Drums Along the Mohawk is a novel by American author Walter D. Edmonds

Walter D. Edmonds

Walter "Walt" Dumaux Edmonds was an American author noted for his historical novels, including the popular Drums Along the Mohawk , which was successfully made into a Technicolor feature film in 1939 directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.-Life:In 1919 he entered The...

 which follows the lives of fictional Gil and Lana Martin, settlers in the Mohawk Valley

Mohawk Valley

The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....

 of the New York frontier during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. The book is peopled with historical persons such as General Nicholas Herkimer

Nicholas Herkimer

Nicholas Herkimer was a militia general in the American Revolutionary War, who died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.-Career:...

, Adam Helmer

Adam Helmer

Adam F. Helmer , also known as John Adam Helmer and Hans Adam Helmer, was an American Revolutionary War hero among those of the Mohawk Valley and surrounding regions of New York State. He was made nationally famous by Walter D...

, and William Caldwell

William Caldwell (ranger)

William Caldwell , was a Scots-Irish immigrant to North America who became a soldier with the British Indian Department, . He fought against the American rebels in the American Revolutionary War, especially with Butler's Rangers, based near upstate New York...

, and features historical events such as the Battle of Oriskany

Battle of Oriskany

The Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater of the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign...

 and the Attack on German Flatts (1778)

Attack on German Flatts (1778)

On September 17, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, a force of Loyalists and Iroquois made an attack on German Flatts, New York .-Prelude:...

. The novel was a commercial and popular success, remaining on the bestseller list for two years. In 1939

1939 in film

The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...

, the book was successfully adapted to a Technicolor

Technicolor

Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...

 feature film

Feature film

In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...

 of the same name

Drums Along the Mohawk

Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 historical Technicolor film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author, Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the...

 directed by John Ford

John Ford

John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...

 and starring Henry Fonda

Henry Fonda

Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...

, Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...

, Edna May Oliver

Edna May Oliver

Edna May Oliver was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the best-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters.-Early life:...

, Ward Bond

Ward Bond

Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...

, and John Carradine

John Carradine

John Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...

.