That footnote in chapter 12 changed how I see the whole book

I was reading a historical novel set during the Civil War and found a footnote citing a real soldier's diary from 1863. It said the average soldier ate less than 2,000 calories a day, mostly hardtack and salted pork. I checked the author's sources online and realized the battle scene was based on a real skirmish near Gettysburg that lasted 40 minutes. My whole club argued about whether historical fiction should stick to facts or take creative liberty, and this one detail split us down the middle. Has anyone else found a tiny research detail that completely shifted your take on a book? What did you do with it during your discussion?

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