New Faith & Freedom Trilogy book underway

I've been a bit distracted, to say the least, with final preparations for the John Calvin 2009 500th birthday tour, so I'm a bit behind getting a full head of writing steam on the new Guns book, likely Guns of Freedom (or Liberty). But I plan to offer updates on this blog site throughout the writing, which will begin in earnest after July 14 when we return from the Calvin tour.

The setting is going to be Maine (part of Massachusetts then), in 1779. The lesser-known Siege of Penobscot will be the culminating military conflict of the story, which has both an infantry militia dimension and a privateer sea battle dimension, both of which I find fascinating to write about.

Guns of Freedom (a working title that is growing on me) will go deep on the divergent positions taken by Christian loyalists and patriots towards the American War for Independence, and the postures toward the war taken by British Christians, especially Presbyterian Scots, but will include contemporaries like poet William Cowper and his friend John Newton (Olney Hymns, incidentally, was published in 1779). Timothy Dwight, author of the hymn, I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord, minuteman chaplain, president of Yale, and grandson of Jonathan Edwards, will likely play a not insignificant role.

This book has a special dimension. Much of my research up to this point has been carried out, with my direction, by my teacher's assistant, Landon O'Ban, salutatorian graduate of the class of 2009, Covenant High School. Laddie has an appointment to West Point where he will be training for the next four years to be a leader of men as an officer in the United States Army.