Blood Traitors

Graham Adams, Jr., is a professor of American history at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick.

Blood Traitors relates the saga of a group of Palatine Germans who
migrated to the New World in the middle of the 18th century. It combines
history with fiction—all of the people actually lived and all of the
events actually occurred; but conversations and the inner thoughts of
individuals are speculation.

In 1764, an unscrupulous promoter induced some 500 Palatine Germans to
entrust their possessions to him while he arranged passage for them to
America. When they reached England, however, they found that he had
absconded with their goods and left them destitute. A kindly Lutheran
clergyman rescued the emigrants and facilitated their voyage to
Charlestown, South Carolina. The British colonial government granted
them land in the Carolina Back Country with the hope that they would
serve as a human buffer between the hostile Natives and the settled,
prosperous coast. Harsh winter weather, excessive summer heat, and
periodic floods made farming difficult, but appeals to Charlestown for
help fell on deaf ears.

Back Country Carolina soon emerged as the most lawless area in the
colonies. Criminal gangs plundered, killed, and raped almost at will.
Colonists formed vigilante bands known as “regulators” that meted
out a harsh justice in lieu of established law enforcement agencies.
When discontent erupted into rebellion, the German migrant community
found itself split asunder between Patriots and Loyalists. All endured
deprivation and the death of loved ones. When peace came, many of the
Palatine Loyalists fled to Nova Scotia to try and rebuild their lives.

Blood Traitors is at its best when it describes battles and depicts
human suffering. It highlights the fact that ordinary people played a
vital role in the shaping of the past. But the authors scatter their
attention among so many characters that none evolve as fully realized
individuals. Exciting at times, yet excessively detailed, this book
demonstrates the difficulty of blending history with fiction.