How I Found the Strong, by Margaret McMullan, 2004

Frank "Shanks" Russell watches as his father and brother enlist in the Confederate Army, full of promises to be home by Christmas. He stays home with his mother, his grandparents, and Buck, the family's slave. The family endures the mounting horrors and privations of the war amid departures, deaths, and births, and Shanks finds his courage tested without ever going to war. Elegant, thoughtful, compassionate writing; a moving and convincing portrayal of the Civil War and its moral dilemmas. Strongly recommended.