Wind of the Spirit continues the saga of the American Revolution as mainly seen and experienced through the eyes of Elizabeth Howard and Jon Carleton. Picking up where Native Son left off, we continue to see the desperate position of the Patriots in the New York area from Elizabeth’s perspective while also seeing the turmoil on the Ohio frontier from the perspective of Jon Carleton now known as the Shawnee war chief White Eagle. Despite their passionate romance and subsequent engagement, it’s been over a year since they have last seen each other and both struggle to keep hope alive as they know next to nothing about what has happened to each other. They both also have at least one other suitor in their lives which further complicates things and begins to make them wonder if they should move on.
From Elizabeth’s end of things, the Battle of Long Island unfolds with her once again struggling between her impetuous nature and desire to charge into things for The Cause and her obligation to follow orders and seek the Lord’s will. She has come far since her days as Oriole in Boston though. We witness the miracle of the fog that covered the Continental Army’s escape to Manhattan, which is a historical event, and watch as she reunites with Charles Andrews, who has uncovered the true identity of White Eagle along with the horrifying reports and rumors that have drifted back from the frontier about the savagery and butchery as a result of the raids he has led. Determined to bring him back, they leave to travel to the Ohio frontier where they hope to be led to White Eagle. But things aren’t what they seem and danger lurks along the way. When they do find White Eagle, they learn that their journey isn’t over and that evil and those who seek to do it are on all sides of the conflict as can be expected in a fallen world.
Meanwhile, Jon has become greatly changed by his time with the Shawnee since his adoption into the tribe and his being named as war chief. He has become nearly completely assimilated into the tribe while at the same time teaching them about Christ and building a small church community. He leads them in raids to push out the settlers who have entered the territory and they have had success though he knows it is temporary. But he also struggles with multiple things: his archenemy in the tribe Wolfslayer and his followers have gone against his orders for limiting death and brutality in battle and attempts to make him look as though he is responsible for their atrocities, many in the tribe urge him to take a wife born among their people and he can’t fully forget either the Patriot cause or most especially Elizabeth. When she, Charles and Stowe (Jon’s servant) arrive he is forced to confront these issues as well as face his unraveling identity and place in the world.
The ability of the author to make even the small physical details (the smell of death and gunpowder, the sight of bayonets at the ready, the structure and layout of a Shawnee town etc.) come alive is well shown as always as are the depth of emotions that come from even minor characters. Two of the deaths that affected me the most in reading this story were of seemingly minor characters but they were so well drawn in their brief encounters that they do make you feel that you are reading about people who could have existed back then.
As another reviewer pointed out, Jon’s struggle to find his identity is a part of the story and part of who he is as a character. We learn more about the feelings of abandonment from his childhood and his feeling “rootless” at times which made his adoption by the Shawnee a relief from those feelings. He yearns for a home and struggles to know just where that is. As he tells Elizabeth and Charles, he is torn between both groups and worries that he can never reconcile the two. This to explain some of why he identifies and assimilates as he does, although I admit that it is still hard to understand his actions and the attitude he takes towards things and people at times so I look forward to learning more in the next books. Overall this is a well written third installment that is worth taking a thoughtful read through of it and allowing yourself to ponder some of the very issues and questions facing the characters.
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