Description from the Bethlehem Books web site:
"It is 1769, ten years since America’s colonial militia had joined with the British regular army and defeated the French for dominion of Canada. The current of feeling about what it means to be loyal to the King has changed. While many colonists are angry about England’s unjust taxation, wealthy merchant John Treegate remains fiercely loyal and certain that an agreement can be reached between the colonies and their mother country. Deciding to travel to England to appeal to the government there means leaving his motherless, eleven-year-old son Peter on his own, apprenticed to one of Treegate’s friends, a manufacturer of barrel staves. Peter’s new master is not severe, but the senior apprentice is a vicious bully and worse. A chain of events leads to trouble for Peter—involving murder, shipwreck, loss of memory, adoption by a strange and bitter Scotsman, until finally he is reunited with his father on the eve of America’s battle for independence. First title in the acclaimed Treegate Series.
Kristi's review: I found this book to be one of the most intriguing historical books on the Revolutionary War time period. The writing style is very impressive. All of our kids (k-9th gr) enjoyed listening to Dave read this aloud. We so enjoyed it that we located the out of print sequels. Bethlehem Books does intend on printing the next two, so I've heard, but we couldn't wait for them so our local library ordered them for us. We are reading the 3rd currently, "Sea Captain from Salem" and there is a very funny chapter on how to test gunpowder, whether the Devil is brave enough to enter the gunpowder room; and an thought provoking section just a few pages later about a character named Peace of God who prays for his enemy (the British) after he kills him. A master gunner says, "I seen him in the fight outside Boston, on that hill, bring down a grenadier with a hanger and then go down on this knees beside him and pray for him. And righ in the middle of it up comes another, and Peace of God left off praying long enough to bring him down too. And then he kneels between the two of them, with the battle smoke drifting over them, and call them poor sinners like himself and asks God to receive them joyfully into the everlasting glory, Amen."
"Seems odd to kill a man and then pray for him," said the powder boy named Dickie.
"Odd it is," replied the master gunner. "And yet if you take another look at it, it's odder yet to kill a man and not pray for him."
