The Matchlock Gun

Summary: The Matchlock Gun is a book set during the French and Indian War, and talks about some of America's history from the perspective of this Dutch family who lives in the wilderness.
Personal Reaction: I like how this book does not go through the same thing that most war books do. About how

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many people died or how hard it was. Instead it talks about a certain part that was personal to them.
Classroom Extension: This book could be used when talking about American History, or the French and Indian War.

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Placed in the mid 1700's, this is about a pioneer family living around Albany, New York. It is a short story about a father having to leave his family to fight the war, leaving the mother, a ten year old boy, and baby girl to fend for themselves. Sure enough the indians come to the home but the

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mother has set a trap. The boy has a antique shotgun and when the mother leads them to the house the boy blows them away.
I thought it was an exciting story. However, I would have to check with authorities because I heard there might be a rule about talking about guns. I would also have to check on the political correctness of it all.
How things were and the individual responsabilities, even for children, would be interesting topics. The history of early America and the Revolution would easily follow.

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Another Newbery tale that was once popular and now is seen as wrong-minded. This is an old family story of a boy who saved his mother and sister from Indian attack in the early years of New York. The boy was able to fire off an ancient family gun and stop the invaders from destroying his family. I

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understand how a group of people, in this case the Native Americans, can be unilaterally seen as cruel and aggressive from books such as Daniel Boone and The Matchlock Gun, but another part of me sees this book as part of history, albeit a part of history that is no longer recognized as unbiased.

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In 1756, New York State was still a British colony, and the French and the Indians were constant threats to Edward and his family. When his father was called away to watch for a raid from the north, only Edward was left to protect Mama and little Trudy. His father had shown him how to use the huge

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matchlock gun, an old Spanish gun that was twice as long as he was, but would Edward be able to handle it if trouble actually came? This classic, first published in 1941, has an updated, kid-friendly format that includes the original black-and-white illustrations.

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This book was set in 1757 in "wild America". There was a young family that lived on a farm. The father was in the militia and left one night to fight off the Indians leaving his wife and two small children. They knew the Indians were getting closer to their house because they had been starting

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fires and they could see the smoke in the distance. The mother barracaded the house and set the boy up with the old matchlock gun. The mother went out to look for Indians. Soon five were running after her and she was running as fast as she could towards the house. She had given her son specific directions to shoot when she told him to. As soon as she reached the porch she yelled for him to shoot the gun, but not before they had thrown a tomahawk into her shoulder blade. The boy shot and killed three of the five Indians. The others ran off. The house caught fire and the two children sat next to their unconscious mother until their father and uncle returned home that morning.

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book. In this book the children were very brave and helpful to their mother.

In the classroom, I could use this book to talk about early America and how the Indians and whites fought.

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This is a great story about a family living in the wild west and how bravery played an important role in survival, especially through the eyes of a young boy.

This is a true story and as the young readers read through the pages will discover how harsh life was but how independence was worth the

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struggle.

A great story, especially for young readers whom enjoy history.

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In 1942, The Matchlock Gun received what most books are never able to achieve, the Newberry Medal. Based on an actual family, the Van Alstynes, the book tells the story of the family defending their home against the French and the Indians. When Teunis leaves with the militia overnight to fight, he

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leaves Gertrude to tend to their children Edward and Trudy. Although her husband assures her the Indians will never break through their line, Gertrude still worries about how she will defend her home and children with her husband gone. When family friend and fellow militia man Mynderse comes to tell them the Indians are closer than planned, Gertrude decides to stay at home instead of moving to her mother-in-laws as advised. While outside gathering the cows, they see fires in the distance from the Indians burning homes. She knows she must get a plan started. The valued matchlock gun that hangs above the fireplace came down and Gertrude showed young Edward how to use it and the plan was set. After the Indians came quicker than planned, Edward saves the day in the knick of time.
I thought this was a good book, but it is not something I would feel compelled to read again. I have read a book that follows this same basic pattern before, but it was not a true story and I can't think of the name of it at the moment.
I think this would be an excellend book to read during a social studies class. It is often seen as controversial because of the negative view given of the Indians. However, this true story depicts exactly how some of the Indians felt about the white people in their area. We seem to take so much of the reality out of our history for fear of offending many cultures and lose so much history while doing so. It is important to teach, at the same time, that not all Indians acted like that so that we do not stereo-type the entire culture.

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Summary: This story was about a matchlock gun a Palatinate family that moved to America owned. The story tells of how the Great-Grandfather bought the gun in Holland and the mother kept the gun for family protection in wild America. The story ends with a ten year old boy learning how to use the gun

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for the first time. The boy saves his mother and sister by using this gun as instructed and has killed more Indians than his father and the militia team.

Personal Refelction: I wasn't sure what to expect when I selected this book but in the end I enjoyed reading it.

Classroom Extention:
1) Group Activity to find a similiar family story about a select time frame or a specific war. Must present findings as a group to the class.
2) Class discussion about safety to include gun safety.
3) Class discussion about the importance of following instructions carefully.

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This story was enjoyable enough, but it lacked substance. Just as the story should have picked up steam, it was over.

When I was a child, I wanted this book to be a lot more interesting than it, in fact, was. I wonder if I would like it any better now. However, if a children's book doesn't interest a child, is that the child's fault?

The most enjoyable part of this book is the fact that it is based on a real event in the lives of real people. I found Gertrude to be such a brave person and an inspiration to her children. But it's hard to imagine any modern child being so obedient as Trudy and Edward were!

Summary: A young boy Edward is given the task of helping his mother protect the family, while his dad is away fighting in a local war, with an old matchlock gun. His family is eventually attacked by Indian raiders and Edward has to save the day.

Personal Reaction: I love these kind of hero saves the

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day books. Well told story with awesome illustrations.

Classroom Extension:
Can be used to show how things were back in this time.
Can show how families stuck together.

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Summary:
This book was set in the year of 1756. A boy Edward Van Alstyne and his family who are trying to protect their home while their father is away fighting in the war. Edward has his great-grandfathers Spanish Matchlock gun and plans to use it if any French-Indian fighters come to take over

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their home. One day Edwards’s sister, Gertrude, was out in the field doing her chores when she spotted Indian fighters and ran home to tell Edward to get the gun and prepare to defend their home. Before she could reach the house she is hit in the shoulder with a tomahawk. Lucky for the family Edward hears his sister and is able to shoot and kill three Indians and drive off the other forces but their home is already burning. Edward is able to save his mother and sister, and return for his great-grandfathers gun. Later, the family is found by Edwards’s father when he was returning from fighting and are saved from being attacked by any other Indian fighters.

Personal Reflection:
I enjoyed reading this book. The book is set back in the year 1756 during the French and Indian war in New York so I would recommend it for an older reader in high school. It was very entertaining, and as a reader it was nice to read a story and gain knowledge of an actual event in history.

Classroom Extension:
-This book could be used to teach students about war.
-This book could be used to teach students important historical facts about the French-Indian War.

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" The Matchlock Gun" is a story of a little boy that has a big responsibility to uphold. Edward Van Alstynes family tries to keep themselves safe while their father is gone away to war. Edward saved his family when the Indians were trying to burn down their home. He did this by using his great,

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great grandfathers old musket. The family was able to fend off the Indians Edwards father, in the end made it home safely to his family once again.

Personal Views:
I think that the story was awesome! It really shows children how scary all of the wars were during the early years of america.

Extensions:
1. Have a lesson teaching students how dangerous guns can be.
2. Crate a lesson that tells more details about the French and Indian war.

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Summary
This story takes place during the French and Indian War. It tells the story of a ten year old boy and this mother that attempt to protect their home from the war with an old matchlock gun that was given to them by the young boy’s grandfather. The young boy’s name is Edward and he has a

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younger sister named Trudy. They get word that the militia is getting closer to their home and they are on guard to protect their home. When Indians get close and are coming after their home Edward’s mother instructs him to shoot the gun out of a window, just before she is hit by a tomahawk by the approaching Indians. Edward kills three of the approaching Indians and the others set their house on fire. Edward and Trudy get their wounded mother and run for cover. Edward realizes as the house burns that the gun in still in the house and he runs into the burning house to save the historic gun. Later his father finds the three of them and saved.

Personal Reaction
I personally did not like this book very much. Perhaps because of the time period it is set in, but I found it hard to read. Although it is a shorter story and does have picture throughout I still found it difficult to get interested in. I believe that some students would like it because of the action and intensity of the story line. It is a well written book, just not my style.

Classroom Extension
1. This would be a great book for students to read and then illustrate their favorite part of the story. It would provide a great way for students to incorporate their own views of the action from the story.
2. This book could also be used as an extension when studying the French and Indian war and to gather details concerning that time period.

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Summary: Was a book about a young family in 1757 in a town called Guilderland NY, which is very close to Albany, NY. The father had to leave them to stop the French and the Indians from taking over their town. Before he left, the son asked, Why don't you take the big gun with you. The father

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leaves, and the son,Edward, worries that his mother is scared that the Indians will come. The mother insists that the father will keep the Indians away from their house. In the end, the boy ends up shooting the big Matchlock gun, saving the family from being killed by the Indians.

Personal Reflection: I really enjoyed the story, because it was set in area pretty close to where I grew up. Ilion NY was even mentioned in the book. I often wondered what it was like back 100 years or 200 years ago, what changes can be seen from then to when I was a child, to now.

Classroom Extension
1. In a history class, teach where different battles took place and try to find stories from each locations.

2. Teach about be courageous under extreme conditions, what would you have done if you were in Edwards shoes at the time.
?

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Love that it's a true story. Love that it's told from both the boy's pov and the mother's. Be sure to read the foreward etc., but *after* reading the book, because of a spoiler. Didn't love that nothing was said about why the Indians were burning settlers' homes, but then, it's a short book with a

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tight focus about courage.

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Walter D Edmonds, teacher and historical writer, wrote the classic adult historical fiction book, Drums Along the Mohawk that was made into a popular movie. With his children’s book, The Matchlock Gun, he demonstrated his mastery not only of colonial New York history in the 1700s, America’s

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western frontier at the time, but also of world history. He presents it in a way that is not dry or preachy, but his casual adjectives and descriptions such as St Francis Indians, the Spanish gun from Bergom Op Zoom, and that Mama is a Palatine disliked by her Dutch mother-in-law show the depths of his knowledge and create a clear picture for us of those times.
The French and their Algonquian allies raided the American settlements before we were a nation, hoping to secure this country for their own, fighting the English, Dutch and Palatine settlers that had established themselves here. Through the young boy’s eyes we hear the story of the events around 1757 leading up to and including the Indian raid. Not a casual onlooker, Edward does his part to protect his family.
Some people ask me why I am interested in stories of the past that appear to us today to be racist or “politically incorrect”. We read that the boy’s Dutch grandmother barricaded herself in the house with her slaves and there is no understanding of why the St Francis Indians (Native Americans to us today) are visiting this horror on the frontier farmers. It is important to see the world through their eyes and not to forget our history. More importantly, I think we should not clean history up too much to suit todays norms or we may not remember the lessons we can learn from the past. There were Dutch slave owners in New York and New Jersey and the state of Rhode Island had the largest slave population in the country for a time. Historical writing is a wonderful starting point for looking into the realities of a situation.
The hard feelings between the Dutch and the Palatines lasted a long time and the divisions between the Dutch and the English were so strong, that after the English conquered New York in 1664 and the Dutch rebellion conquered it back for a year in 1673-1674, some of the Dutch refused to live under English rule and moved to New Jersey. The English and the French took even longer to make peace with each other on this side of the Atlantic. As a descendant of all of the parties involved, the Palatines, Dutch, French and St. Francis Indians, this book is a treasure, showing through the eyes of a child, the simple realities of life and survival on the frontier of New York State in the 1700s. It is still a good book for very young children and interesting and informative adult reading.

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