Roads to Niagara
The Third Book in the Trilogy Saga About the Settlement and Defense of New York's Mohawk Valley During the 1700s
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"What we've designed here," said Washington as he peered above his glasses toward to former New England lawyer, General John Sullivan, "is what I call a pincer movement." Not quite sure what his commander-in-chief had in mind, Sullivan had a blank look upon his face. Washington clarified his statement.
"By a pincer movement, I mean," started the very deliberately former surveyor, "a maneuver in which simultaneous flank movements of our troops are used to converge upon our enemy's concentration of forces or forts, cutting them off from all forms of reinforcements, supplies, and relief of any kind."
Sullivan nodded understandably. But, before he could say a word, Washington added, "Before we get down into the details of our pincer movement, I want to again, to make it perfectly clear to you, that the single and ultimate objective of this campaign is to lay waste to all the Indian settlements around....that the country may not be merely overrun but destroyed. Now that both of us understand the campaign's ultimate objective, let's get down to work."
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About the Book
Niagara's earliest fort so far discovered at the present American and Canadian border was built c. 160 A.D. by the Moundbuilders of the Ohio-Indiana Indian tribes.
This site was commonly referred to as "the Throatway," and occasionally referred as "Thundergate" with its gargantuan aquatic force tears the rock crest away at an average of five feet a year, moving southwest at the rate of 500 feet each century, and ultimately flowing along the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean.
A legend tells of a virgin being sent over the falls in a canoe each spring as sacrifice to Hawenio, the Majestic Voice, symbolizing the battle for control of the portage that occurred between 160 and 1600 A.D. By 1660, the Iroquois, the Five Nations, controlled the upper St. Lawrence valley, the Ontario basin, the Niagara portage and the Lake Erie shores. The race relations problem grew with stealth and persistence. First came the traders out of Albany, New York and Boston with canoe loads of rum, blankets, ironware, rouge, and other English trade goods. "Gossip about eh Six Nations (formerly the Five Nations) tortures, cannibalism, and "sexy wenchies" was rampant, infecting the newly arrived Scot, Irish, and German immigrants. On the warm afternoon of July 26, 1775, Major John Butler, escorted by 100 Mohawk warriors came to Fort Niagara's warf, bringing the American Revolution to Fort Niagara.
President George Washington dispatched a detail of his special troops to ride out of camp, meet, and escort General John Sullivan discreetly into camp and into his headquarters. After a very solemn and sober greeting, Washington and Sullivan sat down and began to thoroughtly review each and every detail of Sullivan's orders.
About the Author
It's astounding how quickly author, Gil Herkimer, can grab the reader's attention, as he weaves his small cast of fictional characters with well-known historical individuals, such as Generals Benedict Arnold, Hoaratio Gates, and John Burgoyne, and their activities. Herkimer has been told that he tells a "lively story" making America's frontier history entertaining and interesting: blending, when appropriate, historical facts with fiction characters.
Gil Herkimer was born and raised near the Mohawk Valley area of New York State. As Dr. Allen G. Herkimer Jr., he has traveled and worked extensively throughout the United States of America and overseas as a corporate executive, management consultant, university professor, play-wright, and textbook author. Upon his retirement as Professor Emeritus from Texas State University-San Marcos, he has returned to his first two loves, studying history and playing and writing about jazz. His latest accomplishment as a playwright is that of co-operatively directing his play, "Gardenias in Her Hair: An Evening with Billie Holliday."
Herkimer and his partner, Anne Eiseman, proudly declare themselves to be native New Yorkers, who lived in Southern California for nearly twenty years. They presently reside on the tenth floor of a high-rise condo overlooking the beautiful Corpus Christi Bay in Texas with their two cats, Pita and Nudge.
Herkimer's first historical fiction, "Roads to Oriskany," is the first of his historical trilogy, including "Roads to Saratoga" and "Roads to Niagara" of the settlement and defense of New York State's Mohawk Valley concluding with a sequel, "Steps Toward Freedom." Currently, he is writing a play with a working title "The Promised Land: A Journey into the 21st Century".