Reviews

• Jeff Bussey walked up the road towards Fort Leavenworth, on his way to join the Union army volunteers. The year was 1861, in Linn County, Kansas, and Jeff was excited at the prospect of fighting for the North, finally. Rifles for Watie is a historical fiction book written by Harold Keith. The book is about Jeff Bussey and his struggles in fighting in the war while also seeing both sides of it. In the country south of Kansas there was dread in the air; and the name, Stand Watie, was on every single person in the war's tongue. An angel to the Rebel man, Satan to the Union man, Stand Watie led the Cherokee Indian Nation fearlessly and successfully on brutal raids behind the Union's backs. Jeff came to know the Watie men well, too well. Jeff was the only soldier in the West to see the Civil War from both sides and live to tell the tale. Amongst the boom of cannon fire, Jeff learns what it means to fight in battle. He learns how it feels never to have enough to eat, to have to search for his food or starve. Jeff saw the green fields of Kansas and Oklahoma laying wasted by Stand Watie's raids; delicious corn purposefully pulled from the ground. Jeff marched endlessly across the hot land, through mud and pouring rain, always hungry, dirty and tired. People who are looking for a delightful historical book to read for leisure or in a classroom are the perfect people for this novel. The novel is a rich and sweeping. The beauty is in its panorama of history; in its details so easy to see for the reader to never doubt for a moment that he is there; in its dozens upon dozens of new and exciting people, each one easily recognizable. The story is of a lesser known part of the Civil War, which is the Western campaign, a part that is different in its issues and its problems, and fought with a different type of mentality. The book moves to an unexpected climax, causing a picture of a war that stays in the mind and the men of both sides who fought in it, which makes it worthwhile and a memorable read. Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

• At the age of 14 in 1965 I came across this book in my local library and was instantly captivated. The narrative challenged me to confront the confusions and divided loyalties of a civil war; the biggest threat to the hero, Jeff, was often his scheming captain, some of his strongest relationships were with the apparent foe,that war was often dirty and deaths were not always instant and caused by a single convenient bullet. In those far off days works that treated war in such a way were rare for the average adolescent reader. From that time on I would bemuse friends and relatives about this book, which I eventually consigned to history, assuming it out of print. Then last year through the wonders of on-line bookstores I found to my joy that Rifles for Watie was still in print, naturally I babbled this to my patient spouse and much to my delight I was given a copy for my 53rd birthday. What a joy to read again and discover that this book has lost none of its magic and to have the impressions of long ago reawakened. The tale of a youth's coming of age in a turbulent time while still retaining his own convictions and morality is an enthralling as ever. Now I am able to appreciate even more the minor characters that move in and out of the narrative with a rationale that does not jar while enriching the tale with their own stories. I can forgive and overlook the minor military inconsistencies if only because the author set the work in an often overlooked theatre of the American Civil War, and because many of the events are based upon the experiences of survivors that he interviewed in the 1940s. I recommend this to readers of all ages both American and British, even if you have had no previous interest in the American Civil War, this is simply a very good story. (Yes I know I am still babbling about this book; it's that good!)

• This book has been around for a while. Even though it’s not hot off the presses, it is an amazing book. I loved the story of young men in the Civil War. The main character, Jeff, had a kind heart and treated others as he wanted to be treated. He was from Linn County, Kansas. This story of the Civil War is mixed with facts and fiction that reveals the hardships of that period in our history.

• Rifles for Watie is a book about the Civil War that is written for school age readers. Despite the intended audience, this book is every bit as interesting for an adult reader. The author, Harold Keith interviewed, many Civil War veterans living in Oklahoma and found that he had enough information to write a historical novel. As a result, his battle stories pack in the absurd incidents of war intermixed with its horror. In one case, a new recruit rides into battle wearing his wedding suit-he'd joined right after his marriage. The groom is killed in the suit in that same battle. Oklahoma (then called Indian Territory) and Missouri was packed with adherents of both sides of the war. Consequently the war is very cruel and personal. Keith takes this fact in full. The reader very much gets the cruelty of the war in the descriptive passages. In researching the book, Keith was able to meet with veterans of both sides. To get that info out-to tell the whole tale of the Missouri/Oklahoma theater of war-Keith uses an interesting literary tactic. He tells the tale through the eyes of Jeff Bussey, a cornpone eating teenage Kansas Pioneer who joins up for the Union. Bussey then becomes a spy, serving in the Confederate Army with the purpose of keeping an eye out for a shipment of rifles for Confederate General Stand Watie and his men.

• A somewhat slow start that might deter some younger readers, but once the central character experiences battle for the first time the pace of the narrative is admirably managed and there are moments of real tension and suspense. This novel does not glorify military action in any way, nor does it laud one side over the other in its depiction of a complex political episode in American history. While the presentation of the African American characters, both in appearance and dialogue, is very much of its time, that of the Native Americans is entirely convincing. Altogether, this seems to be a worthwhile, thought-provoking read for those in their early teenage years.

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