Call to mind for a moment a man in the late 1760s, a Frenchman who purchased a fine spread of 250 acres in New York. For seven years, he cultivated a prosperous farm which he named Pine Hill, raised a dear family of three children with his wife, and became a well respected and faithful friend to his neighbors.
Move forward in time to the year 1776, when revolution was under way. J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur had been a farmer and an author for seven years. But his home and situation were threatened by the disintegrating political and social situation in New York. Indians were taking advantage of the war between the Americans and British by conducting raids on isolated farms. Patriots were persecuting anyone who was suspected of harboring Tory sentiments. Unfortunately, Crèvecoeur fit into both categories. His farm was far from populated centers, and he was discreetly pro-British in his sympathies.
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