Bull Run

Bull Run is a middle-grade historical fiction novel published in 1993. Written by Paul Fleischman, winner of the Newbery Medal and nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award Book, the novel uses 16 alternating Union and Confederate narrators to describe the Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War. Bull Run won the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, was named a Best Book by the School Library Journal, and received several other awards. The novel depicts the lead-up to Bull Run with the attack on Fort Sumter and the gathering of troops, the battle itself, and the aftermath. The novel explores the following themes: War is always destructive, war affects everyone, and basic human desires are universal. This guide uses the 1993 hardcover edition from A Laura Geringer Book: An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. 

Content Warning: This novel mentions suicidal ideation. The novel uses the word “Negro” to reflect the language of the time, and it may appear when the guide directly quotes the text.

Plot Summary

Bull Run can be split into three parts: before the battle, during the battle, and after the battle. When the novel begins, the Confederates attack Fort Sumter in South Carolina, wresting it out of Union control.