True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence

by G.A. Henty

True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence by G.A. Henty tells the story of the The American Revolution form the perspective of a young British loyalist, Harold Wilson. Henty succeeds in showing both American determination and English resolve in the bitter conflict. In this story you will learn why Canada almost became part of the United States. You will also learn why European powers joined the Patriot cause after an American defeat at Germantown. You will meet many leaders from both sides of the conflict, including Cornwallis, Washington, Arnold, Gage, Pulaski, Gates, Sumpter, de Grasse, Reidesel, Knyphausen, Tarleton and "Mad Anthony" Wayne. Included in this edition are more than 125 geographical, historical, and explanatory footnotes to aid the modern reader.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, American Revolution, Historical, Classics, Military Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1884

About the author

George Alfred Henty, better known as G.A. Henty, began his storytelling career with his own children. After dinner, he would spend and hour or two in telling them a story that would continue the next day. Some stories took weeks! A friend was present one day and watched the spell-bound reaction of his children suggesting Henty write down his stories so others could enjoy them. He did. Henty wrote approximately 144 books in addition to stories for magazines and was known as "The Prince of Story-Tellers" and "The Boy's Own Historian." One of Mr. Henty's secretaries reported that he would quickly pace back and forth in his study dictating stories as fast as the secretary could record them.

Henty's stories revolve around fictional boy heroes during fascinating periods of history. His heroes are diligent, intelligent, and dedicated to their country and cause in the face, at times, of great peril... Henty's heroes fight wars, sail the seas, discover land, conquer evil empires, prospect for gold, and a host of other exciting adventures. Along the way, they meet famous personages... In short, Henty's heroes live through tumultuous historic eras meeting leaders of that time. Understanding the culture of the time period becomes second nature as well as comparing/contrasting the society of various cultures.

Reviews

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars & 4/10 hearts. An exciting read full of information on tracking/scouting, surviving, and woodlore in general (which I love!!). Peter was so much fun to read sometimes (those Henty scouts always have a dry, witty sort of humor which can be so amusing!). There are very few mentions of drinking & smoking, as well as some lying. However, Henty had a strong racial problem—.5 stars removed for pretty strong disparaging titles for and attitude to Amerindians and blacks.

A Favourite Quote: “‘Well, John, since it seems so hopeless, cannot you give it up? Is it too late?’
“‘Altogether too late, Mary, and if I were free tomorrow I would volunteer my services again next day. It is not any the less my duty to fight in my country's cause because I believe the cause to be a losing one. You must see that yourself, dear. If England had been sure to win without my aid, I might have stood aloof. It is because everyone's help is needed that such services as I can render are due to her. A country would be in a bad way whose sons were only ready to fight when their success was a certainty.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “‘There's the troops,’ Peter said. ‘Soldiers are never content unless they're making fires big enough to warn every redskin within fifty miles that they're coming.’
“[T]he challenge from the English sentinel came over the water: ‘Who comes there?’
“‘Friends,’ Peter replied.
“‘Give the password.’
“‘How on arth am I to give the password,’ Peter shouted back, ‘when we've been three days away from the camp?’”

*review to be updated*

[Brett O'Dell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very well rounded book. The language used in the book confused me sometimes but I think that was just because the language used when this book was written was different from what we use now.
The plot is very good. I liked the idea of hearing the other side of the story from what I usually read. I never get to hear the side of the story from the British point of view. I always get to hear the colonial side. I just thought that was a nice little change and I wish more people would write stories from the other side's point of view. Like the German's viewpoint of War World Two. Is it different from what we usually read? Yes. Will you not like most of the things that would probably be said during the dialogue of the story? No. I think that is something we need more of in our society today. We need to start looking at other people's viewpoints and realize, "Hey, they have a point." If we start priming people's brains to start thinking about the other's perspective we might start understanding others that are against us in beliefs.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

So far the only Henty I didn't like. Pretty strong on the propaganda for "bad colonists trying to rebel against the dear mother country." Got rid of my copy.

[Moriah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oooh!!! I don't know that I've ever read a book that has gotten me this mad before! This story of the American War for Independence was written from the point of view of the British. I felt that Henty was constantly saying how gallant and brave the British were (which I know that both sides did fight bravely) but every time he talked/told story about some of the American soldiers they were made out to be sneering and cruel. Parts where it was said that "the American writers made efforts to conceal the real facts of the case, to minimize the rebellious language, the violent acts of the colonists, and to make England responsible for the war because a body of troops were sent to seize cannon and military stores intended to be used against them are so absurd, as well as so untrue, that it is astonishing how wide a credence such statements have received" and "throughout the war, it may be said that the Americans were feeble in attack and wholly incapable of standing against British troops in the open" and "the more England had given in to their [America's] wishes, the more insolent and overbearing had their demands become" fairly made my blood BOIL! I was tempted many a time to return this book unfinished but I suppose that it is good for me to read about the other point of view, even when it makes me good and mad:( Maybe I'm just a tad bit loyal to my country, eh?
So while I have enjoyed several of Henty's books (and will hopefully enjoy more of them in the future), I do not think that I will ever be reading THIS particular book ever again.

[David Lugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting since he comes from the loyalist perspective. Typical Henty style where it’s a page-turner for about 20 pages, then he launches into an extremely detailed, 5-8 page description of a battle. Those sections are interesting tactically, but not super helpful for a book that’s supposed to give you a birds-eye view of the war. He also definitely doesn’t accurately portray the American side, but it was interesting to read the other perspective. Good book overall.

[Dylan Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Henty when he stays in Europe. When he goes abroad, we get too much racism.

[Moss Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike much of Henty’s other novels, I was a bit disappointed by this one. While I respected, appreciated, and actually was intrigued by the perspective of the Revolutionary War as told by an Englishman, I was disappointed to find that author got sucked into the fabrications of casualties as told by much of the British high command in the colonies. For instance-Henty stated that the Patriot force at Kings Mountain was 5000. The force was actually 900. Cornwallis purposefully lied multiple times to General Clinton about the Patriot forces strength to seemingly soften the blow of losing to a seemingly less superior enemy. Henty took this to be the truth instead of investigating this number. Another mistake in Henty’s narrative was in talking about Kentucky and a slave character in the novel being taken to a plantation there. Kentucky didn’t become a state until nearly a decade after the end of the American Revolution. To be historically accurate, Henty should have used Virginia or the Carolinas as the location for the plantation. Have always loved Henty and his historical accuracy, but he dropped the ball on this one.

[Susanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I started this book, I was interested to see the British view of the American Revolution. In the preface of his book, Henty states that "The whole of the facts and details connected with the war can be relied upon as accurate." I didn't expect him to contradict himself. He represents the Americans as cruel while never saying anything bad about the British army. He does not accurately portray either side. There were atrocities committed by both sides, and had Henty admitted this, I would have respected his book. But because he didn't and didn't tell much of a story besides, I wholly disliked this book.

[Bill Suits · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this story with an open mind but it is difficult as an American. The very beginning was excellent then it went downhill. It has a great premise but I felt like he wrote this book in anger instead of joy like his other books.

[Richard Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was neat seeing the other side. It had a good plot. I just don't like how in this book we are said to have been cruel. I bet we were at times. But they were too. But other then that great book!

[Terry Burgess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book picked up at my local free library.

If looking for an easy read with a unique perspective on the American Revolution I would recommend, otherwise fairly forgettable.

[Audiobook Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EAAb...

[Mattaniah Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall good read, and an interesting perspective on events you don't often hear

[Phoebe Hinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew, coming into this book, that I wouldn't agree with some things, as it's told from the British perspective. But I was okay with that, because I wanted to see how the British viewed our War for Independence.
Overall, I think Henty was mostly fair in his treatment of the war. At some places it seemed like he had an axe to grind, representing the Americans as unable to face the British in a fair European-style combat; sometimes making them out as a bit brutal, being unused to the rules of "civilized" war; but y'know, I haven't studied the Revolution much (shame on me, I know), so quite possibly this is well-founded.

Henty does like to infodump, and that's my main problem with his "campaign" books - he spends an awful lot of time on the military actions at the expense of "our hero". That makes me verrrrry sleepy when listening to the audio in the car 🫠
And too much Indian (Native American) fighting - it gets old after a while, especially since I've already read two of his books that deal with the same thing.

[Will Harrub · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a big Henty fan, but this one was far less enjoyable than usual for several reasons. First of all, he spent too many pages describing the events of the war; events that weren’t central to the story’s plot. Made for some boring stretches.

But secondly, Henty wrote from the British perspective of the American revolution, which I originally thought would make for an interesting read. However, Henty seemed to go out of his way to justify the behavior of the British and really vilified the American people. Many portions of him describing the events seemed to have been penned in anger/frustration. I expected some British bias, but he went far beyond what I deemed necessary to defend the British and cast aspersions on the colonists.

Decent story and a few exciting parts makes it worthy of a 3 star rating.

[Marilynn A Grieser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read about the Revolutionary War, mostly through the eyes of a young, 15-year old boy. It's an easy-to-read historical novel that reveals just how close the colonists were to losing the war. It's an adventurous and educational book for adolescents and adults. This was another book my grandson and I read in our book club.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking forward to finishing this book. We printed this out from www.gutenberg.org and were reading it as a family. These books are historical and have lots of action and adventure. They are well written and very interesting even to an old prissy mom.

[Ken Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henty is an author from the 19th Century. Like his other books I've read he is a great story teller whowrites with a believable moral tone. Some of his views might be dated, but they are easy to work with as you read his great story from the time of the American Revolution.

[Ray Stafford · Rating 2 out of 5]

this one gets two stars only because the main character is a loyalist

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend. The different viewpoint is disconcerting at times, but considering Henty was an English author, this comes as no surprise, and provides some interesting insight to his own views.

[Bevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good, though not as entertaining as many of his other works. It does give a very fact-based account of the American Revolution.

[Gr Paisley · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a bit difficult to read because of the back and forth pictures of the war, from the American point of view to the British point of view.
otherwise I liked it very much.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite book right now. I think that it was interesting that instead of righting about the american struggles he did the English struggles

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the Indian attack at the beginning of the book but then there's hardly any story after that