Emigrants Circa 1818

Source

"That although in certain cases such special acts have been made in favor of bodies of foreign emigrants, it has always bee on the ground, and in consideration of a general public benefit accruing.... ." 

Louisiana and Indiana were specifically mentioned.

The Backwoods of Canada

The Backwoods of Canada: Being Letters from the Wife of an Emigrant Officer ...,  By Catherine Parr Strickland Traill:

"The only vessel in the river bound for Canada, was a passenger-ship, literally swarming with emigants, chiefly of the lower class of Highlanders."

"When the weather is fine I sit on a bench on the deck, wrapped in my cloak, and sew, or pace the deck with my husband, and talk over plans for the future, which in all probability will never be realized."

"...one of my countrymen [who] just returned from the western district on his way back to England...entreats us by no means to go further up this horrid country as he emphatically styles the Upper Province... .  He had been induced by reading Cattermole's pamphlet on the subject of Emigration to quit a good farm and gathering together what property he possessed to embark for Canada. Encouraged...he purchased a lot of wild land in the western district...".

Resources Explaining Sullivan's Expedition

Sullivan's expedition against the Indians of New York : a letter from Andrew McFarland Davis to Justin Winsor, corresponding secretary Massachusetts Historical Society : with the Journal of William McKendry byMcKendry, William, d. 1798; Massachusetts Historical Society; Davis, Andrew McFarland, 1833-1920; Winsor, Justin, 1831-1897

A compilation of journals/diaries regarding the Expedition:

Excerpts from McKendry's Journal:

Ditto 11 th 1778. Moderate Snow storm.

Ditto 12* T. Taylor Rec d 400 Lashes for striking Cap* Too Good
with his Gun ; he belongs to Col Putmans Reg*

Ditto 28* Majr Whitting left Albany on furlow for New England.

Ditto 29 th Nothing new.

Ditto 30* Cap* Day & Cap* Warren Arriv d in Camp in Albany
with y? Clothing for y e officers ; Sarj* Dickerman and Corp 1 Pettingill
arriv d ditto.

February 1 st 1778. Ensign Parker arrived from furlow at Albany.

Ditto 2 d Nothing new.

Ditto 6* A Brittish Soldier Rec d 30 Lashes at y e City Hall in Al
bany Put on by an Indian.

Captain William Trent

From The Plains of Abraham by Brian Connell:

"As a stop-gap, Dinwiddie persuaded a frontiersman, Captain William Trent, to recruit a hundred men from among his fellow Indian traders. ..they were packed off post-haste to start constructing a fort on the neck of land between the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers."

Source

"In August, 1753, he (Trent) was directed by Governor Dinwiddie, to examine the site selected by the commissioners, in 1752, for a fort on the Ohio. This was at the forks of the Ohio, where Pittsburg now stands. In a letter from John Frazier to an Indian trader named Young, dated "Forks, August 27, 1753," we find the following reference to Trent: "There is hardly any Indians now here at all, for yesterday there set off along with Captain Trent...".

Early in January, 1754, Governor Dinwiddie commissioned Trent to raise one hundred men for immediate service on the frontier. By the last of the month this force was raised, and immediately

marched to the mouth of Redstone creek, where a temporary store house was erected for the Ohio company, in which to place articles and supplies, to be carried from thence to the mouth of the Monongahela. While at Redstone, the Captain received instructions from Governor Dinwiddie to build a fort at the forks of the Monongahela and Ohio... .

Fort Pitt and Redstone On Map (Source) (Also seen here)

On the 17th the fort was given up, but not until highly honorable terms were obtained from the enemy. At this time, a Virginia regiment under Col. Fry, with George Washington as lieutenant colonel, was at Wills creek, Maryland, on its way to the forks. 

...the French enlarged and completed the fort, and named it Fort Du Quesne, in honor of the governor of Canada. 

Scarcely Any Taxes - Illinois In 1817

Lincoln-Berry Store In Illinois

Letters from Illinois ...., By *Morris Birkbeck, John Melish:

November, 1817

"...a few miles farther West [in Illinois] opened our way into a country preferable in itself to any we had seen... ".  "...foresee greater than in the state of Ohio, being so much nearer the grand outlet at **New Orleans." 

"...we have no rent, tithe, or poor's rate and scarcely any taxes, perhaps one farthing per acre." 

"Where we are settling, society is yet unborn as it were. It will, as in other places, be made up of such as come...".

*Morris Birkbeck's memorial at FindAGrave.

**After Abraham Lincoln returned from taking a flatboat to New Orleans, he clerked in New Salem for Denton Offutt, the boat's owner. A year later he and William Berry bought an interest in a general store... . (Source)

Benjamin Hawkins

Letters of Benjamin Hawkins

This volume contains the writings of Col. Benjamin Hawkins, the United States Agent for Indian Affairs South of the Ohio River, covering a period from 1796 to 1806.

[Native Americans] recognized and rewarded in the significant title Iste-chate-lige-osetat-chemis-te-chaugo — Beloved Man of the Four Nations.

Political Villains

General Andrew Jackson Statue In New Orleans, Louisiana

[Andrew] Jackson *wrote to the Army quartermaster [William Berkeley Lewis]: ...is this the reward of a virtuous administration, to its patriotic sons, or is it done by a wicked monster, to satiate the vengeance, of a combination of hypocritical Political Villains, who would sacrifice the best blood of our Country, to satiate the spleen of a villain who their connections with in acts of wickedness they are afraid to offend...?  Jackson made it clear that one of the villains to whom he referred was Wilkinson. [Source: The Devils Backbone...]

*Transcription of Andrew Jackson's letter below:

Surrender Of Fort Ann

Source - (Fort Ann Near The "R" In New York)

The Fort Edward Book: Containing Some Historical Sketches...:

30 October 1780 letter to George Washington mentioned the surrender of Fort Ann (9th instant)...

His Republican, Political And Military Character

Source - Andrew Jackson

"...the [Spanish] commander of Pensacola, Gov. Manrequez, who had aided the English and Indians, in carrying on the war with the United States, was addressed by General Jackson on the subject; Monrequez attempted to evade the subject by the usual course of diplomacy and intrigue.  The republican, the political, and the military character of General Jackson, is fully exhibited in his last letter to Manrequez, as follows [excerpt]:

Source

Further excerpts:

"My government will protect every inch of her territory, her citizens, and her property, from insult and depredation, regardless of the political revolutions of Europe...she has sacred rights that cannot be trampled upon with impunity."

"Your excellency has been candid enough to admit your having supplied the Indians with arms.  In addition to this, I have learned that a British flag has been seen flying on one of your forts.  All this done whilst you are pretending to be neutral."

And finally:

Encounter With Lord Selkirk

The Letter Below Was Sent From Kentucky

Letters from Alabama on various subjects:..., by Anne Newport Royall:

Still In New York

Still in New York on 31 July 1818:

Source

This Side Of Huntsville

Flowers In Alabama

Letters [Written Ca 1821] from Alabama on various subjects:....  By Anne Newport Royall: