Breaking the backcountry : the Seven Years' War in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1754-1765 / Matthew C. Ward.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ward, Matthew C.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--History--French and Indian War, 1754-1763.

United States.

History.

Pennsylvania--History--French and Indian War, 1754-1763.

Pennsylvania.

Virginia--History--French and Indian War, 1754-1763.

Virginia.

Physical Description:

x, 329 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Pittsburgh, Pa. : University of Pittsburgh Press, [2003]

Summary:

A Panicked struggle among frontier settlers, savvy indigenous warriors, and imperialist foreign armies, the Seven Years' War in Pennsylvania and Virginia ravaged a tranquil colonial region with terrorist attacks against women and children, rancorous ethnic and social discord, virulent disease, petty greed, and the fiery destruction of the very land under dispute. While other histories of the war have focused on the large military campaigns along the Hudson and St. Lawrence Valleys, Matthew Ward describes the impetus, progress, and devastating effects of the war as it played out in the region where it began. He combines Indian history, social history, and military history to present a complete picture of the competing interests and struggles facing the people engaged in the conflict. Ward illuminates how the backcountry colonies not only played a critical part in the war itself, but opened the door to some of the definitive elements of the next few decades -- western expansion, widespread fear and hatred of Indians, free colonial trading, a new spirit of self-reliance, and, most crucially, the Revolutionary War and the evolution of a new nation.

Using original research from archives in the United States and Britain, Ward delivers a fresh analysis as well as an engaging explication of events. He describes how Indian raids were structured to effect a successful military strategy. The colonists, although cowed by attacks in the early stages of the war, adapted to become experienced fighters, and even produced the confident commander George Washington. As France and England grappled for supremacy in the American colonies and elsewhere in the world, these superpower governments were showing signs of the mismanagement and deterioration that, as Ward demonstrates, would lead to major upheavals in Europe over the next several decades. Breaking the Backcountry captures the emotional tenor and social experience of the times, giving this account a very human depth for anyone interested in the history of colonial America in general, or the Pennsylvania and Virginia region specifically.

Contents:

1 The Collision of Worlds: 1700-1755 9

2 War Comes to the Backcountry 36

3 "Dissatisfact'n, Discontent and Clamours of All Ranks": The Breakdown of Backcountry Society, 1755-1758 59

4 "An Extream Bad Collection of Broken Innkeepers, Horse Jockeys, & Indian Traders": The Provincial Forces 91

5 Wars and Words: Political Conflict and the Diplomatic Offensive 123

6 Turning Point: The British Drive to the Ohio 157

7 The Quest for Security, 1759-1763 186

8 Denouement: "Pontiac's War," 1763-1765 219

Appendix Composition of the Provincial Regiments 263.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [307]-318) and index.

ISBN:

0822942143

OCLC:

52121401