Teaching the Civil War in history class can be a tedious job going from skirmish to skirmish until the class dies of sheer exhaustion. No more need this happen. Do the Civil War by reading a chapter a day from BLACK ANGELS by Linda Beatrice Brown (Putnam, 2009, $16.99). To quote Nicki Giovanni ,” BLACK ANGELS has found a way to bring home the sadness and the hope of the Civil War.”
Three children–two black one white–find each other after a battle has left them homeless and alone. Eleven year old Luke has run off to join the Union army; nine year old Daylily is lost in the woods. Luke feels protective of Daylily and accepts the responsibility for her care. Together they find seven year old Caswell, the white son of a plantation owner.
Luke is hoping to meet up with other slaves whom he knows are heading north to join the Union army. Then three kids finally decide to work together to survive. During their journey they encounter all kinds of obstacles and problems ending up ultimately at Harpers Ferry. Here Daylily who had been taught secretly to read and write becomes a teacher to other freed slave children and adults. Caswell happily has accepted a place in a negro household until his father , a rebel Cavalry survivor , locates his son and returns him to their plantation. Luke meanwhile has found a place for himself as a man servant to a Union Officer. However the trio have many trials and tribulations along the road to their final spots. It is through these various happenings the reader come to feel and experience life during the war.
Once this book is read aloud to students they will come away with a much more definitive look at the war. No, they will not know the names of the battles or the heroes from either side, but they will have a compassion for the people around whom this horrible war raged. Each of the children represent a segment of society involved in this conflict.
The resolution of the story sets the stage for later historical events such as the Civil Rights legislation. A mesmerizing read guaranteed to keep every listener in rapt silence.