1. In the opening pages of the novel, Jeff and his family are attacked by bushwhackers from Missouri, and later one of Jeff's commanders is a former Jayhawker from Kansas. Using history books, investigate the guerrilla warfare between the slaveholders from Missouri and the abolitionists from Kansas. How did this struggle influence the allegiances of citizens in both states?

2. Jeff Bussey learns a little about the Cherokees' form of government through his contact with Stand Watie. Research and describe the Cherokee government in the 1860s. How accurate is Keith's account?

3. Joe Grayson, one of Jeff's friends in the Union army, says that much of the political conflict between the Watie and Ross factions can be traced to their different reactions to the enforced Cherokee removal to the West, the march called the Trail of Tears. Research and describe the events leading...