PROUD PRISONER

by Walter Havighurst ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

Unlike most books dealing with the Revolutionary War, this one has been written in defense of a British officer. Lieutenant-Governor henry Hamilton of Detroit was instructed in 1777, the ""Year of the Bloody Sevens,"" to lead Indians in raids on the frontier of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The Indians used their own methods in these raids, which were quite successful, and Hamilton was nicknamed the ""Hair Buyer' by the Americans. his advances into illinois were stopped by a group of rebels led by Major George rogers Clark who seized the outposts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, and he was taken prisoner in the surrender at Vincennes. Hamilton, despised by the rebels, who accused him of having encouraged the Indians in their scalping, was badly treated and kept in the Williamsburg gaol for 13 months without a trial. In support of Hamilton, the author points out that he was a respected officer carrying out orders and denies the reliability of the claims that he supported the bloodthirstiness of the Indians. The well-written, detailed descriptions of the frontier battles are stringent.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1964

Categories: NONFICTION