Overview

Walter Billingsley's entire life changed on a dark, violent night in the spring of 1776. At the tender age of fifteen, he witnessed and experienced unspeakable acts of terror against his family, perpetrated by militants loyal to the British Crown. The horrors of that unforgettable night launched this innocent Colonial lad on a determined course toward service in the rebellion known as the American Revolution. Five horrendous years of suffering, privation, violence, loss, and war molded the North Carolina lad into a battle-hardened, bitter, and angry young man. He became disheartened, despondent, and vengeful. Walter grew to hate the world around him, so he departed all that was familiar to him and set out in search of a new life in the raw, unspoiled mountains of the western frontier. Would Walter ever feel peace and forgiveness in his heart again? Or, would he carry his painful scars of violence and rage to his grave? Soldiers and Martyrs is the story of an unlikely Patriot who left his farm and home in North Carolina to become a man, fight for his loved ones, and help earn freedom for the United States of America.