Free Online Library
Free Online Library
This History of the Great Lakes States website contains many titles related to the War of 1812. The list below contains works found on the various War and Military pages that are almost exclusively about that war. There are also works on other pages of the site, such as the Biographies and Memoirs, Fiction, and […]
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle played an important role in the early history of the French acquisition of the Great Lakes region from about 1673 to 1687. In explorations west and south from existing Canadian settlements, he established forts on the Great Lakes and on the Ohio, Illinois and Mississippi rivers. On his last
La Salle the Explorer Read More »
In 1788 the first new permanent American settlement northwest of the Ohio River (not including French villages) within the borders of the Northwest Territory was established at Marietta, Ohio. However, American involvement in that frontier region had begun nearly 20 years prior to that, before the Revolutionary War started, with pioneers moving into wilderness areas
Frontier Life along the Ohio River Read More »
We have a selection of free online history journals, magazines and newspapers from the 1800s and early 1900s from the Great Lakes region and each of it’s five states, at these pages; Great Lakes History Periodicals: Newspapers Illinois History Periodicals Indiana History Periodicals Michigan History Periodicals Ohio History Periodicals Wisconsin History Periodicals We also have
History Journals & 19th Century Newspapers Read More »
The “Haldimand Papers” are documents, mainly military correspondence, preserved by Sir Frederick Haldimand, who served as the Governor of the Province of Quebec from 1778-1784. The collection was maintained in the archives of Canada at Ottawa in 1886 when representatives of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society began visiting the archives to copy documents. The
American Revolution: Correspondence of British Commanders in the West Read More »
Military correspondence among American commanders throughout the Northwest, between those commanders and General George Washington, and with civilians involved in the war effort. The Revolutionary War in the old Northwest (Great Lakes region) isn’t covered in detail in most histories of the war. Battles were small-scale, and few regular army troops and resources were committed
Revolutionary War in the Northwest: American Commanders’ Correspondence Read More »
We have a number of memoirs and diaries/journals from people who traveled in or settled in early Indiana, many of which can be found at the linked pages below. Indiana Biographies & Memoirs Coffin, Levi, Reminiscences of Levi Coffin, the Reputed President of the Underground Railroad (1880) Eggleston, George C., Life in Early Indiana (1910)
Memoirs and Diaries from the Indiana Frontier Read More »
Squeeze some history into your visit to Northern Michigan! To make that easier, we have two directories of Museums and Historic Sites in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan; one for the western part and one for the east. Sites on these two lists have regular public hours (in the summer anyway), have websites, and are
Museums & Historic Sites in Northern Michigan Read More »
While most entries on History of the Great Lakes States are for individual books, articles or maps, we also have many large website collections of digitized documents. You may be interested in exploring a few of those collections listed below, which have resources related to the whole Great Lakes region or even larger parts of
Major Online Document Collections Read More »
We have a number of books authored by people who were settlers or visitors in Illinois in the early 1800s, and who wrote about their experiences there. The list below doesn’t include all such books on History of the Great Lakes States, but it’s a good start. Illinois Biographies and Memoirs page Burlend, Rebecca, A
Pioneers in Illinois Tell Their Stories Read More »