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October 13, 2008 Author's |
Book DisplayYankee Girl
 by JoAn W. Martin | Availability |
Description | |
Wanda Wayne Colter’s family lives behind Boar’s Head Tavern in upstate New York on a well-traveled coach road on the Susquehanna River. Isolated from neighbors, twenty miles from Harpersville, New York, they are trying to eek out a living serving travelers during the Civil War. Wanda, seventeen, is the oldest of five children. One night Wanda’s father, drunker than usual, goes off to bed, leaving her to lock up. She is attacked by a traveler. When she runs outside trying to escape, he catches up with her and falls on top of her. The dog Wanda has trained comes to her rescue. Mistreated by her family and unloved at home, Wanda disguises herself as a boy and insists the family call her “Wayne.” She cuts her hair and wears a man’s hat. Her man-sized clothes hide her body so well that no one, except her family, knows her true gender. She feels safer and is allowed to continue the disguise, despite her mother’s objections. Late in her child-bearing years, her mother, Winnie, is expecting another child. Having a very difficult pregnancy, she stays in bed most of the time. With each of Winnie’s pregnancies, Wanda, angry and bitter about another baby coming, is forced to take over more of the work. Wanda’s father, Wayne Colter, is disappointed that his first child was not a boy; he treats Wanda as a son, giving her the responsibilities and work of a young man. She is afraid to cross her father. He is physically and verbally abusive to both Wanda and her mother. Her father expects her to keep a garden going, to milk the cow, to help out in the tavern. The younger children expect her fix their meals with very little food available. Her younger sister, Emma, and her brother, Cletus, twelve, impose on Wanda, expecting her to do both their work and hers. Although the tavern enjoys a busy trade, Mr. Colter goes further into debt. His gambling and drinking are getting worse as he becomes middle-aged and feels hopeless about getting ahead. With the Civil War in its second year, Wayne tries to join up. He wants to escape his responsibilities and indulge his passions, gambling and drinking. When told he is too old to serve, he takes out his frustrations on his family, especially Wanda. She is visible evidence of the years that have passed since his youth. When Wanda is offered a job on a nearby farm, her mother refuses to allow her to leave. She is even more dependent on her with a new baby coming. She accuses Wanda of trying to find a life of ease. Wanda sees no way to make money to help with the indebtedness of the family, nor any prospects for marriage. She feels helpless to change her situation and sees a hopeless future. Two young Union recruits, Zachary and Obediah, stop by the tavern bragging about how much money the army pays. They are convinced the war won’t last long, because the Rebels are on the run. They think Wanda, known to them as “Wayne,” should join up with them. Her mother is totally opposed, saying that only a loose woman would do such a thing, that her daughter’s morals are more important than money. Young “Wayne” decides to slip away the next morning and go with Zack and Obie to war. They accept her as a friend and, for the first time, she is treated like a worthwhile person. On the hot walk to Harpersville, Zack and Obie suggest they cool off in a lake. Wayne gives first one excuse, then another. She wanders away, pretending to find a bird’s nest. She does not realize this is the beginning of a way of life - disguising her true self. At the sign-up office in Harpersville, the surgeon who is charged with giving them an army medical exam is unavailable. The extent of the physical is to hold out their hands and demonstrate that they have a working trigger finger. All three of the “boys” look younger than eighteen, but seem healthy and their teeth are strong enough to rip open a minie ball cartridge. Wayne is able to relieve herself in private. Her secret is safe for the time being. Wayne and the other two recruits are sent to Alexandria, Virginia, for a brief training, then directly to Washingon City as a part of the 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers. On the regimental roll she is described as 5 feet, 5 inches, fair complexioned, with brown hair and brown eyes. Her occupation is listed as “farmer.” Her army career has begun. Wayne becomes closer to Zack and Obie, but they never suspect that she is a girl. Zack begins to feel uncomfortable about his strong attraction to Wayne. It causes him so much unease that he tries to distance himself, but still wants to be with her and Obie. Wayne is also attracted to Zack, but knowing nothing of the ways of the world, she is totally unaware of what is causing the tense situation. In her heart she is still a woman and wonders about her own sexuality. Why did she want to be a man? Can she stay in the Army and still maintain her true sexuality? Why is Zack so often in a bad mood? While in Washington to quell the draft riots, they guard the depot of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and patrol the city. She has the opportunity to watch the completion of the Capitol Dome and the placement of the Goddess of Liberty on top. Since the 153rd is so well disciplined and well thought of, they are given the honor of living in tents closer to the Capitol than any other regiment. The 153rd is in charge of the celebration in which a hundred guns are fired in honor of the placement of the Goddess of Liberty. For many months the war is a wonderful adventure for Wayne. Having been taught to read and write by her mother, she writes letters home and receives a few letters from her mother. One letter tells about birth of a new baby brother. Conditions at the tavern continue to be desperate. Most of Wayne’s $13 a month salary is sent to her family in New York. She keeps enough for stamps and a little tobacco. The soldiers are convinced it has a medicinal effect and keeps them from catching malaria and dysentery. Before the year is over, the 153rd is sent to the field to become a part of a fighting campaign. On a forced march, the troops face such a scarcity of water that they drink from any slough, even though animals are decomposing in the filthy water. Many sicken and die on the march. Private Wayne Colter faces the realities of war at Magnolia Hill. Zack, Obie, and Wayne fight bravely. As the war becomes more frightening, Wayne realizes how badly she has treated her family and writes letters asking for forgiveness. Personal relationships are on hold for a while. Wayne loses heart when Obie is killed and Zack asks to be transferred to another regiment. He is embarrassed and ashamed of his growing attachment to Wayne and hopes to overcome his “unnatural” desires by being away from her. Wayne is devastated at the loss of her best friends. In a fierce battle Wayne is injured. Clara Barton, a nurse in the field hospital, discovers Wayne’s secret identify. The women become friends and confide in each other. Both gain insight into events in their childhood that caused them to rebel against society’s expectations. Through Clara Barton’s influence, Wayne becomes Wanda once again and is quietly discharged and returns to upstate New York. Her father has drank himself to death. With Wanda’s Army pay the tavern is in better condition now. When Zack gets out of the Army, he decides to look up his old Army buddy, Wayne. Zack has undergone a tough war and matured enough to think he can handle the confused feelings he had toward Wayne. He believes he only felt friendly, rather than shameful and deviant. He remembers where the Boar’s Head Tavern is and rides over one day to see if he can find out if Wayne survived the war. When Zack and Wayne meet again, she has reverted to Wanda. Zack thinks she is a sister of Wayne’s, but looking at her, he recognized Wayne. He feels betrayed and leaves, angry and embarrassed. Wanda loses all hope of ever finding him again and making him understand why she deceived him. Zack struggles to stay away, but finds himself as strongly attracted to Wanda as before and cannot resist going back. Both have been changed by their experiences, but they explore their feelings for each other, realizing they had actually fallen in love. Zack stays and helps Wanda care for her family and make a success of the tavern. | |
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