E. Z. C. Judson was born in Harpersfield, New York and died in the adjacent town of Stamford (March 20, 1821–July 16, 1886). In between, he lived a life more fantastic than any characters in the tales he wrote under the pseudonym of Ned Buntline.

 

Buntline authored nearly 300 "dime novels" ranging from tales of the west through sea stories. Rattlesnake, based on the author's time spent in the Navy during the days of sail, takes place early in the Civil War when the few southern officers in the Union Navy had to decide where their future would lie. Will Ashton opted for the Southern cause and takes the Rattlesnake, a new letter-of-marque, to sea—while forsaking his Northern fiancée, a scion of a Union shipping empire.