Historical Fiction
Date Published: August 2016
By the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Casting Lots, New Caledonia: A Song of America is William D. McEachern’s third historical novel and the second in the Caledonia series. The first novel in the series, Caledonia: A Song of Scotland, told the story of James MacEachern fighting for Bonnie Prince Charles. New Caledonia: A Song of America continues the epic tale of James, as he emigrates from Scotland in 1750, fleeing the Duke of Cumberland’s ruthless assassin, Captain David Angus Campbell. Sailing to America, James walks the Great Wagon Trail from Philadelphia to Winchester, where he meets Daniel Morgan, who becomes a lifelong friend. Swirling events embroil Daniel and James as wagoners hauling freight for the British Army in the French and Indian War. On the road to the Battle of the Monongahela, James learns that Captain David Campbell is their commanding officer. For a minor infraction, Captain David Campbell whips Daniel Morgan nearly to death. The story of James, Daniel Morgan, and Captain David Campbell is played out over the course of two wars, the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, in battles such as Monongahela, King’s Mountain, and Cowpens. Who will survive?
Other books in the Caledonia Series:
Caledonia: A Song of Scotland
Published: September 2015
By the author of the critically acclaimed novel, Casting Lots, William D. McEachern, Caledonia: A Song of Scotland is his second historical novel. Caledonia is the epic tale of Scotland’s struggle to become an independent nation. In the process, the story of Scotland is revealed in its people, the Picts, the Irish Missionaries, the Norsemen, and the Highland Clans. All the natural beauty and wonder that is Scotland are captured for the reader’s enjoyment, from the wind-swept Isle of Skye through the Highlands with its towering bens, with numerous waterfalls, across the moors, purple with heather, and dotted with sheep and the lowing, ruddy Highland cattle, to the reflecting waters of the lochs, some mysterious and mist-laden, like Loch Ness, or picturesque, like Loch Lomond. Told from the viewpoint of one clan-the MacDonalds of Clanranald-the reader is swept along through the major events in the history of Scotland, from the writing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, the Massacre at Glencoe by the Campbells, the MacDonalds greatest enemy, through the Rising of 1745 under Bonnie Prince Charles’ to the decisive defeat at The Battle of Culloden and the bloody Highland Clearances under William, the Duke of Cumberland. Caledonia acquaints the reader with why so deeply ingrained in Scotland’s national psyche is its fight for freedom, both political and religious. Caledonia is the first novel in the series which will tell the story of the Scots not only in Scotland, but also in America.
About the Author
William D. McEachern lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with his wife. He is a father and a grandfather. Mr. McEachern graduated from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, with a B.A. in Psychology and Religion, his Juris Doctor Degree was from Fordham University School of Law in New York City and his Master’s in Law Degree in Taxation was from New York University School of Law. He practiced trusts and estates and tax law for nearly 40 years, before becoming a full time historian writing novels of historical fiction. An avid reader of history, he thoroughly researches and travels extensively to lend authenticity and realism to his works. To write New Caledonia: A Song of America, Mr. McEachern travelled both Braddock’s Road and the Great Wagon Road and visited, among other battlefields, King’s Mountain and Cowpens. His areas of expertise include the Roman Empire, Early Christianity, Scotland, and United States History with a particular emphasis on the American Revolution and the Civil War. Mr. McEachern’s first novel, Casting Lots, which is the life story of the Centurion who presided over the Crucifixion, garnered excellent reviews. His second novel, Caledonia: A Song of Scotland, explored Scottish history up to the Battle of Culloden and the beginning of the Highland Clearances. New Caledonia: A Song of America, the second novel in the Caledonia series, follows the Scots migration from Scotland to America, as they walk the Great Wagon Road and finally settle in North and South Carolina during the era of the French and Indian War and the America Revolution.
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