Gunpowder Girls: Three Civil War Tragedies
by Tanya Anderson
We've never said their names ... until now. Meet the 140 women and girls killed in the Civil War's biggest -- and most preventable -- civilian disasters.
When men left the factories to fight for the North and South, women and girls took their place. In this unprecedented account, award-winning history writer Tanya Anderson has uncovered the stories of explosions that rocked three military arsenals killing 140. These women and girls, some as young as 10, were poor immigrants hoping for a better life. They rolled bullets for soldiers in dangerous conditions but the men supervising them did not keep them safe.
In clear, vivid prose, Anderson explains the work they did and why their deaths were preventable. The investigations into these disasters are detailed. Diagrams, illustrations, and photographs bring hidden history alive. In Gunpowder Girls, women and girls who gave the ultimate sacrifice get their due. A Junior Library Guild Selection.