Partisans and Refugees, the second book of Geoff Baggett's Patriots of the American Revolution Series, is set in the late 1700s. Before the birth of the United States of America and before one Robert Hammock and his family became part of a large number of partisans and refugees on their way to the safety of the Watauga Settlements, they had traveled with a wagon from Virginia to a new life on the Georgia frontier. In the coming years since Robert and his family left Virginia, the Declaration of Independence had been made, the British began coaxing Cherokees to join them in the coming war, and alarming news of raids had reached their ears. They cleverly fortified themselves in their new home, but will their efforts be enough to keep them alive?

I loved the military strategies and Geoff Baggett's many illustrations of true bravery. The central characters like Robert, his wife, and his three oldest sons were easy to connect with. One of Robert's oldest sons is actually an African slave named Frank. Frank's role in this novel is probably the most important since he is bound to display exceptional battle skills as a "gallant soldier" in the kismet war against King George's forces. Milly, Robert's wife, is ever the lovable and true-to-her-ways character. Don't you put your hands in her food without washing your hands first! In writing this story, the author succeeded in bringing patriots like Robert Hammock II (1737 - 1799) to life. It's an on-key novel about patriotism.

Having reviewed Geoff Baggett’s first novel in a series, Brothers and Warriors, I am well aware of this fine author’s major writing skills, storytelling mastery, and historical expertise. In his new book, Partisans and Refugees, he wastes not one second reaffirming each incredible credential, as one finds himself in pre-revolutionary America just before the war for independence, engaged with friends and neighbors of a different era, with a more genteel nature if you will, at least in courtesy and manners, though certainly no less spirited of mind or adventurous of act than Americans yet to come. For those inclined toward alternative historical perspectives, one must understand that Baggett’s novel is an unerringly and precisely accurate telling according to the colonial history of this land, with no apologies necessary for his choice. Baggett does not disparage a different perspective, but he is absolutely faithful to the facts of his.

And so Robert Hammock and family begin a long trek down the King’s Highway from Virginia into Georgia to claim some recently ceded Indian land. Largely due to his personal qualities of character, he is assigned some of the best land to be had: fertile, luxuriant, idyllic, and beautiful. With the hardworking ethics of their forebears, the Hammock family and friends create a most productive farmland and supportive homestead. But war soon comes upon them, initially with an uprising of local Indians prodded by British military forces into a deeply invasive and violent attack. The nature of the war in the deep South provides an unusual and fascinating plot line. Like inclement weather, the war sweeps the family up, then lets it be, then sweeps it up again, calling on every member and every colonial skill they possess to survive, if not always to prosper. A thrilling book in every detail.