Red Cap

Ransom J. Powell, 13, lies about his age and enlists in the Union Army as a drummer boy. He quickly understands that the young aren’t shielded from the horrors of war. He sees friends killed before taken prisoner. He is taken to Libby and Andersonville prisons which are described in grim detail. Powell meets good and bad people on both sides. At Andersonville, a Confederate guard helps save his life, and he never forgets it. Red Cap, as he was known, becomes something of a legend because he refuses to renounce his pledge of loyalty to the Union. His life shows that heroes show up in many places.