The Hoyden and the Revolution by Diane Scott Lewis

Last month I interviewed the mysterious Welshman, Derek Pritchard, who spies for the British during the American Revolution. Today we'll talk to Rowena Marsh, the leading lady and his possible love interest. When my novel, Her Vanquished Land, opens, Rowena is nearly eighteen and her father is being tarred and feathered.

Rowena, your family's stubbornness to remain with the King has caused them to be persecuted. Why choose this side and not the Patriot's?

"My poor father!" Rowena sits quickly; her brown curls bounce. She isn't beautiful but radiates a determined spirit. "He believes we can't survive without the support of England. And I too can't fathom how these rebels will be able to form a new country. But by the by, we should be allowed our own choices."

The Patriots have hanged the Loyalists for not joining them. And burned their homes. Aren't you afraid?

"It is terrible. We're worried our farm will be confiscated...if not burned. But how do you change your loyalties? I understand the high taxes from England are wrong; that's what we should fight to eliminate."

Are you joining the fight?

"I have to. But since women aren't allowed to be soldiers, I dress as a boy." She arranges her long skirt and petticoat as if it offends her. "Other women on both sides have done this. I've decoded messages in ancient Greek stolen from the rebels. I've done well to aid our side, though my aunt calls me a hoyden."

Have you seen battle?

"Yes and it was horrible. For both the Loyalists and Rebels. I've been captured, but I escaped." She turns her head away. "The second time, with the help of Derec."

Ah, the handsome Welshman. How close are the two of you?

Rowena's freckled cheeks flush. She raises her chin. "His presence has stirred feelings in me. But he's a man on a mission and has little time for...love. I may be a hoyden but I'm not a light-skirt."

With the rebels finding more successes, what will you do now?

"I don't know if my family has a future in America anymore. And...I often think of Derec as we flee to safety. I'm now tired of war. I want a home and family, and a husband who appreciates my strength." She sighs, more frustrated than sad. "Major battles are to come, and I will join in if needed. But will there be hope for us?"

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Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.

The Mysterious Derec Pritchard by Diane Scott Lewis

For my Revolutionary War adventure, Her Vanquished Land, my main male character is a Welshman with a dark past. Let's find out more about Derec Pritchard with a Character Interview:

 

 

Derec, the Welsh don't care much fore the English, why do you spy for their cause?

The tall, lanky man took a chair. "Aye, I needed money, and to leave Wales after an...incident with my step-father, a horrible man."

An incident?

"He used his fists on my mum." His black eyes above sharp cheekbones burned fiercely. "I had to stab him, not to death mind. But scared him off. Now I send her money to keep her from being evicted."

I see. That was awful for you and your mother. What are your duties is the spying business?

"Code breaking. Stopping messengers, taking their satchels." He pushed back his three-cornered hat. "Sending the information to the British generals."

Is that how you met Miss Marsh?

"Not exactly. She's a hoyden, that one." A smile creased his face. "Dressed as a boy, said her name was Rowland. But I found out it's Rowena."

What did you think of Rowena?

"Thought her in the way at first. But then she was able to decode the new code in ancient Greek from the rebels." He nodded slowly. "An asset."

Are you attracted to her?
"Wasn't." Derec shifted in the wooden chair. "Never bothered with a lasting relationship with a woman, and she was still a girl. Barely eighteen."
But she grew on you...?
"Aye, I must admit, her bravery and stubbornness impressed me. I still resisted. I didn't want to be tied down."
Did she convince you to start a relationship?
"That's not her way. No flirt, that one. Besides, I don't want to settle down in one place. Women want that."
So you'll--
"I must continue my duties to the Crown." He squared his shoulders in his dark frock coat. "The rebels grow stronger, winning more battles. The British troops are stretched thin." His voice softened. "Rowena has left with her family to find safety."

Then there's no happy ending?

"We will see. First, I must join the fight, which could be the death of me." Derec stood and strode from the room.

 



  

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For more information on me and my books, visit my website: Diane Scott Lewis

 

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for an on-line publisher, and wrote book reviews for the Historical Novel Society. She lives with her husband and one naughty puppy in Western Pennsylvania.

 

Christmas with George Washington by Diane Scott Lewis

Since I'm writing about America during the American Revolution, and Christmas is close, I delved into the traditions following one of our famous heroes, George Washington.

The turn of the tide for the Patriots: General, and future first president, George Washington, spent a freezing Christmas crossing the frozen Delaware River in 1776. His rebel forces fought the Battle of Trenton in New Jersey, which led to a string of victories. The holiday was forgotten amidst the chaos of battle.

The famous painting of this event wasn't produced until 1851.

Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze

In happier times, at his Virginia estate called Mount Vernon--a great place to visit if you have the chance--Christmas was a popular holiday.

Mount Vernon, VA

Washington spent a typical Christmas season foxhunting on his estate with friends and family, visiting his grist mill, and attending services at the Pohick Church. Food and alcoholic drinks, especially rum punch, were in abundance.

Throughout his life, Christmas, or close to Christmas, would impact George. In 1740, on Christmas Eve, his home at Ferry Farm across the Rappahannock River from Fredericksburg, VA, (where I used to live) burned down. He was only eight years old. His family took shelter in the detached kitchen and "...spent a cheerless Christmas day."

In 1751, George and his half brother were returning on a ship from Barbados (Lawrence had gone there, hoping the climate would help his consumption, later called TB.) Washington wrote that they ate Irish goose and toasted absent friends.

In 1753, young George was fighting in the French and Indian Wars. They spent Christmas Eve in a place called "Murdering Town." That doesn't sound pleasant.  On Christmas day, they gave gifts to an Indian "Queen."

Lt. Col. Washington by Reǵnier, 1834

 

In 1759, George married the widow, Martha Custis, on Twelfth Night, the last day of Christmas celebrations.

Colonial Christmas traditions were to attend church, decorate windows with greenery and berries, and invite family and friends for dinner. Fish, oysters, brandied peaches, and mincemeat pies were popular dishes.

In my novel Her Vanquished Land, I tell the Loyalist side of the American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a young woman, Rowena Marsh, who decodes messages for the British. These people who didn't wish to break away from England were shocked by the uprising, bullied, hanged, or forced to flee their homes.

"Rowena is a star. Readers will love to read this alternative view of American history." InD'tale Magazine

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For more information on me and my books, visit my website: Diane Scott Lewis

 

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for an on-line publisher, and wrote book reviews for the Historical Novel Society. She lives with her husband and one naughty puppy in Western Pennsylvania.

The first National Thanksgiving, York, PA, by Diane Scott Lewis

Although Thanksgiving can be traced back to 1621 at Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, I was surprised to find that the first "Official" celebration was held in York, Pennsylvania in 1777.  The British had captured Philadelphia, pushing the Continental Congress out of that city. The Patriots fled west to York, a sleepy farm town populated mostly by Germans.

When the rebel General Gates defeated the British at Saratoga, the tide turned, and the exiles held a celebration, passing a resolution for a feast to be held, to honor the victory, on Dec. 18th. Hardly the date we use today. It's doubtful they had turkey or stuffing, and with limited resources, even enjoyed a hearty meal. But it showed the new government's growing strength in this establishment of the holiday.

The gathering was somber, with prayers of thanks, and might have included German (Pennsylvania Dutch) dishes. If they were fortunate, they ate Schnitz un Knepp: apple dumplings. Spaetzle: noodles and dumplings. Or Gumbis: a casserole of meat, onions, and dried fruit.

My novel, Her Vanquished Land, is set in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution, told from a different perspective. Rowena has little time to celebrate Thanksgiving as the rebels close in to plunder her home and life. Her family are Loyalists, the people who thought it was insane to fight for independence; the people who stayed loyal to England and the King. They believed they were on the right side. Tarred and Feathered, even hanged, they kept their loyalty and as a result were chased from the new United States. Many settled in Canada.

I threw in a thwarted love story as well, a Welshman who spies for the British, who captures Rowena's hoydenish heart. However, he harbors his own secrets and may have no need for her confused (to her) affection. Will they survive the war and find love?

The Loyalist side of our American history is seldom told, but it is an interesting part of the development of North America.

 

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For more information on me and my books, visit my website: Diane Scott Lewis

 

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for an on-line publisher, and wrote book reviews for the Historical Novel Society. She lives with her husband and one naughty puppy in Western Pennsylvania.

 

FREE READ The Apothecary's Widow, leeches and blood, by Diane Scott Lewis

In my novel, The Apothecary's Widow, a murder mystery, Free Read for October, I delved into eighteenth century apothecaries. Set in Truro, England, in 1781, Jenna Rosedew has taken over her husband's practice after his death. But soon she'll be accused of murder.

In researching the apothecary business, I found that many of the poorer people used the apothecary as a doctor, since it was cheaper for them.

I visited an actual eighteenth century apothecary's shop in Fredericksburg, Virginia, once owned by Hugh Mercer. We were shown squiggly leeches, and how they were used to heal the sick, sucking out poisons in the body. Leeches are sometimes used today, shockingly now for beauty treatments.
Bloodletting was another popular treatment, a quick cut in the vein, and blood dripped into a bowl. It was supposed to restore the humors.

Hugh Mercer's shop, courtesy of Wikipedia

Hugh Mercer was a Scotsman and a close friend of George Washington. He was a doctor and a soldier. Unfortunately, he was killed during the American Revolution.
Apothecaries of this time mixed their own concoctions, grinding herbs, boiling simple syrups. Melting candy to make cough syrups.

Jenna is diligent in her work, but when a prominent woman dies after drinking one of her tinctures, fingers point at her. Branek, the woman's husband, also comes under suspicion. His marriage was far from happy. But secrets abound and a revengeful constable can't wait to take both of them down for a hanging. Will Jenna and Branek learn to trust one another and work together to find the killer? And what about the attraction they begin to feel, as they are a most unsuitable couple?

Download the FREE READ (scroll down to cover pic of The Apothecary's Widow, that will take you to the PDF, click to download here: BWL FREE READ

For more information on me and my books, please visit my website: Diane Scott Lewis

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband, and a naughty new puppy, in Western Pennsylvania.

Peggy Shippen, beautiful British Spy, by Diane Scott Lewis

While researching my novel Her Vanquished Land, I came across many women who spied during the American Revolution. I wanted my heroine Rowena in the thick of the war, spying for the British, in what would become a lost cause.

Margaret 'Peggy' Shippen, the second wife of Benedict Arnold--a man whose name would become synonymous with the term 'traitor'--was reportedly also a spy for the British and a force to be reckoned with.

 

Born in Philadelphia in 1760, Peggy's prominent family were Loyalists (other sources refute this), the people who stood behind George III and the British government when war broke out in the colonies. Peggy met Benedict Arnold when he was military commander of the city. She and Arnold married in 1779. Arnold, feeling underappreciated and underpaid by George Washington, began conspiring with the British to change sides. Peggy, it's been reported, played a major role in convincing her husband to desert the Americans, ask for command and weaken the Fort of West Point, to turn it over to the British.

Arnold

 

According to Aaron Burr (lawyer, politician, and third vice president of the U.S.), Mrs. Arnold, "was disgusted with the American cause" and "through unceasing perseverance, she had ultimately brought the general into an arrangement to surrender West Point."

British documents from 1792 show that Mrs. Arnold was paid £350 for her handling of secret dispatches.



However, the surrendering of the fort was discovered, and she fled with Arnold to England. There, she supposedly received payment from the king for her involvement.

She returned to America after the war, in 1789; but in spite of her family's influence she was treated coldly and called a traitor. Arnold died in 1801 leaving Peggy in debt. She died in London in 1804, probably from cancer.

Some say the charges against Peggy aren't true. Joseph Reed, the nominal head of the government (lawyer, military leader, and statesman), resented Arnold's rise to importance and spread ugly rumors about both him and his wife. Reed even called George Washington an incompetent commander. It's hard to know what to believe.

History and Women gave Her Vanquished Land Five Stars: "Diane Scott Lewis has penned a passionate tale about a brave young woman, often in the guise of a lad, who will do anything to save her family and demonstrate her loyalty for the Brits as they lose. It is a novel of loss, of strength, and the love of family. You must read this book! Well done!" 

Blurb:

In 1780, Rowena Marsh decodes messages for the British during the American Revolution. When the rebels overrun her home state of Pennsylvania, she flees with her family. Are the people loyal to England welcome anywhere in the burgeoning United States? Rowena struggles with possible defeat and permanent exile, plus her growing love for an enigmatic Welshman who may have little need for affection. Will the war destroy both their lives?

 

Purchase Her Vanquished Land HERE

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband in Western Pennsylvania.

A fight for America, Loyalists must choose or die, by Diane Scott Lewis

FREE on Kindle Unlimited for a short time.

Her Vanquished Land - a revolutionary Gone with the Wind.

In researching the American Revolution, I learned the plight of the loyalists who didn't want to separate from England. They didn't understand how a band of anarchists could form their own country, and desert the motherland. How could they be set adrift in this strange land, to make their own laws, and survive? The rebels were tired of over-taxation and no representation in British Parliament. The loyalists hoped for a compromise.

Eventually, the loyalists were forced to choose: join the rebels, escape or die. Spies abounded on both sides, double agents infiltrated each camp. Both Rebels and Loyalists believed in their cause. A terrible war, brutal bloodshed, resulted.

Many people were confused about which side to join.  My heroine, Rowena, ended up on the wrong side of the war, her family staunch loyalists, her brothers fighting as officers in the British army. She demanded to aid the loyalist cause and spy for the British.
As the rebels gained in battle, her livelihood and home confiscated, Rowena's family had to flee.

Blurb: In 1780, Loyalist Rowena Marsh insists on spying for the British during the American Revolution. As a girl, she must dress as a boy, plus endure devastation and murder as she decodes messages for a mysterious Welshman. The tide has turned in the rebels’ favor. General George Washington appears to be winning. The loyalists are bombarded by threats and lost battles. Rowena stays determined to aid the British cause and preserve her family as they’re chased from their Pennsylvania home.

She struggles with impending defeat and permanent exile, plus her growing love for the Welshman who may have little need for affection. Will the war destroy both their lives?

For further information on me and my books, please visit my website: www.dianescottlewis.org

Purchase Her Vanquished Land HERE

 

 Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

 

The Hanging of John André by Diane Scott Lewis

Spying for the British. In my novel set during the American Revolution, Her Vanquished Land, (Sept. release), I came across the many men and women who spied for the British and lost their lives. The main person, a man even showcased in the TV series, Turn, was Major John André. Since my heroine Rowena Marsh wishes to join the spy ring of her cousin, Major André is mentioned a few times. Especially his ignoble end.

John André

André was the man who corresponded with Benedict Arnold, aiding in his betrayal of the Americans.
When André was captured carrying letters that pointed to his involvement in this betrayal, General Washington offered him up for trade for Arnold. The British refused. André was doomed.

André was born in 1750 London to wealthy Huguenots. Well educated, he joined the British army at age twenty. By 1778 he was a major, had already been captured by the American rebels, and released through a prisoner exchange. In his off hours, he was a great society favorite with a lively personality and a talent for drawing.

In 1779 he took charge of the British Secret Service in America. He began negotiations with Benedict Arnold, a dissatisfied general in the Continental Army. Arnold said he was owed back pay and wasn't recognized as the patriot and hero that he should be. He wanted to defect to the British.

After his meeting with Arnold, André was given a safety pass by him to travel through the American lines, yet he also carried details about the fort at West Point (the one Arnold planned to turn over to the British). He was stopped by the Americans, searched, and captured. General George Washington wanted to do a prisoner exchange with André for the turncoat Arnold, but the British refused. The major was tried and convicted of spying, especially since he was wearing civilian clothes.

Sentenced to death, André was hanged at Tappan, New York, October 2, 1780. Both sides lamented the death of the amiable young officer who made friends wherever he was.

Self-portrait of André on the night before his execution.

I researched many aspects of spying during the American Revolution; brutality happened on both sides, and my heroine Rowena Marsh must find her place and make her mark. She strived to be as brave as the men.

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For further information on me and my books, please visit my website: www.dianescottlewis.org

 Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

A Woman who Fights Against the Tide by Diane Scott Lewis

A young woman torn apart by war. My upcoming historical novel, Her Vanquished Land, (September release) explores the American Revolution from the Loyalists' side--the people who stayed loyal to King George III--as seen through the eyes of a young lady. The rebels, or revolutionaries, punished these Loyalists, confiscating their property, and in some cases even hanging them. No one was allowed to stay neutral. They had to pick a side.

Rowena Marsh lives an upper middle-class life in Easton, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia. Her father, a lawyer until chased from town by the rebels, is a staunch Loyalist. She believes what he does, that these rabble-rousers who want independence will never be able to win against the mighty British army.
Rowena is nearly eighteen, she has lost her mother to illness, and she's a tomboy, or hoyden in 18th century terms. She can't understand why her world is crumbling around her and wants to join in the fight.

Her brothers are serving in the British army, her irascible cousin sneaks off to clandestine meetings, and she feels she must do her part. Her life in constant danger, she follows her cousin to Philadelphia, a hotbed of rebel turmoil. But a mysterious Welshman, a cohort of her cousin, seems to be stalking her.

I got the idea to write of the Loyalists while researching my Canadian Brides novel, On a Stormy Primeval Shore.
But, I must admit, for an American it's not popular to write of the British side. How do I make my characters sympathetic? Giving Rowena confusion over which side is right as time goes on is one way to appeal to others.

Her Vanquished Land blurb:

In 1780, Loyalist Rowena Marsh insists on spying for the British during the American Revolution. As a girl, she must dress as a boy, plus endure devastation and murder as she decodes messages for a mysterious Welshman. The tide has turned in the rebels’ favor. General George Washington appears to be winning. The loyalists are bombarded by threats and lost battles. Rowena stays determined to aid the British cause and preserve her family as they’re chased from their Pennsylvania home.

She struggles with possible defeat and permanent exile, plus her growing love for the Welshman who may have little need for affection. Will the war destroy both their lives?

For further information on me and my books, please visit my website: www.dianescottlewis.org

 

Or perfuse my BWL author page: BWL

 

Diane Scott Lewis grew up in California, traveled the world with the navy, edited for magazines and an on-line publisher. She lives with her husband in Pennsylvania.

Remembering an Older November Holiday

by Kathy Fischer-Brown

Idealized picture of
John Van Arsdale raising the flag

Having recently celebrated Thanksgiving here in the States, it was interesting to discover an even older, and now mostly forgotten, holiday commemorated by our ancestors in New York. Evacuation Day was an observance begun at the end of the American Revolution and a major holiday into the early part of the twentieth century. Since 1901, the 125^th anniversary of the Continental Army’s first victory over the British, it has been an official holiday in the Boston area. Through the first years of our republic, Evacuation Day in New York City rivaled the Fourth of July in its celebratory nature.

At noon on November 25, 1783, after seven years as an occupying force in the city, the last of His Majesty George III’s red-coated troops sailed from the southern tip of Manhattan into New York Harbor. (In Boston, the occupation army left the city and its environs on March 17, 1776, a date that coincides with St. Patrick’s Day). In New York, the event was marked with a parade of sorts. After the city was secured by American troops under the command of General Henry Knox, George Washington and New York’s governor, George Clinton (yup, lots of Georges in those days), led a procession of rag-tag soldiers into lower Manhattan to Cape’s Tavern, one of the most famous inns of its time. The troops then marched farther on down Broadway to Fort George (now Battery Park).

Menu from Delmonico's
Evacuation Day Centennial

There they attempted to lower the British flag and raise the stars and stripes, but for a bit of British trickery. The pole at the fort, it seems, was “thoroughly soaped,” its halyards cut, and the Union Jack nailed to the staff. This while the artillery had taken up position and guns were held in readiness for a grand salute, and the British in their ships and boats watched from the harbor in amused silence.

After many futile attempts to climb the flag pole, one John Van Arsdale, a young sailor with quickly improvised wooden cleats on his shoes and a pocket full of nails, worked his way up the pole, attached new ropes, and with the aid of a ladder brought from a nearby shop, accomplished the task.

The sight of the American flag waving on the breeze inspired a thirteen gun salute and was the cause for much revelry lasting for days, as rockets blazed through the night, buildings were illuminated, and bonfires burned on every street corner. A public feast was held at Fraunces Tavern, where over 120 guests honored Washington with thirteen toasts…and the celebration continued until the general left the city on December 4, when he resigned his commission. (British flags continued to fly over Staten Island, Governor’s Island, and Long Island until this date.)

The first anniversary of Evacuation Day was observed with a flag raising at the fort…on the selfsame pole…amid the pealing of church bells. Entertainments were held at the City Tavern. And the tradition continued well into the next century, evolving into an official holiday, complete with school closings, fireworks, displays of patriotism, feasting and pageantry. But as the veterans of the conflict became fewer and fewer, eventually dying off altogether, their accomplishments no longer seemed important enough to warrant such a full-blown expression holiday pomp. Neither did the ever-growing expense of such extravagance. Eventually Evacuation Day was supplanted by a new national holiday, Thanksgiving.

On the centennial of the original celebration, in November 1883, New York gave the old holiday what would be its grand send-off. Imagine the bi-centennial of the nation’s 200^th birthday in 1976…with tall and small ships jamming the harbor and both the East and Hudson Rivers. Fireworks lit up the night sky, observed by upwards of 500,000 people. Madison Square Garden and Delmonico’s Restaurant hosted banquets.

Even as its observance continued into the 20^th century with decreasing fanfare and interest, there were many reasons why Evacuation Day slipped out of favor, not the least of which was the American alliance with Great Britain during World War I. The last official observance was held in 1916.

~*~

Sources: “Evacuation Day: New York’s Former November Holiday,” Megan Margino, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; The Memorial History of the City of New-York, James Grant Wilson; Evacuation Day, Many Stirring Events, James Riker

~*~

Kathy Fischer Brown is a BWL author of historical novels, Winter Fire, Lord Esterleigh's Daughter; American Revolution-set novels, Courting the Devil, The Partisan's Wife, and The Return of Tachlanad, her latest release, an epic fantasy adventure for young adult and adult readers. Check out her Books We Love Author page or visit her website. All of Kathy’s books are available in e-book and in paperback from Amazon.

A Very Short History of Spies and Spying during the American Revolution

by Kathy Fischer-Brown

As one of the world’s oldest occupations, espionage in one form or another has been around for as long as men have contended for territory and resources, waged wars, vied for crowns, and pressed for industrial and scientific advantage and superiority. While in no way possessing the skills, training, and technological tchotchkes of modern-day spies—or their counterparts in some of cinema’s great blockbusters—covert agents played a vital role in the American Revolution.

Anyone who’s watched the AMC hit mini-series, “TURN” (although I will not vouch for its total accuracy), knows that George Washington, as well as his British adversaries, relied heavily on gathering information about enemy strengths and weaknesses, their movements and supply lines when planning their campaigns. He also expended time and energy in disseminating misleading information through the same channels. But for the first few years of the war, American intelligence efforts were no match for the superior training and methods of His Majestey’s agents.

This was soon to change. Under the auspices of The Committee of Secret Correspondence, created during the Second Continental Congress in November of 1775, General Washington was provided with an assortment of alpha-numeric codes, several kinds of secret ink and an equal number of ways to employ them, as well as novel means of transporting and exchanging these communiqués. In addition to hiding messages in canteens and false shoe heels, among others, one clever method involved tearing the message into narrow strips, rolling them up tight, and stuffing the slivers into the hollow stem of a goose quill pen. 

In the pictures shown here, you can see a simple but ingenious method employed by the British during their summer campaign of 1777, which ended in the defeat of General Burgoyne’s forces at Saratoga. The first picture (above right) depicts a seemingly innocuous letter from British general Sir Henry Clinton to John Burgoyne, comprised mostly of nonsense and false information. The Code Mask (shown left) was based on the Cardan System developed by Geronimo Cardano, an innovator in encrypted messages. A cut-out shape was placed over the letter, revealing the encrypted message inside the text (below right). It must have been fun composing a letter so that only the important words were shown through the mask. 

People from all walks of life served as eyes and ears for their respective causes. Among their numbers were women. Although but a few names have come down to us through history—Lydia Darragh, Anna Strong, Ann Bates, among them—no one knows exactly how many women worked behind the lines, selling food and other necessaries as sutlers in the camps and meeting places frequented by Rebels, British, and Tories. In many cases, such as that of Agent 355, a member of the famous Culper Ring out of Setauket, New York, we don’t even know their real names. It’s safe to assume that we never will.

Spying is central to the plot in the second and third books of my “Serpent’s Tooth” trilogy, set during the early years of the War for Independence. In Courting the Devil (book 2), we find our hero leading a band of “scouts” whose directive is to gather information vital to the American cause in advance of the British march on Albany. The heroine, Anne, is betrayed by a particularly unscrupulous American agent to Loyalists who have been misled to think she’s a spy. Her brutal “interrogation” is in no way far-fetched. In fact, I saved her from a far worse fate: that suffered by the real-life Canadian Tory spy, “Miss Jenny,” at the hands of French soldiers serving under Lafayette in 1778. Under the pretense of seeking her father in their camp, she aroused suspicions and was arrested. Not only did her captors try to beat the truth out of her, they raped her. If that wasn’t despicable enough, they cut off her hair—an act considered the height of humiliation at the time. Miss Jenny, however, did not relent and successfully completed her mission. After returning to the British camp with her intelligence, she vanished from history. It is interesting to note that women, in general, were considered too “simple” to understand the complexities of a military campaign, and for the most part, were not taken seriously. A rather short-sighted attitude on both sides of the conflict.

Captain Daniel Taylor, a character who appears briefly in Courting the Devil, was an actual Tory spy who plied his trade between New York City and the area around the upper Hudson River during the British push toward Albany from Canada. Although elusive, he was eventually apprehended by American soldiers, who went on to discover a coded message to General Burgoyne concealed in a hollow bullet in his hair. Taylor immediately swallowed the incriminating evidence, but was given a “strong emetic,” which did as it was intended. He was convicted of spying and hanged. Some say his execution was in retaliation for Nathan Hale’s death a year earlier.

In The Partisan’s Wife (book 3 of the trilogy), the reader is introduced to a number of shady characters, some real, some fictitious, as well as Washington, himself, and a few of his spy masters, as the stakes for our hero and heroine become deadly.

~*~ 

Kathy Fischer Brown is a BWL author of historical novels, and The Return of Tachlanad, her newly released epic fantasy adventure for young adult and adult readers. Check out her The Books We Love Author page or visit her website. All of her books are available in a variety of e-book formats and in paperback from Amazon and other online retailers.

Pictures courtesy of the Clements Library.