James was a soldier who was present at Fort Bailey during the year 1815 when it faced an ongoing attack by hellhounds during which he was in charge of the place's defense. He appears in Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning as one of the antagonists.
Overview[]
James is often seen wearing a red military uniform and organizes Fort Bailey's security and defense, calling the men to arms and to their positions when an attack is eminent. His strict policies of denying entry to unknown visitors put him at odds with the more friendly civilian chief factor Wallace Rowlands. He also often reprimands men who do not comply with his orders.
He displays a racist attitude towards Native Americans and openly shows his disdain when he deals with the Hunter or Seamus' half Native American son Milo. Even going so far as expelling the boy from the fort after his father's death. He generally antagonizes people he doesn't respect and often resorts to violence while doing so. Not showing any qualms to become violent against women and even seems to enjoy it.
History[]
James is an experienced soldier who previously served in a regiment deployed further to the east, where they also employed Native Americans as scouts. Still, he only appreciates them as cannon fodder to stop bullets on the front line.
When Ginger and Brigitte Fitzgerald arrive at the fort in seek of shelter following their parents' death during an expedition, James strongly opposes letting them enter the fort at all, while Wallace Rowlands intends to let them stay as his guests. During a dinner on the first evening of their stay, James clashes with the Hunter, accusing him to have a hidden agenda and actually planning to finish of the residents of the fort with accomplices from outside. After Ginger gets bitten by a half-werewolf boy, the sisters want to leave at the same night. When they unlock the gate, they encounter James who resorts to violence in order to stop them, almost engaging in a fistfight with Ginger before Brigitte ends up holding him at gunpoint when suddenly a hellhound assault breaks lose and they all have to close the gate again.
At the following day, Seamus proposes to abandon the fort, which James and Rowlands both oppose. After the fort's craftsman Seamus is killed, James suspects Ginger to be the murderer, ordering his men to apprehend her and bring her to Doc Murphy who's supposed to test her with leeches for lycanthropy, while he himself brutalizes Brigitte until Rowlands calls him off. Rowlands then also resolves the situation at the doctor by killing him after Brigitte threatens Rowlands with revealing Geoffrey's secret.
Soon after Seamus' death, James no longer sees a reason to let his son Milo stay the fort and throws him out. When Geoffrey's secret is eventually revealed when he is discovered crying at his mothers grave on the fort's cemetery, James and the other men round the boy up and confront Rowlands about his deception, leading to the boy getting killed in the ensuing situation. The sisters now have to leave the fort after losing their bargaining chip.
Later, Brigitte returns with the hunter and is captured by James and the Reverend, in the hope of luring Ginger back to the fort to eventually kill her. When a transforming Ginger then returns, James orders his men to let Ginger in. He tells Ginger that the Reverend is busy with Brigitte, and starts a fight with Ginger by punching her in the face. James overpowers her, and she offers to tell him a secret before whispering "They're coming" and claws at his throat. James collapses to the ground as Ginger ushers in the rest of the werewolves.