| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| James N. |
Posted - October 28 2007 : 3:36:47 PM
I'd be interested in opinions of members as to what their favorites are regarding books about the French & Indian War, the Revolution, The whole colonial era, or whatever related you think was important. ( Excluding Cooper's original novel! ) I just posted a recommendation of my own. What do others recommend? |
| 22 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| nativedoll |
Posted - January 18 2008 : 6:32:12 PM
Indian Captive, by Lois Lenski.
Written in the 30s or 40s, this novel still manages speak to my heart ever since I first read it a few years ago.
It is based on the true story of Mary Jemison, an English girl my age who was captured by the Seneca tribe of the Iroquois in western New York during the French and Indian War, eventually becoming one of them.
A beautiful, beautiful read. |
| lonewolf |
Posted - January 17 2008 : 8:27:19 PM
I also enjoyed Eckert's books, and found a few white and Native American ancestors of mine in them. Many "purists" will "pooh-pooh" Eckert, but I think that he does quite a bit of research and a good job with his writing about the time period. So they are narratives? Do any of us actually know for sure what dialog was spoken by anyone back then? Let's face reality; we weren't there! Many accounts, personal reports and letters, including those of such people as George Washington and Col. Bouquet, have been exaggerated by them in order to "cover their asses" for a few of their failures. And these two aren't the only ones where it requires "reading between the lines" to get close to the truth, if we will ever know the real truth!
I have spoken to Alan Eckert and have given him the account of the death of my white 4x great-grandfather, Sgt. John James Black, killed at the Battle of Lochry's Run in August of 1781, fighting against my Shawnee people and Joseph Brant's Mohawks. Had it not been for the intervention of Chief Joseph Brant, my Shawnee people may well have killed all of the prisoners taken at this battle! |
| lonewolf |
Posted - January 17 2008 : 7:57:27 PM
Hi guys,
A good book by Dark Rain Thom, a fellow Shawnee and wife of James Alexander Thom is the book: "Warrior Woman" about the life of the famous Shawnee female, Nonhelema, a Warrior and Chief. She fought alongside my 4x great-grandfather, Willenawah (Great Eagle)at Bushy Run in 1763 against a British Army under Col. Bouquet. Both she and my 4x great-grandfather survived the battle along with 263 other Shawnees. I have the names of the Shawnee survivors.
My 4x great-grandfather, Willenawah, also fought against Col. George Washington at Fort Necessity in 1754, and again when Col. Washington brought the British Army under Gen. Braddock to the Monongahela River in 1755. A real slaughter of British and British-American troops!
I can't find if Nonhelema was present at Fort Necessity or at the Battle of the Monongahela.
Nonhelema had little use for Moravian "holy men", especially David Zeisberger, a particularly horrible little man who may have been a British spy.
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| richfed |
Posted - January 01 2008 : 08:08:37 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Gadget Girl
I have an outgraphed copy. Larry is a professor right here at the university I work for (ECU - East Carolina University) and I believe a Federici offspring is attending or WAIT - he hasn't graduated has he???. Anyway, Larry is a VERY cool guy!
When I was getting another degree a few years back, he came to our history class and did a Civil War Soldier talk complete with re-enactment garb and weapons.
Devil of a Whipping is a good book, especially for those that live in the NC/SC area and want to know more about the history this area! I keep saying I am going to get to the reenactment of this battle, but I never seem to manage. It is coming up in January I think - must check on that.
That Federici offspring - Chris - is a senior now. He will be graduating with HONORS!!! I am so proud of him! He went to Israel 2 summers ago as the first part of an anti-terrorism program. Then, for part 2, he went to DC to discuss the issue on radio with some congressmen. He did a thesis on Australian immigration policies which was, in large part, the catapult to the honors thing. He will be going for a Masters degree and hopes to be a statesman/lawmaker ... yes, politics. A good Conservative he is, too! 
Oh! Sorry! Couldn't resist the bragging!!!!! Back on track ...
For some reason, I really like Ian Steele's' Betrayals. Could it be because of Fort William Henry?????? |
| Seamus |
Posted - December 31 2007 : 8:44:43 PM
Yes, I do have that book and it is fascinating reading for the reasons you state. |
| Grenouille |
Posted - December 31 2007 : 7:34:39 PM
Mike,
I'll qualify my earlier remark by saying that I would recommend reading Eckert for entertainment, not for serious scholarly information...
Thanks for the update on the magazine at Augusta. Is it publicly accessible?
What I really like about the book
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION TO LOCATE THE SITES OF THE
FRONTIER FORTS OF PENNSYLVANIA
are the accounts of the old-timers, who, in the late 1800s, could remember the fort ruins and/or could relate accounts of people who lived during the 1700s.
Here's another period account, it's about Machault and Venango:
From a letter written to Rev. S. J. M. Eaton, by Mrs. M. A. Irvine, of Erie, Pa., under date of January 20, 1876, when the venerable lady was over ninety-two years of age, is taken the following extract: "I must now tell you all I know about the old forts. The French fort was nearly obliterated, and where the pickets stood was grown up with blackberry bushes and grape vines. Both forts were near the bank of the Allegheny river; the British fort, a little farther up. There was a little stream running between them, which supplied the British garrison with water. They had an underground passage to it in order to be protected against the Indians, in the same way. The Indians in playing football, would roll their ball inside the enclosure, as if by accident, and were allowed to go in and get it. Having done so several times, at last, when the garrison was off its guard, they rushed in in a body and killed every soul except one woman, whom they carried to Canada. A sister of mine saw this woman afterwards at Fort Erie, and she then told her of the massacre." [Quoted in History of Venango County.]
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| Seamus |
Posted - December 31 2007 : 6:18:06 PM
Jim,
Eckert is a good read IF you have no knowledge of the real goings-on. His treatment of Ft. Freeland in the Rev War is pure fiction...not even close to what happened! I know....I have read the reports of the Butler's Rangers captain, written in his hand, who attacked it, as well as survivors' pension applications, diaries and so on. I am also not so sure his footnotes match up with his writings, either. It's an old term paper trick to copy sources but not check them for accuracy. Also, what he used may be flawed long ago and has gotten repeated unverified. I am not saying it was done on purpose, but writers often fall into the trap, unsuspectingly.
Heck, I liked Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone (never got a coonskin hat, though!) on TV when I was kid, and must give them some credit for piquing my interest in the stuff we do today, but I would not take those shows as Gospel in any manner.....sure would not dress like that either!
Also, I have been in the magazine at Ft. Augusta many times. There IS a wall, newly laid (newer than the original 1758 work) which hides, I believe an addition for enlarging it when it was the first Northumberland County jail in 1772. Also, in 1758, when the magazine was built, the war here was about done. There was little going on except for Pontiac's threat which never came to fruition, and during the period between the wars, what was going on was mostly centered around white settlement in the West Branch Valley and the Indian trade.
It and the well are all that is left above ground to mark where this fort stood. There are homes (The mag and the well are next to a house and on a strip of land owned by the Northumberland County Historical Society. The NCHS also owns the Hunter House mentioned by Meginness.)and streets over the rest of it, but there is some of it underground, as attested to by a WPA dig and several since then done by the state and the NCHS.Many of those fort-related artifacts are in the museum there, and photos of the digs in the files. I have also seen some of the findings as they were unearthed.
BTW, Meginness has been exposed and discredited for his taking of 'literary license' also.....Some of his interviews were bogus!
So, I guess one must check the sources, rather than falling into the trap of accepting previous "research" as the final word, and repeating flawed research as Gospel. Trust, but verify....as Ronald Reagan said! Do your own research.
Oh...one more thing. There is a local legend, perpetuated by 'oral historians' in Sunbury which says there was a tunnel from inside the well across the river , dug by Indians so they could sneak in and attack whenever they wanted. Some of these people have sworn to it! (Wonder how they kept the water out of it???)I actually heard it told myself, by a woman on the Board of Trustees there, of which I am also a member, during a youth History Camp. After the kids went on to another station, I, as diplomatically as possible, pointed out to her that she was mistaken and should not be saying that. VERY indignantly, she told me it WAS true. Her grandfather told her that when she was a little girl, and "HE was NOT a LIAR!!!!!". Well, at her age, that was a LONG time ago, so maybe she had it mixed up, but I did NOT suggest that....!! ( She did not have an idea how the water was kept out. Apparantly, Grandpa didn't tell her.) |
| Grenouille |
Posted - December 31 2007 : 4:59:39 PM
Here's a book online that has a complete history of the Frontier Forts of PA, it was written in 1896 and has excellent first-person accounts:
REPORT OF THE COMMISSION TO LOCATE THE SITES OF THE
FRONTIER FORTS OF PENNSYLVANIA
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/pa/1pa/1picts/frontierforts/frontierforts.htm
Here's an example:
Visiting with the Forts Commission the ruins of Fort Augusta in the summer of 1894, under the guidance of Mr. M. L. Hendricks, of Sunbury, we found the magazine still there and in good condition. John F. Meginness, in his Otzinachson, or History of the West Branch Valley, page 269, gives a description of it as we saw it: "The magazine was built according to report, on plans of Capt. Gordon, who served as engineer, and today is still in a good state of preservation, being the only evidence of the existence of the fort. It is located in a stall field about sixty feet south of the brick house known as the ‘Hunter Mansion,' and one hundred and sixty-five feet from the river bank. A small mound of earth marks the spot where it may be found, and upon examination an opening in the ground is discovered which is two and a half feet wide. There are twelve four-inch stone steps leading below. On descending these steps the ground space inside the magazine is found to be 10x12 feet, and it is eight feet from the floor to the apex of the arched ceiling. The arch is of brick and commences on an offset purposely made in the wall five feet above the ground floor. The brick are of English manufacture and were transported from Philadelphia to Harris's and then up the river by batteaux. On entering the ancient magazine one is reminded of a huge bake oven; it has been stated that an underground passage led from the magazine to the river, but has been closed up. Although a break or narrow cave-in in the river bank directly opposite the magazine which had existed for years would indicate that such was the fact, yet there is no evidence on the inside walls that there ever was such a passage. A recent careful examination failed to show any signs of an opening having existed. The stone basement walls are as solid apparently as when they were first laid. There are no marks or other evidence whatever that there had been an opening in the wall or that it had been closed up since the construction of the magazine." (Query: Would a magazine in a warlike fort have communication with the outside world.) "There was such a passage starting from one of the angles of the fort, but it had no connection with the magazine."
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| Grenouille |
Posted - December 31 2007 : 4:44:55 PM
What, no one is going to mention Allan W. Eckert? I know the purists will castigate me, but because I read "The Frontiersmen" and "Wilderness Empire" when I was in 9th grade, it piqued my interest in the colonial period. I like all his books; "Dark and Bloody River" is another especially good one.
Though Eckert takes artistic liberty by putting words into the charecter's mouths, if you read the footnotes in the back of his books, he does a good job researching his topic. I find reading the footnotes as good as reading the text, itself.
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| Seamus |
Posted - December 31 2007 : 1:07:57 PM
Bouquet's Papers, all six Volumes----especially Vol.II
The Indian Wars of Pennsylvania, C. Hale Sipe
Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, Vol. I and II--George Dallas Albert
Loudon's Indian Narratives--Archibald Loudon
All of the above are first-person accounts, and, therefore, in my opinion, are very valuable. One must, however, not take them as Gospel, as sometimes things can be embellished to cover one's butt or enhanced to make one look better than he really was ("Really?", he asks.)
I don't like much fiction pertaining to the period, as most of it is flawed historically and horribly contrived (I point to the Eckert books as an example...makes me sick when I see Eckert as a source in "scholarly" works) However, one good book, and is very well done, in all the aspects I look for, is:
Spirit of the Border, Zane Grey
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| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - December 31 2007 : 12:13:58 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Hawkeye_Joe
"Redcoat" by Bernard Cornwell, Pretty good read from the perspective of a redcoat in Phila.
"April Morning" by Howard Fast, Lexington and Concord seen through the eyes of a teenage boy
"Drums Along the Mohawk" by Walter D. Edmonds, The Revolution in the back country of NY
Love all three of those! Plus "1776" as I have mentioned before. I also like Howard Fast's "The Crossing."
I have a whole bookshelf full of books that I have not read yet, both fiction and non-fiction, about both wars. Must get busy! |
| Hawkeye_Joe |
Posted - December 30 2007 : 11:11:49 PM
"The Ragged Ones" by Burke Davis, Gritty book about the Rev War in the south from before Cowpens through Guilford Courthouse
"Private Yankee Doodle" as mentioned before
"Guns of Burgoyne" by Bruce Lancaster, Good novel about the German conscripts with Burgoyne during the Saratoga Campaign
"Devil of a Whipping" as mentioned before
"Redcoat" by Bernard Cornwell, Pretty good read from the perspective of a redcoat in Phila.
"April Morning" by Howard Fast, Lexington and Concord seen through the eyes of a teenage boy
"Drums Along the Mohawk" by Walter D. Edmonds, The Revolution in the back country of NY |
| Fitzhugh Williams |
Posted - December 30 2007 : 8:38:36 PM
There is no reenactment of Cowpens. It is NPS land and they won't allow that sort of thing. (Your tax dollars at work!!!) You have to go to a state or private site to see that. For the 225th they had what they called a "reenactment" but it was on private land near the site, and was a show for the History Channel, and a total farce as a battle. I had the misfortune to participate on Saturday, and have not been back as a participant since. Jan. 19-20 will be the annual Cowpens event which consists of a few camps cooking some squirrels and things and various undermanned units firing volleys at the treetops. Maybe a cannon firing or two. Try Camden on the first weekend in Nov. It's usually much better. Or better yet, Brattonsville (near York, SC) the weekend after July 4. It is great! |
| Gadget Girl |
Posted - December 30 2007 : 4:19:01 PM
I have an outgraphed copy. Larry is a professor right here at the university I work for (ECU - East Carolina University) and I believe a Federici offspring is attending or WAIT - he hasn't graduated has he???. Anyway, Larry is a VERY cool guy!
When I was getting another degree a few years back, he came to our history class and did a Civil War Soldier talk complete with re-enactment garb and weapons.
Devil of a Whipping is a good book, especially for those that live in the NC/SC area and want to know more about the history this area! I keep saying I am going to get to the reenactment of this battle, but I never seem to manage. It is coming up in January I think - must check on that. |
| Longrifle |
Posted - December 30 2007 : 3:50:34 PM
Students of the American Revolution should check out A Devil of a Whipping by Lawrence E. Babits.
The book is about the battle of Cowpens and contains good information about Daniel Morgan and Banastre Tarelton, among others.
Of particular interest to me was the account of the North Carolina riflemen under Colonel McDowell who anchored the right flank of Morgan's skirmish line. They fell back under pressure from the 71st of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders, sharpshooting as they withdrew and led the 71st into the massed musket fire of the Continental Line.
Cowpens was perhaps the tactical masterpiece of the war. |
| RedFraggle |
Posted - December 30 2007 : 1:21:00 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Longrifle
It's an informative read, not an exciting one. . .
Sounds like most of the books I read. 
Somehow I missed this thread till now. Will have to check out some of the books listed. |
| Longrifle |
Posted - December 30 2007 : 1:17:24 PM
To Fight With Intrepidity by John D. Lock provides some valuable information about the operations of Roger's Rangers and the fall of Ft. William Henry.
It's an informative read, not an exciting one, so it won't appeal to everyone. |
| Steve S |
Posted - October 29 2007 : 4:51:45 PM
White Devil Stephen Brumwell
A People's Army Fred Anderson
The Annotated Rogers'Journals Timothy Todish
American Colonial Ranger(Osprey) Gary Zaboly
Sons of the Mountains Ian McCulloch
and most of the other appropriate Ospreys.
Steve |
| halfbreed |
Posted - October 28 2007 : 10:39:14 PM
very good topic james,
in no perticular order:
washington's crossing hackett fisher
paul revere's ride hackett fisher
the hessians rodney atwood (the real story of these guys)
crucible of war fred anderson
george washington remembers fred anderson
redcoats stephen brumwell
braddock at the monogahela paul kooperman
all 3 colonial american troops 1610-1774 (osprey) rene chartrand
h-b |
| James N. |
Posted - October 28 2007 : 8:02:27 PM
I can't resist contributing to my own question.
Although not necessarily the "best" from an intellectual or academic standpoint, the following were among the most influential for me:
Patriots by A. J. Langguth, which put a human face on the main characters of the Revolutionary period. I read it while working on the movie.
Private Yankee Doodle, the memoir of Joseph Plumb Martin, G.I. Joe of the Revolution. Also read making the movie. ( My original copy wound up with Dale Dye. )
Mark Boatner's Encyclopedia of the American Revolution tells virtually everything you could ever want to know.
For "our" war, Allen Eckert's Wilderness Empire, though novelistic, introduced the remarkable Sir William Johnson.
James Flexner's multivolumes on Washington of course cover both periods.
But for me, in order to REALLY get the "feel" of any period, I want to walk the ground. The absolute best for that is a set of three volumes collectively called The Bicentennial Guide to the American Revolution by Sol Stember. This set allowed this boy from Texas to find everything of importance throughout the east and northeast, all the way from Forts Anne, Edward, George, and William Henry; to Sunbury on the Georgia coast! The only challenge is in interpreting the very detailed instructions where to find things ca. 1974, to current conditions. ( One fort at Lake George has dissappeared beneath a Mariott, for example! )
If you can't find this somewhat obscure set, Boatner wrote his own one volume, Landmarks of the American Revolution, which dovetails nicely with his Encyclopedia; though not as extensive or specific as Stember. Both cover French & Indian sites as well.
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| Obediah |
Posted - October 28 2007 : 5:53:17 PM
My favorites about the 18th Century:
F&I War -- Crucible of War by Fred Anderson
Rev War -- 1776 by David McCullough |
| Bookworm |
Posted - October 28 2007 : 4:11:36 PM
Excellent topic, James! In the Burial Ground thread I quoted from "The European and the Indian: Essays in the Ethnohistory of Colonial North America" by James Axtell, and doing so reminded me of what a fine book it is, so that's my choice. I found a copy of the book in a used bookstore not along after LOTM came out, and was amazed at the wealth of info it contained. There are essays on scalping, Indian funeral practices, white captives, "Dr. Wheelock's little red school," the English impact on Indian culture, and the Indian impact on English culture. It's scholarly but very readable. Still available through Amazon, though I think $24.95 might be a little steep for a paperback; plenty of used copies available, though.
Runners-up:
"Indians in Pennsylvania" by Paul A.W. Wallace.
"The Life of Mary Jemison."
"America at 1750" by Richard Hofstadter.
"Everyday Life in Early America" by David Freeman Hawke (love that name).
"Betrayals" by Ian K. Steele.
"Into the American Woods: Negotiators on the Pennsylvania Frontier" by James H. Merrell.
"Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America," "Paul Revere's Ride," and "Washington's Crossing" by David Hackett Fischer.
"John Adams" by David McCullough.
And one book that I can't claim to have read in its entirety, but have often paged through looking at the beautiful photos: "The Pennsylvania-Kentucky Rifle" by Henry W. Kauffman. |
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