Witness to War: Hayden and the Age of Empire: BOOK FIVE - (1898–1916) (Witness to War – The Hayden Carter Chronicles 5)
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Hayden and the Age of Empire (1898–1916)
“Power abroad comes at a price at home.”
The year is 1898, and America stands on the edge of a new destiny. When the USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor, a restless nation rushes to war with Spain. Young men volunteer, newspapers shout “Remember the Maine!”, and suddenly the United States — once a struggling republic on the frontier — begins its transformation into a global power.
Into this storm is drawn Hayden, the time-tossed farm boy turned soldier and reluctant chronicler. As a Marine and aide to war correspondents, he witnesses history not from the comfort of a classroom, but from the smoke-choked trenches of Cuba, the blood-stained jungles of the Philippines, and the besieged streets of Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion. He rides with Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, marches with Pershing into Mexico, and watches Marines become “peacekeepers” in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
But victory is never simple. Hayden records the bravery of ordinary soldiers and the resilience of civilians caught in the crossfire. He also sees the darker cost of empire — promises of freedom broken, villages burned, and new rulers who look disturbingly like the old. As America flexes its muscle abroad, Hayden discovers the shadows cast back home: labor strikes, race riots, and a nation torn between ideals of democracy and the temptations of power.
From Cuba to the Philippines, from Panama’s steaming canal to the deserts of Mexico, Hayden carries forward not just stories, but the weight of empire itself. With humor, heart, and unflinching honesty, Hayden and the Age of Empire (1898–1916) reveals how America’s “splendid little war” set the stage for a century of global influence — and how one witness learned that the battles overseas would echo long after the guns fell silent.
Perfect for readers who love gripping historical fiction, military history, and sweeping American sagas, this fifth volume of the Witness to War series blends fact, adventure, and character-driven storytelling into an unforgettable journey through America’s age of empire.