JOHN SEVIER AS A COMMONWEALTH BUILDER. A Sequel to the Rear-Guard of the Revolution
Orig. pub. New York 1887. Reprinted 1974 from 1898 ed. Print on Demand Edition 2015. (ii), xvi, 322 pp., map, index. Item #132
ISBN: 9780871521552
In his trilogy about the men who settled the Old Southwest, the author develops the thesis that these men, under the leadership of John Sevier, Isaac Shelby, and James Robertson, not only planted a civilization beyond the Alleghenies but exerted an important influence in shaping the ultimate destinies of this country. Two of these men, Sevier and Shelby, during the Revolution helped thwart the British plan to envelop and crush the Southern Colonies and then helped turn the tide of the Revolution at the Battle of King's Mountain. Acting together after the Revolution, the three men frustrated Spain's design to weaken the Union by creating a separate republic in the country between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi River. Had that plan been successful, it would have kept the vast region beyond the Mississippi a Spanish province.
This book begins with conditions in Tennessee at the close of the Revolution. Gilmore gives an account of the role played by John Sevier on the Tennessee frontier and during the lifetime of the "lost state" of Franklin. He discusses opposition to Sevier by two men particularly, Joseph Martin, Indian Agent for the State of North Carolina, and John Tipton, a leader in promoting secession from North Carolina. Other topics covered include more Indian troubles; the settlement of Knoxville; and finally the formation of the state of Tennessee.
Price: $45.00