Please help me find this book!

[Carmela]

Since my grandson plays war video games, I want to buy him a children's book I read at least 20 years ago: it's about a boy who takes his dad's musket off the cabin wall without permission & runs off to join the (Revolutionary?) war. The 1st page shows the time of day he did that; every once in awhile it shows what time it is when something happens. He experiences a terrible battle & goes back home less than a day later, much wiser. Do you know the title or author?

[Marian]

It might be "The Matchlock Gun" by Walter D. Edmonds.

Walter D. Edmonds was a very popular author of books about the colonial and Revolutionary War period. "The Matchlock Gun" was one of a few he wrote for children that took place during this period. It is a large book with a colored picture on almost every page. (He is best known for "Drums along the Mohawk" which was made into a movie)

[Carmela]

Thanks for your quick response, Marian! Unfortunately, that's not the book I'm looking for.

As I remember, there was only one picture at the front of the book; the rest of the few pages (maybe 30) had just text. The striking thing about it is that the time of day is stated occasionally; you realize that in an extremely short time, this child has learned an invaluable lesson about the violence of war.

[Katie]

Could it be "April Morning", dealing with the Battle at Lexington and the opening shots fired there?

[Jimmy]

The Unvanquished by William Faulkner

[Jimmy]

Carmela,

The Unvanquished by William Faulkner is a combination of seven short stories written by Faulkner that were later combined into a novel. In one incident, a young boy takes a musket off the wall to shoot at a union soldier in the civil war. Then he runs in the house to hide with his slave friend. You may have read a shortened version and/or one of the stories if that is what you are thinking of.

Faulkner is one of America's greatest novelists. But he is a challenging read for the most part.

The best advice about reading Faulkner I got from a college professor who told me to read all of Faulkner in one summer because so many of the characters keep reappearing. I did that and it was one of the greatest reading experiences of my life.

Perhaps my favorite literary word of all time comes from Faulkner: Yoknapatawpha County. He used this small, imaginary county in Mississippi as a microcosm of the world.

Faulkner also has perhaps my favorite one-sentence chapter of all time from As I Lay Dying: "My mother is a fish." You have to read the book to find out what it means.