"Soldiers Heart" by Gary Paulsen

In 1860s when the Civil War began, Charley Goddard joinedthe First Minnesota Volunteers. He was 15 years old lying about his age and fought through practically the whole war. He didn't really know what a "shooting war" meant, or what he was fighting for. But
he knew he didn't want to miss out on a great adventure.
The "shooting war" meant the horror, and that you were lucky if you survived. It meant knowing how it feels to cross a field toward the enemy, waiting for fire. Waiting for death.
When he entered the service he was only a minor. When he came back he was only 19 years old, but he was a man said to have "Soldier's Heart."
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