The Boy Scouts Afoot in France; Or, with the Red Cross Corps at the Marne

Written in 1917 as the Great War rages across Europe, this novel captures a unique moment when America was still officially neutral but young Americans were already eager to join the adventure. Four Boy Scouts, Thad Brewster, Allan Hollister, Bumpus Hawstone, and the lanky 'Giraffe' Stedman, embark on a transatlantic journey to find Bumpus's mother in Paris, only to discover a continent in chaos. They land in Antwerp, their plans upended when they learn she has fled to the French capital for safety. The boys must now traverse war-torn Belgium and northern France, their Scout training tested against the grim realities of modern warfare. German occupation forces, refugee columns, and soldiers marching toward the Marne fill their path with both danger and purpose. What begins as a mission of family reunification becomes something larger: a test of courage, loyalty, and the ideals of preparedness that the Scout movement championed. The novel's period perspective, written as events unfolded, makes it a fascinating window into how early twentieth-century American youth imagined their place in a world at war.