Now or never! : 54th Massachusetts Infantry's war to end slavery

Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book

Here is the riveting dual biography of two little-known but extraordinary African-American Union soldiers in Civil War history--George E. Stephens and James Henry Gooding.

Stephens and Gooding not only served in the Massachusetts 54th Infantry, the well-known black regiment, but were also war correspondents who published eyewitness reports of the battlefields. Their dispatches told the truth of their lives at camp, their intense training, and the dangers and tragedies on the battlefield. Like the other thousands of black soldiers in the regiment, they not only fought against the Confederacy and the inhumanity of slavery, but also against injustice in their own army. The regiment's protest against unfair pay resulted in America's first major civil rights victory--equal pay for African American soldiers. This fresh perspective on the Civil War includes an author's note, timeline, bibliography, index and source notes.

• Chapter 1 George E. Stephens p. 11
• Chapter 2 Watch Night p. 21
• Chapter 3 James Henry Gooding p. 27
• Chapter 4 Call to Courage p. 37
• Chapter 5 Hope And Glory p. 45
• Chapter 6 I Shall Burn This Town p. 51
• Chapter 7 Paymaster's Wagon p. 59
• Chapter 8 Dark Heroes p. 63
• Chapter 9 A Grand Chance p. 69
• Chapter 10 Dear Old Flag p. 75
• Chapter 11 Are We Soldiers? p. 81
• Chapter 12 Three Cheers p. 89
• Chapter 13 Andersonville p. 95
• Chapter 14 Mutiny and Honor p. 101
• Chapter 15 The Other War p. 107
• Chapter 16 A Final Fight and Mustering Out p. 113
• Chapter 17 Forward, March! p. 119
• Slavery and Civil War p. 122
• Timeline p. 123
• Source Notes p. 128
• Bibliography p. 136
• For More Information p. 139
• Acknowledgments p. 140
• Index p. 141
• Picture Credits p. 144