"In September 1756, fifty American soldiers set off on a routine reconnaissance near Lake George, determined to safeguard the upper reaches of the New York colony. Caught in a devastating ambush by French and native warriors, only a handful of colonials made it back alive. Toward the end of the French and Indian War, another group of survivors, long feared dead, returned home, having endured years of grim captivity among the native and French inhabitants of Canada. Pieced together from archival records, period correspondence, and official reports, Hodges' Scout relates the riveting tale of young colonists who were tragically caught up in a war they barely understood. Len Travers brings history to life by describing the variety of motives that led men to enlist in the campaign and the methods and means they used to do battle. He also reveals what the soldiers wore, the illnesses they experienced, the terror and confusion of combat, and the bitter hardships of captivity in alien lands. His remarkable research brings human experiences alive, giving us a rare, full-color view of the French and Indian War--the first true world war"-- "Many Americans probably know the French and Indian War by way of the film adaptation (1992) of Cooper's Last of the Mohicans. In it Michael Mann directs the young Daniel Day-Lewis and, in parts, succeeds in capturing the strange solitude of warring in endless forest and the sudden ferocity of battle during this first truly world war. Writing an unusual work of art and history, Len Travers here excavates the story of a colonial-American 'lost patrol' during that war, turning musty documents into a gripping tale that could reach well beyond an academic readership. Fifty provinical soldiers left the fringes of settlement in fall, 1756, aiming to safeguard the upper reaches of New York. Within days, near Lake George, native warriors, allies of the French, jumped them. Surprised and overwhelmed, the colonists suffered death or capture. The fifteen surviviors lived for years as prisoners of their native captors. Eventually a few of them managed to work their back to their villages and families, living to tell their stories. Travers's remarkable research brings human experiences alive, giving us a rare, full color view of the French and Indian War. These personal accounts throw light on the motives, means, and methods of both colonists and Natives at war in the American wilderness. They also speak to the nature of war itself"-- Provided by publisher. Provided by publisher.

Prologue: Recovering Lost Lives -- Part One. Hodges' Scout -- Kill'd or taken -- Captain Hodges' Company -- General Winslow's Dilemma -- "Ye very bane of New England Men" -- Slaughter -- Captain Bougainville's American Adventure -- Part Two. Captives -- Ensign Lincoln's Great Escape -- The Peregrinations of Peleg Stevens -- Isaac Foster at the Edges of Empire -- Homecomings -- The Court-Martial of Jonathan Barnes -- Coda: William Merry's Tale -- Appendix A: The Roll of Hodges' Scout -- Appendix B: The Captives -- Appendix C: William Merry's Account, Recorded 1853 -- Appendix D: Captain Hodges' Sword -- Essay on Sources.