Ghosts of the Revolutionary War
The McDowells of Quaker Meadows
The descendant of Revolutionary War-era fighters is able to witness their battles firsthand in the fantastical historical novel Ghosts of the Revolutionary War.
In John von Rohr’s engrossing historical novel Ghosts of the Revolutionary War, the descendant of a South Carolina family is transported back in time to witness a pivotal American battle against the British.
After his wife’s death, anguished widower David begins delving into his family genealogy as a distraction from his grief. Through his research, he learns that his Scottish Irish immigrant ancestors were prominent residents of North and South Carolina. Caught up in this knowledge, David walks through the woods and encounters what he first thinks is a battle reenactment. Then he is greeted by his ancestor, Charles, who advises David that he has come to guide him back to the Battle of Kings Mountain against British and Loyalist forces.
David’s time-travel odyssey is depicted with subtlety. Envisioning an intense light, he follows Charles through 1780. A former soldier himself, David feels his middle-aged body returning to his twenty-five-year-old physique, including renewed capabilities for endurance.
Beyond the book’s fantastical elements are an abundance of historical details regarding the region’s occupation by British forces. Though the Southern colonists remain detached from the country’s fight for independence during the late 1700s, the encroachment at the book’s center brings the conflict to their own backyard. Tory and Loyalist regiments assert hostile influence over the settlers, destroying crops, killing livestock, and instigating attacks by Cherokee tribes. Soon, over a thousand men amass to overcome the British.
David’s involvement in the battle is that of an observer. Accepted by the locals as a member of his family, he sees their preparations for attack; he also watches as volunteer fighters, teamed with Continental Army soldiers, provide their own horses and weaponry, leaving behind their family farms and small businesses to fight. To avoid changing history, he is kept from participating, viewing the combat from a distance and returning to the scene after the British defeat. His absence is unquestioned by his ancestors and fellow militiamen, though, straining credulity, even amid the chaos of warfare.
Further, though the book’s historical backdrop is immersive, typographical errors interrupt its general flow. Further, a parallel lives element of romance is introduced to distracting effect: David is forced to leave his eighteenth-century love, Lizzy, in the past only to find her contemporary descendant at home. Still, his romantic reawakening following his prolonged period of mourning for his wife is affecting.
Mixing time-travel elements with historical ones, Ghosts of the Revolutionary War is an imaginative novel that focuses on Southern battles in America’s fight for independence.
Reviewed by
Meg Nola
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
