History of Tennessee

Pioneers of the Old Southwest by Constance Lindsay Skinner is one of the 50 good little books in the early‑20c "Chronicles of America" series, laying out clearly and reliably various facets of American history: here, the establishment of Tennessee and Kentucky, starting with the 17c and 18c colonial migrations to the "Back Country" of North Carolina and taking us up to the time of Daniel Boone's death in Missouri in 1820. The early settlements, the Indian wars, the Revolutionary War battle of King's Mountain, the French and Spanish intrigue, and the State of Franklin are all well covered; chapters 8‑10 focus more particularly on Tennessee.

[ about 80 pages of print ]

Samuel Cole Williams' History of the Lost State of Franklin provides as well researched and detailed an account of the failed State as will be found anywhere, for which the author, a prominent judge and historical scholar of East Tennessee, was perfectly suited. Legal framework, political and military events, source documents, biographical sketches of all the main personalities involved, and the occasional anecdote; the only thing really lacking is a set of maps.

[ 362 pages of print, 1 illustration ]

From time to time, I expect to add to the site some of the more interesting items to be found in the Tennessee Historical Magazine — or at least only those in the public domain, of course. The centerpiece for now is a complete transcription of Gov. John Sevier's diary [a primary source]; other material onsite includes articles on early pioneers Richard Henderson and John Montgomery; a fair amount on border surveys and early geography; Bedford's river voyage from Nashville to New Orleans (1807) [primary source]; and more.

[ 7/22/13:
11 items, 271 pages of print, presented in 48 webpages ]

Similarly, but casting a wider net, among the journal articles collected in my American History Notes section, of interest here, listed as chronologically as possible:

The State of Franklin

Some Unpublished Sevieriana

Sketch of Henry Rutherford

[ 3 items, 26 printed pages ]