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The global war between Britain and France, from about 1754 to 1763, was a struggle around the world between the two empires. The part that took place in North America, which was a struggle as to who would control this new land that would become Canada and the United States, we call the French-Indian War. Even more than World War I, this war that had tremendous consequences for us is today little-known or taught in schools across the United States. I think that there would have eventually been an American Revolution but without this war and the issues it raised about taxes and soldiers, the Revolution might have been long-delayed. This review is about two historical novels, one set at the beginning of the war and told from the British/American point of view, and one set near the end of the war, told from the French viewpoint.
Listen, the Drum, by Robert Edmond Alter, takes place at the very beginning of the French-Indian War in western Pennsylvania, 1753 to 1754, where the British-culture colonials are resisting the French attempt to claim the Ohio River valley for New France, whose capital was in Quebec. The book’s main character is Matthew (Matt) Burnett, from Harrisburg, which was the far western edge of the Pennsylvania colony at that time. Matt seeks to serve a twenty-two-year-old Major George Washington from Virginia who is leading his first command of mainly colonial militiamen.
The major actions of this military effort involved fort-building, carving roads through the almost primeval forests by cutting down trees, bridging rivers, and building corduroy surfaces out of tree trunks through the many swamps of that country. Even today, the land between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh is heavily wooded with large distances between towns. It is not hard to imagine what it must have been like back in the 1750s, a trackless – meaning no roads – wilderness. The Interstate Highway system in the US, whose building was begun in the 1950s under President Eisenhower, was justified by the need to easily move armies around the country to face a possible invader. In our modern times, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Route 76, and Interstate Route 80 now bridge this wilderness.
Matt’s friend Shad Holly provides comic relief to the story, even though Shad is also a brave soldier and wilderness scout like Matt. Of overwhelming importance was determining how Native American (called Indian in the novel) groups would fight, either for the French or for the British. Wrap in a traitor and Matt’s trials against Indian warriors and you get a very exciting story that is solidly based on real historical events. The author does a nice job of helping the reader picture what life was like at that time and place. There is a clear map at the beginning of the book, which should be referred to often, which helps the reader follow the battles in the wilderness. The reading level is middle to high school. I note that a forty-three-year-old Shad Holly also appears in Rabble on a Hill by the same author (see my review), which is about the siege of Boston in 1775.
The events of the book Drummer Boy for Montcalm, by Wilma Pitchford Hays, are set during the battle for Quebec City in 1759. The book’s main character is a French drummer boy, Peter, who has just escaped from France. Peter had stowed away on a French troop ship since he had nothing left for him in France. His father had been executed by the king for speaking out against the injustice of the aristocracy, and his mother had died of grief shortly afterward. He is patriotic and wants to do his part in defending New France from the impending British invasion. Peter is too young to be a soldier so he becomes a drummer boy. The author has based her story solidly on the real life of her four-times great grandfather, who experienced these same events. I think his friend Marie and her grandfather are probably fictional, but their interaction with Peter adds a lot of human interest to the story.
Montcalm was the name of the aristocratic French general in charge of the defenses of New France in general and in particular, Quebec. The story is told from Peter’s or the French point of view – there were two sides to this war, or indeed any war, after all. There was government corruption that damaged the French defense and Peter becomes involved in resisting the corrupt political leaders, who were real. The Battle of Quebec, which the British won by climbing the “unscalable” heights of the Plains of Abraham just west of the city, resulted in the deaths of General Montcalm and General Wolfe, who was the British leader. I have visited Quebec City and seen those plains and those heights – it was hard to believe that the British did come up that way. This battle effectively ended the war between Great Britain and France for the control of North America, even though minor fighting and the final treaty of peace were not concluded until 1763. I found I referred often to the detailed map at the beginning of the book, which helped me and future readers to follow the stages of the fighting around Quebec City. Wilma Pitchford Hays was a prolific author, writing many other historical novels, mainly about the United States and primarily written at the upper elementary to middle school level. Look for her other books – they are all worth reading.