In this Book
- Running Mad for Kentucky: Frontier Travel Accounts
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
The crossing of America's first great divide—the Appalachian Mountains—has been a source of much fascination but has received little attention from modern historians. In the eighteenth century, the Wilderness Road and Ohio River routes into Kentucky presented daunting natural barriers and the threat of Indian attack. Running Mad for Kentucky brings this adventure to life. Primarily a collection of travel diaries, it includes day-to-day accounts that illustrate the dangers thousands of Americans, adult and child, black and white, endured to establish roots in the wilderness. Ellen Eslinger's vivid and extensive introductory essay draws on numerous diaries, letters, and oral histories of trans-Appalachian travelers to examine the historic consequences of the journey, a pivotal point in the saga of the continent's indigenous people. The book demonstrates how the fabled soil of Kentucky captured the imagination of a young nation.
Table of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- p. viii
- Acknowledgments
- p. xiii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-66
- Part One. The Revolutionary Era
- 1. William Calk, 1775
- pp. 69-74
- 2. Nicholas Cresswell, 1775
- pp. 75-90
- 3. James Nourse, 1775
- pp. 91-103
- 4. James Smith, 1783
- pp. 104-113
- 5. Peter Muhlenberg, 1784
- pp. 114-122
- Part Two. Postwar Expansion
- 6. Samuel Shepard, 1787
- pp. 125-129
- 7. Mary Coburn Dewees, 1788
- pp. 130-145
- 8. John May, 1788
- pp. 146-156
- 9. Joel Watkins, 1789
- pp. 157-172
- Part Three. A New Era of Peace
- 10. Moses Austin, 1796
- pp. 175-182
- 11. Francis Baily, 1796
- pp. 183-221
- 12. David Meade, 1796
- pp. 222-235
- 13. Andrew Ellicott, 1796
- pp. 236-248