Just Beyond Our Doors

Book excerpt: In June 1863, the Southern army was hungry and in need of supplies. So its leader, General Robert E. Lee, sets his sights northward into Pennsylvania. While the abundant farmlands and ripening orchards will make the tiny town of Gettysburg an idyllic destination for the soldiers, General Lee sees it as a most strategic location. As small and inconsequential the town may have seemed, its main roads led to several important northern cities--Harrisburg, the state capital, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. So his army began its march, which the people in Gettysburg heard about and watched with great trepidation. They led their livestock into hiding, moved their merchandise to other locations, and buried their money and other valuables in their yards. But some of the teens were excited about the possibility of a battle being fought right in their sleepy rural hometown. So we see Daniel eager to join the cause, Tillie happily greeting the arriving Union soldiers with song, and Albertus following the Union soldiers through town with his friends. But they were ill-prepared for the real experience and all-too-tragic consequences of men brutally fighting each other. Guided by strong parents, the teens are "transformed" into people who are able to extend compassion to their enemies.