1. Sign Talker
The Adventure of George Drouillard
on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
By James Alexander Thom (2000)
Following the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson sends
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly acquired
Territory. To survive, the two captains need an extraordinary hunter
who will be able to provide the expedition with fresh game, and a sign-talker,
to communicate with the native tribes. They choose George Drouillard.
It is Drouillard, an actual historical figure, who becomes our eyes and ears
on this unforgettable odyssey.

2. The Story of Peter Looney: his year with the Indians
Patricia H. Quinlan (2009)
This story of Peter Looney is based on truth. He was a sargeant in the militia at
Fort Vause in southwestern Virginia. The fort was destroyed in 1756 by one
hundred Indians and some French soldiers. Seventeen men, three women and
four girls were taken across the Shennandoah Mountains where the men had to
walk up creeks, through dense forest and sleep on the ground with nothing to
cover them. The women and girls were allowed to ride, but they too had to sleep
on the ground, endure rain storms, heat and whatever food the Indians gave
them. If their shoes wore out they walked barefoot. (from the cover)

3. Follow the River
A Novel Based on the True Ordeal of Mary Ingles
by James Alexander Thom (1981)
Mary Ingles was twenty-three, happily married, and pregnant with her
third child when Shawnee Indians invaded her peaceful Virginia settlement
In 1755 and kidnapped her, leaving behind a bloody massacre. For months
they held her captive, but nothing could imprison her spirit.
With the rushing Ohio River as her guide, Mary Ingles walked one thousand
miles through an untamed wilderness no white woman had ever seen. Her story
lives on – extraordinary testimony to the indomitable strength of one pioneer
woman who risked her life to return to her own people.

4. From Sea to Shining Sea
…a fitting tribute to the wisdom and courage of Ann Rogers Clark, her
husband John, and the ten sons and daughters they nurtured and inspired…
by James Alexander Thom (1984)
In one generation, the Clark family of Virginia fought for our nation’s
independence, and explored, conquered, and settled the
continent, from sea to shining sea.
This powerful and beautifully written book recreates the warm life of
the family, the dangers of the battlefield, the grueling journeys
across an untamed wilderness, and the soul-stirring Lewis and Clark
expedition.

5. Long Knife
A Novel Based on the Life of George Rogers Clark
By James Alexander Thom (1979)
Two centuries ago, with the support of the young revolutionary government,
George Rogers Clark led a small but fierce army west from Virginia to conquer
All the territory between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He battled the British,
Forged friendships with French and Spanish settlers, and made treaties with many
Indian tribes who revered the lanky, red-haired white man and called him Long
Knife. He fell in love with the woman of his dreams, the beautiful Spanish maiden
Teresa de Leyba. And George Rogers Clark was, in the end, bitterly betrayed by the
same government he had so nobly served.

6. A Seed-bed of the Republic
A Study of the Pioneers in the Upper (Southern) Valley of Virginia
by Robert Douthat Stoner (1962)
Considering Virginia history from a purely local point of view
there is a vital need for the present residents of Botetourt, and
especially for the young people, to have something in print to help
them keep in memory the early days, so fraught with hard labor and
plain living, in the terror of Indian wars and the turmoil of the
Revolution; to them a book such as this one by Mr. Stoner recounting
the heroic deeds in daily life and in war should be considered not only
a memorial to forbears, but as a source of inspiration to withstand
some of the difficulties of modern life.

7. Warrior Woman
The exceptional Life Story of Nonhelema,
Shawnee Indian Woman Chief
By James Alexander Thom and Dark Rain Thom (2003)
Literate, lovely , and intimidating, Nonhelema was the Women’s Peace Chief
Of the Shawnee Nation and a legend in her own time. In 1774, as three thousand
Virginians waited to attack her tribe’s homeland, her plea for peace was denied. So
she loyally became a fighter, striding into battle. When the tribe ran low on
ammunition, Nonhelema’s role changed back to peacemaker, this time tragically.
Negotiating an armistice with military leaders of the American Revolution including
Daniel Boone and George Rogers Clark, she found herself estranged from her own
people and betrayed by her white allies. Through valiant acts and steadfastness,
Nonhelema proved herself a remarkable leader – one willing to fight to avoid war, a
woman whose heart was too big for the world she wanted to tame.

8. Panther in the Sky
A Novel Based on the Life of Tecumseh
by James Alexander Thom (1989)
“The story of a bruised and threatened culture…Thom’s
rendering of the Shawnee world is authoritative.
Tecumseh is a wonderful character… Panther in the Sky is
bloody, brave and honorable…”
The Washington Post Book World
“Riveting…Historical fiction at its finest!” American Library Association

9. Blue Jacket
War Chief of the Shawnees
by Allan W. Eckert (2003)
In the year 1771, a white boy named Marmaduke Van Swearingen was captured
by the Shawnee Indians in what is now West Virginia, but then was the edge of
the American frontier. Impressed with his bravery, he was not killed but instead
was taken to Ohio where he was adopted into the tribe and given the name Blue
Jacket, from the blue shirt he was wearing at the time of his capture. The boy grew
to excel as a warrior and leader and became the only white to be made war chief
of the Shawnee Nation. And the name Blue Jacket became famous throughout the
Northwest Territory. The characters in this book were real people who lived the
life and did the things herein recounted. Much of the dialogue is taken directly
from historical records.

10. The Story of Peter Looney
His year with the Indians
by Patricia H. Quinlan (2009)
This story of Peter Looney is based on truth. He was a Sargent in the militia at Fort
Vause in southwestern Virginia. The fort was destroyed in 1756 by one hundred Indians
and some French soldiers. Seventeen men, three women and four girls were taken
across the Shenandoah Mountains where the men had to walk up creeks, through
dense forest and sleep on the ground, endure rain storms, heat and whatever food
the Indians gave them. If their shoes wore out they walked barefoot.
This was a trip of several weeks before they were taken across the Ohio River. Not
everyone lived to see the end of their journey. They were divided up among the
different tribes. Most were never heard from again. But Peter was adopted by a chief
and lived to tell his story.

11. Boone
A Biography
by Robert Morgan (2007)
The story of Daniel Boone is the story of America – its ideals, its promise,
Its romance, and its destiny. Bestselling, critically acclaimed author
Robert Morgan uncovers the complex character of a frontiersman whose
astonishing life was far stranger and more fascinating than the myths
surrounding him. Morgan’s authoritative and rich biography offers a wholly
new perspective on a man who has been an American icon for more than
two hundred years – a hero as important to American history as his more
political contemporaries George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

12. The Visits of Lewis and Clark
to Fincastle, Virginia
By Gene Crotty (2003)
In March, 1792, William Clark, age 21, followed his five older brothers’ footsteps and
enlisted as a lieutenant in the regular army after serving three years in the local
Kentucky Militia. He served as a commissioned officer for nearly five years and took
part in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 under General “Mad Anthony “ Wayne.
During his last six months of Army service (1796-97) he served as commanding officer of
a company where Lieutenant Meriwether Lewis served as a junior officer…..During the
same military period, there were two natives of Fincastle in Botetourt County, who
served in the army with Lewis and Clark. One was Lieutenant William “Billy”
Preston, Jr., of “Greenfield”, near Fincastle, and the other was Lieutenant Benjamin
Strother.

13. The Overmountain Men: Early Tennessee History
Battle of Kings Mountain; Cumberland Decade
State of Franklin; Southwest Territory
By Pat Alderman (1970)
The exploration, settlement and founding of the first
free government in America; its struggles for survival,
Culminating in the Battle of Kings Mountain…

14. General Andrew Lewis
of Roanoke and Greenbrier
by Patricia Givens Johnson
(1980)
“For Lewis’ part he did not realize as he joined the other recruits in Alexandria
that he was embarking on a path of continual warfare for the next nine years,
nor that he would be serving under a man who someday would be known
as one of the world’s greatest soldiers. Washington was far from great now,
only a provincial major who had gathered a motley band described as
‘loose, idle persons, quite destitute of house, home…and…clothes…
without shoes, stockings, shirts and coats.’ “

15. That Dark and Bloody River
Allan W. Eckert (1995)
Eckert combines meticulous research with his powerful storytelling
style to portray the struggle for domination of the Valley (Ohio
River Valley). Showing us the heroism and savagery on the parts of
both whites and native people, the political pressures on the
Colonies’ British governors to hold back expansion, and the
enterprising and indomitable spirit of America’s first pioneers, That
Dark and Bloody River opens a window into the past – and the
heart- of the American people. (cover)

16. William Preston and the Allegheny Patriots
by Patricia Givens Johnson (1976)
Chapter 1 Ulster Child in Augusta
“Colonel Patton placed his nephew with the Reverend Mr. Craig for an
excellent course of history, mathematics and penmanship.”
Letitia Preston Floyd to Benjamin Rush Floyd - February 23, 1843