Randall Murphree
AFA Journal editor
June 2014 – James Leininger, M.D., had never thought about being in the movie business, but the discovery of a rich and riveting story from family history landed him in that very role. The Leininger famly came from Germany to Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountains on the American frontier. In 1755, the family was devastated during the Penn’s Creek Massacre when two daughters were captured by Allegheny warriors.
A few years ago, Leininger’s daughter, Tracy Craven, intrigued by the family history, wrote Alone Yet Not Alone, a historical young adult novel based on the incident. Eventually, Craven’s novel became the basis for a gripping film adaptation of the story.
The movie will debut in theaters June 13. Dr. Leininger gave AFA Journal a nutshell version of the history behind this movie.
AFA Journal: First of all, give us a little context for the plot of Alone Yet Not Alone.
James Leininger: In July 1755, the French and Indian War was just heating up. The arrogant British General Edward Braddock, confident of victory, had just crossed the Monongahela River and was less than 12 miles from the French Fort Duquesne when disaster struck. The British, standing in the open on the 12-foot wide road they had carved all the way from Virginia, were ambushed and slaughtered by the French and Indians who hid behind trees and fired at will. General Braddock was killed along with most of the officers. Colonel George Washington was miraculously the only officer not shot off his horse.
By October, all along the Pennsylvania frontier there were rumors of impending Indian and French attacks, but since there had never been any trouble with the Indians in Pennsylvania, and they were friends with all of the local Indians, almost all of the pioneers dismissed the danger.
AFAJ: Should they have been more mindful of the rumors?
JL: Oh, yes! On the morning of October 27, 1755, in the peaceful settlement of Penn’s Creek, Shawnee and Delaware warriors attacked the 10 pioneer families living there. The adults were killed, cabins looted and burned and many children taken captive. Barbara Leininger (12), her sister Regina (9) and their best friend and nearest neighbor Marie LeRoy (12) were force-marched west, eventually hundreds of miles into Ohio. Mama Leininger and her youngest son were spared because they had taken grain to the mill that morning.
AFAJ: Do we know what happened after the capture?
JL: Barbara and Regina were separated and sent to different villages, but Barbara remained best friends with Marie. They were not allowed to talk in the village, but secretly rendezvoused in the woods. Four years later they were being strongly urged to marry warriors and become part of the tribe. Finally, Barbara was told that three days after the war party returned to the village, she would be forced to marry the chief’s son.
AFAJ: Did that marriage ever take place?
JL: No. Barbara, Marie and two English boy captives took that last desperate, almost hopeless attempt to run for freedom. They knew the British had captured Fort Duquesne and renamed it Fort Pitt – now Pittsburgh. The fort was hundreds of miles to the east. But they knew they must find it or die.
Miraculously, after running day and night for weeks, they found Fort Pitt and were returned to Philadelphia, the only children in the history of Pennsylvania ever to escape the Indians. Barbara, her mother and brother continued to pray for Regina’s safe return, not having any idea if she was still alive.
Six years later, Rev. Henry Muhlenberg, patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America, rode in a blinding snowstorm on Christmas Eve to tell Mama Leininger that Colonel Bouquet and the Royal Americans had defeated the Delaware in Ohio and demanded the return of all the captives. Over 2,000 had been reported taken [in the entire war], but only 200+ were sent back. Regina was among them.
AFAJ: What was their reunion like?
JL: When they arrived at Fort Carlisle, the family couldn’t recognize Regina, as she was now a full-grown Indian woman who had forgotten her name and spoke no German or English. The story of how the old German hymn “Alone Yet Not Alone” reunited the family remains the most famous and endearing Indian captive story in the history of Pennsylvania.
AFAJ: How does a family handle such an emotional challenge?
JL: After Regina’s return, Mama wanted a family Bible to replace the one that had burned in the cabin. They walked 75 miles into Philadelphia to find Pastor Muhlenberg who had just received a shipment of Bibles from Germany. He said he would gladly give them one, but felt it would be useless since Regina no longer spoke or read German.
Mama asked him to let her read from one of the Bibles. As she read the start of familiar passages, Regina finished them flawlessly from memory. Pastor Muhlenberg was so astonished that he wrote an impassioned letter back to the church in Germany, recounting the story and proclaiming that children must be taught the word of God because if Regina could remember it after all she had been through, they would never forget it.
AFAJ: Why has this story not been told already?
JL: Several books have been written about Regina, and a movie was made in the 1930s. Pastor Muhlenberg’s letter was rediscovered and published about 25 years ago. My mother, Berneta Leininger, found it and read it to our family one evening while we were visiting her with our children. We were all intrigued by the story of our long lost relative.
My 9-year-old daughter Tracy was so moved by the account that she decided she wanted to write a book about it and started her first draft. But that draft was put on the shelf, and it changed drastically before its completion years later. Because of our mutual interest in history, Tracy invited me to join her for a trip to Pennsylvania to research the story at local historical societies and retrace Barbara’s steps during her captivity and daring escape. Her book became an immediate success.
AFAJ: How did your story find its way to the big screen?
JL: When George Escobar of Advent Films picked up Tracy’s book one evening, he couldn’t put it down until he finished it the same night. At his urging, and after a lot more research, I wrote a narrative, which George then transferred into script form. 
Alone Yet Not Alone is rated PG-13 for violence and theme. AFA Journal’s review (4/14) cited no language issues, only intense subject matter and battle scenes as cautions for parents. For theater locations or more information: aloneyetnotalone.com.
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The Alone Yet Not Alone theme song by Joni Eareckson Tada received an Oscar nomination (later abruptly rescinded) for Best Original Song. (See AFA Journal, 5/14.) People Magazine and Parade Magazine polls showed AYNA to be the most popular by a wide margin (about 2-1).
See Tada perform the song.
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Tracy Leininger Craven’s book Alone Yet Not Alone has just been published by Zondervan in a special movie edition, which includes eight pages of color photos from the film and on set during filming. Available online and at booksellers.
