Joseph Alexander Altsheler (April 29, 1862 – June 5, 1919) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author of popular juvenile historical fiction

Historical fiction

Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...

.

Biography

Altsheler was born in Three Springs, Hart County

Hart County, Kentucky

Hart County is a county located in the U.S. state — or, more correctly, "Commonwealth" — of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. , the population was 17,445. Its county seat is Munfordville. The county is named for Captain Nathaniel G. S. Hart, a Kentucky militia officer in the War of 1812...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 to Joseph and Louise (Snoddy) Altsheler. In 1885, he took a job at the Louisville Courier-Journal as a reporter and later, an editor. He started working for the New York World

New York World

The New York World was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers...

 in 1892, first as the paper's Hawaiian correspondent and then as the editor of the Worlds tri-weekly magazine. Due to a lack of suitable stories, he began writing children's stories for the magazine.

Altsheler married Sarah Boles on May 30, 1888, and had one son. He and his family were in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 when World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 began. The difficult journey home took a huge toll on Altsheler's health and he was never the same. He died in New York City in 1919.

The Young Trailers Series

• The Young Trailers, a story of early Kentucky (1907)
• The Forest Runners, a story of the great war trail in early Kentucky (1908)
• The Keepers of the Trail, a story of the great woods (1916)
• The Eyes of the Woods, a story of the ancient wilderness (1917)
• The Free Rangers, a story of the early days along the Mississippi (1909)
• The Riflemen of the Ohio, a story of early days along "the beautiful river" (1910)
• The Scouts of the Valley, a story of Wyoming and the Chemung (1911)
• The Border Watch, a story of the great chief’s last stand (1912)

The French and Indian War Series

• The Lords of the Wild, a story of the old New York border (1919)
• The Hunters of the Hills, a story of the French and Indian War (1916)
• The Shadow of the North, a story of old New York and a lost campaign (1917)
• The Sun of Quebec, a story of a great crisis (1919)
• The Rulers of the Lakes, a story of George and Champlain (1917)
• The Masters of the Peaks, a story of the great north woods (1918)

The Texan Series

• The Texan Star, the story of a great fight for liberty (1912)
• The Texan Scouts, the story of the Alamo and Goliad (1913)
• The Texan Triumph, a romance of the San Jacinto campaign (1913)

The Civil War Series

• The Guns of Bull Run, a story of the Civil War’s eve (1914)
• The Guns of Shiloh, a story of the great western campaign (1914)
• The Scouts of Stonewall, the story of the great valley campaign (1914)
• The Sword of Antietam, a story of the nation’s crisis (1914)
• The Star of Gettysburg, a story of southern high tide (1915)
• The Rock of Chickamauga, a story of the western crisis (1915)
• The Shades of the Wilderness, a story of Lee’s great stand (1916)
• The Tree of Appomattox, a story of the Civil War's close (1916)

The Great West Series

• The Great Sioux Trail, a story of mountain and plain (1918)
• The Lost Hunters, a story of wild man and great beasts (1918)

The World War I Series

• The Guns of Europe (1915)
• The Hosts of the Air, the story of a quest in the Great War (1915)
• The Forest of Swords, a story of Paris and the Marne (1915)

Other books

• The Hidden Mine (1896)
• A Knight of Philadelphia (1897)
• A Soldier of Manhattan, and his adventures at Ticonderoga]and Quebec (1897)
• The Sun of Saratoga, a romance of Burgoyne's surrender (1897)
• A Herald of the West, an American story of 1811-1815 (1898)
• Kentucky Frontiersman, the adventures of Henry Ware, hunter and border fighter (1898)
• The Rainbow of Gold (1898)
• In Circling Camps, a romance of the Civil War (1900)
• In Hostile Red, a romance of the Monmouth campaign (1900)
• The Last Rebel (1900)
• The Wilderness Road; a romance of St. Clair’s defeat and Wayne’s victory (1901)
• My Captive, a novel (1902)
• Before the Dawn, a story of the fall of Richmond (1903)
• Guthrie of the Times, a story of success (1904)
• The Candidate, a political romance (1905)
• The Recovery, a story of Kentucky (1908)
• The Last of the Chiefs, a story of the great Sioux war (1909)
• The Horsemen of the Plains, a story of the great Cheyenne war (1910)
• The Quest of the Four, story of the Comanches and Buena Vista (1911)
• Apache Gold, a story of the strange Southwest (1913)
• At the Twelfth Hour: Selected Short Stories of Josef A. Altsheler, includes an Introduction by Robert M. McIlvaine, 9 short stories (5 civil war stories and 4 adventure stories), and an autobiographical essay entitled "What the Home-comers Saw" (1895–1919)

External links