The Civil War was America’s bloodiest war. Brother fought against brother and sometimes it was boy against boy. Although both armies required that soldiers be at least 18 years old, a tall 14- or 15-year-old boy could easily fool a recruiting sergeant. In 1861, Elisha Stockwell was 15 when he ran away from his Wisconsin farm to join the Union Army.

For the next four years, from Shiloh to Vicksburg to Atlanta, Stockwell would learn first hand the brutality and inhumanity of war. During one battle, he wrote in his diary, “As we lay there and the shells were flying over us, my thoughts went back to my home, and I thought, what a foolish boy I was to run away and get into such a mess as I was in. I would have been glad to have my father coming after me.” When Stockwell left his town, he was one of 32 local recruits–two years later, only three of those recruits, including Stockwell, were still alive.

At the war’s close, Elisha found himself in Montgomery, Alabama. There, he heard the welcoming sound of Union artillery firing to celebrate Lee’s surrender. “It sounded nice to us as it was the death knell of secession and meant the cruel war was over.” The next day, Stockwell, now a grizzled war veteran of 19, gathered up his belongings to begin the journey home to Wisconsin. He was now a citizen in a nation in which all people–black, white and brown–were free citizens.

LESSONS: We see this story in the literary tradition of The Red Badge of Courage. It will allow us to focus on not only the reasons for the Civil War and why it was fought but also gain a frontline, gritty feel for the horrors and realities of war.

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