Frontier War Report
Following the French and Indian War through S. Thomas Bailey’s Gauntlet Runner series.
I’m a history junkie, so, it should come as no surprise that history books make up most of my leisure time reading. But, after awhile, a steady diet of history books can reduce any historical era to a sleep-inducing recitation of dry facts. That’s when a good historical novel can re-awaken your interest in an historical era. Historical novels provide you with the facts of the era they are set in, but they do it in the context of an interesting story about characters who grab your interest, and carry you along on their adventures.
A well-written historical novel is, to my mind, the most entertaining form of fiction. It is also a true test of an author’s skill. To write a good historical novel, an author has to master all the same elements used by contemporary fiction writers. He must have a solid plot, interesting, three-dimensional characters, and an engaging writing style. However, unlike contemporary fiction writers, the historical novelist must have as comprehensive a grasp of the time period of his novel as we all have of our everyday, modern world. The historical novelist has to communicate the reality of that past world to his readers without beating them over the head with it.
That’s a tall order, which is why the genre has so few able practitioners. That puts S. Thomas Bailey in a pretty select group. Steve writes the award winning, “The Gauntlet Runner” series of historical novels that are set during the French and Indian War.
I first met Steve Bailey soon after his first novel, “The Gauntlet Runner” came out. I bought the book, and I had just started reading it before I left to set up camp at the Fort Frederick Eighteenth Century Market Fair in western Maryland. During the event I saw a crowd gathered around the porch of the log cabin housing Captain Wort’s Store. Steve was chatting with the crowd and signing copies of “The Gauntlet Runner.” I quickly retrieved my copy of the book from my truck and brought it to Steve to sign. I’ve enjoyed Steve’s company at every Market Fair since then, and in between those annual get-togethers, I’ve enjoyed many hours of entertainment, reading his books.
Steve lives in a small town outside of Toronto, Canada. So I asked him how a Canadian got interested in U.S. history?
“North American history,” he corrected me with a smile.
Steve explained that his father was passionate about history, and his interest rubbed off on Steve. And Steve’s mother is a Mi’kmaq Indian, which led to a strong interest in, what Canadians call, “First Nations” people during the French and Indian War.
But Steve admitted that the only part of the French and Indian War that is well known to most Canadians is the Plains of Abraham, which was the pivotal battle where the British, under General James Wolf, defeated the French under the Marquis De Montcalm, which essentially cleared the way for the total defeat of French forces in Canada. But Steve believes that everyone in both Canada and United States should know the entire story of the war, because French and Indian War laid the foundations for each country to become independent nations.
Seeing Fess Parker playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone on TV inspired a lot of us in my generation, to shoot flintlock rifles and wear buckskin. Likewise, Steve’s personal interest in the French and Indian War was given a boost by a television show called “Hawkeye”, which was loosely based on the character made famous by James Fennimore Cooper in his “Leatherstocking Tales” series of novels, the most famous of which is “The Last of the Mohicans.” The “Hawkeye” series starred Lee Horsley and Lynda Carter.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that anything featuring Lynda Carter would raise my interest too. But Steve was inspired by the depiction of war in the wilderness. That interest resulted in Steve becoming a collector of French and Indian War era artifacts. His collection includes period military uniforms, muskets, war clubs and various other implements of eighteenth century life. As time went on this collection became a useful resource for his writing. He wears and uses the clothing and items in his collection to gain a better understanding of how people lived in the eighteenth century.
Though he had developed a strong interest in the French and Indian War, that interest did not immediately lead to a career writing novels about the era. Steve was well into his 30s when he and his wife Maria had their first child, Madison. Steve elected to become a full-time parent, which, as all of us with children know, doesn’t leave much time for other pursuits. But, when time allowed, Steve continued his research into the time period. Eventually the idea for “The Gauntlet Runner” was formed, and Steve started writing.
At the core of The Gauntlet Runner series are the characters of Jacob and Maggie Murray. They are a married couple living on the exposed western edge of the Pennsylvania frontier. In Jacob and Maggie we see the typical frontier settlers of the time. Like many wilderness families, Jacob and Maggie emigrated from Scotland to Pennsylvania, where, through hard work, they were building a life for their family.
Everything was going fine until Jacob was called up to serve in the militia. In his absence, a Huron war party attacked his home, carrying his wife and children into captivity. The story is told alternately from Jacob and Maggie’s point of view as they struggle to survive, and to reunite their family.
This isn’t a fanciful tale. During the first two years of the French and Indian War, the Pennsylvania and Virginia backcountry were ravaged by Indian attacks. Forts and settlements were wiped off the map, with the inhabitants either killed or carried into captivity. All told, during the war years thousands of people, mostly children, were carried into captivity by Indian raiders. The Delaware tribe alone surrendered nearly 200 captives after their final defeat by Col Henry Bouquet at the battle of Bushy Run. But many captives never made it home. Some died, and others assimilated into native society, where they lived out the rest of their lives. That was the grim fate faced by frontier settlers.
Steve told me he didn’t want to make the typical “Hollywood”, happy-ending book. He wanted to show the hard reality of frontier life and forest warfare. He has certainly done that. As I write this, there are five books in The Gauntlet Runner series. Each book revolves around a key historical event.
The first book is set in the summer of 1754 on the western Pennsylvania Frontier where we find Jacob Murray, and his brother Israel, serving in the militia under Lt Col George Washington. During “The Gauntlet Runner”, Jacob was with Washington for the fight at Jumonville Glen, and at the Battle of Great Meadows, where an obscure provincial officer kicked off the first true world war.
The second book in the series, “Shades of Death”, has Jacob in the middle of the action at the Battle of the Monongahela, where the British, Under General Edward Braddock, were utterly defeated by a much smaller force of French soldiers and their Indian allies.
The third book, “Forest Sentinels”, is set in the period of the war that interests me the most. In the aftermath of Braddock’s defeat, the frontier was left unprotected. The Delaware and Shawnee mercilessly raided the Pennsylvania frontier, virtually depopulating it. The settlers who remained depended on a string of provincial forts, augmented by private forts and blockhouses, to protect them from the bloody raids. This book culminates with Jacob joining Col John Armstrong’s raid on the Delaware stronghold, Kittanning.
In book four the scene of the action makes a major shift, leaving the Pennsylvania back country for the New York frontier where Jacob’s Virginia ranger company joins forces with Roger’s Rangers to scout the Lake George/Lake Champlain corridor. This book puts Jacob at what may be the best known event of the war, the massacre at Fort William Henry.
Book five, “Heights of Hell”, continues with the campaign in the Lake Champlain corridor, where Jacob’s company is again paired with Robert Roger’s famous ranging battalion. In this Book, Jacob is present for one of the most inept British performances of the war, where 3,000 French defenders at Fort Carillon soundly defeated 18,000 troops under General Abercrombie.
Through all these military adventures, Jacob’s wife Maggie had her own trials to deal with, undergoing periods of captivity, by Indians and French soldiers. Through it all she displays the fortitude and resourcefulness that may make her your favorite character of the series.
Steve plans to carry the series all the way through the French and Indian War, so fans of the series can expect to see Jacob and Maggie’s adventures continue through several more books still to come.
The books in the series are available at major bookstores and at the website, thegauntletrunner1754.com.
Point of contact:
S. Thomas Bailey