Every Drop Of Blood Collier Character Analysis

With Every Drop Of Blood by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier is based on the Civil War. In this novel they talked about the white-black relationships during this time period. In the novel Johnny’s father went off to fight in the war, and was shot at Cedar Creek to be sent back home for a short amount of time before he passed due to his injuries. When Johnny’s father died Johnny promised him that he would not run off to fight, that he would stay and help his mother with the farm, the house, and Johnny’s little brother Sam and his little sister Sarah. Before Johnny’s father passed Johnny asked him what the reason for the war was, and his father told him it was for ‘states rights’.
Not long after Johnny’s father passed, Johnny traveled down to Stanardsville to deliver cider to a local store there. Jeb, a teamster from Stanardsville, told Johnny about a wagon train planning to bring food into Richmond.“The pay will be mighty good ‘cause there’s a risk to it.” Jeb told Johnny (page 44, paragraph 4) Johnny was immediately interested because most Confederate or Rebel families didn’t have much to get by with during the Civil War due to the lack of crops and

Johnny was one of the teamsters who happened to have got caught and was taken by a black soldier named Cush. Johnny and Cush didn’t become friends right off of course due to the white-black conflict or relationship during the Civil War. But, later on Cush makes a deal with Johnny that if Johnny helps him learn to read he would spare him meals while he was captured rather than to let Johnny starve. Johnny was shocked by this offer and immediately curious as to why a black would want to learn to read. “I sure ain’t gonna spend the rest of my life plowing, planting, and picking for somebody else’s