A Civil War Drummer Boy: The Diary of William Bircher, 1861-1865

by William Bircher

Offers excerpts from the diary of William Bircher, a fifteen-year-old Minnesotan who was a drummer during the Civil War, along with sidebars, activities, and a timeline of the era.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, American Civil War, Civil War

32 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pieces of a diary from the Civil War. Readers are introduced to William Bircher, a 15 year old drummer (when he joined anyway). I felt like the details were just...too sketchy. Good explanations between, but these pieces seemed so little a taste of things that I couldn't help but think there just needed to be...more. Pictures and projects were a good addition. A book double the size would have been more useful though for my homeschool or research purposes.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snippets from the actual diary of a Civil War drummer boy are interspersed between descriptions expanding on their content. A good basic — if sometimes simplistic — introduction to subject for middle grade children.

[Karlie Rowan]

This is an autobiography nonfiction book, meaning that it is the story of a real person's life that is written by that person. This book is about a boy during the civil war who was to young to fight so he was a drummer. He witnessed the immense hardships of disease and death that many soldiers endured throughout the war. All throughout the war he wrote his experiences in a diary and that is what this book is. The intended ages for this book are 8-14.

The book I chose to pair this with is called The Child's Civil War by James Marlen. This book is about the civil war from a child's perspective. It is a realistic fiction book because it contains made-up characters but with situations that could have happened in real life. The intended ages for this book are 9-12.

I chose to pair these books because they are both different perspective of the same war and have similar target audiences. After reading the factual information from the Diary of William Bircher, it would be helpful for students to then apply that information to an enticing fictional story that comes from a point of view of their age.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because he is considered too young to be a soldier, fifteen-year-old William Bircher serves the cause of the Union during the Civil War in the only way he can. Like others his age, he becomes a drummer and accompanies the army on long marches. In these excerpts from his diary, written many years after the war had ended, William describes the hardships of war, including watching comrades die, enduring constant hunger and extreme heat and cold during various seasons, and having to march without shoes. The entries are brief but detailed and are accompanied by illustrations and photographs. This would be a useful addition to a history classroom library collection, especially since it offers a young person's perspective. The book is part of the First-Person Histories series.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual excerpts from William Bircher's diary, complete with spelling and grammar differences. Helped to make this era of history a little more realistic for my boys. Also has sidebars with good information.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Research for my Civil War puzzle - confusing at times with either a lot of typos or spelling errors. Interesting tho.

[Kim Hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a perfect way for children to understand more about life during the Civil War.