Tillie Pierce: Teen Eyewitness to the Battle of Gettysburg

by Tanya Anderson

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781512453034
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	11 - 12 Years

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.

Table of Contents

Gettysburg, a Crossroads Town 8

The Shrivers and the Pierces 12

Rumors and Restlessness 20

The Rebels Are Coming! 28

Running to Safety 36

The Round Tops 44

Battle's End 52

After the Storm 60

On Baltimore Street 70

After the War 82

Editorial Reviews

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.

From the Publisher

Tillie Pierce was fifteen years old when Confederate soldiers arrived in her hometown of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Shortly after the arrival of the Confederate troops under the command of General Robert E. Lee, Tillie was engulfed by the storm of battle. For the first three days of July in 1863 the Union and Confederate armies struggled to gain victory in what was to be the penultimate battle of the American Civil War. After the dust settled, over 51,000 American soldiers were dead, wounded, captured, or missing and the Union had won a great victory. For Tillie Pierce, those three days were filled with fear, violence, and terror. A young witness to the suffering that war brings with it, Tillie Pierce later wrote a personal remembrance of her experiences during the battle that is often called the turning point of the Civil War. In this illustrated book by Tanya Anderson readers are offered both a summary of Tillie's writing and the contextual background that underscores the civilian experiences that were part of the Battle of Gettysburg. In telling this story Anderson shows Tillie Pierce as she observes the suffering of the wounded, sees death, and is nearly killed. This brave teenager comes down through the years and once again tells her story for a new generation of readers. By framing Tillie Pierce's experiences at Gettysburg in the way she capably does in this excellent book, Anderson offers her audience insights into the face of war and its impact on those who see it. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

Children's Literature - Greg M. Romaneck

Matilda Pierce, aka Tillie, was fifteen years old when the confederates invaded her beloved town of Gettysburg. Soon after the fighting begins, Tillie flees to the countryside with her neighbor in hopes of being safely out of harm's way. Instead of being safer in the country, the trek to the Weikert farmhouse is dangerously rugged and the farm is surrounded by battlefields. As the battle rages, the farmhouse becomes a makeshift hospital and Tillie is put to work caring for wounded soldiers. Tillie eventually publishes her firsthand account of the battle's bloodshed, injury, and death in 1889. Covering the span of six days, Anderson's account is intended to provide a snapshot of what life was like for a teenager during the battle of Gettysburg and is not an in-depth review. Anderson succeeds in giving a teen voice to the civil war through Tillie's story. In order to help readers understand Tillie's historical setting, Anderson includes key cultural and historical information such as the Emancipation Proclamation, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the Gettysburg Address. Photos and quotes from Tillie's memoir accompany almost every page, providing readers with a real firsthand view. Instructions on how to follow Tillie's path using Google Earth is included. While the book is well written and superbly researched, the main flaw is that it does not read like narrative nonfiction. It would have a much bigger draw if it were more literary and less report-like in its delivery. However, it is an exceptionally thin and an incredibly fast read which should lend to its appeal. It will most likely be picked up by teens needing it for school or for those with a special interest in Gettysburg and the civil war. Reviewer: Sarah Cofer

VOYA - Sarah Cofer

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. (source notes, suggestions for further reading) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews