How did Samuel change throughout the story and what caused this to happen?

Samuel Smith is 13 years old at the beginning of the story, living with his parents in a settlement of cabins in the deep woods of western Pennsylvania in 1776. Samuel is the son of two educated parents who have little experience with frontier life, and he surpasses them in his practical survival skills, becoming their main source of support from his hunting.

Samuel is aware of death at a young age and he is morally opposed to killing others. his views arise partly out of his own experience having killed two men in self defense. He is a quick-witted boy who has an almost supernatural ability to sense danger and react quickly in dangerous situations. When his parents are captured by British troops and his neighbors slaughtered, he is able to contain his rage and desire for revenge and focus on the single-minded task of finding his parents and rescuing them.

Samuel is successful in his mission and eventually leads his family to safety on colonial territory. As a sixteen-year-old boy, he the returns to the fighting in the Revolutionary War. He does not engage in combat however, but takes a supporting role hunting and helping in camp.