Freedom for Me: A Chinese Yankee

As the Civil War rages, Thomas longs to fight for his country. He's underage, but his brother, Robert, claims there's another reason he can't fight: there are no Chinese Yankees. When Thomas is assumed to be a slave because of his appearance, he's determined to find a way to fight for the Union cause. Thomas finds that wearing the same uniform-even battling against the Rebels with his regiment-isn't enough to shed the Chinese label from his Yankee status. His traditional Chinese queue ( long braid) is often the target of the boys' attacks. But when Thomas befriends a runaway slave and the war moves toward a pivotal moment in Gettysburg, he begins to understand the true meaning of freedom in America. Freedom for Me is a historical middle grade novel based on the life of a real Chinese Yankee, one of only a handful of Chinese soldiers who served in the American Civil War.