Civil War on Sunday (6 page)
“Wait! I see another note!” said Annie.
She picked a piece of paper off the tree house floor. On it was written:
Come back on Wednesday
.
“I guess that’s when Morgan wants us to look for the next special writing,” said Annie.
“That’s in three days,” said Jack. “Let’s go home and rest.”
He started down the rope ladder. Annie followed.
When they stepped onto the ground, the rain began to pour down.
“Run!” said Jack.
They ran through the Frog Creek woods, then down their street. They ran to their porch and dashed into their dry, cozy house.
They found their parents reading in the living room.
“Dad! Mom!” Annie cried. “We’re so glad to see you!”
“Well, we’re—we’re glad to see you, too,” their dad said, sounding a little puzzled.
“Go put on dry clothes,” said their mom.
Jack and Annie started up to their rooms. Halfway up the stairs, Jack stopped.
“Oh, I have a question,” he called to his parents. “Did anyone in our family fight in the Civil War?”
Their dad looked surprised. “Yes,” he said. “One of your great-great-great-grandfathers was a drummer boy.”
“Oh, man,” whispered Jack.
“What was his name, Dad?” asked Annie.
“John,” their dad said.
Jack and Annie gasped.
“And—and what happened to John?” Jack asked. “Was he hurt in the war?”
“No, he grew up to be a schoolteacher,” their mom said. “He had five children.”
Jack and Annie whooped with joy.
“That’s great news!” said Annie.
“
Really
great news!” said Jack. “Thanks for telling us!”
“Sure.” Their dad smiled, though he looked puzzled again.
As Jack hurried up to his room, some words from the Civil War song ran through his mind:
Give us a song to cheer
Our weary hearts, a song of home …
FACTS FOR YOU AND JACK
1) More soldiers were killed in the Civil War than in any other war in American history.
2) In 1861, when the Civil War began, about 3.5 million people were slaves in the South.
3) In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln convinced Congress to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which abolished slavery throughout the nation.
4) Eleven states fought for the Confederacy. Twenty-three states fought for the Union. A number of territories also fought for the Union.
5) Soldiers during the Civil War often sang songs together. One of the most famous songs was “Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground,” written in 1861 by Walter Kittredge.
“Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground”
We’re tenting tonight on the old camp ground;
Give us a song to cheer
Our weary hearts, a song of home,
And friends we love so dear.
(Chorus)
Many are the hearts that are weary tonight,
Wishing for the war to cease;
Many are the hearts looking for the right
To see the dawn of peace.
Tenting tonight, tenting tonight,
Tenting on the old camp ground.
We’ve been tenting tonight on the old camp ground,
Thinking of days gone by,
Of the loved ones at home that gave us the hand
And the tear that said, “Good-bye!”
(Chorus)
Check out the Web site
www.civilwarmusic.net/songs.php
for more songs of the Civil War.
CLARA BARTON
Clara Barton, known as the “Angel of the Battlefield,” nursed soldiers during the Civil War. She also used her own money to bring them supplies. After the war, she formed a bureau to search for soldiers who were missing as a result of the war. Her work brought information to more than 22,000 families.
In 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross. Her organization not only provides relief during times of war but also helps people who have suffered terrible natural disasters, such as hurricanes or floods.
DRUMMER BOYS
It is thought that nearly 60,000 boys served as drummer boys or buglers in the Civil War. One of the youngest drummer boys was Johnny Clem, who enlisted at the age of eleven. He was so brave that he was made a sergeant when he was only thirteen!
Here’s a special preview of
Magic Tree House #22
Revolutionary War on Wednesday
Available now!
Excerpt copyright ©
2000
by Mary Pope Osborne.
Published by Random House Children’s Books,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
“Wake up, Jack!” Annie whispered.
Jack opened his eyes. He looked at his clock. It was six
A.M.
“Come on!” Annie whispered. She was standing at his bedroom door, already dressed.
“Now?” said Jack.
“Yeah, it’s Wednesday! We have to go to the tree house!” she said.
“Oh, man, Wednesday!” said Jack. Suddenly, he was wide awake.
“We have to help save Camelot,” said Annie.
“I know, I know,” said Jack, scrambling out of bed.
“Meet you out front,” said Annie.
Jack quickly changed into his jeans and T-shirt. He threw his notebook and pencil into his backpack.
Then he slipped down the stairs and out the front door.
Annie was waiting in the gray early light.
“All set?” she whispered.
“Yep,” said Jack.
They took off running across their yard. They ran down their quiet street and into the Frog Creek woods.
Soon they came to the tree house. They climbed up the rope ladder.
In the early light, they saw Morgan’s note, the same note they’d found on Sunday. Jack picked it up and read aloud:
Dear Jack and Annie,
Camelot is in trouble. To save the kingdom, please find these four special kinds of writing for my library:
Something to follow
Something to send
Something to learn
Something to lend
Thank you,
Morgan
Annie picked up a piece of paper lying on the floor. It was a list of rules from the famous nurse Clara Barton. They had met her on their journey to the Civil War.
“On Sunday we found the first special writing,” said Annie, “
something to follow
.”
“Yeah,” said Jack, “and now we need to find the second thing,
something to send
.”
He picked up a book lying near the note. The cover showed soldiers on a snowy riverbank.
The title was
The Revolutionary War
.
Jack frowned.
“Uh-oh,” said Annie.
“Another war,” said Jack, sighing.
“You still want to go?” said Annie.
“We have to,” said Jack. He hated the suffering he’d seen in the Civil War. But they had no choice. They
had
to help Morgan and save Camelot.
He pointed at the cover of the book.
“I wish we could go there,” Jack said.
The wind started to blow.
The tree house started to spin.
It spun faster and faster.
Then everything was still.
Absolutely still.
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