Rifles for Watie

1. Rifles for Watie Final Review Some (but not all) Points to Ponder…

2. Who is the author of Rifles for Watie? • Harold Keith What is the genre of this novel? • Historical fiction

3. What years does the Civil War span? • 1861-1865

4. Wilson’s Creek Why is Jeff’s first battle experience NOT at Wilson’s Creek? • Because he is sized-up as small and perhaps expendable, an officer calls Jeff off the line to find a missing quartermaster.

5. What is Ford Ivey’s purpose in the novel? • Ford is used to show how the limitations of Civil War-era medical practices meant the amputation was the primary way doctors in the field treated serious wounds to arms and legs • Ford, though a flat character, is one the reader cares about; he is young and friendly, someone Jeff likes. His emotional scene with Jeff outside the surgeon’s tent breaks our hearts

6. The Battle of Prairie Grove • Jeff experiences his first battle at Prairie Grove. The reality of war becomes clear to him, and he learns how wrong he had been to think war was a “lark.” Noah stays by Jeff’s side and actually saves the boy’s life by killing a rebel who was about to overcome Jeff in hand-to-hand combat.

7. Jake Lonegan/Jimmy Lear Jake looks like Jeff’s idea of a real soldier, but… • he is a bully who picks on Zed Tinney • he drops his rifle and runs away from the battle Jimmy Lear is an under-aged boy who should have stayed behind the lines, but • he picks up Jake’s cast-off rifle and fights bravely Did anyone notice that the two have the same initials? Is that just a coincidence, or is everything an author does truly deliberate? What could it mean?

8. Which Union soldier character is most protective of Jeff? • Noah Babbitt What is Noah’s nickname for Jeff? • “Youngster” Why is ironic that Noah ends up buying his horse, Old Cold Jaw? • He once hated horses. He was the worst rider in the cavalry! Think of Chapter 17: “The Ride of Noah Babbitt.”

9. Which Rebel soldier is most protective of Jeff? • Heifer Hobbs Explain why is this sentence NOT an example of simile, despite the presence of the word like: Heifer’s feeling for [Jeff] was like that of a doting father. • In order for the example to be a simile, Heifer’s feelings and those of a doting father would have to be essentially different. Since Heifer is a father, he knows what it is to be a “doting father.” The name Heifer Hobbs (as well as Neeley North and all the first names of the Washbourne children) is an example of what poetic device? • alliteration

10. What is Belle’s purpose in the novel? • She is a source of information for Jeff • She returns Lee Washbourne’s body to his family.

11. Name the river that separates Union territory from Confederate territory. • The Arkansas River

12. Why does Jeff’s leaving Dixie behind with Lucy symbolize more than his need for a dogsitter? • In leaving his beloved dog with Lucy, Jeff is leaving a part of himself behind. He promises to return for the dog, but the reader understands that he is implying that will be returning for Lucy, as well.

13. How many months is Jeff away from Fort Gibson “on scout?” • Fourteen Why is Jeff reluctant to become one of General Blunt’s scout? • He knows it is dangerous work. Noah once told him that captured spies (scouts) are killed if they are exposed • He honestly doesn’t feel he has any skills for the job • The memory of Lee Washbourne’s execution is still fresh in his mind. Lee was a rebel scout caught in Union territory

14. How does Jeff’s youthful appearance ultimately work to his advantage? • Major Adair of the Cherokee Mounted Rifles approves of Jeff because of the boy’s youthful looks - that and his Southern name. He looks young and harmless, so despite Fields’s suspicions, Jeff is sworn in with Bostwick to Watie’s regiment.

15. Why is coffee mentioned so often in the story? • Coffee is dear in the South. Rebels are willing to trade tobacco for it • Rebels taken prisoner by the Union ask to be shown the way to the “Lincoln coffee” • Ultimately it is his beloved Union coffee betrays Jim Bostwick as a “Blue Belly”.

16. Which character delivers Jeff’s message to Blunt at Fort Gibson? • Leemon Jones Leemon says two oddly curious things to Jeff related to slavery. What are they? • Leemon says proudly when asked by Jeff why slaves don’t fight in the war for their Confederate masters: “The South don’ want slaves in theah armies. We’s too valuable. We’s property.” • With regard to the slaves’ hope for freedom, Leemon tells Jeff that some feel conflicted because of their feelings for their masters: “We love ouahmastahs but we all want to be free some day.”

17. Why is the Spencer rifle such a desirable weapon? • It is capable of firing seven shots before it needs to be reloaded. • It makes the Springfield musket that most of the men carry seem antiquated (like an antique – hopelessly out of date)

18. What was the significance of Clardy’s asking Bill Earle to sing? • It was a signal that Clardy had rifles in his possession ready to sell. Bill’s voice carried across the river to where the rebels were camped, so the rebel commander understood the “message.” When the rebel on the other side of river sang in return, it was a signal to Clardy that the rebels had the required gold to pay for them.

19. Why does Clardy demand payment for the Spencer rifles in gold? • Clardy, who only cares about his own profit and not the outcome of the war, wants to be paid in a form that will have value after the war regardless of who wins. Gold – all precious metal, really - will retain its value.

20. So much about Stand Watie doesn’t make sense to Jeff… On one hand, his men… • tormented Stuart Mitchell when he was their prisoner • burn the homes of fellow Cherokees who sympathized with the Union • kill Pete Millholland for food they didn’t need • kill Frank Brandt in front of his family, looted their home, and killed their livestock On the other hand… • he is admired by the Washbourne and Jackman families • he personally arranges for Jeff to be cared for by his aunt’s family • distributes food to needy Southern families • and worst of all, he looks like a kindly and harmless old farmer!

21. She said Jeff had the “shivery-shakes” and the “wee-wahs.” • Hannah declared that Jeff had suffered from these strange maladies. • Hannah’s character is heavy with the stereotype of the Southern mammy.

22. There is more than one climax in this story... • In a novel, the protagonist could have more than one conflict with which he/she struggles. Each conflict requires its own resolution. • Jeff is in firm possession of the mistaken idea that war is a glorious adventure and that soldiers (in the right army, of course) are the finest of men. By the time he experiences battle first-hand, helps Jimmy Lear face death, watches helplessly while Ford Ivey is taken into the amputation tent, and hears Noah admit he might have killed a man for a ham, Jeff understands that “war changes a man.” • Jeff struggles mightily with his feelings for the Washbournes, the Jackmans, Heifer, Hooley, and the other Watie men. Over time, his dilemma changes from “when” to “if” he will return to the fort. Upon learning that Clardy is the traitor selling the Spencer rifles, his conflict seems over: he plans to affirm his allegiance and commitment to the Union; he will return to the fort…

23. ...until he encounters Lucy outside a dance hall in Boggy Depot. • Jeff is forced to wrestle with this conflict all over again. If he stays with the South, he will have Lucy. If he returns to the fort, he will lose her forever. The tension builds as he is forced to make his decision all over again. • The moment of climax comes with Jeff’s decisive statement: “Lucy, I am going back to the fort.”

24. Lucy and Jeff share a kiss under a redbud tree. What is symbolic about the tree? • The redbud tree has heart-shaped leaves, vibrant and tender as their love for one another

25. Why does the author include numerous scenes in which Jeff is shown to be good with animals? • Jeff’s ability to make friends easily with animals makes it possible for him to win over Sully, the bloodhound tracking him. It is his gentle nature with animals that ultimately saves his life. • Jeff eventually owns three dogs. What are their names? • Ring • Dixie • Sully

26. How is the manner in which Clardy is killed ironic? • Clardy is found stabbed multiple times. No one know who stabbed him, but it could have been his own comrades who felt cheated by Clardy, or it could have been a rebel out for revenge • Clardy stabbed Sparrow in the back… • Clardy is a “back stabber” – a traitor, a man with no allegiance to anyone except himself

27. Why should we have seen Clardy’s treachery coming? • According to Sparrow, Clardy was a thief and a murderer. Sparrow’s murder, undoubtedly committed by Clardy to send a message to Jeff, seems to confirm Sparrow’s story • Emory Bussey remembers Clardy as a “vindictive fellow” who easily abandoned his allegiance to his Federal Southern regiment when he was denied a promotion he desired. • Even the tasting of the soup before it could be served to the men shows he feels his own wants are primary. • The cruelty shown by Clardy in Chapter 13, first to Bill Earle when crossing the river and then to the moaning, wounded rebel he stomps to death in Van Buren, seems to symbolize his lack of compassion for those on either side of the war. • The scene where Clardy asks Bill Earle to sing foreshadowed that Clardy was definitely up to something, and nothing about his personality and actions up to that point should have made the reader think that something was something good.

28. How does Lucy’s life change with the South’s loss in the war? • Lucy’s family was well-to-do in Tahlequah; they lived in a fine house with slaves to wait upon them. After the war, the family is living as refugees in Boggy Depot • She once wore fine dresses; she now only has one patched-up calico (a common fabric) to wear • Her parents will now have to work for a living, her father as a teamster and mother running a boarding house catering to Union officers; as rebels, their money was likely all Confederate dollars, now worthless • Lucy’s skills prior to the war would have made her a poor farmer’s wife; she now proudly tells Jeff that she can cook and do all sorts of household chores

29. What rank does Jeff attain before leaving the army? • Sergeant What earned him his promotion? • General Blunt promoted Jeff for getting a message to the fort through Leemon Jones about Confederate troop movements.

30. How does the resolution of Chapter 25 mirror the events of Chapter 1 and the early events of Chapter 3? • David Gardner, John Chadwick, and Jeff return home as they left; references are made to David’s bones “bleachin’ on no prairie,” and John approaches his front door with an armload of blackjack logs. • After reading a letter from Lucy, Jeff falls asleep with his beloved Ring at his side.