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Dark and Bloody Ground: The American Revolution Along the Southern Frontier
The Battles along the Rivers, Mountains, and in the Deep Woods of the South that Changed the Fate of Nations
The American Revolution marked a dramatic change in the struggle for land along the southern frontier. In the colonial era, American Indian leaders and British offi cials attempted to accommodate the westward expansion of Anglo-Americans through land cessions designed to have the least impact on Indian societies. The region remained generally peaceful, but with the onset of the Revolution, the British no longer exercised sole authority to curb the settlements appearing within territory claimed by the Creeks, Shawnee, and most importantly, the Cherokee. Whether it was to escape the economic uncertainty of the east, the rigors of the confl ict, or the depredations of troops and militias on both sides, settlers fl ooded west. Under these conditions, the war in the south took on a savage character as Indians, Loyalists, and Whigs all desperately fought to defend their communities and maintain control of their own destinies. Taking advantage of the political turmoil in the east, the Cherokee Nation launched a coordinated offensive in 1776 against illegal frontier settlements. The Whigs responded with a series of expeditions from each of the Southern colonies that razed Cherokee towns and their food supplies. All the while, both British and Whig leaders walked a fi ne If the Indians attacked settlers without distinguishing between Loyalists and Whigs, those groups could unite and thwart both British and Indian interests; if the Indians attacked the western frontier with Loyalist and British support, the Whigs would face a two-front war—an event that ended up happening.
In Dark and Bloody The American Revolution Along the Southern Frontier , Richard Blackmon uses a wealth of primary source material to recount the confl ict between American Indians and Anglo-Americans in the colonial South during one of the most turbulent periods of North American history. He explains the complex points of contact in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia between native groups and settlers, while revealing the political gamesmanship between rival British and Whig traders and offi cials to secure Indian loyalty. The author also explains the critical role of the southern frontier to the American victory, a victory achieved long after the decision at Yorktown. Before the war, clashes between Cherokee and Shawnee hunters in Kentucky had become so commonplace that it was known as a “dark and bloody ground.” With the rise in Anglo-American settlements there, led by Daniel Boone and others, the dark and bloody ground became a metaphor for the entire struggle for the Southern frontier.
The American Revolution marked a dramatic change in the struggle for land along the southern frontier. In the colonial era, American Indian leaders and British offi cials attempted to accommodate the westward expansion of Anglo-Americans through land cessions designed to have the least impact on Indian societies. The region remained generally peaceful, but with the onset of the Revolution, the British no longer exercised sole authority to curb the settlements appearing within territory claimed by the Creeks, Shawnee, and most importantly, the Cherokee. Whether it was to escape the economic uncertainty of the east, the rigors of the confl ict, or the depredations of troops and militias on both sides, settlers fl ooded west. Under these conditions, the war in the south took on a savage character as Indians, Loyalists, and Whigs all desperately fought to defend their communities and maintain control of their own destinies. Taking advantage of the political turmoil in the east, the Cherokee Nation launched a coordinated offensive in 1776 against illegal frontier settlements. The Whigs responded with a series of expeditions from each of the Southern colonies that razed Cherokee towns and their food supplies. All the while, both British and Whig leaders walked a fi ne If the Indians attacked settlers without distinguishing between Loyalists and Whigs, those groups could unite and thwart both British and Indian interests; if the Indians attacked the western frontier with Loyalist and British support, the Whigs would face a two-front war—an event that ended up happening.
In Dark and Bloody The American Revolution Along the Southern Frontier , Richard Blackmon uses a wealth of primary source material to recount the confl ict between American Indians and Anglo-Americans in the colonial South during one of the most turbulent periods of North American history. He explains the complex points of contact in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia between native groups and settlers, while revealing the political gamesmanship between rival British and Whig traders and offi cials to secure Indian loyalty. The author also explains the critical role of the southern frontier to the American victory, a victory achieved long after the decision at Yorktown. Before the war, clashes between Cherokee and Shawnee hunters in Kentucky had become so commonplace that it was known as a “dark and bloody ground.” With the rise in Anglo-American settlements there, led by Daniel Boone and others, the dark and bloody ground became a metaphor for the entire struggle for the Southern frontier.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published July 20, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 30, 2012
Interesting reading about the warfare between colonists and southern indian tribes during the revolution. Bit too much detail that interfered with the narrative. I now have a better understanding of the relationship between Americans and the Cherokee nation. The Cherokees encountered tremendous difficulties trying to keep their land from settlers without engaging in warfare with the colonists which ultimately sealed their doom. Classic rock and hard place.
December 7, 2012
I did not realize how complicated this subject is, and the author does a deft job of handling it in one volume. The volume is well researched. He includes some detailed and insightful analysis while filling in some sorely needed information into gaps about our history that are far too often neglected. I enjoyed this read, and recommend it to anyone more interested in a slightly different perspective on this topic than what we typically get in popular fiction, media, and the classroom.
June 20, 2021
Fascinating account in the too long neglected southern frontier....where there was a three front war....to the east were the British, to the west (and south) were the Indians and amongst them were loyalists or Tories... plenty of blame to go around for the atrocities. All too much is known of the Mohawks in New York, but the Indian threat was just as real and brutal in the south.
July 16, 2021
Expecting more about battles between Brits, Americans and Native Americans.
June 24, 2015
After reading about the campaigns against the Creeks and Cherokees in Theodore Roosevelt's Winning of the West Vol. 1, I became very interested in this subject. Fast forward a couple of years and I stumbled across this book. I was excited to say the least! It took me a couple of tries on reading it though before I was able to finish the book. Mr. Blackmon gives a lot of detail in his book. It is a blow by blow account of what happened in the Southern Indian country during the Revolutionary War. I was amazed at how brutal it was during 1776. If the British had been better able to support the Cherokees and motivate the Creeks to attack as brutally, things may have been quite a bit different in the Southern Colonies. I loved the detail Mr. Blackmon put into his narrative and I found it interesting that the Cherokees sent a delegation to the Iroquois in 1779/80; which is something I never knew about. The only down side to this book is its maps. Instead of all the maps being at the very front of the book, I wish that they could have been distributed out the book especially when talking about the campaigns of Sevier, Hamilton, and Rutherford. Also, I found some of his writing repetitive. Mr. Blackmon would in some instances state the same thing twice in the same paragraph with one or two words swapped. There was also some flow problems for me that a little more scrutiny by the editor could have helped. I do believe that Mr. Blackmon is biased towards the Natives and paints the sympathetic Whigs in a positive light, but at the same time T.R. painted the Whigs as the supermen of the era. Overall though this book is worth the read and I enjoyed reading it. Not only that I learned some new information about this part of the war so it was definitely worth the effort!
April 1, 2018
Very Informative
A bit dry at times but very factual look at how the Revolutionary War involved southern Native Americans. I learned quite a bit.
A bit dry at times but very factual look at how the Revolutionary War involved southern Native Americans. I learned quite a bit.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews