Danielle Mead Skjelver wrote a very skilful novel weaving her
family history within the larger events in colonial America
during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, including
the tumultuous events of King Phillip’s War (1675-76) and Queen
Anne’s War (1702-13). Beginning with the 1637 destruction of the
Pequot Fort, the book traces the Hawks/Scott family and its
place within the larger Anglo-French conflicts as well as
conflicts with Native Americans. Several characters stand out
within the story: Sergeant John Hawks, Hannah Scott (the
Sergeant’s daughter), Jonathan Scott (Hannah’s husband), John
Scott (Hannah’s son), Honors The Dead (a fictional Mohawk
warrior), and Red Bear (Honors The Dead’s son-in-law). All of
these characters relate to each other as the story progressed
and indict Puritan life along the way. The story of Honors The
Dead is a truly remarkable one when considered against Sergeant
John Hawks and his family. Taken captive when very young, Honors
The Dead witnessed the destruction