George Johnson's War

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

George Johnson was the second son and fifth child born to Sir William
Johnson, the superintendent of the Northern Department of Indian Affairs
for North America, and his consort, Molly Brant, the sister of the
famous Mohawk chief Joseph Brant. The war in the title initially refers
to the Johnson family’s involvement in the War for American
Independence, but ultimately it becomes George’s personal struggle as
to which of his racial lineages he should follow.

The novel is divided into three chronological sections that span the
period from 1773 to 1781. What separates this work from other books
about this period is that it is told from neither the Rebel nor the
Loyalist perspective. Instead, George Johnson’s War features the
perspective of the Native people. Although Molly Brant helped to
persuade most of the Six Nations tribes to side with the British, her
ultimate goal was to reclaim the tribes’ lands and way of life.
Throughout the book’s first two sections, George’s young age makes
him little more than a spectator as his father dies and the family is
forced to make a number of physical moves because their British leanings
put them at risk. It is only in the final section that George truly
becomes an active player when he joins a British raid that takes him
back to the family’s original home. Nonetheless, the engaging story
quickly carries readers along.

Adding historical authority to the book’s contents are the inclusion
of a map of “The Johnson Family’s Journeys, 1777–81,” a Johnson
family tree, a historical note, a timeline, and an annotated listing of
the book’s actual historical characters. The authors also provide a
“Further Reading” section suggesting other books about the period.
Recommended.