Publisher's Synopsis
AN AMAZING COLLECTION OF EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY Over 170 years ago, in the little hamlet of Westfall, Ohio, the Logan Historical Society was created to perpetuate the memory of the Mingo Chief Logan, a well-respected advocate for peace whose family members were brutally murdered by a group of frontier ruffians led by Daniel Greathouse. This act, at Baker's Station in present day West Virginia, was the catalyst that launched an Indian uprising involving most of the Indian tribes of western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Country. Lord Dunmore, royal governor of Virginia, led an army of militia to put down the uprising. This event is known in history as Dunmore's War. At the end of Dunmore's War, in 1774, Logan refused to attend the peace treaty signing which was held 12 miles away from the present day hamlet of Westfall, at a spot named Camp Charlotte by Lord Dunmore. Logan, who was able to read and write in English, instead wrote a speech that was to be read at the gathering. This speech, which touched the hearts of both Indian and White men attending the gathering, became one of the most noted ever written by a Native American. Even up into the early 20th century many schoolchildren were required to commit it to memory. The Logan Historical Society also resolved that they would gather and preserve early American history. They created the American Pioneer as a monthly periodical to publish the historical stories and letters they received from its members and the general public. Many of the contributors were first hand, eye-witnesses to the history they presented to the Society. Sadly, the Society and periodical lasted only a short while, but in that time, they managed to gather and publish an incredible amount of stories and accounts that have become a real treasure for lovers of early American history. In 1842 and 1843 John S. Williams, the Society's Secretary and Editor of the American Pioneer, published the monthly issues in book form consisting of two unindexed volumes. This book, which is not an OCR'd or a facsimile production, consists of both of those volumes completely re-created and fully indexed. Additional illustrations have been added to enhance the content.
