The Winning of the West, Volume 2

This volume focuses on the events from the Alleghanies to theMississippi during the period of 1777-1783, detailing the struggles for territory and the conflict between American settlers and Native American tribes during the American RevolutionaryWar. The opening of the book sets the stage for a conflict that is both military and cultural, highlighting the complexity of relationships among various tribes and the British forces. Specifically, it discusses the strategic maneuvers orchestrated by British Lieutenant-Governor Henry Hamilton in Detroit, who sought to unify various northwestern tribes against American settlers. Roosevelt vividly portrays the mounting tensions, the preparation for war among tribes, and the brutal realities faced by settlers on the frontier, detailing incidents of ambushes and retaliatory strikes. Through this narrative, the text illustrates the fierce competition for land and power that shaped early American history in the West.In the fall of 1776 it became evident that a formidable Indian war was impending. At Detroit great councils were held by all the northwestern tribes, to whom the Six Nations sent the white belt of peace, that they might cease their feuds and join against the Americans. The later councils were summoned by Henry Hamilton, the British lieutenant-governor of the northwestern region, whose head-quarters were at Detroit. He was an ambitious, energetic, unscrupulous man, of bold character, who wielded great influence over the Indians; and the conduct of the war in the west, as well as the entire management of frontier affairs, was intrusted to him by the British Government. [Footnote: Haldimand MSS. Sir Guy Carleton to Hamilton, September 26, 1777.] He had been ordered to enlist the Indians on the British side, and have them ready to act against the Americans in the spring; [Footnote: Do., Carleton to Hamilton, October 6, 1776.] and accordingly he gathered the tribes together.