Bull Run, an electrifying novel about various people (white and black) who chose to be apart of the Civil War. It is about a battle of the civil war called Bull Run and twelve different characters including a fife player, an African American soldier, a horse lover, and nine totally different others. Paul Fleischman did an exceptionally superior job making each character's individual personality different.
The battle of Bull Run took place in Virginia near the Chesapeake Bay. Thousands of soldiers fought for their country and died. Twelve are described in this book, but even though it seems like there is no way to describe a battle of the civil war with just twelve, Paul Fleischman makes the reader feel as if they are actually there experiencing the unforgiving circumstances. This book is a suspenseful fiction that describes the way twelve human beings either fight in the battle or live their life finding out about it.
There really is no main character in this book; it is just made up of twelve different characters (Yankees or Rebels) that are evenly placed throughout the book. For example, the beginning starts off with this little girl named Lily Malloy that finds out about her big brother leaving home to go and join the army. There is also Gideon Adams, a black man that had to change his last name just to be apart of the Union army. And Dietrich Herz, a German man that fought for the Yankees. He dies in the battle. These characters all grow up knowing how appalling wars can be. Most go from wanting to kill a Rebel, to never wanting to lay a hand on a gun again. .
The battle of Bull Run takes place in the hills of Virginia in 1861. That is the main setting of this story. Secondary to the actual battle scene, characters are written about in their own houses and plantations. Infact, most of the characters are not built to be soldiers, but are living their everyday lives. This book shows how people got involved in the war and what they did to help their side.