How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Although Vicksburg was just a handful of chips from the woodpile and the River a trench scraped into the packed earth with the point of a hoe, it (river, city, and terrain) lived, possessing even in miniature that ponderable though passive recalcitrance of topography which outweighs artillery, against which the most brilliant of victories and the most tragic of defeats are but the loud noises of a moment. (1.1.1)
Ever build a sandcastle or a little town in the dirt of your playground or backyard? If it was in the US in the last 100 years or so, it probably wasn't representative of the current battle raging in your region. Bayard and Ringo are just kids, playing like kids do, but the war affects them so deeply that it even finds its way into their games.
Quote #2
"All right!" I cried. "I'll be Grant this time, then. You can be General Pemberton." (1.1.21)
Bayard and Ringo act out the war that's being waged in the country, and instead of playing Batman and Spidey, they take on the personas of important generals. Nobody wants to be Ulysses S. Grant, an important Union general, but Bayard lets Ringo be local hero General John Pemberton to be nice.
Quote #3
But we were just twelve; we didn't listen to that. What Ringo and I heard was the cannon and the flags and the anonymous yelling. (1.2.5)
For twelve-year-olds, "war is hell" doesn't really mean anything yet. Even though their loved ones are in mortal danger off fighting Yankees, they just want to hear about all of the explosions and mayhem. (There were no Transformers movies in those days…)