Rodney, the Partisan

"Rodney, the Partisan" by Harry Castlemon is a historical novel written in the late 19th century. The story is set during the Civil War era and follows the journey of Rodney Gray, a young Southern cadet who is determined to fight for the Confederacy. The narrative explores the fierce debates surrounding loyalty, duty, and the complexities of war as Rodney grapples with his family's differing views and the realities of enlistment. At the start of the novel, we are introduced to Rodney and his family as he prepares to leave for military service after a heated discussion about the South's prospects in the impending war. His mother, while supportive of his patriotic fervor, grapples with the emotional weight of sending her son off to battle. Rodney's eagerness to join the fight is contrasted with his father's more cautious outlook on the war's outcome, highlighting the tension within families during this tumultuous time. As Rodney sets out, he is met with challenges that test his determination, including friendships that may turn treacherous and an impending journey that could lead him into enemy territory. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Charles Austin Fosdick, better known by his nom de plume Harry Castlemon, was a prolific writer of juvenile stories and novels, intended mainly for boys. He was born in Randolph, New York, and received a high school diploma from Central High School in Buffalo, New York. He served in the Union Navy from 1862 to 1865, during the American Civil War, acting as the receiver and superintendent of coal for the Mississippi River Squadron. Fosdick had begun to write as a teenager, and drew on his experiences serving in the Navy in such early novels as Frank on a Gunboat (1864) and Frank on the Lower Mississippi (1867). He soon became the most-read author for boys in the post-Civil War era, the golden age of children's literature.