Description
In 1755 and 1756, the bloodthirsty warriors of Kit-Han-Ne descended upon the frontier of Pennsylvania and annihilated all in their path. Led by the Delaware chiefs, Shingas and Captain Jacobs, they spread terror to Philadelphia's very doorstep. The Indian rampage had devastating consequences for Lightnin' Jack Hawkins and his trapper friends, too, for they suddenly found themselves out of work and near starvation. Jack's fortunes became even grimmer when he was captured by villainous rum traders and taken to the Delaware terrorist base to face certain torture or death. Instead, the fleet-footed woodsman escaped to lead Colonel John Armstrong's colonial army to Kit-Han-Ne. When the white men answered the Indian menace fire for fire and blood for blood, Hawkins endured a life-changing experience that taught him the true meaning of human compassion. Attack in the Alleghenies, the second novel in the French and Indian War series by William P. Robertson and David Rimer, gives a chillingly accurate account of the September 8, 1756, raid on Kittanning.
The Story Behind This Book
Watching a French and Indian War battle reenactment at Cook's Forest State Park in Western Pennsylvania inspired me to write this book. I added photos of Indian, British and American militia reenactors to add realism. As a boy, I also enjoyed reading about Eastern mountain men and early pioneers that influenced the portrayal of my main characters--Lightnin' Jack Hawkins, Bearbite Bob Winslow, Will "Big Cat" Cutler, and Alexander MacDonald.
Praise and Reviews
Attack in the Alleghenies by William P. Robertson is well-crafted historical fiction set in mid-eighteenth century Pennsylvania. Author Robertson's careful attention to detail would make this book a useful addition to middle school social studies supplemental reading lists, especially in, but not limited to, Pennsylvania schools. The book is easy reading for a young person, and many middle-school-aged boys would find the savage scenes of torture and scalp taking to be fascinating, which might motivate them to take more of an interest in local history. The book should also prove of interest to adult readers with a bent toward this particular setting and historical period.
The novel follows the adventures of Lightnin' Jack Hawkins and his trapper friends, dour Alexander MacDonald, ancient Bearbite Bob Winslow and young Will Cutler and their Indian wives Little Mink, Gathering Flowers, Bear Woman, and Bright Star, from Hawkins' capture by "rum selling vermin" to his adoption into the Delaware tribe at Kit-Han-Ne to the defeat of the tribe and the death of charismatic chief, Captain Jacobs at the Battle of Kittanning (Kit-Han-Ne)
Attack in the Alleghenies is a well put-together book, illustrated with photographs from French and Indian War reenactments and includes an introduction that clearly delineates the historic events covered by the novel, a bibliography, glossary, and a list of characters both fictional and historic.
by Ron Welton
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