Mr. Lincoln's Drummer
Gr. 5-7. When his Pa joins the Union army as a soldier, 11-year-old Willie goes along as a drummer boy. They're assigned to different companies of the Third Vermont Regiment, and Willie shares a tent with some older boys from back home. As the Army of the Potomac marches through Virginia, their war consists mainly of camp life, discomfort, and retreat, though they see action at Lee's Mill and Malvern Hill. Willie meets Lincoln twice and receives the Congressional Medal of Honor. Despite the publisher's disclaimer that "No character in this book is intended to represent any actual person," Wisler's acknowledgments and epilogue concern the archival records he researched and the historical people represented in his novel, including Willie Johnston and other members of the regiment. Wisler achieves a credible presentation of camp life, though like many books based on real people and incidents, its ties to the facts seem to hamper it as fiction.Carolyn Phelan--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.