Families of Two Fires: Forging America's Frontier, 1776-1832

In Families of Two Fires, Randall Wisehart tells a fictionalized version of the true tale of Richard Rue and George Holman, whose families came to Kentucky in 1776. As part of George Rogers Clark’s militia, the young men fought the British and their Native allies in several battles, including at Vincennes, thus helping win the Revolutionary War. However, Indigenous warriors in the Ohio River Valley continued attacks on American settlements. Richard and George joined retal iatory excursions, helping burn down Native towns. On their last as signment, they were captured and adopted by Shawnee and “Mingo” bands. Here, they finally realized their adoptive tribes were fighting for their families, homes, and cultures. Years after escaping captivity, Richard and George reunited with their Native families when the Shawnee and Mingo were hunting on land near their Richmond, Indiana, homesteads. The two sets of families enjoyed annual reunions until the Indigenous families were forcibly removed to the West “forever.”

RANDALL WISEHART lives in Richmond, Indiana, with his wife, Tammy Rhoades, and their retired racing greyhounds. Randall taught middle school language arts and high school English for twenty-five years. He was also Director of Graduate Programs in Education at Earlham College. He has previously written two historical fiction novels, Luke’s Summer Secret and A Winding Road to Freedom, about the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio. He is also author of A Greyt Greyhound Rescue.