Old Abe: The Eagle Hero

By: Rodney L. Young

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Synopsis: From the book jacket: Old Abe, "The Eagle Hero," was the unusual mascot of the 8 th Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers in the Civil War. In battle, he sat bravely on his perch and screamed at the enemy. He was written up in newspapers everywhere. He was a hero in the North - he made his regiment famous - but the Confederate soldiers hated him and tried to shoot him. "They knew that his courage made the Northern soldiers fight harder." Old Abe had belonged to a crippled Wisconsin farmer, Dan McCann, and used to "dance" when McCann fiddled. When war was declared, McCann sent his eagle to fight in his stead. After the fighting was over, Old Abe was given a place of honor in the Wisconsin capitol. Both the author and the artist have cleared away the shadow of the years and made Old Abe's exploits as stirring as if Abe himself was still flying beside the Wisconsin colors. In many ways, he still does. This is a Junior Literary Guild selection, chosen as an outstanding book for boys and girls (E Group).