July, 1861. The Civil War was dividing the people of Missouri.
Eleven-year-old Kate was loyal to the Confederacy from the onset, but
when she listened to her parents and older two brothers and heard
their divided opinions, she began to realize that the issues were not
simple. *** Through Kate's eyes we see a family's daily life and a
systems of relationships: North and South, family and neighbors,
siblings, parents and children, family and farmland, mother and
daughter, and father and sons. Momma was raised on a Kentucky tobacco
plantation and condoned slavery, viewing slaves as manpower.
Steadfast and loving Poppa came from the Kentucky hill country, was a
hard worker, and learned to read from Momma. Together they
homesteaded in Missouri and raised a family. Oldest son, David,
shared the popular idea that the war would be short, and joined the
Confederates for the money. Fifteen-year-old Waltus joined the
Yankees. Passionate about the rights of every human being to a life,
to work and to dream of accomplishment, and himself dreaming one day
of owning a wool mill, Waltus couldn't fight on the side that
condoned men stealing his sheep, his dream, or the rights and hopes
of others. Young Benjamin was often the thorn in Kate's side, Momma's
"good boy," but he and Kate shared dangerous adventures. *** Kate is
a typical intelligent eleven-about-to-be twelve year-old. She cannot
keep a secret. She asks a hundred questions. Her pet, Grasshopper (a
goat), is her confidant. She has just begun to question Momma's
opinions because she is shaken by Momma's heartless reaction to a
neighbor's captured runaway slave girl being separated from her baby
(which is sold) to teach her a lesson. Throughout the insecurities
and deepening awareness of others' feelings that that war brings to
her, Kate learns that family love remains a solid grounding.
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