Prelude To Glory - The Hand Of Providence - Volume 4 in Series by Ron Carter

It's the sweltering summer of 1777, and flamboyant British General John Burgoyne has been sent by King George III to command a force of some eight thousand British and German troops in the war raging in the rebellious American colonies. His task? To proceed south from Quebec and lay siege to and capture Fort Ticonderoga. With the British thus in charge of the important Lake Champlain-Hudson River corridor, "Gentleman Johnny" reckons it will be a simple matter to proceed to Albany and join his force with those of General William Howe and Colonel Barry St. Leger. Together, they will mount a campaign to cut the New England states off from those farther south, then one by one defeat them.

With little understanding of the rugged, heavily wooden terrain he will have to cross and taking for granted the help he enlists from the ferocious Mohawk Indian tribe, Burgoyne assembles an elaborate camp and begins his march on Fort Ticonderoga. When the Americans abandon the strategically located fort without firing a shot, it looks as though Burgoyne is well on his way to accomplishing his purpose and securing for himself the military fame and glory he dreams of.

What he hasn't foreseen is the determination of the American forces. Under the heroic leadership of General Benedict Arnold, they give their more highly trained British foes all they want and more, and in the decisive Battle of Saratoga, the upstart Americans claim an unlikely victory - one that changes forever the history of the world.

Told through the now familiar characters of Billy and Eli, and filled with heart-pounding action and true stories of intrigue, bravery, and patriotism, volume 4 of Prelude To Glory captures the high adventure of America's struggle for independence - a quest that would have surely failed, had it not been for the intervention of the hand of Providence.