Former Navy officer turns personal hardship into Revolutionary War fiction

Ray Deptula has released Those Damned Yankees, a two-book historical saga inspired by his own path into the U.S. Navy through desperation, not ideology. The novels follow a teenage soldier caught in the American Revolution and explore how survival, loyalty and war shape ordinary people.

Why it matters: - Ray Deptula’s new series reframes the Revolutionary War through the lens of necessity, not patriotism. - The books center on how people with limited options get pulled into war, a theme Deptula ties to his own entry into the Navy. - The series may resonate with readers looking for historical fiction rooted in class, survival and moral conflict.

What happened: - Deptula wrote Those Damned Yankees, a two-book historical saga. - The series includes A Dog Before a Soldier (Book One) and Can’t Find My Way Home (Book Two). - Deptula said his own experience as a struggling college freshman helped inspire the books. - He joined the U.S. Navy on a full scholarship while dealing with an absent father, a mother who was permanently hospitalized and an uncertain path through college.

The details: - A Dog Before a Soldier follows teenage Jack Halliday after three harrowing years on a slave ship. - Jack joins the British Army in 1774 because he needs to survive, not because he is politically committed. - Jack is sent to Boston as part of the security force meant to suppress a growing rebellion. - The novel places Jack at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Long Island and the capture of Philadelphia. - Jack later deserts the British Army and seeks refuge in Annapolis, Maryland. - In Annapolis, a wealthy landowner takes Jack in and asks him to serve as his surrogate in the Continental Army alongside an enslaved man named Custis. - In return, Jack is welcomed into the family and promised the landowner’s daughter’s hand in marriage. - Can’t Find My Way Home follows Jack and Custis after they endure the winter of 1780-81 at Washington’s army encampment in New Jersey. - The pair then are swept into the Battle of Camden, where Continental forces are decimated by the British. - The story follows Jack and Custis as they are separated from their army and try to survive in the South. - Custis’ status as property repeatedly tests Jack’s moral compass.

Between the lines: - Deptula’s comments suggest the books are as much about human motivation as military history. - The novels appear to use Jack’s changing loyalties to examine the tension between survival, duty and conscience. - The enslaved character Custis adds another layer to the story by tying battlefield survival to the realities of slavery.

What's next: - Deptula is promoting the two-book series under the Those Damned Yankees title. - A Dog Before a Soldier and Can’t Find My Way Home are available through the publisher Speaking Volumes and on Amazon. - Deptula also directs readers to more information through his author website and social media accounts.

The bottom line: - Deptula is turning personal hardship into historical fiction that argues war is often shaped by desperation, not ideology.