Book #1 - History of the Early Settlement

And Indian Wars of

Western Virginia

By Wills De Hass  1851   400+ pages, 7 Parts, 33 Chapters

Illustrated by Numerous Engravings

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This is an able retelling of life and death on the 18th-century frontier of colonial Virginia (now mostly West Virginia), Pennsylvania, and the Ohio Territory.

Most of the narrative focuses on the intensely violent period on the frontier from the beginnings of the French and Indian War through the end of the century. Mr. De Hass' coverage includes General Braddock's ill-fated expedition to Ft. Necessity, Indian hatred of the British, the formation of Virginia's land companies, Lord Dunmore's campaign, numerous atrocities on all sides, the victories of George Rogers Clark and Anthony Wayne, and the relinquishment of Indian titles to much of the land in question.

The final quarter of the work consists of biographical sketches of the leading actors in the Border Wars.

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Book #2 - Chronicles of Border Warfare

Or, a

History of the Settlement by the Whites, of North-Western Virginia, and the Indian Wars and Massacres

With Reflections, Anecdotes, &c

By Alexander Scott Withers  1831   400+ pages, indexed

Largely written by William Powers and William Hacker, but prepared for publication by Withers, according to a statement made by a grandson of Powers. Cf. L.G. McWhorter, The border settlers of northwestern Virginia, 1915

Withers' Chronicles of Border Warfare, an excellent example of the genre of frontier history, was originally published in 1831. The focal point of Chronicles of Border Warfare is the American settlement throughout the northwestern portion of colonial Virginia (an area which today encompasses parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) from the French and Indian War to the Battle of Fallen Timbers, and the ensuing clashes with the indigenous population.

While the watershed events of the advancing frontier (the arrival of scouts, establishment of forts, and the ultimate triumph of the U.S. Army) give a structure to Withers' account, what the book is really about are detailed, often grisly, descriptions of contacts between the races.

Not something to be read by the squeamish, it is full of graphic accounts of massacres and reprisals. While the Chronicles purport to be essentially historical in nature, genealogists will appreciate the numerous references to the intrepid scouts and settlers along the frontier furnished by the author. All such persons are readily found in the index at the back of the volume.