A Drummer in Red

by Gordon Saunders

Overview

Lewis Elliot and his mother, Stella, are forced to flee their Baltimore home for the modest farm of their cousins in Gloucester County, Virginia. They arrive just as the feared Lord Cornwallis and the hated Colonel Banastre Tarleton take up residence in Gloucester Point and across the York River in Yorktown. The war heats up as Cornwallis fortifies Yorktown and Tarleton begins foraging raids in Gloucester County.

Then, while Lewis and his cousins, Lloyd and Tetty, are off to Gloucester Courthouse to try to sell enough tobacco to provide for the family, Tarleton raids the farm and Stella receives a life-threatening injury.

Through battle, betrayal, unexpected alliances, interactions with the Marquis de Lafayette and General George Washington, and, apparently, by the Hand of God, Lewis and his cousins and friends take roles in the events leading to Cornwallis's surrender on October 19, 1781, after the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781956228175
Publisher:	Mediaropa
Publication date:	09/01/2021
Series:	Young America , #1
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.55(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Dr. Saunders was born and raised near Boston, Massachusetts, and steeped in the history of that city - so crucial to the founding of the United States. Subsequently, he had the opportunity to live in four different European countries and travel extensively, both in Europe, and throughout the globe. Coming back to America after living in Europe for twenty-five years, he noticed an appalling lack of knowledge of our history, particularly in young people. He wrote the Young America series as a way of informing young people about our history and also promoting thought about the issues that caused dissension in those early days and are with us still.

Editorial Reviews

"A good way to understand history: take the facts of battles for American freedom from Great Britain placing teenagers in the mix and you get tense moments with excitement. Dr. Saunders uses hunger, fear and loneliness to show how young people can handle responsibility while accomplishing their patriotic duty." Ken Tyner, Youth Mentoring Coach

“The story line moved along well and I enjoyed the conflicts of hate vs forgiveness, and the learning of the fact of doing a job vs. doing an action based on hatred.” J.S., avid reader.

“War is a terrible thing, and a difficult issue. There is nothing more honorable than dying for your country, but does that not go both ways? Is there really any point, or is all the fighting pointless. And what of children in war? Can they comprehend the horror? Gordon Saunders discusses all of these issues and more in A Drummer in Red. Through the eyes of an adolescent, he shows both the horror and morality on both sides of the Revolutionary War.

The novel starts with young Lewis and his mother on their way to stay with their relatives. Lewis is struggling to cope with the fact that his father has been labeled a deserter from the continental army. He doesn’t want to believe it, but the outside pressures make it extremely difficult for him. Add on to that with the fact that he and his mother are barely scraping by without his Father. When arriving at his aunt and uncle’s farm, things don’t improve for his state of mind. His cousin’s Tetty and Lloyd are ashamed of having a deserter in the family, and they take it out on Lewis, even stranding him on an island. However, Lewis’ patriotism and energy eventually win the support of his relatives, and he is welcomed as a member of the family.

Soon after this, Lewis and his family are attacked by redcoats, and are forced to separate. The story then follows Lewis as he bounces from camp to camp, staying not only with the Continental army, but with the French and British as well. Staying with all sides of the war broadened his perspective, and will broaden the reader’s perspective, on the purpose and morality in war. It raises the question: how do you know if you’re on the right side of a war? As the Revolutionary war comes to a close, Lewis attempts to figure out the difficult answers to these questions in the exciting, entertaining, and educational novel, A Drummer in Red.” D. Saunders, high school student.

From the Publisher