Ideal for readers interested in the exploration, warfare and settlement of the American West.

Eyewitness to American History brings the past to life through the voices of those who were there.

Ranging from the 1750s to the 1850s, these thirty-five accounts are set in a wide variety of locales throughout the United States and include incredible first-hand tales of adventure and bravery, hardship and danger. Read about Roanoke Island's lost colony, the fur trade era, the joys of early steamboat travel, Chief Blackbird of the Omahas, the Oregon Trail, and the tribulations of the early frontier military troops. Along the way are some surprising and humorous episodes from American history, such as the court-martial of a Revolutionary War veteran for refusing to cut his hair, as well as more dramatic events, including the massacre at Frenchtown and the first presidential assassination attempt.

James A. Crutchfield has drawn together a range of narratives from people from all walks of life - explorers, trappers, diplomats, soldiers, and politicians, among others - whose eyewitness accounts of everyday American life shed a valuable light on a legendary era.