The Story of Civil War Solider Rosetta Wakeman
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
(pub. 2.27.2024)
56 pages
Ages 7 -12
Author and illustrator: Joanna Lapati
Character: Rosetta Wakeman
Overview:
" In 1862, the war between North and South showed no signs of stopping. In rural New York, nineteen-year-old Rosetta Wakeman longed for a life beyond the family farm. One day she made a brave, bold choice: she cut her braid and disguised herself as a man. No one suspected that “Lyons” was a woman—not even when she signed up to fight for the Union. As Rosetta’s new regiment traveled to Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Louisiana, she sent letter after letter home to New York. Army life wasn’t easy, but Rosetta knew it was where she belonged— supporting her family and serving her country.
Through intricately detailed scratchboard art and excerpts from Rosetta’s letters, this fascinating biography introduces young readers to an unconventional woman who was determined to claim her own place in history. "
Tantalizing taste:
" So a life filled with chores soon became dull.
She wanted something ... different.
She wanted something ... more.
So one night, when her family was asleep, Rosetta made a bold decision. She bound her chest, got dressed in her pa's old clothes, clutched a pair of shears in one hand ,took a deep breath ... and cut off her braid. Then she tiptoed out of the old, creaky house.
Outside, a breeze tickled her bare neck.
She practiced speaking in deep, low tones and pondered a name for her new self. 'Lyons Wakeman,' she whispered."
And something more: The More About Rosetta Wakeman and the Civil War explains: "We have no records of what the Wakemans thought of their soldier-daughter's letters as they arrived, but (however they felt" they stored her letters for years after the war. Rosetta wrote frequently, constantly reassuring her family that she was still well... On June 19, 1864, Rosetta Wakeman died from dysentery - the deadliest disease of the Civil War... Rosetta had been hospitalized for over a month, and during that time (as far as history records), no one had learned her secret.
She was buried under the name Lyons Wakeman ...
Through the efforts of [her sister] and other relatives Rosetta's letters were eventually published as the only letters that share a woman soldier's perspective on the Civil War as it happened."
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