Gwen Bristow: Blending History and Fiction in 'Celia Garth'

Envision getting no sleep because fireballs were exploding right outside the door, never imagining that the cellar in in the basement would be the next safe haven for the oncoming days. Gwen Bristow has written many books about different major historical events including the Civil War and the Gold Rush, but the interesting thing was that Gwen Bristow never lived in those times yet continued to write accurate data with a fictional plot that she created. Her most famous novel, Celia Garth, was written about the Revolutionary War from the state of South Carolina; specifically in Charleston. With the correct arrangement of key details and names, important information about the war was learned as well as the women and their roles. In Celia Garth,

by Gwen Bristow, she conceptualized the correct image of the battlefield from Celia’s own bedroom window. Creating an accurate description of General Francis Marion injuring himself for the sake of sobriety, and how he gained his notorious title of ‘Swamp Fox,’ with the help of the women who risked their life and independence by spying, helped the Rebels capture Cornwallis, forcing him to surrender.
When Gwen Bristow introduced the war to her readers, Celia had the ability to peer across the battlefield through a spyglass that allowed her to see it, even though it was not needed.

When the boats arrived at the docs in the Ashley River and saw who was aboard them, Celia thought to herself, “at last she saw what she was looking for, men in red coats with tan breeches and black boots” (Bristow 119). Indicating that they were a part of the British army, who had not yet landed themselves on the country yet they still had made their mark on the earth, “The smoke began to clear. It seemed that the British were not really trying to hit anything. They just wanted to announce that they were here. And the rebel guns, rumbling in reply, were merely answering, ‘We’re here too’” (Bristow 122). When the Redcoats finally came on American soil, when the Colonists were least expecting it, they began to shoot fireballs out of cannons, causing all kinds of destruction to the homes of the remaining people. Another weapon that was used during the Revolutionary War was the long rifle, which contained a spiral barren motion that allowed the ball to spin, making this one of the deadliest weapons of this time (Revolutionary War in the North and South). It could see 300 feet away and this was the weapon the British were very skilled in using, which is why Gwen Bristow made Jimmy say the comment, “‘But how they can shoot!’ Jimmy exulted. ‘Those boys can hit anything they can see’” (Bristow 127). The British brought extreme terror to the citizens and made most of them scatter just for mere

survival.
Staying at home during the war was just as dangerous as fighting behind a rock, with fireballs exploding and constant fires breaking out, no one was safe. The groups of spies in Celia Garth, sought out information about the King’s Generals, and Celia became a part of one, with other friends of hers. Women would continually listen to the British conversations pretending to agree with them, they would write secret letters to their husbands, fathers, brothers, in hopes that they would help the militia find the British first (History of American Women). In Celia Garth, Celia would write notes and stick a butterfly barrette on the basket signaling she had news. Their main concern was to stop Cornwallis’ men, of whom were British, and Marion’s men, of whom were American, from meeting up with one another. “[Marion’s men] we’re not yet strong enough to meet Cornwallis in open battle. But we can pester him. We can raid his outposts. Attack his supply train. Slow down everything he tries to do” (Bristow 279). Gwen Bristow wrote about the time General Francis Marion jumped out of a two story building because the host of the party he was attending locked all the doors, so no one could enter. There was drinking going on; however, and Marion was not a drinker, he felt trapped and felt the need to escape. He ended up injuring his ankle in the process, and to Gwen Bristow, it was a big deal to the citizens of Charleston (Bristow 113). Nevertheless, according to The Smithsonian, Francis Marion did just that, Gwen Bristow’s information was completely correct (Crawford). In November of 1780, General Marion began to be famously called ‘Swamp Fox,’ because he was known for his successful attacks using guerrilla warfare (Swamp Fox Memorial). “British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, informed of Marion's whereabouts by an escaped prisoner, chased the American militia for seven hours, covering some twenty-six miles. Marion escaped into a swamp, and Tarleton gave up, cursing, ‘As for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him.’ The story got around, and soon the locals—who loathed the British occupation—were cheering the Swamp Fox” (Crawford). Which was during the time Celia kept trying to reach out to Luke by letter when she retreated back to Sea Garden, about General Cornwallis’ whereabouts. Without the woman to bravely spy for the men who were fighting for them, neither side would have a chance of winning the war, the armies would constantly be running in circles trying to find one another.
Celia had to travel back to Sea Garden because Charleston was getting too dangerous for her to stay and it was easier to transmit information that way. In the later aspects of the war, no women heard from any of their loved ones for a lengthy period of time. They would sit and wait impatiently, hoping that they would at least hear that their relative was still alive. Marion and his army were able to hold back Cornwallis’ men for long enough for General Washington, to catch up with him in Yorktown. Gwen Bristow explained the ending as, “When Luke returned, he sat by [Celia] and told her about Yorktown. How Washington, to honor the Carolina patriots who had made the victory possible by their long delay of Cornwallis, had chosen officers of the defense at Charleston to receive the surrender. And how Tarleton, quaking at what the American militiamen might do if they got their hands on him, had begged for-and received-special protection” (Bristow 383). Bristow did not mention anything about how long and hard the treacherous journey was, what actually happened was, “Washington instructed the Marquis de Lafayette, who was in Virginia with an American army of around five-thousand men, to block Cornwallis’ escape from Yorktown by land. In the meantime, Washington’s two-thousand five hundred troops in New York were joined by a French army of four-thousand men under the Count de Rochambeau. On August twenty-first they crossed the Hudson River to march south to Yorktown. A large British fleet carrying seven thousand men set out to rescue Cornwallis, but it was too late. On October nineteenth, General Cornwallis surrendered seven-thousand and eighty-seven officers and men, nine-hundred seamen, one-hundred and forty four cannons, fifteen galleys, a frigate and thirty transport ships.” (History Channel). However, in the end of the book, the main focus was not how they defeated Cornwallis, the focus was in how the war was over, Roy and Sophie Garth had to leave Sea Garden, and Celia and Luke could start their family.
Gwen Bristow was very educated when she wrote her novels, she had skill in mentioning details in each of her sentences that were specialized to fit into the timeline of the story. The purpose of her novels was to not only give a history lesson, but to inform you of what women had to go through when there were no men around while adding a taste of love sick romance. Also explaining how tragic this war was for the civilians who stayed strong with the love and trust in their country, even though the battlefield could be seen and occurred in the backyard. She told us about General Francis Marion’s legacy, making him sound like the cunning, sneaky, and sly fox that he was. Finally, she analyzed how Cornwallis stayed close to the sealine to communicate with the British easier, making the American’s gain easy access for their attack (History). This important war in history was arranged beautifully through the eyes of Celia, Bristow’s bright knowledge of major historical events left her readers wanting to read more about the upcoming future.