Historical fiction, 2-volume set
August 1862. Eighteen-year-old Harm van Wyke finds his quiet life in the Dutch Reformed community of Holland, Michigan, upended by the American Civil War. When it becomes clear the war will not be as easily won as once believed, President Lincoln calls for 300,000 volunteers to defend the Union. Harm’s minister, Rev. Albertus van Raalte, encourages the young men of his community to join the cause. Harm’s father bitterly opposes the idea. Harm hesitates to leave his home, but when his friends portray the war as a grand adventure, he gives in and joins them. Together, some eighty boys and young men from Holland join the 25th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
As Harm and his friends travel to army camps in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and then Louisville, Kentucky, they face daily temptations to forget God and turn from their faith. Fellow soldiers think nothing of taking the Lord’s name in vain. They gamble, drink, and “forage” from neighbouring homes and farms. Harm and his friends gather regularly to sing the old psalms and discuss the Bible, but still, on occasion, they stumble and fall.
As the war progresses, the boys from Holland battle Confederate General John Hunt Morgan in Western Kentucky, and endure an arduous march to Eastern Tennessee where they join the fighting around Knoxville. Later, they take part in General Sherman’s prolonged and bloody Atlanta campaign. Along the way, Harm and his friends face the harsh realities of war—exposure, disease, injury, and death. In the midst of such hardship, Harm’s faith is tried at every turn. His greatest conflict turns out to be spiritual. Will God give Harm the strength to stand for what is right, even if he finds himself opposed by friends?
Through Many Dangers Volumes 1-2 by P. M. Kuiper, illustrated by Paula Barone; Reformed Free Publishing; pb; 194 pages.
Review by JOHN VAN DYK published in Christian Renewal, February 19, 2022
There are books aplenty for young children. Not as many for young people -good fictional stories for teens written from a Reformed perspective.
Writer P. M. Kuiper helps toward correcting that deficit with his story Through Many Dangers (Volumes 1 &: 2) based on the American Civil War as seen and experienced through the eyes of a group of immigrants -Reformed young men from Holland, Michigan -an early Dutch settlement in the 1850s.
The young men were raised in solid Dutch Reformed families, and were members of a church led by pastor Rev. Albertus Van Raalte. With Van Raalte’s strong encouragement, they sign up to fight for the Union. The two volumes penned by Kuiper and well illustrated by Paula Barone, take us through the war from August 1862 to July of 1865. While the books are based on historical events -there was a 25th Michigan regiment and the army leaders named in the story are accurate as are the battles fought, the young people serving as central characters, are fictional.
Throughout the story there are teaching moments aplenty. The young men are for the most part devout in their commitment to the faith, setting aside time for devotions together (prayer, Bible reading, psalm singing) as well as longing to return home, be with their families, and sit under their pastor’s faithful preaching. Chapters alternate between the life of soldiers in the field to letters sent to the folks back home anxious for any sliver of news from the front. The letter writer character, Harm, also sends home sketches of what he’s seen along the way. Chapters share the drudgery of soldiering, exposure to the elements, the lack of provisions, the lack of supplies; the terror of battle and its often grim results. Those interested in the civil war will be particularly drawn. The writing while at first a bit stiff improves as events and the drama unfold. There is enough material to keep readers engaged and turning pages.
Also helpfully included are civil war battle timelines, and a section defining military terms.
Both author and artist are members of the Protestant Reformed Churches and both offer unique talents in terms of research, writing and artistic ability that helps carry these two volumes to their desired and satisfying end.
The books are published by Reformed Free Publishing Association. Recommended.
Read additional reviews by Annemarieke Ryskamp (The Outlook), Ken Kolk (retired professor of history) and Robert Swierenga (Van Raalte Institute at Hope College, Holland, Michigan).
