Before The Creeks Ran Red
By: Carolyn Reeder
Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson was a United States Army officer during the American Civil War. To many, he was a hero who defied the Confederacy and upheld Union honor in the first battle of the American Civil War at Fort Sumter in April 1861. He was one of the main characters in the book and is the one who helped lead the army. He died in 1871 but he died a hero. Robert Anderson's actions in defense of Fort Sumter made him an immediate national hero. He was promoted to brigadier general, effective May 15. Anderson took the fort's 33-star flag with him to New York City, where he participated in a Union Square patriotic rally that was the largest public gathering in North America up to that time. After Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox and the effective conclusion of the war, Anderson returned to Charleston in uniform and, four years after lowering the 33-star flag in surrender, raised it in triumph over the recaptured but badly battered Fort Sumter during ceremonies there on April 14, 1865, mere hours before Lincoln's assassination. Anderson died in Nice, France, seeking a cure for his ailments. He was later interred at West Point Cemetery.
Annotated book review
In the historical fiction book “Before the Creeks Ran Red” by Carolyn Reeder young Bugler Timothy Donovan who lived in Fort Sumter, South Carolina who is a boy who is always worried. When his mother died his father became very abusive so Timothy ran away to join the army. Even though Timothy did not become a solider he became a Bugler. It also transitions into the life of Young Joseph Schwartz and Young Gregory Howard. Joseph is the son of German Immigrants. He is Scholarship student who goes to a private school on the other side of town. Like the rest of his family Joseph is a unionist. Gregory Howard is a boy who lives in Alexandria, Virginia only a few miles away from Washington Dc where the Union armies are gathering. He lives in a divided family, his father is a unionist while him, his mother and his siblings are supporting Virginian's plan to secede.
In this book the Secesh are threatening to Bombard Fort and Timothy is really hoping that they won’t. At first the beginning of the book did not grab my attention but as I got further into the book it started getting more and more interesting. Reeder accomplished this by making it so that most of the book was in suspense. Most of the time when each chapter ended I wondered “When are the Secesh going to Bombard Fort Sumter or if whether or not they are going to actually Bombard Fort Sumter”
The other the part is when young Joseph is the main character and is the son of German unionist. That part of the book is interesting because it has a twist in the plot when you get further into the book. The last part of the book is when young Gregory, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia is living near Washington DC where the unionist armies are gathering. This part of the book is very interesting because while Gregory, his siblings and his mother all support Virginias plan to secede their father does not.
At first the book was not that well developed. It didn’t grab my attention at first but since it was the only book I had to read I read on. The first part would not be really understandable to younger age groups because it’s not that clearly written but as the book goes on it the action starts. Reeder often starts the parts in the book with parts with that don’t often catch the reader’s attention. In Timothy Donovan’s story Reeder starts of talking about telling the reader about what’s happening in Charleston which didn’t really catch my attention.
Fourteen-year-old Joseph, son of German immigrants, lives in a working-class Baltimore neighborhood and is a scholarship student at a private academy on the other side of town. At the beginning of Joseph's story it wasn't really that interesting but then as I got further into his life(Part of the book) it got way more interesting because I got to know Joseph's more than just a character in a book.
Gregory, age thirteen, lives in Alexandria, Virginia—only a few miles from Washington, DC, where the Union army is gathering. His family is divided, with Father a staunch Unionist, while Greg, his siblings, and his mother support Virginia’s decision to secede. Gregory's story starts and stays interesting because right in the beginning of his part of the book Gregory is hating on the presence of the Pawnee and wanting everything to go back to normal.
Before the creeks ran red by Carolyn Reeder is a very interesting book and I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars just because it didn't start of interesting in the beginning.
I would recommend this book to students who are in 5th-7th grades and to people who prefer books that have action.
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Letter
Dear Dad
Sorry that i had to leave dad but you were abusing me and i felt like i needed to get of the house for a little while after mother's death. Hopefully everything is going great back home. I have joined the army and am now an army Bugler. A couple of days ago we traveled from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter but I can't explain that to you in just one sentence because youwon't understand so I'll tell you the story
We had just went off to our barracks to go to sleep when we were awoken and told to pack everything and come outside. When we got outside they loaded us and all of our stuff onto the boat and we sailed off to fort Sumter. On our way to the fort there was a Secesh ship that was headed our way so we did the only thing we could which was to take of our coats and row faster to make them believe that we were fisherman and it worked. So we sailed on and safely landed at fort Sumter.
Again, I hope things are ok at home and hope that you don't miss me to much ;).
-Love Timothy
Historical Accuracy
The setting of the book was really well displayed as it was set during the civil war. Some things in the book were real and some were fake. Major Anderson and Captain Doubleday are real people and Major Brown, General Butler, Ross Winans, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth and James Jackson were based off of real people. The shooting at Marshall House Hotel was also real. Reeder gave to many historical events in the beginning which is what made the begging uninteresting but as she got into the book she brought in more of the action and suspense.
Everything that the author stated was accurate, and seemed accurate during my research except for Timothy, Joseph, and Gregory, they were all imaginary characters.
Works cited
Works Cited
"First, a Hardback Containing Three Linked Novellas. . . ." Before the Creeks Ran Red by Carolyn Reeder. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.
"First, a Hardback Containing Three Linked Novellas. . . ." Before the Creeks Ran Red by Carolyn Reeder. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
"Gregory Howard’s Story." Before the Creeks Ran Red: Gregory Howard's Story by Carolyn Reeder. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
"Joseph Schwartz’s Story." Before the Creeks Ran Red: Joseph Schwartz's Story by Carolyn Reeder. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2016.
Reeder, Carolyn. Before the Creeks Ran Red. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.
"Robot Check." Robot Check. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2016.