About the Author

Born on January 30, 1841, George Alfred Townsend became the youngest war correspondent of the Civil War. He served both at home and abroad, and later became one of America's most important journalists and novelists of the Reconstruction Era. His pen name, Gath, from which the Gathland State Park derives its name, was formed by adding an H to his initials and was inspired by a biblical passage: (II Samuel 1:20) "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askalon." In 1884 Townsend purchased a tract of land on South Mountain, an area particularly attractive to him because of its proximity to Antietam and other historical sites of the Civil War. Gathland State Park was the scene of a little known yet quite noteworthy confict, the Battle of South Mountain. Closely associated with this historical aspect, the natural beauty of the site and the imposing views of the valleys appealed to him. Magic Lamp Press, publishers of the Peter Sharp Legal Mysteries, felt that this novel is so important a criminal case that they prepared it for publication in the print version and made it available to the public.