Civil War books for kids seem to focus primarily on the war in the East, but this tale is set in Kansas and Oklahoma and brings the Western campaign to life. Jeff Bussey joins the Union side to fight at a time when a man named Stand Watie is leading the Comanche tribe against the Union forces in the western territory. This is a gritty tale of deprivation and fear and of the many different kinds of men that came together to fulfill their duty and fight for what they wanted to protect. This is the 1958 winner of the Newbery Medal. 350 pages Ages 11-15