Unruffled Courage

Book excerpt: UNRUFFLED COURAGE, THE ADVENTURES OF AMERICAN PATRIOT BENJAMIN HAMILTON AND A CHEROKEE MAIDEN NAMED MOONGLOW, is a passionate story set in the untamed western expanse of colonial America. Benjamin's deeply rooted love of country propels him headlong into a fierce battle of wills, pitting his newly formed regiment of experienced over mountain men and Indian fighters against a larger force of British loyalists and regulars on a low-lying ridge in York County, South Carolina, known as Kings Mountain. Then, when Benjamin is sent on a spying mission against a renegade band of Cherokees, his life is forever changed when he happens upon an Indian maiden named Moonglow bathing in the chilly mountain waters of Spring Creek. The historical yet freely embellished character driven tale soon takes a sudden turn when Moonglow is threatened by a pack of ferocious timber wolves. Thinking only of her safety, Benjamin saves the defenseless maiden but then has to flee for his life just moments after learning her name when braves in her village hear gunshots and come looking for him. Using a most unconventional tactic, he escapes capture. Now separated from Moonglow by distance and time, the brave patriot finds love in the arms of Mary Rankin, only to lose her and their unborn baby when she suddenly dies. He is left heartbroken. But fate steps in and reunites the patriot with the Indian maiden. Benjamin passionately expresses his long repressed feelings for the Cherokee, and Moonglow, now hopelessly in love with the handsome, blue-eyed patriot, makes a decision that will cause her to be revered as a true American heroine.