Danger at Niagara

by Margaret Goff Clark

A fifteen-year-old boy joins the army to help fight the War of 1812 and finds that the issues are not as clear-cut as he imagined.

127 pages, hardcover

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Margaret Goff Clark was born March 7, 1913, in Oklahoma City, USA. At five, she and her family moved to Olean, New York. She attended Columbia University and State University in Buffalo, earning a bachelor’s degree in education. She began writing when her children were young and published her first book, The Mystery Of Seneca Hill in 1961. As a result, Ms. Clark was adopted into the Seneca Indian tribe in 1962.
Many of her books are based on her experiences traveling to parks and nature areas by camping trailer. The Clarks had a cottage in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, and Death At Their Heels was written in 1975, after visiting it one summer. Most recently, Ms. Clark wrote books about endangered species in Florida, including the manatee and the Florida black bear. Her 1993 book on the endangered Florida panther was dedicated to her husband Charles R. Clark. In addition to books, Ms. Clark contributed over 200 short stories to magazines such as American Girl, The Instructor, Teen Talk and other Canadian and American magazines. Margaret Goff Clark passed away in 2003.

Reviews

[Stacey Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking a time in Niagara history Margaret Goff Clark shows us the scene from the view of a young boy. Homan wants to join the fight going on but his brother Guy has left him behind to tend to the animals. When the animals are stolen Homan sees this as his opportunity to become a soldier. Americans are holding down the fort at Niagara keeping watch for the enemy across the Niagara River. When an American stronghold in Canada ends up in flames (through a bad decision) the people in Niagara expect retaliation. Thinking the British and the Mohawks will come to destroy their homes Homan has new duties. He must keep his neighbors Molly, Anne (Guy's fiance) and Jeremy Warren safe. They pack up what little they can carry, hitch up the oxen and head away from danger. When things look bleak and the enemy is near they find help in an unexpected way.
As a native Niagarian I have heard this story, seen reenactments of the burning and know the history. Margaret Goff Clark does a nice job telling it with a different perspective. We can get behind Homan as he becomes a man, learning as we watch him grow. This book is a great way to learn history in a story form.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

More local history, as I grew up near where this took place.