Amid William Stone’s chapters and magnificent review of the geology of this river valley land called Wyoming, its history would not be complete without reading the near 100 pages of his book that covers over 10,000 years of Susquehanna River Indian history.

Wrapped around the French and Indian War and the American Revolution in the Wyoming Valley were the little know Yankee-Pennamite Wars. These little known Pennamite Wars wore heavy on the people and land of the Susquehanna River for 30 years as Indians, British sympathizers, and American frontier settlers battled each other for control of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and ultimately for American freedom.

Scattered along the Susquehanna, both Loyalists and Patriots differed in their perceptions of the country and its future. Imagine Connecticut Yankees fighting American Patriots; Pennsylvania Patriots fighting British interests, and the Connecticut Yankees and Pennsylvania Patriots fighting each other for control of the Wyoming Valley. This tug of war between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, often pitted neighbor against neighbor. All this happening because of undecided land claims to the Wyoming Valley by conflicting grants from Charles II to both the British Loyalists of Connecticut and the Patriots of Pennsylvania of William Penn.

Other interesting chapters in this book include Francis Slocum and her capture by the Indians. How the Susquehanna land company was formed to help settle these conflicting land claims only to lead to more turmoil. Read how the Seneca and British rangers’ massacre of settlers at the Battle of Wyoming helped fan the flames of American Independence; and how General Sullivan’s retaliatory campaign of death and destruction by his troops through the Wyoming Valley into New York State because of the massacre at Wyoming, settled once and for all, the disputed ownership of this beautiful valley.

The History of Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Valley has been reprinted from the 1868 edition. This edition is without the poem Gertrude of Wyoming but it does include the poem’s most important part, nearly 100 pages of footnotes from the poem based on reliable 1st hand information.

Limited edition hardback, 360 pages, index, original deed info, and excerpts from Sir William Johnson’s diary, $44.95.