Adam Helmer
Encyclopedia
Adam F. Helmer also known as John Adam Helmer and Hans Adam Helmer, was an American Revolutionary War
hero among those of the Mohawk Valley
and surrounding regions of New York State
. He was made nationally famous by Walter D. Edmonds
' popular 1936 novel
Drums Along the Mohawk
with its depiction of "Adam Helmer's Run" of September 16, 1778 to warn the people of German Flatts of the approach of Joseph Brant
and his company of Indians and Tories.
to Maria Barbara Kast, and George Friederich Helmer, who was born on June 9, 1706 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate
region in southwestern Germany
. G.F. Helmer emigrate
d to America
sometime before 1710 and eventually settled in one of the numerous Palatine
farming communities on the south side of the Mohawk River
in central New York.
As late as 1774, this Palatine district and others in the area widely supported British
control, but with the death of the powerful loyalist Mohawk Valley landowner Sir William Johnson and news of the Declaration of Rights
by the Continental Congress
, anti-British sentiments began to surface and a Tryon County Committee of Safety
was organized. This and the news of Continental Army
resistance at the Battle of Lexington and Concord encouraged the remaining Johnson family and other loyalists to fortify their properties and to recruit Iroquois
to side with the British
. This in turn prompted the colonists in 1775 to organize a militia
under the command of Colonel
Nicholas Herkimer
. Early the next year, Herkimer aided General Philip Schuyler
who was sent by Congress to disarm the Loyalists. Many of the loyalists and sympathizing Iroquois led by William Johnson's son Sir John Johnson
escaped to Canada where they began to organize to take back their Mohawk Valley holdings.
During the summer of 1776 Colonel Herkimer allowed his regular militia to return to their farms; however, about one out of every fifteen soldiers, including Lieutenant Adam Helmer, was assigned to ranger duty. Helmer was assigned as a scout in Captain John Breadbake's company.
in the provincial militia, was warned by friendly Oneida
s of the impending siege of Fort Stanwix
(known to the Americans as Fort Schuyler) by British Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger
. General Herkimer ordered Tryon County militia
to assemble at Fort Dayton
to go to the aid of Colonel Peter Gansevoort
at Fort Stanwix. Herkimer sent three scouts, Captain Hans Mark Demuth, Hans Yost Folts, and Lieutenant Adam Helmer to Fort Stanwix to relay the news to Colonel Gansevoort. Pressured by his subordinate commanders on August 6, General Herkimer reluctantly and prematurely set out to attack St. Leger’s army. While passing through a ravine, they were ambushed by British regulars, Tories, and Indians under the command of Joseph Brant
and John Butler
, thus starting what would become known as the Battle of Oriskany
.
Helmer, the fittest of the three scouts, reached Fort Stanwix with the message ahead of the other two, having traversed swampy terrain and floated down river when a severe storm flooded his route. News of the Oriskany battle arrived shortly after Helmer’s did, and Ganesvoort ordered an attack on the British encampments. Some combination of the weather and Gansevoort’s attack contributed to the retreat of the British from the Oriskany battlefield back to their camps surrounding the fort. In any case the Herkimer’s troops were able to escape to await reinforcements. Herkimer himself was wounded in the fight, returned to his home and died soon after. Gansevoort refused to submit to the siege, and the British withdrew from the area with the news that Benedict Arnold
had arrived at Fort Dayton with reinforcements.
under his command were sent to the Unadilla River
Valley to spy on Joseph Brant’s company of Indians and Tories who were encamped at Unadilla
near the confluence of the Unadilla and Susquehanna River
s. It was feared that Brant would send a raid
ing party north to the Mohawk Valley during the harvest
season to forcefully obtain stores for the winter ahead. When Helmer’s scouts reached Edmeston Manor, the farm of Percifer Carr
, just north of what is now South Edmeston
, they were attacked by a large group of Brant’s men, apparently part of the feared raiding party on its way north. Several of the scouts were killed, but Helmer managed to escape.
Helmer took off running to the north-east, through the hills, toward Schuyler Lake and then north to Andrustown (near present-day Jordanville, New York
) where he warned his sister’s family of the impending raid and obtained fresh footwear
. He also warned settler
s at Columbia
and Petrie’s Corners, most of whom then fled to safety at Fort Dayton
. When Helmer arrived at the fort, severely torn up from his run, he told Colonel Peter Bellinger
, the commander of the fort, that he had counted at least 200 of the attackers en route to the valley. (see Attack on German Flatts (1778)
). The straight-line distance from Carr’s farm to Fort Dayton is about thirty miles, and Helmer’s winding and hilly route was far from straight. It was said that Helmer then slept for 36 hours straight. During his sleep, on September 17, 1778, the farms of the area were destroyed by Brant’s raid. The total loss of property in the raid was reported as: 63 house
s, 59 barns, full of grain
, 3 grist mills, 235 horse
s, 229 horned cattle
, 279 sheep, and 93 oxen. Only two men were reported killed in the attack, one by refusing to leave his home when warned.
Three days later Helmer led another group of militia back to the Carr farm on the Unadilla, discovered the bodies of three of his scouts, and buried them at that site. The fate of the other five scouts is not known.
Helmer also served in the New York State Levies under Colonel Lewis DuBois
.
Adam Helmer died on April 9, 1830 in the town of Brutus
in Cayuga County, New York
.
novel, Drums Along the Mohawk
. Although Helmer's military actions were generally portrayed with accuracy, including his famous run, Edmonds' description of his person varies from historic description. The book pictures Helmer as a large, unschooled, bachelor womanizer with long blonde hair, while historic descriptions indicate he was a lean 150 lbs. (68 kg), married farmer, seeming to have more in common with the book's main character, Gil Martin.
In John Ford
's 1939
film adaptation
of the novel, Helmer is portrayed by Ward Bond
as "Adam Hartman". Helmer's run was omitted from the film and replaced with a run by Gil to get reinforcements from the nearest fort. The run is the heroic highpoint of the film.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
hero among those of the Mohawk Valley
Mohawk Valley
The Mohawk Valley region of the U.S. state of New York is the area surrounding the Mohawk River, sandwiched between the Adirondack Mountains and Catskill Mountains....
and surrounding regions of New York State
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was made nationally famous by Walter D. Edmonds
Walter D. Edmonds
Walter "Walt" Dumaux Edmonds was an American author noted for his historical novels, including the popular Drums Along the Mohawk , which was successfully made into a Technicolor feature film in 1939 directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.-Life:In 1919 he entered The...
' popular 1936 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Drums Along the Mohawk
Drums Along the Mohawk (novel)
Drums Along the Mohawk is a novel by American author Walter D. Edmonds which follows the lives of fictional Gil and Lana Martin, settlers in the Mohawk Valley of the New York frontier during the American Revolution...
with its depiction of "Adam Helmer's Run" of September 16, 1778 to warn the people of German Flatts of the approach of Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
and his company of Indians and Tories.
Background
Adam Helmer was born in German Flatts, New YorkGerman Flatts, New York
German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,629 at the 2000 census.The Town of German Flatts is in the south part of Herkimer County, across from the of Village of Herkimer on the south side of the Mohawk River, and southeast of Utica.-Herkimer:This...
to Maria Barbara Kast, and George Friederich Helmer, who was born on June 9, 1706 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse a city in the Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
region in southwestern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. G.F. Helmer emigrate
Emigrate
Emigrate is a heavy metal band based in New York, led by Richard Z. Kruspe, the lead guitarist of the German band Rammstein.-History:Kruspe started the band in 2005, when Rammstein decided to take a year off from touring and recording...
d to America
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
sometime before 1710 and eventually settled in one of the numerous Palatine
German Palatines
The German Palatines were natives of the Electoral Palatinate region of Germany, although a few had come to Germany from Switzerland, the Alsace, and probably other parts of Europe. Towards the end of the 17th century and into the 18th, the wealthy region was repeatedly invaded by French troops,...
farming communities on the south side of the Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
in central New York.
As late as 1774, this Palatine district and others in the area widely supported British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
control, but with the death of the powerful loyalist Mohawk Valley landowner Sir William Johnson and news of the Declaration of Rights
Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress
The Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress was a statement adopted by the First Continental Congress on October 14, 1774, in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament...
by the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
, anti-British sentiments began to surface and a Tryon County Committee of Safety
Tryon County Committee of Safety
Prior to the American Revolution the colonies formed Committees of Safety to represent the interests of their respective communities. They determined civil cases, officered and organized the militia, arrested and tried suspicious persons, some of whom they fined, and others they imprisoned...
was organized. This and the news of Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
resistance at the Battle of Lexington and Concord encouraged the remaining Johnson family and other loyalists to fortify their properties and to recruit Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
to side with the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This in turn prompted the colonists in 1775 to organize a militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
under the command of Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Nicholas Herkimer
Nicholas Herkimer
Nicholas Herkimer was a militia general in the American Revolutionary War, who died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany.-Career:...
. Early the next year, Herkimer aided General Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
who was sent by Congress to disarm the Loyalists. Many of the loyalists and sympathizing Iroquois led by William Johnson's son Sir John Johnson
John Johnson (Loyalist)
Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet of New York was a Loyalist leader during the American Revolution, a politician in Canada and a wealthy landowner. He was the son of Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, who had been the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the province and accumulated much land...
escaped to Canada where they began to organize to take back their Mohawk Valley holdings.
During the summer of 1776 Colonel Herkimer allowed his regular militia to return to their farms; however, about one out of every fifteen soldiers, including Lieutenant Adam Helmer, was assigned to ranger duty. Helmer was assigned as a scout in Captain John Breadbake's company.
Battle of Oriskany
In the summer of 1777, Herkimer, by then a Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the provincial militia, was warned by friendly Oneida
Oneida tribe
The Oneida are a Native American/First Nations people and are one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in the area of upstate New York...
s of the impending siege of Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix
Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction was started on August 26, 1758, by British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The fort guarded a portage known as the Oneida Carrying Place during the French and Indian War...
(known to the Americans as Fort Schuyler) by British Lieutenant Colonel Barry St. Leger
Barry St. Leger
Barrimore Matthew "Barry" St. Leger was a British colonel who led an invasion force during the American Revolutionary War.Barry St. Leger was baptised on May 1, 1733, in County Kildare, Ireland. He was the son of Sir John St...
. General Herkimer ordered Tryon County militia
Tryon County militia
-Militia regiments:On March 8, 1772, The Province of New York passed a bill for the establishment of organized militia in each county. In 1775, at the start of the American Revolution, the Tryon County militia comprised four regiments, formed according to their geographical locations:* 1st...
to assemble at Fort Dayton
Fort Dayton
Fort Dayton is located on the North side of the Mohawk River at West Canada Creek in what is now Herkimer, New York. A fort had previously been built on the same site during the French and Indian War.-American Revolutionary War:...
to go to the aid of Colonel Peter Gansevoort
Peter Gansevoort
Peter Gansevoort was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also the maternal grandfather of Moby-Dick author Herman Melville.-Early life:He was born...
at Fort Stanwix. Herkimer sent three scouts, Captain Hans Mark Demuth, Hans Yost Folts, and Lieutenant Adam Helmer to Fort Stanwix to relay the news to Colonel Gansevoort. Pressured by his subordinate commanders on August 6, General Herkimer reluctantly and prematurely set out to attack St. Leger’s army. While passing through a ravine, they were ambushed by British regulars, Tories, and Indians under the command of Joseph Brant
Joseph Brant
Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York, who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution. He was perhaps the most well-known American Indian of his generation...
and John Butler
John Butler (pioneer)
John Butler was a Loyalist who led an irregular militia unit known as Butler's Rangers on the northern frontier in the American Revolutionary War. He led Seneca and Cayuga forces in the Saratoga campaign. He later raised and commanded a regiment of rangers.-Background:John was born to Walter...
, thus starting what would become known as the Battle of Oriskany
Battle of Oriskany
The Battle of Oriskany, fought on August 6, 1777, was one of the bloodiest battles in the North American theater of the American Revolutionary War and a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign...
.
Helmer, the fittest of the three scouts, reached Fort Stanwix with the message ahead of the other two, having traversed swampy terrain and floated down river when a severe storm flooded his route. News of the Oriskany battle arrived shortly after Helmer’s did, and Ganesvoort ordered an attack on the British encampments. Some combination of the weather and Gansevoort’s attack contributed to the retreat of the British from the Oriskany battlefield back to their camps surrounding the fort. In any case the Herkimer’s troops were able to escape to await reinforcements. Herkimer himself was wounded in the fight, returned to his home and died soon after. Gansevoort refused to submit to the siege, and the British withdrew from the area with the news that Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
had arrived at Fort Dayton with reinforcements.
Adam Helmer's run
In September of 1778, Lt. Helmer and eight scoutsReconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
under his command were sent to the Unadilla River
Unadilla River
The Unadilla River in New York State flows from south of Utica to the village of Sidney, where it flows into the Susquehanna River, which eventually empties into the Chesapeake Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean....
Valley to spy on Joseph Brant’s company of Indians and Tories who were encamped at Unadilla
Unadilla (village), New York
Unadilla is a village located in the Town of Unadilla in Otsego County, New York, USA. The population was 1,127 at the 2000 census.The Village of Unadilla is located in the south part of the town, southwest of Oneonta...
near the confluence of the Unadilla and Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
s. It was feared that Brant would send a raid
Raid (military)
Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...
ing party north to the Mohawk Valley during the harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
season to forcefully obtain stores for the winter ahead. When Helmer’s scouts reached Edmeston Manor, the farm of Percifer Carr
Percifer Carr
Percifer Carr was a British allied Loyalist living in what is now Otsego County, New York around the time of the American Revolution....
, just north of what is now South Edmeston
South Edmeston, New York
South Edmeston is a hamlet on the Unadilla River in the Town of Edmeston in Otsego County, New York. It is located at coordinates .Kraft Foods had operated a cheese plant in South Edmeston starting in the year 1920. They originally produced Philadelphia Brand cream cheese, but then switched over...
, they were attacked by a large group of Brant’s men, apparently part of the feared raiding party on its way north. Several of the scouts were killed, but Helmer managed to escape.
Helmer took off running to the north-east, through the hills, toward Schuyler Lake and then north to Andrustown (near present-day Jordanville, New York
Jordanville, New York
Jordanville is a hamlet in the town of Warren, Herkimer County, New York. Jordanville is in the northwest part of Warren, at the intersection of Routes 18 and 155. The community was settled before 1791.-Gelston Castle:...
) where he warned his sister’s family of the impending raid and obtained fresh footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
. He also warned settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s at Columbia
Columbia, New York
Columbia is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,630 .The Town of Columbia is at the south border of the county and is southeast of Utica.-History:...
and Petrie’s Corners, most of whom then fled to safety at Fort Dayton
Fort Dayton
Fort Dayton is located on the North side of the Mohawk River at West Canada Creek in what is now Herkimer, New York. A fort had previously been built on the same site during the French and Indian War.-American Revolutionary War:...
. When Helmer arrived at the fort, severely torn up from his run, he told Colonel Peter Bellinger
Peter Bellinger
Colonel Peter P Bellinger was commander of the 4th Regiment, Tryon County militia under General Nicholas Herkimer. Peter P. Bellinger married Delia Herkimer, sister of General Herkimer, in January 1750. His homestead was located in Herkimer, New York, just west of the Foley Place on German Street....
, the commander of the fort, that he had counted at least 200 of the attackers en route to the valley. (see Attack on German Flatts (1778)
Attack on German Flatts (1778)
On September 17, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, a force of Loyalists and Iroquois made an attack on German Flatts, New York .-Prelude:...
). The straight-line distance from Carr’s farm to Fort Dayton is about thirty miles, and Helmer’s winding and hilly route was far from straight. It was said that Helmer then slept for 36 hours straight. During his sleep, on September 17, 1778, the farms of the area were destroyed by Brant’s raid. The total loss of property in the raid was reported as: 63 house
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
s, 59 barns, full of grain
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
, 3 grist mills, 235 horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, 229 horned cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, 279 sheep, and 93 oxen. Only two men were reported killed in the attack, one by refusing to leave his home when warned.
Three days later Helmer led another group of militia back to the Carr farm on the Unadilla, discovered the bodies of three of his scouts, and buried them at that site. The fate of the other five scouts is not known.
Helmer also served in the New York State Levies under Colonel Lewis DuBois
Lewis DuBois
Lewis DuBois was an American Revolutionary War commander. A descendant of Louis Dubois, who founded the early Huguenot settlement of New Paltz, which is preserved today as Historic Huguenot Street . DuBois was a carpenter from Poughkeepsie, New York...
.
Personal
Helmer married Anna Bellinger (1757–1841) and sired ten children: Frederick (1777), Margaret (1778), Anna (1781), Adam (1783), Peter (1786), Elizabeth (1788), Catharine (1790), David (179?), Maria Barbara (1795), and Eve (1800).Adam Helmer died on April 9, 1830 in the town of Brutus
Brutus, New York
Brutus is a town in Cayuga County, New York, USA. The population was 4,464 at the 2010 census. The name was assigned by a clerk interested in the classics.The Town of Brutus is located in the east part of the county and is west of Syracuse....
in Cayuga County, New York
Cayuga County, New York
Cayuga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It was named for one of the tribes of Indians in the Iroquois Confederation. Its county seat is Auburn.- History :...
.
Helmer in novel and film
Adam Helmer was an important but fictionalized character in Edmonds'Walter D. Edmonds
Walter "Walt" Dumaux Edmonds was an American author noted for his historical novels, including the popular Drums Along the Mohawk , which was successfully made into a Technicolor feature film in 1939 directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert.-Life:In 1919 he entered The...
novel, Drums Along the Mohawk
Drums Along the Mohawk (novel)
Drums Along the Mohawk is a novel by American author Walter D. Edmonds which follows the lives of fictional Gil and Lana Martin, settlers in the Mohawk Valley of the New York frontier during the American Revolution...
. Although Helmer's military actions were generally portrayed with accuracy, including his famous run, Edmonds' description of his person varies from historic description. The book pictures Helmer as a large, unschooled, bachelor womanizer with long blonde hair, while historic descriptions indicate he was a lean 150 lbs. (68 kg), married farmer, seeming to have more in common with the book's main character, Gil Martin.
In John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's 1939
1939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
film adaptation
Drums Along the Mohawk
Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 historical Technicolor film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author, Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the...
of the novel, Helmer is portrayed by Ward Bond
Ward Bond
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
as "Adam Hartman". Helmer's run was omitted from the film and replaced with a run by Gil to get reinforcements from the nearest fort. The run is the heroic highpoint of the film.