The War Within: A Novel of the Civil War

by Carol Matas

Holly Springs, Mississippi, 1862
Hannah Green can't believe what happens to her family after the war breaks out. First, her sister Joanna falls in love with a Union soldier -- an enemy. Next, the same soldier tells Hannah and her family about General Grant's General Order #11, which commands all Jews to evacuate the territory for violating trade regulations. The Greens escape from Holly Springs just before their home is destroyed. They lose everything -- even their slaves, when Lincoln declares them free.
Now, because she is Jewish, Hannah cannot go home to Mississippi -- a Confederate state that's dear to her heart. Confusion sets in. Who is on her side, and whose side does she want to be on?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Civil War, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Historical, Jewish

160 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2001

Reviews

[Anne Osterlund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hannah is focused on become a mature young Southern lady. Not always easy when your town is occupied by Union soldiers, your brothers and Pa are off fighting for the Confederacy, your sister is falling in love with a Yankee, and your little brother is sneaking and reading your diary.

But Hannah knows what is right. She knows it’s her job to support the South, to do her part working at the store, and to keep the house slave, Jule, in line.

Then General Grant issues a new order. That all Jewish families within his jurisdiction must evacuate their homes and leave. Surely, that doesn’t mean Hannah’s family. Surely . . .


Carol Matas’s, The War Within, is middle grade historical fiction, dealing with General Grant’s General Order #11. What I loved about the book was Hannah’s own inner turmoil and transformation as the tenets of her world view are challenged. And the many juxtapositions: between the Confederate and Yankee soldiers, between Hannah’s own family’s dilemma and those of the family’s slaves, and all of Hannah’s expectations vs. reality.

[Crystalin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because I thought this subject could really be interesting. It deals with a little-known fact that General Grant issued an order for all Jews in his territory to be expelled(during the Civil War). I'm afraid the subject was just too much for this author to take on. It's a young adult book, but she oversimplifies the characters. It feels like she has some important points she wants to make, and she hangs the story around them. I was disappointed in this book, but I'd be curious to see what someone younger thinks of it.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I found interesting about this novel was that, unlike other Civil War books, the perspective is told from a 13-year-old girl that doesn't see what is wrong with slavery. That perspective alone made this a pretty good historical book for preteens.

[The Bookworm Girl Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. This is perfect for homeschooling families who want a taste of history during the Civil War. I throughly enjoyed the themes in this one, such as changing our perspectives and looking at other people’s perspectives. The author’s preface was heartwarming and excellent!

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment" (Paul in Romans 12:3)

[Katelyn Snell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read for me (meaning I finished it in 2 hours, haha!). It's aimed at middle school ages, but I think all ages would benefit from reading it.
The plot revolves around a Jewish family in Mississippi during the Civil War, something that isn't very common. In 'The War Within', we watch as a family is forced to leave their hometown, simply because they're Jews and General Grant has issued orders concerning Jews and their property.
This has peaked my interest, and I plan to look into this subject more.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Hannah Green and her family are Jews living in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1863. The Civil War is raging, and the Green family are Southern supporters. Hannah's father has always gone along with the Southern way of life, including owning slaves, because he was so relieved to be accepted in Holly Springs, unlike back in Germany. For many years, the Greens have peacefully run their store, but now the war is changing everything. General Grant passes Order #11, which expels all Jews from the territory under his control. On the long march, bitter with anger over the loss of her home, Hannah blames the Yankees for everything. It takes the actions of one good man, a Northern soldier who helps save the lives of Hannah and her family, for her to realize her narrow-mindedness, and to realize her own family's practice of owning slaves is as wrong as the order that forced the Green family and other Southern Jews from their homes.

This book was a unique and enjoyable historical novel that stands out from the many other middle grade and young adult Civil War novels because of the unique perspective it offers.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is fine for the 10-14 set (which is what the back of the book identifies as the audience) -- probably for the earlier end of that range for good readers. Nice treatment of Grant's order repealing the Jews during the Civil War and showing the parallel to slavery. Matas does a good job in making the connection between the two acts of discrimination against minority cultures without -- importantly! -- saying that they are in any way equal in degree of mistreatment. The protagonist's turn-around is too quick to be believable, and the trope of coming to inner truth by means of suffering illness is a cliche, but it's still an engaging novel with good historical details and a valuable message.

[Mrs. G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It talks about how Grant pushed the Jews out during the Civil War, which is not something that is really talked about. I can see using this book with my students during a Civil War unit.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for school… I didn't really enjoy it and found it unrealistic.

[Laina SpareTime]

Cross-posted from my blog where there's more information on where I got my copy and links and everything.

I feel like if you went on the goodreads page for this book and filtered the one-star reviews, there’d be a bunch of angry 10 year olds who had to read this for school. This feels like a school book that’s meant to teach you a lesson about history.

And I think it does fine in that aspect. I personally don’t know that much about American history, and I definitely did not know about this persecution of Jewish people during the Civil War. And it is a bit of an interesting perspective to show someone who isn’t an abolitionist, and how someone like Hannah, who’s growing up in relative privilege in Confederate Mississippi, justifies things to herself.

I think it probably works better in a classroom setting than as a casual Tuesday read, but I don’t think it’s horrible. And good for her for writing about a part of history that I bet a lot of people don’t know about. Also I just read a 2017 interview with her and she seems neat.

Probably not one I’m gonna reread, so I’m going to pass it along, but I’m not angry about it or anything. It feels like something I would have loved when I was like nine and reading as many Dear Canada books as I could get my hands on, but I’m not super into it now.

[Atta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a decent read for teens-young adults if they want to learn about how the civil war affected Jewish people. Personally not the biggest fan of it though. I wish it would’ve focused more on the actual Jewish issues, maybe it’s because I’m black but I just couldn’t find sympathy for Hannah and her family. Also why was it that Joanna only seemed to attack Hannah for her “views” on black people? Like your parents own slaves and Hannah and her dense mind are the problem? Joanna acted like she cared/pitied the black people and didn’t agree with slavery but still had Jule packing her bags and the rest of the slaves doing her bidding. She was all talk and it was irritating. Like approach your parents about it maybe? Not your brainwashed 13 year old sister. Poor Jule is a great example of Stockholm syndrome. She went from a horrible place as a slave to a semi good one as a slave and decided, yep this is okay… I wish her the best though. The parents really moved from Germany after being discriminated against and decided that they’d discriminate against some more people, cause that always seems to work out??? The genuine confusion on my face.

[Luke Jeung · Rating 5 out of 5]

The War Within by Carol Matas is a novel about the civil war and the not so known problems. The book focuses on the main character Hanna Green and her family of 8. The family are jews from the south and Union General Grant doesn’t like that. He issues a order forcing them to leave their homes for unfair trade regulations. Hanna struggles internally deciding if it’s right to own slaves, have her sister dating a union soldier, and being forced out of their home.
Hanna has to be so brave in this book to stand up to all the union soldiers and to realize that there is more to this war than union soldiers fighting confederate soldiers. For many readers who revel in the books like Battle Cry Of Freedom, The Killer Angels, or Race And Reunion, The War Within would be enjoyed very much! Carol Matas displays the cryptic part of the Civil War beautifully.

[Kaitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The diary format really didn't work for me. First of all the dates didn't match up with the timeline of the story, secondly it didn't read like a diary. It would have been better to just have chapters.

It was good to see a unique perspective. I'm not sure exactly what age this would appeal to. At 13, the main character was expected to deal with some serious philosophical questions that even her parents were struggling to think about, and her sister treated her quite badly for not having grappled with those questions. Her father and brother were literally fighting in the war, it's hard to expect a 13 year old to choose a side other than the one her father and brother are on.

It's an OK book, that could have been better with a better editor.

[ejs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book for students in about the 5th grade with some Civil War background. Actually, this could be that background. A Southern family, who is Jewish, is forced from their home based on their religious background due to Grant's orders in 1863. What a great awakening for slave holders! It is highly readable, and it follows a young lady and her family. Students can easily understand this well-written novel and will learn about prejudice in a very "graceful" way. As a teacher, I would highly recommend it. I learned something as well- just another thing our History Books do not discuss!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this as a potential summer reading book. It was not my favorite. It is the story of a 13 year old southern girl, Hannah, during the Civil War. She is also Jewish, which is a perspective I've never seen in historical fiction from this time period. It tells of the order that General Grant gave expelling Jews from parts of the south, which I had never heard of. However, the author tried to cover too many story lines, so the whole thing felt disjointed to me. In addition, I could not get over my dislike of Hannah. She irritated me throughout.

[Meghan Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel this book handles several very sensitive topics of racism and xenophobia in a respectful manner. It showcases how a person can grow up believing and supporting abhorrent ideas; and the lengths it can take to cause a person to question their ingrained beliefs and reexamine their ideas and values.

The characters are very simplistic; which I feel works as this story needs to focus on internal struggles.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book mainly because I've visited Holly Springs, MS where it takes place and toured some of the houses where this family lived and visited. But it also has a little-known Civil War story about Gen. Grant's order to force all the Jews out of his theater of operations. A definite eye-opener, especially because its paired with an arc of coming to see how slavery is wrong.

[Tnb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very straight forward book for a child to understand. There is nothing to read between the lines, everything is explicitly spelled out.

Coupled with other books like Bull Run, Day of Tears by Julius Lester or The life of Frederick Douglas: a graphic novel, a child can gain some understanding of what the civil war was really fought over.

[Samantha Crespino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thought provoking hidden gem good read. Makes you think real hard about what is right and what is wrong how two sides of a coin can have such different views especially when it’s all they’ve know. Good short book.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only thing I liked about this book was the double meaning of the title.

[A Busscher · Rating 4 out of 5]

easy read. I didn't actually know there was an order to remove Jews from their home. I also the authors way of moving the story along and not telling people-- Union or Confederate- who was right or wrong in the war. She wrote to say that the Jews as a people are the same as the Slaves. It was a change of to see that she didn't take a side say the North was the right one.

[Theresa Kulenkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would benefit many adult readers - especially now.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about the Civil War in Mississippi in late 1862 and early 1963. The main character is Hannah who is totally pro-South and pro-slavery. She and her family are Jewish, and they have a store in the town. There is apparently no trouble with the other people in town about their religion, and they all fit in quite well.

The first main problem is that the Yankees have taken command of the city, and Hannah's sister Joanna has fallen in love with one of them. Joanna also adopts an anti-slavery attitude, so she and Hannah have a number of major arguments about what is happening.

Another problem arises when the Confederates temporarily re-take the town and set out to destroy the mass of supplies the Union troops had stored there. This ends up destroying a number of the buildings in the town, along with Hannah's home.

Another major problem happens when Ulysses S. Grant issues an order kicking Jewish people out of areas under his jurisdiction (which actually did happen.) The Yankees re-take the town and tell Hannah and her family they will have to get out, and that they intend to confiscate all their store's goods. Worse, one of the Yankees in command of the action has a strong personal hatred of Jews, and the family has to go through a lot on their march out of town to a place outside Grant's jurisdiction.

In the process Hannah nearly dies, two of the families slaves leave, (one remains), and Hannah comes to realize that at least some of what her sister was saying does make sense about people's relationship to other people, and one group not being inferior to another.

I had never heard of this anti-Jewish action on the part of the North but apparently it did take place (Rinaldi does a great job on all her books of checking her historical information), and I ended up sending for a factual book that looks into this anti-Jewish attitude during the Civil War more deeply.

(Apparently Grant was trying to justify this on the assumption that the Jews were war profiteers, which, of course, is a very convenient and very prejudiced stand unless it would be backed up by hard evidence.)

Anyhow, the book is very good and another thought-provoking book from the author.

[Rafael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a valuable aide to teachers introducing literature to 13 year olds (7th or 8th graders) that takes place in the Civil War. Not only will students learn historical facts but they will come face to face with key questions regarding equality of races and religions and can see through the eyes of Hannah their own prejudices and how to overcome them. Hanna's family is Jewish and when the Civil War happens, they are forced out of their beloved Southern home. Hanna sees first hand that owning slaves is no different than what the Germans did to her own people in Germany. And we as readers are reminded of how ignorance can take over our minds without us even being aware of it. This book will stimulate great essay material for students, both historically and personally.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't feel as if this book was amazing in any way, but it wasn't bad either, focusing on a little known aspect of the Civil War.

This novel was less about the events that were happening and more about how confusing a war would be when it spilts families apart, and how confusing owning slaves is when the Jews were once slaves themselves.

I really loved getting into the main character's head and seeing her own confusion and mixed feelings about what was going on around her and what was happening to her. I feel as if I was right in her head, seeing it all through her eyes.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as I was going back and reading some younger books I had had for years but never read. This was definitely an interesting story and I did end up learning about the situation of Jews in America during the Civil War - something I hadn't known or even really ever thought about as an issue before. So, in that sense, the book was good. However, the writing style was quite flat and really only driven by the intense plot. The depth of characters or writing style or even explanations for greater context were fairly minimal.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mildly interesting book about a little-known, very interesting event. This was really bogged down by the irritating main character of Hannah, abrupt ending, unfulfilled plots, and lightning-fast character development. I understand it's aimed at a much younger reader than I am, but this is one of the weaker young YA books I've read.

Last line:

And we bend our heads together and continue to study.

[Kali · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book was EXTREMELY predictable and not quite as realistic as I would have enjoyed, it is a good tool to use in the classroom. Less experienced readers would appreciate the perspective from the South (although it doesn't go deep or comprehensive in a Southern view of the Civil War) and the straightforward perspective from several participants in our history.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The truth about this book is that it was one of those books I got from a book swap that i probably would not have bought if i was at a store. Well, after ignoring it for years, i finally read it and it wasn't very good. Let's just say a little boring...