West of the Alleghenies: A Story of Survival During the Revolutionary War
Pennington has written an exciting novel about the adventures of an ancestor, Fergus Moorhead, a pioneer settler in western Pennsylvania between 1766 and 1778. Fergus and his extended family set off from more civilized parts to establish a settlement in what would become Indiana County, east of Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh). After they learn of the start of the Revolution, Fergus’s brother Sam comes down with smallpox and asks Fergus to take over his leadership of the militia. After the group disbands, Fergus starts for home, but is captured by Delaware Indians.
Fergus barely survives running the gauntlet and is helped by a fellow captive, war chief and diplomat Cornplanter, who takes him along when he escapes to return to his own Seneca people. Fergus and other white captives listen to discussions at the council fire on whether the Indians should fight for the British. Joseph Brant of the Mohawk prevails, and the Seneca join the fight; Fergus and the others are taken along as bargaining chips. They witness the Siege of Fort Stanwix and the Battle of Oriskany. In the aftermath, Cornplanter trades Fergus to the British for a rifle. He winds up in a British prison hulk in New York, enduring unspeakable conditions.
Adventure stories whose characters endure extreme physical hardships tend to make me dismayed at my own shortcomings; I don’t think I would have the guts or grit to endure what they did. Fergus’s fortitude helps him endure starvation, freezing half-naked, witnessing atrocities, and months of not knowing his family’s fate. Pennington has done extensive research and provides footnotes (such as why he chose to use the controversial “squaw”), a map, and a bibliography. He also explains the changes he made for drama’s sake from the historical record. I recommend this well-researched and stirring Revolutionary adventure.
