Ch. 6- 11 Investigator

Your job is to dig up some background information on any topic related to your book.

1. The authors of My Brother Sam is Dead, James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, are brothers who have teamed together to write eight historical fiction novels. Christopher is a professor specializing in American history and James focuses on plot and characterization. They both live in the northeast (James in NYC and Christopher in Orange, Connecticut).


2. These authors have included many real events and people. They mention that the following peices are true:

A) Redding, Connecticut & it's description

B) the Meeker tavern

C) The church (though it has been burnt and rebuilt) along with the
gravestones of Heron and Meeker family members.

D) People: Gen. Israel Putnam, Colonel Reed, Tom Warrups, Ned the slave
(dying the same way as described), William Heron, Capt Betts, Daniel Starr,
Amos Rogers, Jerry Sanford, john Beach, the Meeker family (though the
details have been made up)

E) Yale students did rush away to get weapons and join the war in 1775

F) Redding was a strong Tory town

G) The British raid of Redding

H) Rebel messenger was shot

I) "Sam" wasn't executed, but Edward Jones and John Smith were killed in a
similar way as described for Sam.


3. The authors did a lot of research at the Connecticut State Library in Hartford, using historical dosuments and primary sources.


4. These resources associate with the information covered in the book:

A) The American Heritage Book of the American Revolution

B) The War of American Independence

C) The Connecticut Story

D) The History of Redding, Connecticut

E) The War of Revolution


5. This website is the History of Redding, Connecticut, and includes a lot of true information relating to the book. There are maps, photos, and facts about the real people and events of the location:

http://www.historyofredding.com/HRmbsd.htm