The Bucktail Brothers of the Fighting 149th

• Author: William Robertson and David Rimer
• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Infinity Publishing (August 5, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0741467305
• ISBN-13: 978-0741467300
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  

Even if I hadn’t read the other series, I already know , they were all good.

Lieutenant Colonel Walton Dwight inherited the difficult task of whipping the green 149th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry into battle shape before the summer campaign of 1863. Through brutal drilling, he instilled in his raw Bucktails the discipline to withstand the horrors of the first day's action at bloody Gettysburg. Fearing Dwight more than the Rebels, the 149th held their ground despite relentless artillery cross fire and Confederate charges that decimated them for over two hours.

Among the ranks of Dwight's regiment were Henry and Willie Cole, farm boys who had as much to learn about being men as they did about being soldiers. Henry was too cocky for his own good, while his younger brother lacked assertiveness. Two dogged charges to the railroad cut near McPherson's farm changed all that as their comrades fell dead and wounded around them. Gettysburg was not only the crowning moment for the Fighting 149th. It also brought to age a contingent of brave lads who endured the lethal rain of bullets and canister to write a new chapter in the glorious history of the Pennsylvania Bucktails.

The story is readable and well-described. Life at the time of war are presented. The author proved to be skilled in this genre, transporting readers to a time, where the story exist.

Using pictures serves not only as an ice-breaker, but it also provides information and another sight on the book.

Using also the younger generation as the center of the story pulls a great impact to the younger generation. It enables them to connect to what the characters are really feeling at that time, how one feels under the pressure of life and death, and to grow and become a true person in the middle of a Civil War.

The book is more like an educational tool than entertainment, but they were both. I’m being informed and at the same time, I enjoyed reading.

This is an easy way to educate people about America’s history not by giving long and tedious lectures, but by letting them read a book/series/novel that would entertain them and keep them reading.

I recommend this to all historians or should I say educators out there. Since using this tool to teach kids would be enjoyable. And to teenagers too, who want to virtually experience the Civil War.

You can find your copy here!