March toward the Thunder
When a Union Army recruiter for the state of New York dangles an enlistment bonus of US$600 in front of Louis Nolette to fight in the American Civil War, it is more than he can resist, even though his mother, Marie, insists that this is “their fight, not ours” (p. 9). Louis and Marie are members of the Abenaki Nation, a Native American tribe that sought refuge from English colonists after the French and Indian Wars by relocating to Canada. The death of Louis’s father has brought tough times to the family, and now Louis and Marie move from place to place, camping out and eking out a living through the sales of hand-woven baskets as well as Marie’s skills as a midwife and healer. The two can never make enough to get ahead and are often Replica Omega taunted by teenage boys who hurl racial epithets and sometimes stones at them. Louis and his mother dream of earning enough money to buy a plot of land where they can be self-sufficient, and although his conscience burns at the thought of the injustice that one man should own another (slavery has long been outlawed in Canada), it is the economic independence such a sum represents for their family that he finds too promising to refuse. Louis signs on with little understanding of the improbability that he will ever live to see his mother again.
Louis soon finds himself a new member of a famous military unit with historic roots, the 69th Regiment of the New York Volunteers, one of five regiments that made up what was commonly known as the Irish Brigade. Louis had read about the Irish Brigade in newspapers, how they “stood as firm as oak trees when others ran” at Gettysburg and other major battles, and he is proud to be a part of it: “The Fighting Irish 69th. Who would have thought an Indian boy like me could have become one of them yet here I am in a fine blue uniform and carrying a rifle and marching through northern Virginia”. As the story develops, the other soldiers’ personal stories emerge, and Louis comes to think of them as brothers. The mostly Irish infantrymen come to treat him with respect, although they are initially guilty of stereotyping. Louis’s interpersonal skills are quite impressive, however, and rightly so. In a time when various groups of people in the Americas seemed determined to kill each other, Louis Nolette has walked among multiple peoples and learned much about humankind. He speaks three languages and understands the cultures of whites (whether they speak English or French), the cultures of Native Americans (whether they speak Abenaki, Iroquois, or Cherokee), and Africans (both the runaway slaves his people harbored in Canada and the soldiers he meets during the war). Louis becomes a much admired member of the unit, especially by their battle-hardened sergeant, Michael Flynn, who gives Louis a history lesson in the troubles of the Irish people and how similar their story is to the story of the Native American people. Flynn explains how the English had stolen the Breitling Replica Watches land of the Irish people and tried to kill them all, just as the English had done to Louis’s kin: “Put those histories side by side and it’ll be the thing itself and its image in the mirror”.
At first, Louis thinks the war is nearly over and most of the real fighting has already taken place. However, in perhaps the bloodiest war in American history, the last year of the war proves especially brutal. Louis fights in battles with some of the highest Union casualties in the war, such as the Wilderness and the Seige of Petersburg, where human beings prove to be little more than cannon fodder. The men whom Louis has grown to love are cut down one by one, and the reader will anguish just as Louis does over their loss. Joseph Bruchac has created a tale with impeccable accuracy, and the reasons for this are twofold. He did incredible research in composing the story, reading hundreds of books along the way, and at the end of the novel he lists twelve of the books he most recommends for learning about the American Civil War. The second reason for the author’s care in ensuring historical accuracy is a personal connection to the protagonist, which will provide a wonderful surprise for readers when they get to the afterword material at the end of the book.
The fact that so many Native Americans fought in the American Civil War helps to underscore that many men of various heritages, who had no political or financial gain from the outcome of the war, gave their lives to it. March Toward the Thunder is a powerful book that centers on the senseless nature of war and the irony that it can actually draw people of different heritages together rather than drive them apart. This would be the perfect companion to an American history unit on the American Civil War. With thoughtful class discussion about the issues involved, this would be an appropriate read for students in eighth grade and above.
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