early American history unit for many reasons.  I like the fact that there is information regarding the Colored Divisions of the northern army, as well as the fact that Louis is a Native American character.  The fact that Native Americans and African-Americans served in the Civil War may be new to many of my students and this novel introduces their stories quite well.  Overall, March Toward the Thunder will provide a great introduction to The War Between the States.