The Gallant Boys Of Gettysburg Essay, Research Paper
The story I read took place mostly at the Battle of Gettysburg. Tom and
Jeff Majors had just enrolled in the Confederate army. Tom enrolled as a
private and Jeff as a drummer boy. Their dad, Nelson Majors, who had been
in the army for quite some time, had just been promoted to Major. Tom and
Jeff were appointed to their father’s unit. They fought in the Battle of
Gettysburg which was the worst battle of the Civil War. The death total for
the battle was great. The Union and the Confederates lost a total of 18,000
men each. During the worst part of the battle, a shell hit Tom’s leg. Jeff
immediately carried him to the field doctor. The doctor told Tom that his
leg would have to be cut off. The Confederate army was being beaten back by
the Union and they had to retreat. That meant that Tom was put on a wagon
and carried away. Tom knew there was little chance of him surviving the
ride. Jeff had an idea to take Tom to the Poteets’ house. They had eaten
with them before the battle. The Poteets gladly agreed to keep Tom for a
short while at their house. Jeff and Nelson Majors were very happy that Tom
could stay with them. When Tom’s leg was healed, he and Jeff went back to
Kentucky where their family was from. When they got home there was a big
welcome dinner. A letter came a few days later telling Jeff that he would
need to go back to the army. When Jeff got back, he and his dad talked about
how Tom was doing and the rest of the family. After that, the story ends
just as they were about to go fight another battle.
The predominate conflict in The Gallant Boys of Gettysburg occurred when
Tom was hit by a shell from the Union army. Jeff turned and saw Tom rolling
and rolling on the ground. When Jeff got there, he saw that it had struck
Tom’s leg. He quickly tied a bandage on it to stop the bleeding. Jeff told
Tom that he would have to instantly see a field doctor. The doctor told Tom
that his leg would have to be taken off. When Jeff and Tom arrived at their
home in Kentucky, Sarah, Tom’s girlfriend, saw what had happened to his leg.
Tom thought that Sarah would not like him because he had lost his leg. Sarah
tried to tell him that it did not matter that he had lost his leg, but Tom
did not listen. Sarah asked Mr. Springer, who had recently lost his leg, to
come and talk to Tom. Mr. Springer told Tom that he should get an artificial
leg. Mr. Springer said that he felt as good as new with his artificial leg.
The story ends shortly after they finished talking. I concluded that Tom
would eventually get an artificial leg.