Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg

Anderson, Tanya

ISBN 10: 1467706922 ISBN 13: 9781467706926

Publisher: Twenty First Century Books, 2013

Synopsis

Imagine being fifteen years old, facing the bloodiest battle ever to take place on U.S. soil: the Battle of Gettysburg. In July 1863, this is exactly what happened to Tillie Pierce, a normal teenager who became an unlikely heroine of the Civil War (1861-1865). Tillie and other women and girls like her found themselves trapped during this critical three-day battle in southern Pennsylvania. Without training, but with enormous courage and compassion, Tillie and other Gettysburg citizens helped save the lives of countless wounded Union and Confederate soldiers.

In gripping prose, Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the of Battle Gettysburg takes readers behind the scenes. And through Tillie's own words, the story of one of the Civil War's most famous battles comes alive.

About this title

Review:

"An insightful perspective on one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War seen through the eyes of a 15-year-old girl.
Tillie Pierce was a normal teenager for her time, but she became an unlikely heroine when the Civil War literally came to her backyard in Gettysburg. Tillie and other women and girls like her found themselves trapped during this critical three-day battle in southern Pennsylvania in July 1863. Compensating for a lack of training with extraordinary courage and compassion, Tillie and other Gettysburg citizens helped save the lives of countless wounded Union and Confederate soldiers. Anderson wisely relies heavily on Tillie's own words in the narrative. Her eyewitness observations are vivid and compelling 'The approaches were crowded with the wounded, dying and dead. The air was filled with moanings, and groanings. As we passed on toward the house, we were compelled to pick our steps in order that we might not tread on the prostrate bodies.' Archival images, including photographs and prints, add critical visuals, while occasional sidebars flesh out some details. Particularly helpful are the maps that occasionally orient readers.
Tillie's words bring the sights, sounds and smells of a civilian and teenager experiencing war straight to today's readers in a way a retrospective account cannot." --Kirkus Reviews--Journal

"Young teens looking beyond the causes and effects of the Civil War will want to delve into Tillie Pierce's account. When Gettysburg, Pennsylvania filled with soldiers, Tillie fled to safety. But the farm to which they fled was no safer than town. Tillie had a front row seat to the bloodiest battle of the war. Using Tillie's own words from a book she wrote in 1889, additional research, and many photographs, Anderson paints a detailed picture of the Battle of Gettysburg. The book won't fill readers with background, but it will give them a great sense of the time and the battle. The superior archived photographs and illustrations truly heighten the reading experience and offer as much details as the text itself. This would be a great independent read and a wonderful choice for classroom teachers looking for a nonfiction book to share with their class." --starred, Library Media Connection

--Journal

"Fifteen-year-old Gettysburg resident Matilda Pierce witnessed the momentous 1863 battle and recounted it in her 1889 memoir. Anderson combines lengthy excerpts from the memoir with a narrative that follows the teen and her family through the battle and includes background information about the Pierces and Gettysburg and its importance in the Civil War. The family lived in town, but as the Union and Confederate armies drew near, Tillie's parents sent her to a nearby farm to help a neighbor. It was there, near the area known as the Round Tops, that she observed some of the most savage fighting of the day. As she and the women at the farm saw the horrors of war firsthand, they aided Union soldiers, cared for wounded and dying men, and worried about their relatives in town. The memoir records the girl's anguish, and Anderson's use of those quotes and a smooth narrative will help readers identify with Tillie's feelings and better understand the human cost of the war. Large, well-captioned period photos and maps and sidebars about related topics supplement the text. Offering far more detail than Patricia Gauch's fictional account of Tillie's experiences, Thunder at Gettysburg (Coward, 1975), this book offers a unique perspective through the eyes of a young woman who observed and survived the worst of war." --School Library Journal

--Journal

"Imagine living in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg. That's where 15-year-old Tillie Pierce lived in 1863. When the battle was imminent, Tillie's next-door neighbor, Hettie Shriver, asked her to accompany her family to her sister's home in the nearby country to try to avoid the battle and help her with her two young children. Unfortunately, staying in the country was a bad decision for Tillie, as most of the key fights were literally in their backyard. Tillie saw battles happen before her eyes and quickly became a companion and nurse to many dying men. The text is interesting and accompanied by superior maps, sidebars, and primary source photographs. Anderson has included a well-thought out activity, 'Taking Tillie's Path: An Activity Using Google Earth" that will engage and fascinate readers. Back matter includes source note; a selected bibliography; suggested reading including non-fiction, historical fiction, and websites; and an index." --BayViews

--Journal

"This is not a book about what happened on the battlefield of Gettysburg. Rather, it is a book about a real-life 15-year-old girl and the small Pennsylvania town where she happened to live in 1863. Based mostly on Tillie's own recollection of the conflict, which she wrote and published in 1889, this book combines that writing with Anderson's smooth retelling to describe the weeks leading up to and following the battle from the perspective of an extremely relatable young witness. Anderson describes Tillie's fear at seeing the arrival of Confederate cavalry on an otherwise quiet afternoon at school, as well as her tireless tending of the wounded as the battle raged. The narrative is driven home by captivating photographs of the town before and after the battle and of artifacts that were dear to the Pierce family. Copious endnotes and a carefully selected bibliography with plenty of primary source documentation speak to Anderson's careful research on one of the most exhaustively covered events in American history." --Booklist

--Journal

http: //www.nyjournalofbooks.com/review/tillie-pierce-teen-eyewitness-battle-gettysburg

". . . an extraordinary story of one teen's courage and determination as a bloody battle rages all around her."

There have been so many books written about the Civil War it seems unlikely that another account could breathe new life upon the subject, yet author Tanya Anderson does just that in her new nonfiction historical, Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg.

Tillie is a typical 15 year old living in the bustling town of Gettysburg, a "crossroads town" that travelers must pass through to get to bigger and more exciting cities.

Tillie passes tranquil, often uneventful days as a mid-1800s teen, sewing, cooking, and cleaning house, and even her school subjects center around what she considers mundane disciplines like needlecraft and etiquette.

Her first taste of excitement occurs when wild rumors circulate that war is coming and bringing with it unruly Rebel soldiers who steal horses and cattle, destroy homes and buildings, confiscate food, and carry off property that is not theirs.

Suddenly, Gettysburg is not the same. The younger men run off to join the army, leaving the elderly male residents to arm themselves with the only things they can find to fight the Confederates: axes, pitch forks and rusty guns.

Unfortunately, nothing can prepare the townspeople for the first wave of Confederates that flood in, raiding homes and churches and cursing shamefully before they move on. The dust has hardly settled before tens of thousands of Union soldiers march through town after them, and it is only then that Tillie realizes Gettysburg is right in the middle of the fighting.

As shells and bombs explode around them, Tillie, her nextdoor neighbor, and the neighbor's daughters flee on foot to a home in the country where they believe they will be safer. They run through mud, dodge speeding horse-and-buggy ambulances, and watch as men are tossed high into the air by exploding cannon balls.

Just like a page out of Gone with the Wind, Tillie Pierce sees screaming, crying, and dying soldiers in the yard, piled into the barn, and overflowing in the house. And though she is almost paralyzed with fear, she finds herself talking with them and offering comfort as she and the others wait for the awful war to end.

Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg is an extraordinary story of one teen's courage and determination as a bloody battle rages all around her.

Although there is no way to escape the long descriptive passages about the battle, the players and the strategic importance of the town of Gettysburg, Ms. Anderson manages to keep tedium at bay by cleverly weaving in portions of Tillie's harrowing first-hand accounts to the violence and devastation.

The illustrations--many by well-known Civil War photographer Matthew Brady--are a mixture of real-life photos, sketches, and paintings, and include pictures of war horses, amputation instruments, and even unburied bodies on the Civil War battlefield.

Although no target age is specified for this book, the subject matter, passage length, vocabulary, and factual foundation of the story suggest that the book may be better suited for older audiences, perhaps middle grade to young adult.

This story will fare well in Social Studies, Citizenship, and History classes, is a perfect choice for biography papers during Women's History Month, and may even be used for advanced independent readers.

--Website

About the Author:

Tanya Anderson is an award-winning editor of books for young readers. Her particular passion is to create engaging nonfiction books for reluctant readers, those who are capable readers but who have become uninterested in reading. Anderson discovered this need when she taught high school history and English. She continues in her role as a teacher and guide through the books she edits and writes.
Anderson graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, after a dozen years in the education field, she followed her dream of joining the children's book publishing world. She has worked for more than twenty years in various editorial functions for Pages Publishing Group/Willowisp Press, Guideposts for Teens, SRA/McGraw-Hill, Darby Creek Publishing, and now has her own book packaging company, School Street Media. Besides working with some of the most wonderful authors and illustrators in the business, Anderson has also had more than thirty books published in the children's and educational book markets.

About this edition

• Publisher: Twenty First Century Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1467706922
• ISBN 13: 9781467706926
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 96