When Bucky and Jimmy enlisted in Colonel Thomas Kane’s Bucktail Regiment at Smethport, Pennsylvania, in April of 1861, they had no idea of the dangers they would endure before they ever plunged into battle. An encounter with a den of timber rattlers, a wild raft ride down a whitewater river, and a fight-to-the-death with a murderous lumberjack recruit were just a few of the pitfalls dotting their path to war. But the war's combat does come to them as they experience that for which their sacrifices and adventures have been preparing them.

The Bucktails Recruits: Hayfoot, Strawfoot is a must read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, the Civil War, and action-packed adventure. Researched from the double perspectives of history and folklore, this book gives a vivid account of the birth of a famous Union rifle regiment and the coming of age of two young frontier recruits.

Robertson and Rimer enlist the reader to join two innocent boys from a backwater hamlet, marching off to the turmoil of the American Civil War. One is a roughhewn child of the outdoors, and the other a pampered preacher's son. They quickly bond to face the pain of adolescence, the rigors of army life, the sting of prejudice, and the hope for glory.