Published: 2005
Price: $ 21.00
Paperback, 173 pages, photos, map, bibliography, index, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2"

Though thoroughly American today, the region between the Great Lakes and the states bordering the Ohio River was once rife with international intrigue. Between 1754 and 1814 several nations and tribes competed for this resource-rich region, and the interplay between them produced a colorful cast of less than reputable characters.

Among the examples profiled here are:

• a famous soldier and author who failed in his attempt to create a transcontinental empire and died in disgrace
• a Tory spy who originally impressed George Washington but wound up alienating everyone with his lies and bullying
• the most famous and most hated of renegade traitors
• two ill-suited officers who led Americans into massacres
• a popular folk legend who lived to kill Indians
• the most notorious organized crime figure of the frontier
• an Indian Agent who betrayed Indians and whites alike in both times of peace and war; yet died a hero's death
• the only one of the Burr Conspirators to escape unscathed, although he was more guilty than any of them

The subjects range chronologically from the accused traitors Robert Rogers to Aaron Burr, and in public estimation from Lewis Wetzel to Simon Girty, and their behavior collectively tells the story of this fascinating era.