Rattlesnake Colonel: Thomas Cresap, An American Paradox

by Michael Maloney

Thomas Cresap’s life serves as a primer on Colonial American history. In addition to being at the forefront of the contentious border conflicts between the colonies of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, he played a part in the French and Indian War, Pontiac’s Rebellion, and the American Revolution as an officer in the Maryland militia. Cresap was an active member of the Lower House of the Maryland Assembly, the Committee of Observation, the Sons of Liberty, and the Ohio Company of Virginia. Few individuals did more, over such a long period of time, to further America’s westward expansion into the Ohio Valley than Thomas Cresap, and his personal relationships with many of the most influential men of his time helped shape the frontier. Despite all his positive contributions, Cresap was not always held in high regard by everyone. In Pennsylvania he was considered a quarrelsome and lawless ruffian known as the “Maryland Monster,” and many in the British army discounted Cresap as a “Rattlesnake Colonel.” However, settlers in Western Maryland regarded Cresap as a folk hero, and the Six Nations of the Iroquois affectionately called him “Big Spoon” for his generosity. In reality, Cresap was many things, including a frontiersman, soldier, trailblazer, ferryman, land speculator, trader, surveyor, politician, patriot, husband, and father. Drawn from Colonial land records, legislative proceedings, journals, and personal correspondence, Rattlesnake Colonel chronicles Thomas Cresap’s controversial life and narrates the complicated political and military conflicts of eighteenth-century Colonial America in a comprehensive yet understandable way.

Kindle Edition

Published March 1, 2025

About the author

Michael Maloney is a native of York County, Pennsylvania, and currently resides with his wife and beagle in Red Lion. Now retired, he was the Director of Technical Services for Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff / Lifetime Brands since 2005. Although he grew up in York, both his parents and many of his relatives are from Marietta and Mount Joy in Lancaster County.

After learning of a gravesite behind the Accomac Inn, his curiosity led him to research the Accomac ferry crossing, the town of Marietta,and the murder of Emily Myers at the hand of John Coyle, Jr. on Decoration Day, 1881. His love of local history inspired him to write his first book, Across the River, Murder at Accomac, released in 2012 for the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the borough of Marietta.

His second non-fiction book, Rattlesnake Colonel Thomas Cresap: An American Paradox, is a detailed biography of Thomas Cresap's contradictory and often controversial life on the frontier. Cresap's life experiences in Pennsylvania and Maryland are used to narrate the complicated political and military conflicts of eighteenth-century Colonial America in a comprehensive yet understandable way.

Reviews

[Jim Venters · Rating 5 out of 5]

After attending a presentation of the book by the author, I purchased a copy and learned more than I expected. The research was very thorough and Cresap's involvement in the Pennsylvania Maryland border war, as well as his contributions on the western frontier, were very detailed and explained well. The book is a biography of Thomas Cresap, but also goes into the backstories of the border dispute, the Ohio Company of Virginia, the French and Indian War, and the other historical events that he was involved with. The author does not try to sway your opinion of Cresap one way or another, but presents the facts and lets you make your own determination of his character. Great use of a vintage Currier and Ives print for the cover, and even depicts the big pot of food that Cresap was supposedly known for! Although some the sections go into almost too much detail, the book gives you an appreciation for his complicated life. Would recommend for anyone interested in the history of the American colonial frontier during the 1700's.

[Joe Von · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish this. Not only is the cover A.I. generated (you could have easily sourced a public domain painting or photo of a log cabin. Surely there exists in the public domain a far better, more beautiful rendering of frontier life than this A.I. slop) but it also feels like the prose in the book was edited with A.I. It was decent writing, but bland and sterile to the point where I had to assume Chat GPT poured over the words and offered suggestions of re-arrangement.

The history was fine, mediocre at best. I'd much rather see a serious historian take on this topic and the nuance that comes with it. Maloney's effort is worth noting, but I don't think it stands up to any other work that could be produced by a trained historian. It certainly felt like this book wasn't trying to prove anything, just a beefed up school report to tell others about. Mediocre work like this is ingrained in local history circles, and it is really quite a shame that greater effort isn't made or given some more critical thought. Read very much like investigative journalism that wanted to cover big topics. Wouldn't recommend, but at least someone tackled the topic. If read it should be a sign that, though new, a better effort must be undertaken.

[Carrie Muniz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Cresap is my 8X Great grandfather. I communicated with the author on Facebook and picked up the book. There were a few things that I didn't know before, but much of the book is about others (George Washington, the governors of Maryland etc). Although these men interacted with Thomas these large sections of the book really didn't even address him. Appreciated the book but wanted more Thomas content.