The novel Red Cap is about a young boy who joins the army during the Civil War to protect his beliefs. It's a common story but every boy has his own story. This historical novel by G. Clifton Wisler shows the story of Ransom J. Powell in an entertaining and informative way. This book has no dull moments and beautifully shows the hard truth about the boys fighting in the Civil War and the lives of POWs during this time period. Ransom is thirteen years old when he joins the army. Most of his friends had already joined and died. He decides to join together to help protect the Union. Ransom's parents were against it and warned him not to do it. The battlefront is not a safe place, much less for a boy of such small stature. Disobeying his parents, he runs away to join the Army and becomes a soldier and drummer in Company I of the 10th West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. The Yankee soldiers soon discover that even though he is very small, he has a lot of heart. Ranse meets Danny Hays and Danny teaches him all the music he needs to know. RJ is a great musician and sings and ...