Excellent overview of effect of Revolution on Indian Tribes

Interesting overview of the complexities and lack of cohesive positions on British and American sides by Indian tribes during the American Revolution. ( )

The American Revolution in Indian Country covers a lot of ground - from Abenakis in Canada to communities in Florida, from midwestern communities buffered from the colonists by other nations to residents of Stockbridge in Massachusetts. The book is organized by Native American community and not by timeline, which shouldn't be a problem if you know the standard story of the American revolution and its general timeline. There are several great maps which help keep the confusion of migration and land cessions to a minimum.

The book succeeds in presenting how many different communities tried to preserve their own interests in the American Revolution. It's spotty in giving you a sense of the source material that lead to this conclusion. I'm not saying there aren't any source notes (there are many) - but unless you follow every footnote and look the source up in the Library of Congress, sometimes it's hard to tell whether Calloway is quoting primary or secondary sources, and on which side of the conflict the source might have been.

Here's an example: p. 194 (Chota: Cherokee beloved town).
"After this day," wrote Stuart, "every young Fellow's face in the Overhill Towns appeared Blackened, and nothing was now talked of but War." Stuart and Cameron continued to argue against war and the principal chiefs agreed, but the warriors were impatient and suspicious of their intentions. [46]

The footnote cites North Carolina Colonial Records and Documents of the American Revolution 1770-1783. I imagine one is the source of the quotation, but is the other the source for that mysterious claim of impatience and suspicion? How is that translated into a written document?

Sometimes Calloway is quite deft at working the source material into the narrative, which makes it all the more obvious when you read a few pages and wonder from where all the information came.

For most readers this is a pretty minor complaint, and the book is a great addition to the story of the revolution told in most K-12 classrooms, especially for anyone who doesn't live in Lexington or Concord, and wonders what was going on in their area. Knowing more about the American/Indian conflicts during the revolution is also a necessary prerequisite for understanding American policy towards Native American nations in the 1800s. ( )