Log Cabin Online

by Elsie Murray. Softbound, 60 pages, 6" x 9". A strategic spot since the first human foot trod its trails, the Tioga (Te-a-o-ga) Valley has served as campsite and highway for centuries, moving Indians, traders, adventurers, and soldiers toward the EmpireState to the north or the vast Pennsylvania frontier to the south. Like a gigantic arrow of a compass pointing north and south, the Valley has seen history in the making as no other place on the Eastern Frontier. From the populous villages of Andaste warriors clustered here, their campfires smoldering on the western heights in the days when Samuel Champlain and Captain John Smith were venturing into the Susquehanna River Valley in the early 1600's, to 1779, when a third of the Continental army encamped below, 5,000 strong, waiting impatiently for General Sullivan to lead them against the Iroquois homelands in New York state, the Valley has seen it all. In 1786, General Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys were even summoned here to secure the peace in the last chapter of the ongoing Yankee-Pennamite Wars, launched at Wyoming some 20 years previous between Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

Compiled and annotated by Andrew Wahll.  Softbound, 489 pages, 5” x 8”.  In 1755 Maj. Gen. Edward Braddock was put in charge of constructing a road from the Potomac River at Wills Creek (Cumberland, MD), to Fort Duquesne (present-day Pittsburgh) at the forks of the Ohio River.  His object was to take the fort and thereby launch the conquest of French-held North America.  Although Braddock was killed not far from his goal in the grisly clash know today as Braddock’s Defeat, the route that he openedultimately became a highway for western emigration, and part of it was incorporated in the National Road.  The making of the Braddock Road was an engineering marvel that tested the abilities and endurance of its builders.  The remarkable detail contained in this compilation is too vast to mention here but includes descriptions of forts, personnel, food, Indians, clothing, lodging and more.  Carpenters, artificers, shoemakers, tailors, wagonmasters, farriers, nurses, and cooks: nothing less than atraveling city was required in the construction of the Braddock Road.  Personal journals and official military reports and correspondence are gold mines for anyone who studies the people, events and daily life of the past.  The material collected here is extracted from the records of British army regulars (including Braddock, St. Clair, Gage and others), colonial militia (Cresap, Croghan, Gist, Washington, etc.), camp followers, American colonists (Burd, Hamilton, Franklin, Dinwiddie, Delancy, etc.) and newspapers.  The ultimate battle is described firsthand.  Short biographical sketches, a chronology and list of sources round out this comprehensive study.  These fascinating accounts are enhanced with informative annotations.

Sylvester K. Stevens and Donald H. Kent.  Hardbound, 342 pages, 6" x 9".  The northwestern Pennsylvania wilderness was the scene of many events which had great significance on the history of Pennsylvania and the nation.   Here it was that the legions of France buried their leaden plates, erected their forts and staked out a claim to the continent of North America.  Here it was also that the red-coated agents of England resisted the French bid for empire.  Across this trackless wilderness there trekkedas the agent of Virginia, to warn the French from the Ohio Valley, none other than the young George Washington.  This journey to Fort Le Beuf was his first great public service and the launching of a career which culminated with his services in the of our republic.  Wilderness Chronicles gives much credible evidence on the region's connection to the making of America.  This book is not meant as a history of the region but rather a collection of raw materials from which the history was written. 

by Russell Booth. Original Journals and Old Maps with Analysis.  Hardbound, 330 pages, 8-1/2" x 11". A wealth of early Ohio history. Here are the stories of John Heckewelder, Colonel Henry Bouquet, David Zeisberger, George Croghan, Christopher Gist and manyother famous persons who played important roles in Ohio’s settlement. Shows locations of many Indian villages, mission sights, military camps, etc. An important book for any one interested in Ohio Valley history.

Softbound, 320 pages, 5" x 8". A reprint from a rare 1769 Dublin printing of thiscombined text. Rogers & Bouquet were two of the most experienced British frontier commanders of the French & Indian War era. These writings offer a fascinating insight on the changing nature of warfare on the Colonial American frontier during the 18th century.

Softbound, 188 pages, 6" x 9". Many interesting stories of Indian history, manners and customs of everyday life come to light through the pages of this book. This exceptional and intimate knowledge of the inner life of these first Americans is credited toZeisberger and found nowhere else. His stories of Indian medicinal remedies, first hand details of their ceremonies, food, culture and beliefs speak volumes.

by David Lavender.  Softbound, 479 pages, 5" x 8". Bent's Fort was a landmark of the American frontier, a huge private fort on the upper Arkansas River in present southeastern Colorado. Established by the adventurers Charles and William Bent,  it stood until 1849 as the center of the Indian trade of the central plains.  David Lavender's chronicle of these men and their part in the opening of the  West has been conceded a place beside the works of Parkman and Prescott.

Softbound, 62 pages, 5" x 7". Sally Wister was a sixteen year-old Quaker girl in  Philadelphia when the British invaded that city. To keep her from harm,she was sent to live in the country.While away, she kept a journal in order to keep a friend up-to-date.  This diary provides a vital and delightful historical record of a young girl's life during a dangerous and important time in American history.

by Phillip W. Hoffman. Hardbound, 360 pages, 6" x 9". A masterful, panoramic biography of one of the most mysterious, misunderstood icons of early American history. Simon Girty was a sharp-witted, rascally, many-tounged frontiersman whose epic adventures span the French & Indian War, Dunmore's Wars, and finally, the War of 1812. By exploring microfilm, ledgers, military records, congressional records, newspaper and magazine articles, and dozens of early American and Canadian fiction and non-fiction works, the author peels away the mythic legend that has hidden Girty's real persona for two and a half centuries.

by Richard Taylor, with introduction by Ted Franklin Belue. Softbound, 149 pages, 6" x 9". Fighting for the British and Indians, Simon Girty was a fierce warrior and ally of the native tribes, particularly the Shawnee and the Wyandots. An able frontiersman, his bloody exploits and legend made Girty the most hated and feared villain in Kentucky and the Ohio Valley. However, many who knew the man respected him for his convictions, principles, and bravery.

Reprinted from an original 1890 work by renowned historian  C. W. Butterfield. Softbound, 310 pages, 6" x 9". Was Simon Girty a renegade or a victim of the times? And what about his brothers! A concise account of the Girty brothers — Thomas, Simon, Jameand George, and of their half-brother, John Turner — also of the part taken by them in Lord Dunmore’s War, in the Western Border War of the Revolution, and in the Indian War of 1790-95. With a recital of the principal events in the West during these wars,drawn from authentic sources . . . largely original.

Softbound, 128 pages, 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" The journal of Col. Clark's campaign into Illinois, containing both the public and private instructions to Col. Clark by Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia. Also includes portions of Maj. Bowman's journal on the taking of Post St. Vincents.

Edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites. Hardbound, 328 pages, 6" x 9". This collection contains four of the most important journals of recorded travel into Indian country during theformative period of early Western settlement.  Originally published in 1904. Conrad Weiser's journal records the first official journey into the Indian country undertaken at the insistance of the English colonies in August and September of 1748.  The  journals of George Croghan (1750-1765) are an epitome of the Indian history of the time. The journals of Christian Frederick Post cover the months of July to September, 1758 when he was sent out on an expedition into the neighborhood of Fort DuQuesne; and October, 1758 to January, 1759 as he carried news of the treaty of Easton and paved the way for General Forbes's advance. Captain Thomas Morris accompanied Bradstreet (1764) on his expedition to Detroit. His journal presents one of the most thrilling episodes in early western history.

by Larry Nelson.  Softbound, 262 pages, 6” x 9”.  A Man of Distinction Among Them represents an important step in understanding the complexities surrounding the early history of the Ohio Country and the Old Northwest and provides the most clear and comprehensive portrait of a central figure in that history:  Alexander McKee, a fur trader, land speculator, and agent with the British Indian Department.  Fathered by a white trader and raised partly by his Shawnee mother, McKee was at home in either culture and played an active role in Great Lakes Indian affairs for nearly 50 years.  During the Revolution he remained loyal to the Crown and organized the Ohio tribes to oppose American military excursions into the Ohio Country, and he led several successful raids into Kentucky.  McKee served as a “cultural mediator”—a go between who linked the native and European worlds.  He exploited his familial affiliation and close economic ties to both communities to encourage trade, foster diplomatic relations, and forge a military alliance between the British government and the tribes of the Old Northwest.  When he first entered the historic record, McKee was a fully accepted, fully participating member of Upper Canada’s aristocratic British elite. 

by Albert Volwiler.  Hardbound, 370 pages, 6" x 9".  Students of 18th century Indian history are certainly familiar with Braddock, Pontiac, Weiser, and Sir William Johnson, but in George Croghan, we have perhaps the most fascinating and influential of thegreat American frontiersmen on the early westward movement across the Alleghenies into the Ohio country. Coming into Pennsylvania in 1741 during the Irish potato famine, Croghan entered the Indian trade and soon became the colony's most prominent leader.  Failing in Indian trade, Croghan acted as Washington's Indian agent on his Fort Necessity campaign of 1754 and later served with and survived Braddock's fateful battle in 1755. But Croghan's mind was constantly stirred by visions of westward colonization and he disastrously promoted this idea of western land speculation to prominent men of the day. Unfortunately, the men who trusted Croghan generally lost money and most came to distrust him. During the American Revolution both American and British treated him as a traitor and in 1782 he died in Philadelphia a tired and penniless man. This book, however, does not dwell on Croghan's private life but rather concentrates on giving the reader a better understanding of the power and influence he hd on the events of the mid 18th century's early westward movement. 

by Meredith Mason Brown. Hardbound, 375 pages, 6-1/2" x 9-1/2". Brown traces Boone's life from his Pennsylvania childhood to his experiences in the militia and his rise to an unexcelled woodsman, explorer, and backcountry leader. In the process we meet the authentic Boone: he did't wear coonskin caps; he read and wrote better than most frontiersmen; he was not the first to settle Kentucky; he took no pleasure in killing Indians. At once a loaner and a leader, a Quaker who became a skilled frontier fighter, Boone is a study in contradictions. The author lays to rest many of the myths surrounding Boone in this well researched, well written text. Includes extensive endnotes, biographical material and index.

by George Ranck. Hardbound, 286 pages, 6" x 9". A reprint of a 1901 edition. The story of Boonesborough, its founding, pioneer struggles, Indian experiences, Transylvania days and Revolutionary annals.

Edited by Neal O. Hammon. Hardbound, 176 pages, 6" x 9". In an 1851 visit with Boone's youngest son, Lyman Draper produced over three hundred pages of notes that became the most important source of information about Daniel Boone. The interviews provided a wealth of accurate, first-hand information concerning Boone's years in Kentucky, his capture by Indians, his defense of Fort Boonesboro, his lengthy hunting expeditions, and his final years in Missouri. My Father, Daniel Boone is an engaging account of one of America's great pioneers, in which Nathan makes a point of separating fact from fiction. From explaining the methods his father used to track game to detailing how land speculation and legal problemfrom title claims caused Boone to leave Kentucky and take up residence farther west. This book brings a crucial period in frontier history to life.

by Lyman C. Draper, edited by Ted Franklin Belue. Hardbound, 576 pages, 6" x 9". Draper, first secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, collected more than 500 volumes of material on the famed frontiersman Daniel Boone and the trans-Allegheny West over his lifetime. He set out to write the definitive biography of Boone in the early 1850's, but after 40 years’ work, was unable to finish the massive task. Authoritatively edited and annotated, this long-awaited biography is filled with little-known information on Boone and his family, long hunters, the Shawnee, the fur trade, and frontier life in general.

by Robert Morgan. Hardbound, 538 pages, 6" x 9". The author strips away some of the most blatant falsehoods about Boone's life. Boone did not "discover" Kentucky or the Cumberland Gap; he was neither an "Indian-lover" nor a particularly eager Indian fighter. He was instrumental in the opening of the Trans-Appalachian West before the revolutionary War. When necessary, he fought Indians, but he also established friendships with many tribal chiefs. Throughout his life, he displayed an adventuous and generous spirit that, combined with a tough intelligence, makes him well worth the accolaides he continues to receive. A stirring chronicle of this great frontiersman.