Series: Travels on the Western Waters | Publication Date: November 1, 1969
Baily’s tour took him down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers past the settlements on the western frontier and, what is even more remarkable about this early and very rare account, back to the East coast by way of the hazardous Wilderness Trail, later known as the Natchez Trace. Students of American history have generally recognized that this material contains some of the most intimate and vivid glimpses of American life during the first territorial expansion of the United States. General readers of Americana will find the journal a human and social document of primary importance.
The Journal, published twelve years after Baily’s death in 1856, and then hidden behind a 75-page memoir of his scientific accomplishments, is here edited by Professor Holmes, who has omitted the memoir, divided the journal into ten chapters, has added extensive notes identifying persons, places, and events, and has provided a scholarly introduction illuminating the changes in Baily’s viewpoint.
Jack D. L. Holmes is Professor of History at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He is the author of six books, including Gayoso: The Life of a Spanish Governor in the Mississippi Valley, 1789—1799.
John Francis McDermott, editor of this series, is Research Professor of Humanities at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
Product Details
Hardcover: 374 pages
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (November 1, 1969)
This review is from: Journal of a Tour in Unsettled Parts of North America in 1796 & 1797 (Travels on the Western Waters) (Hardcover)
I have only read half the book so far but cannot put it down. This book was written by an obviously highly educated 21 year old young man from England who vividly described his experiences during his travels across the new country of the United States of America in 1796. Particularly compelling are his observations of everyday life in the cities of early America and his travels through the frontiers of Ohio and Kentucky. His account includes such memorable events as the use of slavery for sugar production in the Caribbean, social aspects of New York and various other American cities, the early founding of the area of Miami in Ohio, ice jams on the Ohio River during one of the coldest winters on record, the hunting of deer and bear, construction of a boat, log cabins, overnight stays in various frontier dwellings, encounters with and observations of the native inhabitants, comments on ancient native burial mounds, the manufacture of sugar from sugar maple trees, and discussions regarding the cost and availability of food. Not only is this journal interesting to those students of history who enjoy learning about this period in the life of America, but it also provides an interesting commentary on the author. He is keenly aware of his own national identification as being from England (a fact that may have caused him to be somewhat defensive considering the conflict between England and America during the Revolution). His passionate accounts also reflect his own youth and background, as a young person who grew up in a structured and rigid environment focused on education and social distinctions. It is particularly interesting that the author finds it distasteful to engage in manual labor or other labors he finds more suitable for others. His reflections also reflect his perspective of early America as a land of opportunity, inhabited by a freedom loving and independent people.
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