The Ordeal of Colonel Johns

"The Ordeal of Colonel Johns" by George H. Smith is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century. The story blends historical elements with speculative concepts, focusing on the experiences of a Revolutionary War hero who unexpectedly meets his modern descendant. The likely topic revolves around the intersection of history and family legacy, exploring themes of identity and the impact of past actions on the present. In this engaging narrative, the protagonist, Clark Decker, assists Professor MacCulloch in demonstrating an innovative invention known as the historical Reintegrator, which reconstructs historical figures from the past. During a convention of the Patriot Daughters of America, Colonel Peter Johns is brought forth, only to find himself confused and astonished by the modern world and his great-great-great-great-granddaughter, Rebecca Johns-Hayes. As the Colonel grapples with his legacy and the reality of being a historical figure, he becomes increasingly disillusioned by the values of contemporary society, ultimately deciding to return to his own time, leaving behind a poignant commentary on the evolution of ideals and heritage. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

George Henry Smith was an American science fiction author who also wrote soft-core erotica. He is not the same person as George H. Smith, a libertarian writer, or George O. Smith, another science fiction writer. There were at least three authors writing as "George H. Smith" in the 1960s; one wrote many "swamp love" paperback originals, which are often erroneously attributed to George Henry Smith. Smith himself used the pseudonyms Jeremy August, Jerry August, Don Bellmore, Ross Camra, M J Deer, John Dexter ; George Devlin, Robert Hadley, Jan Hudson, Jerry Jason, Clancy O'Brien, Alan Robinson, Holt Standish, Diana Summers, Hal Stryker, Hank Stryker, Morgan Trehune, Roy Warren, and J X Williams for publishers such as Avalon, Beacon, Boudoir, Brandon House, Epic, Evening Reader, France, Greenleaf, Midwood, Monarch, Notetime, Pike, Pillow, and Playtime. It is known that he wrote more than 100 novels.