Documents in Year 1778                     

Links of Interest:

• American Revolution:

American Revolution 1775-1783

All about the American Revolution from battles and commanders to documents and timeline. The Continental Army is in retreat and spend the most brutal winter in a century in 1777/1778 at Valley Forge. By February 2500 Continental soldiers die from exposure, disease, and starvation, more than double the casualties of any single battle.

American Revolutionary War Reenactment organization

Field Guide has drawings of Continental forces uniforms

• Exploration: England explores Northwest Coast 1776-78

Explorer is James Cook (Northwest)
Viola, Herman I, North American Indians, Crown Publishers, New York: New York, 1996

• Westward Expansion / Frontier:

William Whitley built first race track in Kentucky

called "Sportsman's Hill" on the Wilderness Trail for "one of the biggest social events in the Kentucky frontier" starting in 1778. "The noted Indian fighter, Col. Whitley was so anti-British he departed from his English customs in the days after the Revolution. Whitley decided to build his track of clay since the British built theirs of turf. English horses ran clock-wise so Whitley decided the running of the course would be counter-clockwise. Races began early in the day and were followed by an elaborate frontier breakfast which included baked Ohio River salmon, barbecued lamb, roast duck, broiled squirrel, roast turkey, baked o'possum, sweet potatoes, stewed tomatoes, hot cakes, Bourbon whiskey, port and champagne."
Source: "Lincoln County Kentucky" by Turner Publishing Company 2002 page 34

Daniel Boone and his men are prisoners of war, Boone Escapes, Siege of Fort Boonesborough

Boone and his men are prisoners of the Shawnee Indians through the winter of 1777/78. In June 1778 Chief Blackfish marches Boone and his men to the British in Fort Detroit. Some of the men are forced into the British army. Daniel Boone is told he will go with the Shawnees to negotiate for the surrender of Fort Boonesborough. Daniel Boone escapes from the Shawnee to warn Fort Boonseborough of the coming attack which if successful for the Shawnees will allow the British and their Shawnee allies to attack the colonies from the west. Daniel Boone manages to allude his captors and travel 100 miles in four days. He discovers his wife and younger children went back to North carolina. His second daughter, Jemima is still at Fort Boonseborough. Blackfish and his 450 warriors outnumber Fort Boonesborough seven to one. Boone sends a scout for the Virginia militia over 300 miles away. 17 Sep 1778 Day 11 of the Siege the Shawnees can not take the fort so they decide to destroy it with fire. A rainstorm puts out the flames. Then a scout brings word that the Virginia militia is coming, so Blackfish has the Shawnee warriors retreat. This is a much needed win for the colonists. When the militia arrive they plan to attack Blackfish's village in the spring and kill women and children. Boone disagrees and leaves Fort Boonesborough with Jemima and heads to North Carolina to his family. (see 1779 for their return to Kentucky)

Sources:

The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen

This 2018 four-episode, high-quality documentary offered on Amazon Prime or the History Channel is well worth watching. The episode titled "Into the Wilderness" covers the time period from 1773-1783. It compares and contrasts the frontiersmen's efforts led by Daniel Boone to fight off the Native Americans led by Chief Black Fish, allies of the British, during the American Revolution. It ends with the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783 where the British conceded control from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River. Although the British surrendered, the Native Americans did not.

My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone

This free ebook preview provides a major portion of an interview of Nathan Boone, the youngest son of frontiersman, Daniel Boone. He and his wife recollect interesting stories they knew about his father's exploits on the American frontier.