In the mid-18th century, the Leininger family emigrated from Germany to Penns Creek, Pennsylvania, where they farmed alongside the LeRoy and Hecklinger households. Nearby, General Braddock dismissed six Indian chiefs who sought an alliance against George Washington’s counsel, pushing the tribes to side with the French instead.
One day in 1755, the Indian brothers Galasko and Hannawoa, [Tony Wade], raid the Leininger farm, killing Mr. Leininger and Christian while Barbara and Regina try to hide in a cave. They capture Barbara, [Natalie Racoosin], and Regina, [Hayley Lovitt], and place them with several other captives, including their friend Marie LeRoy. After a few days, Galasko dubs Barbara “Susquehanna,” and the raiders depart, dividing the captives between two tribes and separating Regina from Barbara and Marie. Barbara attempts to escape by stealing a horse, but is recaptured and condemned to burn alive until Galasko convinces them to spare her after she pledges never to flee again. The group travels to the French Fort du Quesne and later to the Kittanning village.
Protests by Benjamin Franklin and the captives’ families, including Mrs. Leininger, persuade Governor Morris and the Pennsylvania legislature to fund a militia and strike at Kittanning. The Indians again take Barbara, Marie, and other captives into the forest and decide to execute Lydia Barrett for attempting to escape during the attack; a French officer shoots her to spare the captives from a cruel death. The Indians bring the captives to Moschkingo a month later and assimilate them into their tribe. Barbara befriends an Indian girl named Hylea, while Marie goes to live with an elderly, abusive woman.
Several years later, Barbara, now a teenager, learns Marie plans to escape with two other captives, Owen Gibson and David Breckenridge, but initially dismisses their plan. However, when Galasko proposes marriage to Barbara and presents Mrs. Leininger’s brooch, which he had taken during the raid, Barbara contemplates her past and agrees to Marie’s plan. They abscond at night when the Indians are away, but Hannwoa discovers their absence and gives chase. A bear mauls Owen’s leg after he shoots at it and then charges; David’s quick thinking helps them cross the river, and Hannowa finds Galasko returning and informs him of Barbara’s escape. Galasko tries to join the pursuit, but Hannowa, convinced his plan will steal credit, murders him in a rage.
When the fugitives reach Fort Pitt, garrisoned by Colonel Mercer, the British soldiers remain skeptical until Barbara speaks in German to convince them of their plight. During an attempted reception, Hannwoa appears and attacks, inflicting casualties before Barbara kills him with a fallen soldier’s pistol. After a month at Fort Pitt, the four travel to Philadelphia and reunite with Mrs. Leininger, John, and Fritz Hecklinger. Barbara returns her mother’s brooch to her, though Regina remains missing. Owen and David enlist in the Pennsylvania militia; Marie promises to wait for Owen while Barbara marries Fritz.
Years later, Barbara and Fritz have two children. Henry Muhlenberg informs the family on Christmas Eve that Colonel Armstrong has defeated the Indians in Ohio and recovered all war prisoners. They hurry to Carlisle Fort and meet Owen, who shares that David died in the Battle of Bushy Run. Barbara tells him that Marie remains unmarried, and Owen and Marie embrace. Regina, who had wandered among the liberated children, is finally recognized when Mrs. Leininger sings “Alone yet Not Alone” to jog her memory, and she runs into her family’s embrace.
Regina never married and lived with her mother until they died, buried together in Stouchsburg, and the town placed a monument honoring her in their gravesite. Barbara continued working as a farmer in Berks County, eventually having a third child named for her sister, and she died in 1805, buried in Cumru Township.
