Experiencing the American Revolution with an Engaging Twist

Kiersten Marcil. The General’s Watch: The Enlightened series, book two. Vails Gate Publishing, LLC, 2024.

Book Review

Are you interested in expanding your Revolutionary War knowledge into new areas, especially to understand daily life?  Well-researched fictional accounts provide a “seat at the table,” enabling readers to appreciate better what it was like to experience the wartime transition from colonial times to America’s founding. Like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical score in Hamilton, adding a fantasy component to historical fiction generates considerable interest and captivates new readers.

Revolutionary Era expert Kiersten Marcil does just that in her new book, The General’s Watch. Her captivating narrative includes dreams, curses, doppelgängers, apparitions, and spiritual possessions, adding a layer of intrigue and mystery to prominent Continental Army officers and historically accurate Revolutionary War activities in New York’s Hudson Valley.  Her story centers around constructing a massive iron chain spanning the Hudson River and the West Point fortress to inhibit British ships from passing upstream to Albany and severing New England from the southern colonies. Marcil researched muster rolls and other primary sources as inspiration for the book’s notable and forgotten characters, most of whom are real people who served at West Point or lived in the Hudson highlands.

The General’s Watch picks up the exploits of the Witness to the Revolution protagonists, Savannah Moore and Jonathan Wythe, half an hour after the first book’s conclusion. The narrative switches back and forth between historical fiction and fantasy, building trepidation and intrigue. Adding realism, readers learn eighteenth-century expressions such as “God’s teeth.” Marcil gives Polish volunteer and Continental Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko a central role and features his various exclamations in his native Polish language. Readers also gain insights into West Point garrison life, including the camaraderie and conflicts between and among several prickly Continental Army generals. Today’s West Point visitors will appreciate her depiction of the post’s parade grounds and river view promenade.

I highly recommend The General’s Watch for the historical accuracy of the book’s details, such as peoples’ dress, food, speech, and the personalities of important historical figures. Adding suspenseful fantasy is like the whipped cream on a meticulously crafted historical fiction pie!

See the author’s website for more on Kiersten Marcil, her writing, and how to order a copy of The General’s Watch.