The Patriots

American Family Portrait #3

by Jack Cavanaugh

Esau and Jacob Morgan had been at odds with each other since their births moments apart. Their rivalry had spanned three decades and reached its peak when Jacob practically stole the attractive Mercy Reed for his wife while Esau, her fiancé was away studying in England. Now Jared and Anne Morgan are forced to watch as their sons take opposing stands in the struggle for American liberty. Will the war for independence tear the Morgans apart? And if they survive, will the Morgan family faith and Bible continue in America, or will they return to England where it all started?

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Christian, Romance, American Revolutionary War

536 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Jack Cavanaugh is an award-winning, full-time freelance author with twenty-five published novels to his credit. His nine-volume American Family Portrait series spans the history of a nation from 1630 to the present and is still in print nearly fifteen years following its release.

A student of the novel for more than a quarter of a century, Jack takes his craft seriously, continuing to study and teach at Christian writers conferences. He is the former pastor of three churches in San Diego County and draws upon his theological background for the spiritual elements of his plots and characters.

His novels have been translated into a dozen foreign languages, largely because of the universal scope of his topics. Jack has not only written about American history, but about South Africa, banned English Bibles, German Christians in the days of Hitler and Communism, revivals in America, and angelic warfare.

Jack’s current writing schedule includes motion picture screenplays and e-book serial fiction with Internet distribution. His novel Death Watch has been optioned to be made into a motion picture by Out Cold Entertainment, Inc.

Jack has three grown children and lives with his wife in Southern California.

AWARDS

• Silver Medallion Award (1995), Christian Booksellers Association
• Christy Award (2002, 2003), Excellence in Christian Fiction
• Silver Angel Award (2002), Excellence in Media
• Gold Medal, Best Historical (2001), ForeWord Magazine
• Best Historical Novel (1994), San Diego Literary Society
• Best Novel (1995, 1996, 2005), San Diego Christian Writers Guild

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that seems to haunt you while you are reading it or trying to not read it, I should say. And when you are finally finished, feel accomplished and yet sad that you no longer get to peer in on the lives of the characters anymore. This book paints a wonderful picture of life of twins that choose different sides of America's fight for freedom. I loved the story and enough though the turn of events left me rather sad, I will still read it again.

[Eva-Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, I considered rating this book 4.5 stars on my third re-read, but I do adore the characters and the story, even though I skimmed several chunks this time (I know the book quite well, and all the historical stuff and even a lot of character stuff was skimmable this time). Jack Cavanaugh is still one of the best.

[Patriot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, this is another one of those books that I think is the BEST IN THE WORLD!!!!! And actually, it's the best book that I have ever read--along with "Yankee Doodle Boy". The book is long and THRILLING, every one of the 530 pages will hold you breathless! It was so good I never wanted it to end, and the author did the most perfect job on portraying all the people, battles, events and, of course, the ghastly betrayal of Benedict Arnold. You will come to consider Jacob and Esau as your own family once you get to know them! Read this book!! I LOVED it!!!

[Kharissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another amazing addition to the series! This one flowed much better than the second book of the series and brought you back to the captivation of the first! WOW!!! As I included in the previous two reviews - I read the "Victor editions" of the series.

[Frankie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this! Solid historical fiction with a Christian world view. It follows the path of America transforming from a Christian nation to a deist nation. Looking forward to The next book in the series.

[Veanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. My sister sent all nine books home with me to read and its been fun! I love historical fiction! Thanks Susan!

[Deanna Sutter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shallow characters....shallow story line...shallow "conversions"....

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't like it as much as the first books in the series, but it was still an enjoyable read.

[Julie Christianson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this series of books.

[Tessa Palmeri aka Tonya Preece · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series made me fall in love with American history!

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah this book killed me, held me, comforted me, encouraged me, and intrigued me! I absolutely loved the crazy ride! The end tho 😭😭😭
Honestly I don’t even know where to start. Things I liked:
Christian Elements- I loved how Jack Cavanaugh was able to realistically and skillfully implement strong Christian themes into this book. Bible quotations, verses, and even allagorical themes (Jacob and Esau, sound familiar?)
Sympathetic characters- I held my breath the whole way. Not literally but I have to say my heart stopped beating a couple of times there... I cared so much about these characters.
Great writing style- not much to say here other than that lol
Many more but I don’t want this review to be too long XD
Things I didn’t especially like:
Hmm this is hard
There was a bit of flirting between married people (not to each other which is the concerning thing) but nothing major. And it is clearly expressed that the behavior is wrong so overall...
I didn’t want ANYONE to die in this book yet sometimes authors aren’t that considerate lol. Let’s just say I wasn’t the happiest with a few outcomes😭
Age recommendation: 13+
Happy reading!

[Sally Lindsay-briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very lengthy book but definitely worth the trouble. It was a fantastic rendering of the families, the feelings, the pain and the many important parts that women worked hard at, in the Revolutionary War. I am a student of history but this made it so very real and heartbreaking. Many characters were included like Ben Franklin (who was especially loved by women), Paul Revere, Benedict Arnold (maybe we could understand why he defected to the English side). The enmity between Jacob Morgan and his brother Esau pointed to the divisions that really did tear up many families during that chaotic time. The story could not have come at a better time even though it wasn't planned. Our nation's birthday is in two days and I am celebrating it with renewed knowledge of how our ancestors gave us freedom.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to read, another great story in this series. This one was a little tougher for me to get through because of the incredible historical detail of the war and troop movements, clandestine meetings, politics, and the description of different attacks. It was sometimes a bit hard to follow, too, because the main characters are twins and they are each on a different side of the war and then each become spies on the other side. But this didn't detract much from the entertainment.

[Becky Lake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, I enjoyed the facts interspersed with the fiction. He did a great job making the history of the time period come alive. I appreciated his characters struggles with the conflict at that time. Each came from a different point of view. It also encompassed family conflicts and how they can either destroy or bring together a family.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book not only enables the reader to experience what it might have been like to live during the birth of our nation and its independence, there is also a beautiful, unexpected picture of self-sacrifice and forgiveness. Some parts were a little bit more detailed militarily than I enjoy, but it is definitely worth reading.

[Dawn Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction at its best. Love this series. Mr Cavanaugh goes into such detail. You feel like you are re-living history. The war scenes are incredible. The use of twins is visionary especially with the missions they take on in war. Great read.

[Sondra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good historical fiction read!

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first 2 volumes in this series. One thing I did like is that the author at the end of the story wrote a chapter on what was true and what was fiction. This kept my knowledge of history from getting confused with the fiction of the story.

[Signe Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing historical novel!

Well done, Jack Cavanaugh! Another brilliantly written historical story. I can't wait to move on to Book 4. I also love how God's Word is woven throughout the story.

[Megan Schemenauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow start; lots of battles; interest picks up with capture. Anne and Jared are less likable in this book. Some scenes seem off topic (Madame LaFontaine)

[Una · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned more about the Revolutionary War by reading this book. History became alive for me.

[Abigail · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was NO a closure what so ever. They hated each other clear to Esau’s death and WHO names their boys Jacob and Esau? They asked for it.