|Plot Summary of An American Soldier| |"Throughout the book, two
separate stories become slowly entwined. The first is of Henry
Washington, a young slave boy whose parents are brutally
murdered by Confederate soldiers during a raid on the plantation
where he lives. Henry is taken in by Bishop Jackson of the
African Episcopal Church and lovingly raised at the orphanage
run by the clergyman. From as early as he can remember, Henry
wants to be a soldier and with the bishop's help is accepted
into West Point. Henry undergoes the rigors of military training
and the frustration of prejudiced classmates to emerge the first
African American Army Officer. After graduation he is assigned
to a cavalry unit and sent west into vicious battle with the
Sioux Indians. The second story is of Lone Wolf, a Sioux who
chaffs at the incursion of white men into Indian territory. Lone
Wolf leads attacks on settlers and military bases, capturing
horses and, during one sortie, a Swedish woman who is pregnant.
Lone Wolf raises her chil