Essays

The Soldiers heart project chapter summariesp- Soilers!

The Soldiers heart project chapter summaries

8th grade

Grade=A

Chapter 1

Charley was fifteen and had never been further than five miles up and down the river. The story takes place at the beginning of the Civil War. Charley is too young to legally join the army as a soldier, not as a drummer boy or a gofer.

Chapter 2

When Charley joins the army, he is disappointed as it is not all that he thought it would be. His uniform barely being a uniform, and the boredom of doing drills day after day, to the point that he thinks about leaving. Then their unit was called to the south. It is CCharleyey's first time on a steamboat and a train.

Chapter 3

Charley experiences traveling. Charley has an encounter with a black woman that was crying while thanking him. This baffled him as he did not understand why she was crying. Then underestimates the south's power.

                    Chapter 4

Charley is in his first battle and watches as his fellow soldiers are shot down, hit multiple times before they hit the ground. They are told to fall back in good order. The battle changes Charley mentally as it shook him to his core.

Chapter 5

After the battle, the officers tell them that they did a good job. Everyone knew that was a lie. Charley thinks that the lights bobbing around are fireflies, but soon realizes that the lights are people looking through the dead with lanterns and candles. By the next day,, all of the dead are unrecognizable, and the river is red with the blood of the dead. When they march to attack, they find the Rebels had fled the night before.

Chapter 6

They are called back to Washington, and Charley is paid for the first time in 3 months and is given $33 dollars. They were sent back to the south. They were all told not to take anything from the farmers. They still do and many get sick and die. Charley befriends a newbie named Nelson who is overly confident. Charley knew that he would die in a battle.. Going back into battle was just the same as the last two times. Nelson gets a stomach wound and he knows he is going to die so he commits suicide.

Chapter 7

They are into camps again,, and the only information that anyone is getting are rumors. At the camp,, no one believes that they are going to back into battle. They make a truce with the Rebels. Charley trades goods with a  younger boy in the Rebel Army. They get caught and the truce was over after the first night.

Chapter 8

Charley is ordered to kill the Rebels horses for the meat for the sick. The next day, they are sent down to Richmond;. They march for about 20 miles until they hear the sound of artillery. The Rebs attack in one formation and then both sides resort to hand to hand combat. Charley is told to go see the medics because he is completely covered in blood. The Surgeon is getting cold,so Charley and an assistant stack the dead to make a wall to block the wind...

Chapter 9

The BBattle of Gettysburg. The Union Soldiers wait on a hill for protection. The Rebs advance and the cycle of bloodshed starts again. Charley's vision is covered in blood.

Chapter 10

June of 1867, Charley is back in Minnesota near Winona. He can't bend his legs now, and it makes him sick to lie down sometimes. He thinks about ending his life ending, but he likes his solitude.

Character Quotes

Charley's Mother- " 'I know it ain't right,' she wrote in one letter, 'but you must think on coming home now. Just leave the army and walk home before they get you in a battle and shoot you apart...."(Paulsen,, 11) Charley's Mother fear for his safety which is understandable because was is nasty business, ,and she is aware how dangerous it is and does not want her son to be killed, even if it means breaking the law for his safety.