WHO COMES WITH CANNONS?

In a fine Civil War story from a dependable and prolific historical novelist, Truth—only 16, and a girl—rescues her Quaker cousin from a Union prison. After her mother's death, Truth has moved from Indiana to North Carolina, where she is involved in her relatives' work with the Underground Railroad. After her cousins are forced into the Confederate Army, Todd is wounded, brought home, and hidden in a cave, while Robert is captured and sent to Elmira, New York; because of her northern accent, Truth goes with Uncle Matthew to try to free him. Uncle Matthew is attacked by a New York City mob; former slave Squire (whom they helped earlier) helps them get the assistance of Frederick Douglass and Mary Todd Lincoln, who secures a note from the President ordering Robert's release. The late Beatty— dramatizing the Quakers' courage in opposing slavery, staying out of the war, and enduring harassment while their men and property were conscripted by armies on both—gives a new perspective on what it meant to be an active, dissenting minority amid the strong feelings on both sides of this bitter conflict. Explanatory note. (Fiction. 10+)