Is there a book that you return to time after time? I do. It’s a novel entitled “Drums Along the Mohawk” by Walter D Edmonds that was originally published in 1936. It remained on the best seller list for two years, second only to Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the Wind.”

Right now, I’ve embarked on my fifth or sixth reading of this classic. The exact number gets lost in my memory bank. I’ve now reached the point where each rereading is a way of renewing acquaintances with the characters who are now old friends.

In 1939 the novel was adapted by Twentieth Century Fox for a Technicolor movie directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert. For me the movie has always been a disappointment because while it includes characters, plot and even dialogue from the novel it is more a tribute to the American victory in the revolution rather than Edmonds story of the impact of war and the uncertainty that comes with it for the settlers on the New York frontier as they go about their everyday lives.

In addition to the Movie version of “Drums Along the Mohawk,” two other books by Edmonds were made into movies. “Rome Haul” which was a story of the Erie Canal gave rise to two movies. The first was a comedy released in 1935 that starred Henry Fonda. The second, a musical, was released in 1953. Another movie was based on “Chad Hanna,” the story of a country boy who joined a traveling circus in central New York in the 1840s. It starred Henry Fonda and Dorothy Lamour.

Edmonds had a very close connection to the Mohawk Valley. His father, who later became a successful patent attorney in New York City was born in Utica and Walter himself was born in Boonville in the northern part of Oneida County near the headwaters of the Mohawk.

“Drums Along the Mohawk” focuses on the fictional Gil and Lana Martin who had recently married and settled in Deerfield several miles northeast of the modern city of Utica. The Revolution had begun the previous year, and the threat of war hung over the Mohawk Valley. The war in the valley was really a civil war pitting the German settlers who had settled the rich bottom lands of the valley in the first decades of the Eighteenth Century against loyalist forces and native Americans led by Sir John Johnson, son of the late Sir William Johnson, and William Butler.

In the fall of 1776, the Martins were clearing their land with the assistance of their neighbors when they were attacked by a party of Loyalists and native Americans. Escaping to a nearby fort, Gil joined the militia in pursuit of the enemy force but was unable to catch them. The Martins Cabin was burned by the enemy and eventually Gil was hired to work the farm of Sarah McKlennar a widow living near Fort Dayton the present day Herkimer.

In August of 1777 the Tryon County Militia was called to go to the relief of Fort Stanwix under siege by British and native American forces. Led by General Nicholas Herkimer they marched towards the fort. On the morning of Aug. 6 reaching a point near the Oneida village of Oriska the Americans were ambushed by a force of loyalist and native Americans. General Herkimer, even though wounded, continued to direct his troops seated against a tree. The ambush resulted in the deaths of 385 militia numbering over one-half of its members. After returning home General Herkimer’s infected leg was amputated by an inexperienced army surgeon leading to his death from blood loss several hours later.

In the summer of 1778, the valley was continually raided by forces under the command of Sir John Johnson and Walter Butler who destroyed crops and farms. A major raid occurred in September when over 200 raiders struck the valley destroying crops, many farms, and carrying off most livestock. German Flats was warned of the attack by a scout Adam Helmer who ran over thirty miles from the southern tier settlement of Unadilla to warn German Flats. In the movie this bit of real history was replaced by a run by Fonda as Gil Martin to get reinforcements.

While the Mohawk Valley was often called the “breadbasket of the Revolution” following the raid, food was in short supply forcing the residents of German Flats to use force to seize a quantity of Army flour made from their wheat at a mill in Little Falls. Also, with the Tryon County militia unable to provide protection for the valley the government in Philadelphia ignored their requests for Army troops.

In 1781 American troops under Gen Marinus Willet were sent to the valley to pursue a Tory raiding force leading to its destruction and the death of Walter Butler. This pivotal battle in which Gil fought essentially ended Loyalist activity in the valley. In 1784 finally Gil, Lana, and their two children, after years of hardship returned to their farm.

“Drums Along the Mohawk” is the finest book of historical fiction I have ever read. It is well researched and accurate not only to events but even to the weather in a given month. Fiction or not, If you are interested in New York Revolutionary history, this is a book you should read.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a SIlver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com.