The second installment in Gavin K. Watt’s Revolutionary War series, I am heartily ashamed picks up where A dirty, trifling piece of business leaves off. It’s a new year with new challenges. An incredibly fierce Canadian winter was endured before raiding was resumed against the enemy’s frontiers. The rebels’ Mohawk region defence soon fell into disarray when two colonels jousted for control. Continued negotiations encouraged Vermont to not support the rebellion and the republic became a haven for loyalists escaping persecution. Vermont’s adherents even felt free to militarily challenge New York. After the poor results of Ross’s October raid, Haldimand chose to alter his strategy. For years, his native allies had sent small war parties against the frontiers and, that summer, he gave command of large projects to First Nations leaders whose methods greatly challenged the rebels. A new British ministry announced a cessation of arms in July, soon followed by peace talks. Despite the ceasefire, Washington ordered an attack on the new British post at Oswego, which failed miserably. When Haldimand discovered that the treaty’s articles threatened the security of Canada and made no provisions for the natives or loyalists, he confessed, "My soul is completely bowed down with grief I am heartily ashamed."

This special bundle collects five titles by military history specialist Gavin K. Watt. This series has a unique focus: The American War of Independence viewed from the perspective of British operations in the north. The Burning of the Valleys concerns a decisive campaign against the northern frontier of New York in the fifth year of the war. A Dirty, Trifling Piece of Business is about operations in the sixth year, including in the south. In Poisoned by Lies and Hypocrisy, Watt explores the first two campaigns of the American Revolution through their impact on Canada and describes how a motley group of militia, American loyalists, and British regulars managed to defend Quebec and repel the invaders. Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley concerns the campaign that led to the destruction of British-held Fort Ticonderoga. These titles are essential reading for military history, early Canadian history, and War of Independence history buffs. Includes: The Burning of the Valleys A Dirty, Trifling Piece of Business I Am Heartily Ashamed Poisoned by Lies and Hypocrisy Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley

This special bundle collects six titles by military history specialist Gavin K. Watt. This series has a unique focus: The American War of Independence viewed from the perspective of British operations in the north. The Burning of the Valleys concerns a decisive campaign against the northern frontier of New York in the fifth year of the war. A Dirty, Trifling Piece of Business is about operations in the sixth year, including in the south. In Poisoned by Lies and Hypocrisy, Watt explores the first two campaigns of the American Revolution through their impact on Canada and describes how a motley group of militia, American loyalists, and British regulars managed to defend Quebec and repel the invaders. Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley concerns the campaign that led to the destruction of British-held Fort Ticonderoga. Fire and Desolation details how misrule and fraying alliances led to a ferocious campaign in 1777 that changed the course of the American Revolution. These titles are essential reading for military history, early Canadian history, and War of Independence history buffs. Includes: The Burning of the Valleys A Dirty, Trifling Piece of Business I Am Heartily Ashamed Poisoned by Lies and Hypocrisy Rebellion in the Mohawk Valley New in 2017! Fire and Desolation

Rhode Island’s “Black Regiment” of the American Revolutionary War is fairly well-known to students of American History. Most published histories of the small colored battalion from Rhode Island are clearly biased in favor of the “regiment” and tend to interpret it as an elite military unit. However, a detailed study and analysis of Rhode Island’s segregated Continental Line by the author reveals a “military experiment” that was beset with difficulties from its start and ultimately failed as a segregated unit in 1780. In this work, many of the popular stories of Rhode Island’s “Black Regiment” are proven to be myths. Follow the accurate historical stories of the colored and white soldiers of Rhode Island’s Continental Line whose courage and sacrifices helped create an independent nation.

Sometimes people leave their home with the hopes of finding something better. Sometimes they are forced out and chased away. Philip Eamer and his wife, Catrina, experience both in this true story of immigrants searching for a place to call home. The Eamer family’s story begins in 1755 as they leave the Rhine Valley for a better life in America. Once there, they move to the Mohawk River Valley in New York, where they build a home and raise 10 children. Despite the effects of the French Indian War, the Eamers flourish and happily find their lives intertwined with their neighbours and fellow immigrants for almost two decades. However, no family’s story occurs in isolation, and eventually the Eamers find themselves at the mercy of the political and historic events of the American Revolution. Choosing to side with the Crown, they are forced to flee their home at the hands of neighbours and soldiers. What follows next is representative of many Loyalists’ experiences. The Eamer family is forced to make a 370-km (230-mile) trek to Montreal, where they must live in a refugee camp for three years before finally being granted their own land in the St. Lawrence Valley for their loyalty to the King. Told by one of Philip and Catrina’s descendants, Three River Valleys Called Home is historical fiction based on a real family and true events. Although some of the interactions and dialogue may be imagined, they are firmly planted in the harsh realities that many immigrants faced and pay tribute to the true grit of the settlers who built North America. While this book will have special meaning for the thousands of descendants of the Eamer family (and the other families who made up their community), their story will touch anyone with a history of immigration in their family tree.

In 1775, Americans made their first attempt to invade Canada. When the rebels attacked Quebec City, Carleton's motley army of militia, American loyalists, British regulars, and First Nations successfully managed to repel them, despite the odds.

In Susan A. Brewer's fascinating The Best Land, she recounts the story of the parcel of central New York land on which she grew up. Brewer and her family had worked and lived on this land for generations when the Oneida Indians claimed that it rightfully belonged to them. Why, she wondered, did she not know what had happened to this place her grandfather called the best land. Here, she tells its story, tracing over the past four hundred years the two families—her own European settler family and the Oneida/Mohawk family of Polly Denny—who called the best land home. Situated on the passageway to the west, the ancestral land of the Oneidas was coveted by European colonizers and the founders of the Empire State. The Brewer and Denny families took part in imperial wars, the American Revolution, broken treaties, the building of the Erie Canal, Native removal, the rise and decline of family farms, bitter land claims controversies, and the revival of the Oneida Indian Nation. As Brewer makes clear in The Best Land, through centuries of violence, bravery, greed, generosity, racism, and love, the lives of the Brewer and Denny families were profoundly intertwined. The story of this homeland, she discovers, unsettles the history she thought she knew. With clear determination to tell history as it was, without sugarcoating or ignoring the pain and suffering of both families, Brewer navigates the interconnected stories with grace, humility, and a deep love for the land. The Best Land is a beautiful homage to the people, the place, and the environment itself.