DOCSLIB.ORG

Would Not Hate the Indians of Waller's Book? Surely a Proper

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Would Not Hate the Indians of Waller's Book? Surely a Proper Book Reviews 55 Waller points out, the westward thrust of settlement scattered population, creating a “new kind of weakness.’’ The links between ultimate military success and political and social de- velopments in the West thus appear to be more complicated than Waller allows. Perhaps such “profundities” are out of place in a bi- centennial history. Perhaps the only way to write a book about American “heroes” is to focus on military operations, no matter how trivial and no matter how complicated and compromised the motives of the protagonists. Yet if Ameri- cans celebrate “heroic” soldiers following “their leaders on seemingly hopeless missions, enduring privation and danger’’ (p. 31), must their Indian enemies always “lurk about” com- mitting acts of unimaginable savagery on defenseless women and children? Must Indian soldiers be described as “unstable, vacillating, and unreliable” (p. 31) ? Waller admits that “Indian-hating” whites committed some atrocities, but who would not hate the Indians of Waller’s book? Surely a proper bicentennial history can celebrate the heroism and recognize the humanity of all American peoples. Columbia University, New York Peter Onuf Fort Laurens, 1778-1 779: The Revolutionary War in Ohio. By Thomas I. Pieper and James B. Gidney. ([Kent, Ohio]: Kent State University Press, 1976. Pp. xi, 97. Iustrations, notes, maps, note on sources. $7.95.) This slim, attractive volume tells the story of Fort Lawens, the Yitkte ~ukp~ston the Tuscaxawas Xhex that marked the westernmost advance of American continentals into the Ohio country during the Revolutionary War. The fort was established by General Lachlan McIntosh, the second of four soldiers who commanded at Fort Pitt under General George Washington and the Continental Congress. Con- structed in November, 1778, Fort Laurens was designed to support the line of attack against the British western head- quarters at Detroit. Moving west from Pittsburgh, McIntosh had established a fort named for himself on the north bank of the Ohio River at the mouth of Beaver River. Fort Laurens represented a further extension westward some seventy miles. 56 Indiana Magazine of History The authors recount from first hand sources the arduous advance of McIntosh’s forces, numbering about twelve hundred, burdened with supplies and slowed by weakening pack horses. Pressure from Virginia, whose leaders favored George Rogers Clark’s stroke against British outposts on the Mississippi and Wabash rivers, led Congress to scale down its plans. McIntosh was ordered to attack Indians along the Sandusky River rather than to attempt an attack on Detroit. Worsening weather, dwindling food supplies, and expiring enlistments halted the enterprise at the Tuscarawas. Mc- Intosh decided to retire to Fort McIntosh and Fort Pitt as soon as Fort Laurens was completed. By early December, 1778, the little army withdrew, leaving one hundred fifty men under Colonel John Gibson to complete construction and man the outpost. Indians besieged the fort most of the winter. The garrison suffered and starved until McIntosh led a relief expedition in the spring to replace Gibson’s stubborn de- fenders with Major Frederick Vernon and fresh troops. Colonel Daniel Brodhead, successor to McIntosh, urged abandonment of Fort Laurens. Arguing against the strategic concepts of his predecessor, Brodhead opposed spreading his slender forces among many small forts. Under orders from Washington, Brodhead maintained Fort Laurens for six months. It was finally abandoned in August, 1779. In an interesting final chapter the authors discuss the archaeolo- gical findings of Richard Michael Gramly and his associates, who have excavated the site of the fort, and the successful efforts directed by the Ohio Historical Society to preserve and display the area. The book justifiably dispenses with footnotes since it is based almost entirely on a limited number of sources fully acknowledged in a concluding note. The lack of an index may hamper use of the book for reference. Brief references to other events-such as Dunmore’s War, Clark‘s campaigns, Chief Cornstalk’s murder, or the relationships between leaders at Fort Pitt and the eastern Ohio Delaware Indians and their Moravian missionary lead- ers-are likely to arouse interest in events with which this account does not deal. If so, one hopes this lively little volume will stimulate further reading on wider aspects of the valiant, frustrating, but finally successful struggle that held the western borderlands for the new nation. Butler University, Indianapolis George M. Waller .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine
    THE WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL MAGAZINE Volume 43 March 1960 Number 1 A REVOLUTIONARY JOURNAL AND ORDERLY BOOK OF GENERAL LACHLAN McINTOSH'S EXPEDITION, 1778 Edited by Edward G. Williams Introduction is continuing romantic sentiment in bringing to public * view old manuscript accounts of the personal experiences of Therethose who participated in the early struggles of this history- rich tri-state area. The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine recently published an orderly book, a journal, and two maps that all fitted together to identify most of the route and camping sites of Colonel Bouquet's march against the Ohio Indian towns in 1764. 1 Now we find, as always in historical study, that events and facts are interwoven and correlated in surprising ways. We are reminded that the Great Trail, that "Indian thorofare" of the forest, which Bouquet opened up as a road for his small army, was retraced, 2 worn deeper, and further hallowed by the fatigue and Mr. Williams, a graduate of Bucknell University and a member of this Society, is well-known to the readers of The Western Pennsylvania His- torical Magazine through the editing of the Bouquet Orderly Book of the 1 764 expedition into Ohio. He has also written a history of Ross Township published on the occasion of its sesqui-centennial. —Ed. 1 "The Orderly Book of Colonel Henry Bouquet's Expedition Against the Ohio Indians, 1764." The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, XLII (in three installments), hereinafter noted simply as WPHM. 2 Mclntosh followed the road previously cut by Bouquet in 1764. Thwaites and Kellogg, Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio, Madison, Wis.
    [Show full text]
  • The American Revolution in the Ohio Country – Primary Source Reader
    TT HE AA MERICAN RR EVOLUTION IN THE OO HIO CC OUNTRY Primary Source Reader A Series of 20 letters from General George Washington, General Lachlan McIntosh, & Colonel Daniel Brodhead pertaining to Fort Laurens, the Indian problem in the Ohio Country, and the progress of the war in the west in 1779 Fort Laurens, Bolivar, Ohio Compiled by Jason Edwin Anderson, Archbishop Hoban High School Special thanks to Professor Edward Lengel - Editor in Chief of the George Washington Papers, University of Virginia. Notes at the end of the selection are from the University of Virginia staff. General George Washington Commander of the American Forces during the Revolutionary War. (1775-1781) He is from Virginia. General Lachlan McIntosh Commander of the Western Department. Builds Fort Laurens in 1778. He is from Georgia. Colonel Daniel Brodhead Commander of the Western Department after McIntosh. In charge of abandoning Fort Laurens in 1779. He is from New York. 2 3 2 1 Map of the American Revolution indicating the locations3 of Fort Pitt (1), Pennsylvania, Fort Laurens (2), west of Fort Pitt across the Ohio River, and Fort Detroit (3), the British fort west of Lake Erie. th Broadside from the Continental Congress, July 25 , 1778, regarding the Indian situation in the Ohio Country, the construction of forts in the Ohio Country, and the possible attack against the British garrison at Fort Detroit. From the Library of Congress 4 To BRIGADIER GENERAL LACHLAN McINTOSH From General George Washington Head Quarters, June 10, 1778. Dear Sir: I have been favoured with your Letter of the 7th.
    [Show full text]
  • Button Gwinnett & Lachlan Mcintosh
    _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Vol. 11, No. 1.1 March 2016 first as a justice of the peace and later as an assemblyman. Unfortunately, financial success did Button Gwinnett & Lachlan McIntosh - not follow and Gwinnett soon found himself with Dueling in Savannah debts greater than the value of his holdings. He came out of bankruptcy in 1773 still owing £1,000.2 Wayne Lynch Perhaps looking for distraction from his financial For the first year after the Declaration of difficulties, Gwinnett befriended Dr. Lyman Hall Independence, the feud between Gov. Button who was a leader among the Sons of Liberty and Gwinnett and Gen. Lachlan McIntosh dominated the Georgia’s delegate (though he did not attend) to the political scene in the new state of Georgia. While First Continental Congress. Displaying passion and Gwinnett is most known for his role as a signer of talent, Gwinnett soon became even more active in the Declaration of Independence, a detailed look Georgia politics. At that time, the voting laws had into the story demonstrates an almost overwhelming been written to favor the plantation owners and ambition for military command. Because both merchants centered near Savannah. Known as the Gwinnett and McIntosh were loyal Whigs, the story conservative Whigs, that group resisted changes to displays a true tragedy where none should have governance at the colony (and later state) level even existed. though they had joined the Revolution. Button Gwinnett Born around 1732 and raised in a rural village near Gloucestershire, Button Gwinnett was the son of the Rev. Samuel Gwinnett of the Church of St.
    [Show full text]
  • Today in Georgia History September 16, 1779 Siege of Savannah
    Today in Georgia History September 16, 1779 Siege of Savannah Suggested Readings Kenneth Coleman, The American Revolution in Georgia, 1763-1789 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1958). Leslie Hall, Land and Allegiance in Revolutionary Georgia (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2001). Harvey H. Jackson, Lachlan McIntosh and the Politics of Revolutionary Georgia (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1979). Martha Condray Searcy, The Georgia-Florida Contest in the American Revolution, 1776-1778 (University: University of Alabama Press, 1985). Image Credits September 16, 1779: Siege of Savannah A real American rifle man Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-45249 French Flotilla led by D’Estaing 1778 Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-899 French Troops in American Revolution Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-1518 General Benjamin Lincoln Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-45245 General D'Estaing MC E241 S26 J72 1968 The siege of Savannah by the fleet of Count D'Estaing in 1779 Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society Portrait of Pulaski Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society Pulaski monument, aerial view 1855, Foltz Photography Studio (Savannah, Ga.), photographs, 1899-1960 Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society Pulaski, 1360-25-13-14 Foltz Photography Studio (Savannah, Ga.), photographs, 1899-1960 Courtesy of the Georgia Historical Society Red Coat Troops Confronting Colonists Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division,
    [Show full text]
  • Primary Sources for Regimental Tailors
    1 PRIMARY SOURCES FOR CLOTHING THE CONTINENTAL ARMY DYEING CAPTURED UNIFORMS Please read carefully, as some of these records predate Valley Forge “It was now proposed to the Consideration of the Members what will be the best Method of providing Cloathing for the Troops which are to compose the new Army. Agreed that the Cloathing be provided by the Continent and paid for by Stoppages out of the Soldiers Wages at 10s. per Month, that as much as possible of the Cloth for this Purpose be dyed brown and the Distinctions of Regiments made in the Facings. Also that a Man who brings a good new Blanket into the Camp should be allowed two Dollars therefor and take it away with him at the End of the Campaign.”1 “It was now proposed to the Consideration of the Members what will be the best Method of providing Cloathing for the Troops which are to compose the new Army. Agreed that the Cloathing be provided by the Continent & paid for by Stoppages out of the Soldiers Wages at 10/ ⅌ Month, that as much as possible of the Cloth for this Purpose be dyed brown & the Distinctions of Regiments made in the Facings. Also that a Man who brings a good new Blanket into the Camp should be allowed two Dollars therefor & take it away with him at the End of the Campaign.”2 “From George Washington to James Mease, 9 May 1777,” Founders Online, National Archives, accessed September 29, 2019, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-09-02-0364. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Slavery and the Framework of the Social History of Eighteenth Century Georgia
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UNCG Hosted Online Journals (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) Journal of Backcountry Studies Wheels Within Wheels: Slavery and the Framework of the Social History of Eighteenth Century Georgia BY ROBERT SCOTT DAVIS In the last few years, British historians have illustrated how the social history of colonial Georgia played a larger role on the world stage than it has previously been given credit. Hugh Bicheno’s writings on slaves expecting the British military to take them from Tybee Island to freedom in 1775 appeared in Richard Holmes’ documentary on the American Revolution. Simon Schama has written upon the international consequences of the first African-American Baptist church’s establishment in Georgia, a subject that he touches upon in his television series.1 Much more could and should be available on those particular events, beyond their recent notoriety in history as portrayed on television but scholarship on colonial Georgia as a whole has lacked analysis until the early 1970s when, as historian George C. Rogers Jr. wrote, scholars finally began to pick up its scattered pieces to find its hidden importance. Here much of that work will be used to outline the new social history of the thirteenth British colony with an emphasis on its widespread significance.2 Slavery and the manumission of African slaves in early Georgia, for example, came from within a heritage that predated, provided an alternative to, and would challenge the Enlightenment. The modern scholarship has shown that the colony and the state of Georgia in the eighteenth Century went through complex periods from 1735 to 1798 wherein slaves and freedmen would become issues wherein they were banned, encouraged, and treated in very different ways respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • BRIER CREEK PATRIOT Brier Creek Chapter Screven County, Georgia
    BRIER CREEK PATRIOT Brier Creek Chapter Screven County, Georgia Vol. 3 Copies - 60 Issue 10 Editor – Dess D. Smith III, 214 N Racetrack Street, Swainsboro, GA 30401 Compatriots, Our tenth Brier Creek Chapter meeting for 2018 will be held on Thursday night, October 11, 2018 at the R & D’s Restaurant, located on Hwy 301 just north of Sylvania at 6:30. Don’t forget that all spouses are invited to our regular Chapter meetings any time that they want to attend. We always have great programs about the Revolutionary War that they will find very interesting. We look forward to both the SAR and DAR Chapters of Screven County working together to preserve the Brier Creek Battlefield and educate the citizens of Screven County about this Battlefield. This month’s program will be presented by Emory Allen Burton. Emory is currently a Professor of History at Augusta University. Allen also is a well-known speaker about the American revolution and is highly requested to present programs at SAR Chapters, Civic Clubs and during the weekend festivities in Washington, GA during the Commemoration of the Battle at Kettle Creek each year in February. LTC (ret) Burton retired from the United States Army Reserve and is a “Vietnam Veteran”. Allen is also a graduate of the highly recognized Military Junior College in Milledgeville, Georgia Military College, in 1962. Allen lives with his wife in Washington, GA. Allen’s presentation is titled, “Alexander Hamilton”. Alexander Hamilton is considered one of the “Founding Fathers of the United States of America”. See below the photo of Burton from a file photo.
    [Show full text]
  • More Than a Botanist: William Bartram's Impact Upon The
    Matt Peek MORE THAN A BOTANIST: WILLIAM BARTRAM’S IMPACT UPON THE HISTORY OF COLONIAL GEORGIA MATT PEEK This paper received the Hines Award. It was written for Dr. Shirley’s Senior Seminar course. Georgia’s early history is full of remarkable individuals and events. Most people know of the founding of the colony by James Oglethorpe, Georgia’s involvement in the Revolutionary War, and the drafting of the Constitution. There are many influ- ential people in early Georgia history, however, that have gone relatively unnoticed. While much attention is devoted to politics, warfare, and religion in the study of Georgia history, very few historians have ventured into the realm of natural history in Georgia. As one of the first American naturalists, William Bartram traveled throughout much of Georgia, documenting his explorations and providing some of the earliest descriptions of flora and fauna, Native American life, and colonial Georgian life during the early Revolutionary period. Bartram was not the first to study the land and wildlife of Georgia. The first to do so were the early explorers of the six- teenth century from Spain and France, such as Hernando de Soto and Jean Ribault.i As time progressed and Georgia became colonized and inhabited, exploration continued, espe- cially into the backcountry.ii In the latter half of the seventeenth century, explorers such as Henry Woodard and James Moore traveled throughout Georgia exploring its rivers and tributaries.iii Most of these exploratory missions were cartographical, howev- er, and many of the details of these early Georgian adventures were poorly recorded or have been lost.iv Thus, they are of very limited use in the study of Georgia’s natural history.
    [Show full text]
  • Samuel Elbert Papers
    Samuel Elbert papers Descriptive Summary Repository: Georgia Historical Society Creator: Elbert, Samuel, 1740-1788. Title: Samuel Elbert papers Dates: 1776-1786 Extent: 0.25 cubic feet (1 box) Identification: MS 0232 Biographical/Historical Note Samuel Elbert (1740-1788) was born in Prince William Parish, South Carolina. During the American Revolution he joined the Sons of Liberty. A member of the first Georgia Council of Safety (1775), he entered the Continental service as a lieutenant-colonel in 1776. Elbert was soon promoted to colonel and gained command of the Continental forces in Georgia as successor to Lachlan McIntosh. He commanded a brigade at Yorktown. On January 22, 1783, Elbert became a commissioner appointed to negotiate with the Creek and Cherokee tribes. He became governor of Georgia in July, 1785, after which he served as sheriff of Chatham County. Elbert died in Savannah on November 1, 1788. Scope and Content Note This collection contains an order book, letter book, and two pieces of correspondence. The subjects of the correspondence include a recommendation of the return of confiscated books, and the "Florida situation." This collection is arranged chronologically. The letter book, February 16, 1785-November 9, 1786. also contains letter book of Edward Telfair, January 27, 1786-October 19, 1786. Index Terms Elbert, Samuel, 1740-1788. Florida--History--Spanish colony, 1784-1821. Letter books. Letters (correspondence) Telfair, Edward, approximately 1735-1807. Administrative Information Custodial History Unknown. Preferred Citation [item identification], Samuel Elbert papers, MS 232, Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia. Acquisition Information Gift of William Neyle Habersham, 1894 (order book); Walter C. Hartridge, 1959 (Item 3) Restrictions Access Restrictions Collection is open for research.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction: Optional Activities: March 05, 1727: Lachlan Mcintosh Born Daily Activity
    March 05, 1727: Lachlan McIntosh Born Daily Activity Introduction: The daily activities created for each of the Today in Georgia History segments are designed to meet the Georgia Performance Standards for Reading Across the Curriculum, and Grade Eight: Georgia Studies. For each date, educators can choose from three optional activities differentiated for various levels of student ability. Each activity focuses on engaging the student in context specific vocabulary and improving the student’s ability to communicate about historical topics. One suggestion is to use the Today in Georgia History video segments and daily activities as a “bell ringer” at the beginning of each class period. Using the same activity daily provides consistency and structure for the students and may help teachers utilize the first 15-20 minutes of class more effectively. Optional Activities: Level 1: Provide the students with the vocabulary list and have them use their textbook, a dictionary, or other teacher provided materials to define each term. After watching the video, have the students write a complete sentence for each of the vocabulary terms. Student created sentences should reflect the meaning of the word based on the context of the video segment. Have students share a sampling of sentences as a way to check for understanding. Level 2: Provide the students with the vocabulary list for that day’s segment before watching the video and have them guess the meaning of each word based on their previous knowledge. The teacher may choose to let the students work alone or in groups. After watching the video, have the students revise their definitions to better reflect the meaning of the words based on the context of the video.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kettle Creek Battlefield Survey
    Stirring Up a Hornet’s Nest: The Kettle Creek Battlefield Survey LAMAR Institute Publication Series Report Number 131 The LAMAR Institute, Inc. Stirring Up a Hornet’s Nest: The Kettle Creek Battlefield Survey LAMAR Institute Publication Series, Report Number 131 Submitted to City of Washington P.O. Box 9 Washington, Georgia 30673 Submitted by Daniel T. Elliott, Principal Investigator and Author The LAMAR Institute, Inc. P.O. Box 2992 Savannah, GA 31402 2009 TableB of Contents Table of Contents i List of Figures iiH List of Tables vH Acknowledgements vi I. Introduction 1 Battle Summary 1 Project Environment 2 II. Research Methods 4 Archival Research 4 Fieldwork 12 Laboratory Analysis 15 Reporting 16 Curation 16 III. Previous Research 17 Previous Historical Research 17 Previous Archeological Research 36 IV. The Participants 37 Patriot Militia 37 Biographies of Selected Patriot Participants 45 Other Patriots Linked to Kettle Creek 76 Loyalist Militia 80 Selected Loyalist Participants 81 Troop Strength and Casualty Estimates 95 V. The Battlefield 97 Battlefield Imagery 97 Military Landscape of Wilkes County 100 Property Ownership and Kettle Creek 112 Landscape Modifications 124 VI. Archeological Results 127 Battlefield Landscape 127 Activity Loci 132 Material Culture 137 VI. Summary and Recommendations 160 Executive Summary 160 Battle Analysis 160 Recommendations 166 References Cited 170 Appendix I. Artifact Inventory, Kettle Creek Battlefield Survey, 2008 196 Appendix II. Kettle Creek Roster 210 i ListB of Figures Figure 1. Kettle Creek Battlefield Location Map. ......................................................................................... 3 Figure 2. Kettle Creek Battlefield Study Area (U.S.G.S. 1991)................................................................... 13 Figure 3. View of Project Area, Facing North from Monument Hill.
    [Show full text]
  • A Historic Duel. a Letter Written by Brigadier General Lachlan
    A historic duel. A letter written by Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh to Colonel John Laurence, Military secretary to General Washington, three days after the death of Button Gwinnett being a true relation of the duel, of the events that caused it and of its consequences A HISTORICAL DUEL A LETTER WRITTEN BY BRIGADIER GENERAL LACHLAN McINTOSH TO COLONEL JOHN LAURENCE, MILITARY SECRETARY TO GENERAL WASHINGTON, THREE DAYS AFTER THE DEATH OF BUTTON GWINNETT, BEING A TRUE RELATION OF THE DUEL, OF THE EVENTS THAT CAUSED IT AND OF ITS CONSEQUENCES: AFTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY YEARS THE AUTHENTIC STORY OF THE HISTORICAL DUEL, WRITTEN BY THE HAND THAT KILLED BUTTON GWINNETT THEREBY CREATING ONE OF AMERICA'S GREATEST AUTOGRAPHIC RARETIES. PRINTED HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME, FROM THE RECENTLY ACQUIRED ORIGINAL LETTER FOR A FEW FRIENDS AND CLIENTS BY THE AMERICAN AUTOGRAPH SHOP: CHRISTMAS 1937. Savannah in Georgia, 30th May, 1777. Dear Sir, As I hear you are shortly to set off for Philadelphia to Congress, I will trouble you with the deposition of the two Seconds in the Late affair between the Unfortunate Mr. Gwinnett & Myself, to prevent misrepresentations, which I have reason to Expect from the Unremiting tho' undeserv'd Malice of the relicks of the party. When the affair first happen'd, it seemd to give a general satisfaction throughout the State to all parties as if an unhappy Division was hereby at an end & afterwards, Mr. Gwinnett's Death which was evidently oweing to the unskilfulness of his Doctor, appeard to make no alteration in the mind of any one, except myself, who was partly the unfortunate tho' innocent & Instrument of it.
    [Show full text]