Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories of Three Civil War Tragedies

With thousands of men off fighting in the Civil War, the U.S. and Confederate governments hired women and girls – some as young as ten – to make millions of rounds of ammunition. Poor immigrant girls and widows paid the price for carelessness at three major arsenals. Many of these workers were killed, blown up and burned beyond recognition. Hidden history comes alive through primary-source research and page-turning narrative. is a story of child labor and immigrant hopes and the cruel, endless demands of an all-consuming war. A Junior Library Guild Selection and Benjamin Franklin Award gold medalist.