John Hinman

True Heroes of Gettysburg John Hinman

Dubaville, PA, 1863. Thirteen-year-old Darrell Stouffer is infamous for the pranks he plays at school; in fact, they got him expelled. He also wants to win fame and glory as a soldier in the Union army, but his father forbids him from volunteering. Then, suddenly, General Robert E. Lee's Confederate army appears in the area. Darrell runs away to Gettysburg, just fifteen miles from Darrell's small town, hoping to join the Union soldiers gathering there to defend Pennsylvania. War, as it turns out, is not as Darrell could have ever imagined, not even in his wildest dreams. True Heroes of Gettysburg is the story of one boy rising above his fears to help the real heroes of war-the soldiers who risk their lives for their country. Though Darrell is only an observer on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the savage bloodshed shakes him to his core. In the following days, pure chance sees Darrell accompanying the medical corps amidst the thickest action. The soldiers' heroism, not only on the battlefield but also in the face of dreadful wounds, amputation, and death, teaches Darrell that by facing his fears and challenges, even moments of monumental sadness can become a triumph of human spirit.