Daniel Boone
This 1820 painting by Chester Harding is the only portrait of Daniel Boone made from life. Boone, 85 years old and just months away from death, had to be steadied by a friend while the artist worked.[1]
Born	October 22, 1734(1734-10-22) O.S. November 2, 1734(1734-11-02) N.S. Daniel Boone Homestead, Oley Valley, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	September 26, 1820 (aged 85) Nathan Boone's home, Femme Osage Creek, Missouri, United States
Burial place	Either Frankfort Cemetery, Kentucky or Old Bryan Farm graveyard, Missouri

Daniel Boone (November 2 [O.S. October 22] 1734 – September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of the Thirteen Colonies. Despite resistance from American Indians, for whom Kentucky was a traditional hunting ground, in 1775 Boone blazed the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky. There he founded Boonesborough, one of the first English-speaking settlements beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Before the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 people entered Kentucky by following the route marked by Boone.^[2] Daniel Boone was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (489x679, 18 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): 1769 Daniel Boone Chester Harding (painter) Portal:Military of the United States/Selected biography Mark Barnes Portal:Military... Chester Harding, circa 1860-1865. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 8 - Premiere of George Frideric Handels opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 8 - Premiere of George Frideric Handels opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ... Daniel Boone Homestead is a designated National Historic Landmark that is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission near Birdsboro, Berks County, Pennsylvania in the United States. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Berks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style redirects here. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 8 - Premiere of George Frideric Handels opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the hunting of prey by human society. ... The folklore of the United States, or American folklore, is one of the folk traditions which has evolved on the North American continent since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... In 1775, the British claimed authority over the red and pink areas on this map and Spain ruled the orange. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was the principal route used by settlers to reach Kentucky for more than fifty years. ... Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap (George Caleb Bingham, oil on canvas, 1851–52) Cumberland Gap (el. ... Boonesborough, Kentucky is an unincorporated community in Madison County, Kentucky, located in the central part of the state along the Kentucky River. ... The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ...

Boone was a militia officer during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), which in Kentucky was fought primarily between settlers and British-allied American Indians. Boone was captured by Shawnees in 1778 and adopted into the tribe, but he escaped and continued to help defend the Kentucky settlements. He was elected to the first of his three terms in the Virginia General Assembly during the war, and fought in the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782, one of the last battles of the American Revolution. Boone worked as a surveyor and merchant after the war, but he went deep into debt as a Kentucky land speculator. Frustrated with legal problems resulting from his land claims, in 1799 Boone resettled in Missouri, where he spent his final years. The role of militia, also known as civilian military service and duty, in the United States is complex and has transformed over time. ... This article is about military actions only. ... This article is about the Native American tribe. ... The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. ... Combatants Kentucky militia (United States) Great Britain, American Indians Commanders John Todd † Stephen Trigg † Daniel Boone William Caldwell Alexander McKee Simon Girty Strength 182 militiamen 50 rangers 300 natives Casualties 72 killed, 11 captured about 11 killed The Battle of Blue Licks was fought on August 19, 1782, and was... This article is about the U.S. state. ...

Boone remains an iconic, if imperfectly remembered, figure in American history. He was a legend in his own lifetime, especially after an account of his adventures was published in 1784, making him famous in America and Europe. After his death, he was frequently the subject of tall tales and works of fiction. His adventures—real and legendary—were influential in creating the archetypal Western hero of American folklore. In American popular culture, he is remembered as one of the foremost early frontiersmen, even though the mythology often overshadows the historical details of his life.^[3]

Youth

The Daniel Boone half dollar was a U.S. commemorative coin issued from 1934 to 1938 in honor of the bicentennial of Boone's birth.

Boone was born on October 22, 1734. Because the Gregorian calendar was adopted during Boone's lifetime, his birth date is sometimes given as November 2, 1734 (the "New Style" date), although Boone used the October date. He was the sixth of eleven children in a family of Quakers. His father, Squire Boone (1696–1765), had immigrated to Pennsylvania from the small town of Bradninch, Devon, England in 1713. Squire Boone's parents George and Mary Boone followed their son to Pennsylvania in 1717. In 1720, Squire, who worked primarily as a weaver and a blacksmith, married Sarah Morgan (1700–1777), whose family members were Quakers from Wales. In 1731, the Boones built a log cabin in the Oley Valley, now the Daniel Boone Homestead in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where Daniel was born.^[4] Image File history File linksMetadata Daniel_boone_bicentennial_half_dollar_commemorative_reverse. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Daniel_boone_bicentennial_half_dollar_commemorative_reverse. ... The Half Dollar of the United States has been produced nearly every year since the inception of the United States Mint in 1794. ... Commemorative coinage of the United States consists of coins that have been minted to commemorate a particular event, person or organization. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 8 - Premiere of George Frideric Handels opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ... For the calendar of religious holidays and periods, see liturgical year. ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 8 - Premiere of George Frideric Handels opera Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. ... Old Style redirects here. ... Quaker redirects here. ... , Bradninch is a small town in Devon, England, lying about three miles south of Cullompton. ... For other uses, see Devon (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... George Boone was the grandfather of the famous pioneer Daniel Boone and the father of Squire Boone. ... This article is about the country. ... For other uses, see Log cabin (disambiguation). ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Daniel Boone Homestead is a designated National Historic Landmark that is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission near Birdsboro, Berks County, Pennsylvania in the United States. ... Berks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ...

Boone spent his early years on what was then the western edge of the Pennsylvania frontier. There were a number of American Indian villages nearby. The pacifist Pennsylvania Quakers generally had good relations with Indians, but the steady growth of the white population compelled many Indians to relocate further west. Boone received his first rifle in 1747 and picked up hunting skills from local whites and Indians, beginning his lifelong love of hunting. Folk tales often emphasized Boone's skills as a hunter. In one story, the young Boone is hunting in the woods with some other boys. The scream of a panther scatters the boys, except for Boone, who calmly cocks his squirrel gun and shoots the animal through the heart just as it leaps at him. As with so many tales about Boone, the story may or may not be true, but it was told so often that it became part of the popular image of the man.^[5] This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation). ... The folklore of the United States, or American folklore, is one of the folk traditions which has evolved on the North American continent since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. ... For other uses, see Cougar (disambiguation) or Puma (disambiguation). ... This article is about the animal. ...

In Boone's youth, his family became a source of controversy in the local Quaker community. In 1742, Boone's parents were compelled to publicly apologize after their eldest child Sarah married a "worldling", or non-Quaker, while she was visibly pregnant. When Boone's oldest brother Israel also married a "worldling" in 1747, Squire Boone stood by his son and was therefore expelled from the Quakers, although his wife continued to attend monthly meetings with her children. Perhaps as a result of this controversy, in 1750 Squire sold his land and moved the family to North Carolina. Daniel Boone did not attend church again, although he considered himself a Christian and had all of his children baptized. The Boones eventually settled on the Yadkin River, in what is now Davie County, North Carolina, about two miles (3 km) west of Mocksville.^[6] Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Largest metro area Charlotte metro area Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 150 miles (240 km)  - Length 560[1] miles (900 km)  - % water 9. ... This article is about the Christian religious act of Baptism. ... The Yadkin River at Elkin, North Carolina The Yadkin River is the second longest river in North Carolina, surpassed only by the Cape Fear. ... Davie County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Mocksville is a town in Davie County, North Carolina, USA. The population was 4,178 at the 2000 census. ...

Because he spent so much time hunting in his youth, Boone received little formal education. According to one family tradition, a schoolteacher once expressed concern over Boone's education, but Boone's father was unconcerned, saying "let the girls do the spelling and Dan will do the shooting…." Boone received some tutoring from family members, though his spelling remained unorthodox. Historian John Mack Faragher cautions that the folk image of Boone as semiliterate is misleading, however, arguing that Boone "acquired a level of literacy that was the equal of most men of his times." Boone regularly took reading material with him on his hunting expeditions—the Bible and Gulliver's Travels were favorites—and he was often the only literate person in groups of frontiersmen. Boone would sometimes entertain his hunting companions by reading to them around the evening campfire.^[7] This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... First Edition of Gullivers Travels Gullivers Travels (1726, amended 1735), officially Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. ...

Hunter, husband, and soldier

As young man, Boone served with the British military during the French and Indian War (1754–1763), a struggle for control of the land beyond the Appalachian Mountains. In 1755, he was a wagon driver in General Edward Braddock's attempt to drive the French out of the Ohio Country, which ended in disaster at the Battle of the Monongahela. Boone returned home after the defeat, and on August 14, 1755, he married Rebecca Bryan, a neighbor in the Yadkin Valley. The couple initially lived in a cabin on his father's farm. They would eventually have ten children. Combatants France First Nations allies: Algonquin Lenape Wyandot Ojibwa Ottawa Shawnee Great Britain American Colonies Iroquois Confederacy Strength 3,900 regulars 7,900 militia 2,200 natives (1759) 50,000 regulars and militia (1759) Casualties 3,000 killed, wounded or captured 10,040 killed, wounded or captured The French and... The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ... General Edward Braddock General Edward Braddock (1695? – July 13, 1755) was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for North America during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War. ... The Ohio Country, showing the present-day U.S. state boundaries The Ohio Country (sometimes called the Ohio Territory) was the name used in the 18th century for the regions of North America west of the Appalachian Mountains and in the region of the upper Ohio River south of Lake... Combatants France Indian Tribes Britain Commanders Liénard de Beaujeu † Jean-Daniel Dumas Charles de Langlade Edward Braddock † Strength 105 regulars 147 militia 600 natives 1,459 regulars and militia Casualties 23 killed 20 wounded 456 killed 521 wounded The Braddock expedition (also called Braddocks campaign) was a failed... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1755 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Rebecca (Bryan) Boone (June 9, 1739 â€“ March 18, 1813) was an American pioneer and the wife of famed frontiersman Daniel Boone. ...

In 1759, a conflict erupted between British colonists and Cherokee Indians, their former allies in the French and Indian War. After the Yadkin Valley was raided by Cherokees, many families, including the Boones, fled to Culpeper County, Virginia. Boone served in the North Carolina militia during this "Cherokee Uprising", and his hunting expeditions deep into Cherokee terrritory beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains separated him from his wife for about two years. According to one story, Boone was gone for so long that Rebecca assumed he was dead, and began a relationship with his brother Edward ("Ned"), giving birth to daughter Jemima in 1762. Upon his return, the story goes, his wife reproved him saying, 'You'd had better have staid home and got it yourself'. Boone was understanding and did not blame Rebecca. Whatever the truth of the tale, Boone raised Jemima as his own and favourite child. Boone's early biographers knew this story, but did not publish it.^[8] For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... Culpeper County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, Commonwealth — of Virginia. ... The Anglo-Cherokee War (1759–1761), also known as the Cherokee War, the Cherokee Uprising, the Cherokee Rebellion, was a conflict between British forces in North America and Cherokee Indians during the French and Indian War. ... Blue Ridge Mountains, Shining Rock Wilderness Area Appalachian Mountain system The Blue Ridge is a mountain chain in the eastern United States, part of the Appalachian Mountains, forming their eastern front from Georgia to Pennsylvania. ...

Boone's chosen profession also made for long absences from home. He supported his growing family in these years as a market hunter. Almost every autumn, Boone would go on "long hunts", which were extended expeditions into the wilderness lasting weeks or months. Boone would go on long hunts alone or with a small group of men, accumulating hundreds of deer skins in the autumn, and then trapping beaver and otter over the winter. The long hunters would return in the spring and sell their take to commercial fur traders. In this business, buckskins came to be known as "bucks", which is the origin of the American slang term for "dollar."^[10] This article is about the hunting of prey by human society. ... An Alberta fur trader in the 1890s. ... This article is about the type of currency. ...

Frontiersmen often carved messages on trees or wrote their names on cave walls, and Boone's name or initials have been found in many places. One of the best-known inscriptions was carved into a tree in present Washington County, Tennessee which reads "D. Boon Cilled a. Bar [killed a bear] on [this] tree in the year 1760". A similar carving is preserved in the museum of the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, Kentucky, which reads "D. Boon Kilt a Bar, 1803." However, because Boone spelled his name with the final "e", these particular inscriptions may be forgeries, part of a long tradition of phony Boone relics.^[11] Washington County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... The Filson Historical Society (originally named the Filson Club) is a historical society in Louisville, Kentucky. ... Louisville redirects here. ...

In 1762 Boone and his wife and four children moved back to the Yadkin Valley from Culpeper. By mid-1760s, with peace made with the Cherokees, immigration into the area increased, and Boone began to look for a new place to settle, as competition decreased the amount of game available for hunting. This meant that Boone had difficulty making ends meet; he was often taken to court for nonpayment of debts, and he sold what land he owned to pay off creditors. After his father's death in 1765, Boone traveled with his brother Squire and a group of men to Florida, which had become British territory after the end of the war, to look into the possibility of settling there. According to a family story, Boone purchased land in Pensacola, but Rebecca refused to move so far away from friends and family. The Boones instead moved to a more remote area of the Yadkin Valley, and Boone began to hunt westward into the Blue Ridge Mountains.^[12] This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... Nickname: Location in Escambia County and the state of Florida Coordinates: , Country State County Escambia Government  - Mayor John Fogg Area  - City 39. ... Blue Ridge Mountains, Shining Rock Wilderness Area Appalachian Mountain system The Blue Ridge is a mountain chain in the eastern United States, part of the Appalachian Mountains, forming their eastern front from Georgia to Pennsylvania. ...

Kentucky

"Capture of Boone and Stuart" from Life & Times of Col. Daniel Boone by Cecil B. Hartley (1859)

Boone first reached Kentucky in the fall of 1767 when on a long hunt with his brother Squire Boone, Jr. While on the Braddock expedition years earlier, Boone had heard about the fertile land and abundant game of Kentucky from fellow wagoner John Findley, who had visited Kentucky to trade with American Indians. In 1768, Boone and Findley happened to meet again, and Findley encouraged Boone with more tales of Kentucky. At the same time, news had arrived about the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, in which the Iroquois had ceded their claim to Kentucky to the British. This, as well as the unrest in North Carolina due to the Regulator movement, likely prompted Boone to extend his exploration.^[13] Image File history File links Boone_captured. ... Image File history File links Boone_captured. ... Marker denoting Squire Boones original burial spot. ... Two different treaties between Native Americans and European-Americans were signed at Fort Stanwix, which was located near present-day Rome, New York. ... For other uses, see Iroquois (disambiguation). ... The War of the Regulation was a North Carolina uprising, lasting from approximately 1764 to 1771, against corrupt colonial officials. ...

In May 1769, Boone began a two-year hunting expedition in Kentucky. On 22 December 1769, he and a fellow hunter were captured by a party of Shawnees, who confiscated all of their skins and told them to leave and never return. The Shawnees had not signed the Stanwix treaty, and since they regarded Kentucky as their hunting ground, they considered American hunters there to be poachers. Boone, however, continued hunting and exploring Kentucky until his return to North Carolina in 1771, and returned to hunt there again in the autumn of 1772. is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the Native American tribe. ... For other uses, see Poaching (disambiguation). ...

On 25 September 1773, Boone packed up his family and, with a group of about 50 emigrants, began the first attempt by British colonists to establish a settlement in Kentucky. Boone was still an obscure hunter and trapper at the time; the most prominent member of the expedition was William Russell, a well-known Virginian and future brother-in-law of Patrick Henry. On October 9, Boone's eldest son James and a small group of men and boys who had left the main party to retrieve supplies were attacked by a band of Delawares, Shawnees, and Cherokees. Following the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, American Indians in the region had been debating what to do about the influx of settlers. This group had decided, in the words of historian John Mack Faragher, "to send a message of their opposition to settlement…." James Boone and William Russell's son Henry were captured and gruesomely tortured to death. The brutality of the killings sent shock waves along the frontier, and Boone's party abandoned its expedition.^[14] is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1773 (MDCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 – June 6, 1799) was a prominent figure in the American Revolution, known and remembered primarily for his stirring oratory. ... is the 282nd day of the year (283rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the language, see Lenape language. ...

George Caleb Bingham's Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap (1851–52) is a famous depiction of Boone.

The massacre was one of the first events in what became known as Dunmore's War, a struggle between Virginia and primarily Shawnees of the Ohio Country for control of what is now West Virginia and Kentucky. In the summer of 1774, Boone volunteered to travel with a companion to Kentucky to notify surveyors there about the outbreak of war. The two men journeyed more than 800 miles (1,300 km) in two months in order to warn those who had not already fled the region. Upon his return to Virginia, Boone helped defend colonial settlements along the Clinch River, earning a promotion to captain in the militia as well as acclaim from fellow citizens. After the brief war, which ended soon after Virginia's victory in the Battle of Point Pleasant in October 1774, Shawnees relinquished their claims to Kentucky.^[15] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (826x605, 52 KB) Summary Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap, George Caleb Bingham, oil on canvas, 1851–52 Licensing The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (826x605, 52 KB) Summary Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap, George Caleb Bingham, oil on canvas, 1851–52 Licensing The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and... Fur traders on Missouri River, c. ... Dunmores War (or Lord Dunmores War) was the result of several collisions that took place in the spring of 1774, on the Ohio River above the mouth of the Little Kanawha River, between Native American peoples (particularly Shawnee, Miami, and Wyandot) and parties of Anglo_American settlers who were... The Clinch River rises in southwestern Virginia and flows into East Tennessee. ... The Battle of Point Pleasant was an action in Lord Dunmores War between Virginia militia and the Indians fought on October 10, 1774 near modern Point Pleasant, West Virginia. ...

Following Dunmore's War, Richard Henderson, a prominent judge from North Carolina, hired Boone to travel to the Cherokee towns in present North Carolina and Tennessee and inform them of an upcoming meeting. In the 1775 treaty, Henderson purchased the Cherokee claim to Kentucky in order to establish a colony called Transylvania. Afterwards, Henderson hired Boone to blaze what became known as the Wilderness Road, which went through the Cumberland Gap and into central Kentucky. Along with a party of about thirty workers, Boone marked a path to the Kentucky River, where he established Boonesborough. Other settlements, notably Harrodsburg, were also established at this time. Despite occasional Indian attacks, Boone returned to the Clinch Valley and brought his family and other settlers to Boonesborough on 8 September 1775.^[16] Richard Henderson (1734–1785) was an American pioneer/ merchant who attempted to create a colony called Transylvania just as the American Revolutionary War was starting. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... Transylvania was a short-lived colony primarily in what is now the U.S. state of Kentucky. ... Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was the principal route used by settlers to reach Kentucky for more than fifty years. ... Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap (George Caleb Bingham, oil on canvas, 1851–52) Cumberland Gap (el. ... The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 259 mi (417 km) long, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. ... Boonesborough, Kentucky is an unincorporated community in Madison County, Kentucky, located in the central part of the state along the Kentucky River. ... Harrodsburg is a city located in Mercer County, Kentucky. ... is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1775 (MDCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

American Revolution

Violence in Kentucky increased with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Native Americans who were unhappy about the loss of Kentucky in treaties saw the war as a chance to drive out the colonists. Isolated settlers and hunters became the frequent target of attacks, convincing many to abandon Kentucky. By late spring of 1776, fewer than 200 colonists remained in Kentucky, primarily at the fortified settlements of Boonesborough, Harrodsburg, and Logan's Station.^[17] This article is about military actions only. ... Benjamin Logan (c. ...

This 1877 illustration, entitled The rescue of Jemima Boone and Betsey and Fanny Callaway, kidnapped by Indians in July 1776, is one of many depictions of the famous event.

On 14 July 1776, Boone's daughter Jemima and two other teenage girls were captured outside Boonesborough by an Indian war party, who carried the girls north towards the Shawnee towns in the Ohio country. Boone and a group of men from Boonesborough followed in pursuit, finally catching up with them two days later. Boone and his men ambushed the Indians while they were stopped for a meal, rescuing the girls and driving off their captors. The incident became the most celebrated event of Boone's life. James Fenimore Cooper created a fictionalized version of the episode in his classic book The Last of the Mohicans (1826).^[18] Image File history File links Boone_rescue. ... Image File history File links Boone_rescue. ... is the 195th day of the year (196th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1776 (disambiguation). ... The Abduction of Daniel Boones Daughter by the Indians by Charles Ferdinand Wimar (1853) The rescue of Jemima Boone and Betsey and Fanny Callaway, kidnapped by Indians in July 1776 (1877) The capture and rescue of Jemima Boone and the Callaway girls is a famous incident in the early... Cooper portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, 1822 James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. ... For other uses, see The Last of the Mohicans (disambiguation). ...

In 1777, Henry Hamilton, a British Lieutenant Governor of Canada, began to recruit American Indian war parties to raid the Kentucky settlements. On 24 April, Shawnees led by Chief Blackfish attacked Boonesborough. Boone was shot in the ankle while outside the fort, but he was carried back inside the fort amid a flurry of bullets by Simon Kenton, a recent arrival at Boonesborough. Kenton became Boone's close friend as well as a legendary frontiersman in his own right. Henry Hamilton (c. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Blackfish (c. ... Simon Kenton Statue at Simon Kentons grave in Urbana, Ohio Simon Kenton (April 3, 1755 - April 29, 1836) was a famous United States frontiersman and friend of Daniel Boone. ...

While Boone recovered, Shawnees kept up their attacks outside Boonesborough, destroying the surrounding cattle and crops. With the food supply running low, the settlers needed salt to preserve what meat they had, and so in January 1778 Boone led a party of thirty men to the salt springs on the Licking River. On 7 February 1778, when Boone was hunting meat for the expedition, he was surprised and captured by warriors led by Blackfish. Because Boone's party was greatly outnumbered, he convinced his men to surrender rather than put up a fight. The mouth of the Licking River, where it joins the Ohio River The Licking River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 320 mi (515 km) long in northeastern Kentucky in the United States. ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1778 (MDCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Blackfish wanted to continue to Boonesborough and capture it, since it was now poorly defended, but Boone convinced him that the women and children were not hardy enough to survive a winter trek. Instead, Boone promised that Boonesborough would surrender willingly to the Shawnees the following spring. Boone did not have an opportunity to tell his men that he was bluffing in order to prevent an immediate attack on Boonesborough, however. Boone pursued this strategy so convincingly that many of his men concluded that he had switched his loyalty to the British.

Illustration of Boone's ritual adoption by the Shawnees, from Life & Times of Col. Daniel Boone, by Cecil B. Hartley (1859)

Boone and his men were taken to Blackfish's town of Chillicothe where they were made to run the gauntlet. As was their custom, the Shawnees adopted some of the prisoners into the tribe to replace fallen warriors; the remainder were taken to Hamilton in Detroit. Boone was adopted into a Shawnee family at Chillicothe, perhaps into the family of Chief Blackfish himself, and given the name Sheltowee ("Big Turtle"). On 16 June 1778, when he learned that Blackfish was about to return to Boonesborough with a large force, Boone eluded his captors and raced home, covering the 160 miles (260 km) to Boonesborough in five days on horseback and, after his horse gave out, on foot.^[19] Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (743x1269, 49 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Daniel Boone Siege of Boonesborough ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (743x1269, 49 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Daniel Boone Siege of Boonesborough ... Chalahgawtha (or Chillicothe) was the name of one of the two principal septs of the Shawnee tribe of Native Americans in the Ohio Country in North America during the 18th century, as well as the name one of the principal village of this sept. ... Running the gauntlet (alternative spellings gantlet and rarely gantlope or gantelope) is a form of physical punishment by which a person is compelled to run through a double line of soldiers who attempt to strike him or her as they pass. ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1778 (MDCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

During Boone's absence, his wife and children (except for Jemima) had returned to North Carolina, fearing that he was dead. Upon his return to Boonesborough, some of the men expressed doubts about Boone's loyalty, since after surrendering the salt making party he had apparently lived quite happily among the Shawnees for months. Boone responded by leading a preemptive raid against the Shawnees across the Ohio River, and then by helping to successfully defend Boonesborough against a 10-day siege led by Blackfish, which began on 7 September 1778. Combatants Kentucky settlers Shawnees and allies Commanders Daniel Boone, Richard Callaway, William Bailey Smith Blackfish, Antoine Dagneaux de Quindre, Moluntha Strength 135 settlers (30–40 gunmen) 444 Native Americans 12 Detroit militia Casualties 2 killed 4 wounded 37 killed unknown wounded The Siege of Boonesborough took place in September 1778... is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1778 (MDCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

After the siege, Captain Benjamin Logan and Colonel Richard Callaway—both of whom had nephews who were still captives surrendered by Boone—brought charges against Boone for his recent activities. In the court-martial that followed, Boone was found "not guilty" and was even promoted after the court heard his testimony. Despite this vindication, Boone was humiliated by the court-martial, and he rarely spoke of it.^[20] Benjamin Logan (circa 1742-December 11, 1802 was an American military officer in the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. ... Richard Callaway (born 2 August 1860, died 19 March 1935 at Sydney, New South Wales) was a cricket Test match umpire. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ...

After the trial, Boone returned to North Carolina in order to bring his family back to Kentucky. In the autumn of 1779, a large party of emigrants came with him, including (according to tradition) the family of Abraham Lincoln's grandfather.^[21] Rather than remain in Boonesborough, Boone founded the nearby settlement of Boone's Station. Boone began earning money at this time by locating good land for other settlers. Transylvania land claims had been invalidated after Virginia created Kentucky County, and so settlers needed to file new land claims with Virginia. In 1780, Boone collected about $20,000 in cash from various settlers and traveled to Williamsburg to purchase their land warrants. While he was sleeping in a tavern during the trip, the cash was stolen from his room. Some of the settlers forgave Boone the loss; others insisted that he repay the stolen money, which took him several years to do. For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ... This monument, placed in 1967 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, marks the site of Boone Station. ... Kentucky County was formed in Virginia in 1776. ... Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia. ...

A popular image of Boone which emerged in later years is that of the backwoodsman who had little affinity for "civilized" society, moving away from places like Boonesborough when they became "too crowded". In reality, however, Boone was a leading citizen of Kentucky at this time. When Kentucky was divided into three Virginia counties in November 1780, Boone was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Fayette County militia. In April 1781, Boone was elected as a representative to the Virginia General Assembly, which was held in Richmond. In 1782, he was elected sheriff of Fayette County.^[22] Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. ... The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a U.S. state. ...

Meanwhile, the American Revolutionary War continued. Boone joined General George Rogers Clark's invasion of the Ohio country in 1780, fighting in the Battle of Piqua on 7 August. In October, when Boone was hunting with his brother Ned, Shawnees shot and killed Ned. Apparently thinking that they had killed Daniel Boone, the Shawnees beheaded Ned and took the head home as a trophy. In 1781, Boone traveled to Richmond to take his seat in the legislature, but British dragoons under Banastre Tarleton captured Boone and several other legislators near Charlottesville. The British released Boone on parole several days later. During Boone's term, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781, but the fighting continued in Kentucky unabated. Boone returned to Kentucky and in August 1782 fought in the Battle of Blue Licks, in which his son Israel was killed. In November 1782, Boone took part in another Clark expedition into Ohio, the last major campaign of the war. Clark as painted by Matthew Harris Jouett in 1825 George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was a soldier from Virginia and the preeminent American military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton by Sir Joshua Reynolds General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 1754 – 25 January 1833) was a British soldier and politician. ... Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. ... Cornwallis redirects here. ... Combatants Kingdom of France  United States Great Britain German mercenaries Commanders Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau François de Grasse Gilbert de La Fayette George Washington Nathanael Greene Charles Cornwallis # Charles O’Hara # Banastre Tarleton # (stationed at Gloucester, Virginia) Strength 10,800 French 8,500 Americans 24 French warships 7,500... Combatants Kentucky militia (United States) Great Britain, American Indians Commanders John Todd † Stephen Trigg † Daniel Boone William Caldwell Alexander McKee Simon Girty Strength 182 militiamen 50 rangers 300 natives Casualties 72 killed, 11 captured about 11 killed The Battle of Blue Licks was fought on August 19, 1782, and was...

Businessman on the Ohio

After the Revolution, Boone resettled in Limestone (renamed Maysville, Kentucky in 1786), then a booming Ohio River port. In 1787, he was elected to the Virginia state assembly as a representative from Bourbon County. In Maysville, he kept a tavern and worked as a surveyor, horse trader, and land speculator. He was initially prosperous, owning seven slaves by 1787, a relatively large number for Kentucky at the time, which was dominated by small farms rather than large plantations. Boone became something of a celebrity while living in Maysville: in 1784, on Boone's 50th birthday, historian John Filson published The Discovery, Settlement And present State of Kentucke, a book which included a chronicle of Boone's adventures.^[23] Russell Theater, Maysville Maysville is a city located in Mason County, Kentucky, along the Ohio River. ... Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... John Filson (c. ...

Although the Revolutionary War had ended, the border war with American Indians north of the Ohio River soon resumed. In September 1786, Boone took part in a military expedition into the Ohio Country led by Benjamin Logan. Back in Limestone, Boone housed and fed Shawnees who were captured during the raid and helped to negotiate a truce and prisoner exchange. Although the Northwest Indian War escalated and would not end until the American victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, the 1786 expedition was the last time Boone saw military action.^[24] Combatants United States Western Lakes Confederacy Commanders Josiah Harmar Arthur St. ... Combatants United States Legion of the United States consisting of: 1st Sub-Legion: 3d Infantry Regiment 2nd Sub-Legion: U.S. 1st Infantry Regiment 3rd Sub-Legion: Captain Moses Porters Company of Artillery of the 3rd Sub-Legion 4th Sub-Legion: U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment Kentucky Volunteers Blue...

This engraving by Alonzo Chappel (c. 1861) depicts an elderly Boone hunting in Missouri.

Boone began to have financial troubles while living in Maysville. According to the later folk image, Boone the trailblazer was too unsophisticated for the civilization which followed him and which eventually defrauded him of his land. Boone was not the simple frontiersman of legend, however: he engaged in land speculation on a large scale, buying and selling claims to tens of thousands of acres. The land market in frontier Kentucky was chaotic, and Boone's ventures ultimately failed because his investment strategy was faulty and because his sense of honor made him reluctant to profit at someone else's expense. According to Faragher, "Boone lacked the ruthless instincts that speculation demanded."^[25] Image File history File links Boone_by_Chappel. ... Image File history File links Boone_by_Chappel. ...

Frustrated with the legal hassles that went with land speculation, in 1788 Boone moved upriver to Point Pleasant, Virginia (now West Virginia). There he operated a trading post and occasionally worked as a surveyor's assistant. When Virginia created Kanawha County in 1789, Boone was appointed lieutenant colonel of the county militia. In 1791, he was elected to the Virginia legislature for the third time. He contracted to provide supplies for the Kanawha militia, but his debts prevented him from buying goods on credit, and so he closed his store and returned to hunting and trapping. Point Pleasant, West Virginia (foreground) at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers Tourists at the monument of the Battle of Point Pleasant in Tu-Endie-Wei State Park. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st  - Total 24,244 sq mi (62,809 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... Kanawha County is a county located in the state of West Virginia. ...

In 1795, he and Rebecca moved back to Kentucky, living in present Nicholas County on land owned by their son Daniel Morgan Boone. The next year, Boone applied to Isaac Shelby, the first governor of the new state of Kentucky, for a contract to widen the Wilderness Road into a wagon route, but the governor did not respond and the contract was awarded to someone else. Meanwhile, lawsuits over conflicting land claims continued to make their way through the Kentucky courts. Boone's remaining land claims were sold off to pay legal fees and taxes, but he no longer paid attention to the process. In 1798, a warrant was issued for Boone's arrest after he ignored a summons to testify in a court case, although the sheriff never found him. That same year Kentucky named Boone County in his honor. Nicholas County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. ... Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American soldier and the first and fifth Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1792 to 1796 and from 1812 to 1816. ... Boone County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. ...

Missouri

In 1799, Boone moved out of the United States to Missouri, which was then part of Spanish Louisiana. The Spanish, eager to promote settlement in the sparsely populated region, did not enforce the legal requirement that all immigrants had to be Catholics. Boone, looking to make a fresh start, emigrated with much of his extended family to what is now St. Charles County. The Spanish governor appointed Boone "syndic" (judge and jury) and commandant (military leader) of the Femme Osage district. The many anecdotes of Boone's tenure as syndic suggest that he sought to render fair judgments rather than to strictly observe the letter of the law. This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... St. ...

Boone served as syndic and commandant until 1804, when Missouri became part of the United States following the Louisiana Purchase. Because Boone's land grants from the Spanish government had been largely based on verbal agreements, he once again lost his land claims. In 1809, he petitioned Congress to restore his Spanish land claims, which was finally done in 1814. Boone sold most of this land to repay old Kentucky debts. When the War of 1812 came to Missouri, Boone's sons Daniel Morgan Boone and Nathan Boone took part, but by that time Boone was too old for militia duty. For the musical, see Louisiana Purchase (musical) and Louisiana Purchase (film). ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... This article is about the U.S.–U.K. war. ...

A portrait of Boone by John James Audubon

Boone spent his final years in Missouri, often in the company of children and grandchildren. He hunted and trapped as often as his failing health allowed. According to one story, in 1810 or later Boone went with a group on a long hunt as far west as the Yellowstone River, a remarkable journey at his age, if true. Other stories of Boone around this time have him making one last visit to Kentucky in order to pay off his creditors, although some or all of these tales may be folklore. American painter John James Audubon claimed to have gone hunting with Boone in the woods of Kentucky around 1810. Years later, Audubon painted a portrait of Boone, supposedly from memory, although skeptics have noted the similarity of this painting to the well-known portraits by Chester Harding. Boone's family insisted that he never returned to Kentucky after 1799, although some historians believe that Boone visited his brother Squire near Kentucky in 1810 and have therefore reported Audubon's story as factual.^[26] Image File history File links Boone_by_Audubon. ... Image File history File links Boone_by_Audubon. ... John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter. ... Yellowstone River, Fishing Bridge, July 1959. ... John James Audubon (April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter. ... Chester Harding, circa 1860-1865. ...

Boone's gravesite in Frankfort, Kentucky

Boone died on September 26, 1820, at Nathan Boone's home on Femme Osage Creek. He was buried next to Rebecca, who had died on March 18, 1813. The graves, which were unmarked until the mid-1830s, were near Jemima (Boone) Callaway's home on Tuque Creek, about two miles (3 km) from present day Marthasville, Missouri. In 1845, the Boones' remains were disinterred and reburied in a new cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky. Resentment in Missouri about the disinterment grew over the years, and a legend arose that Boone's remains never left Missouri. According to this story, Boone's tombstone in Missouri had been inadvertently placed over the wrong grave, but no one had corrected the error. Boone's Missouri relatives, displeased with the Kentuckians who came to exhume Boone, kept quiet about the mistake and allowed the Kentuckians to dig up the wrong remains. There is no contemporary evidence that this actually happened, but in 1983, a forensic anthropologist examined a crude plaster cast of Boone's skull made before the Kentucky reburial and announced that it might be the skull of an African American. Black slaves were also buried at Tuque Creek, so it is possible that the wrong remains were mistakenly removed from the crowded graveyard. Both the Frankfort Cemetery in Kentucky and the Old Bryan Farm graveyard in Missouri claim to have Boone's remains.^[27] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2576x1932, 1257 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Daniel Boone Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2576x1932, 1257 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Daniel Boone Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to... Frankfort is the capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a state of the United States of America. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1813 (MDCCCXIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Marthasville is a city located in Warren County, Missouri. ... Frankfort is the capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a state of the United States of America. ... Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical anthropology and human osteology (the study of the human skeleton) in a legal setting, most often in criminal cases where the victims remains are more or less skeletonized. ...

Cultural legacy

Daniel Boone remains an iconic figure in American history, although his status as an early American folk hero and later as a subject of fiction has tended to obscure the actual details of his life. The general public remembers him as a hunter, pioneer, and "Indian-fighter", even if they are uncertain when he lived or exactly what he did. Many places in the United States are named for him, including the Daniel Boone National Forest, the Sheltowee Trace Trail, and Boone County, Missouri. His name has long been synonymous with the American outdoors. For example, the Boone and Crockett Club was a conservationist organization founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, and the Sons of Daniel Boone was the precursor of the Boy Scouts of America. Boone is the surname of American pioneer explorer Daniel Boone. ... The Daniel Boone National Forest is the only national forest completely within the boundary of Kentucky. ... The Sheltowee Trace Trail is a 260-270 mile (420-430 km) National Recreation Trail that was created in 1976 and stretches from Pickett State Park in Tennessee to northern Rowan County, Kentucky. ... Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. ... The Boone and Crockett Club is a conservationist organization, founded in the United States in 1877 by Theodore Roosevelt. ... Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... The Sons of Daniel Boone (sometimes the Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone) was a youth program developed by Daniel Carter Beard in 1905 based on the American Frontiersman. ... For the Boy Scouting program within the BSA, see Boy Scouting (Boy Scouts of America). ...

Emergence as a legend

Boone emerged as a legend in large part because of John Filson's "The Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boon", part of his book The Discovery, Settlement And present State of Kentucke. First published in 1784, Filson's book was soon translated into French and German, and made Boone famous in America and Europe. Based on interviews with Boone, Filson's book contained a mostly factual account of Boone's adventures from the exploration of Kentucky through the American Revolution. However, because the real Boone was a man of few words, Filson invented florid, philosophical dialogue for this "autobiography". Subsequent editors cut some of these passages and replaced them with more plausible—but still spurious—ones. Often reprinted, Filson's book established Boone as one of the first popular heroes of the United States.^[29] John Filson (c. ...

Like John Filson, Timothy Flint also interviewed Boone, and his Biographical Memoir of Daniel Boone, the First Settler of Kentucky (1833) became one of the bestselling biographies of the 19th century. Flint greatly embellished Boone's adventures, doing for Boone what Parson Weems did for George Washington. In Flint's book, Boone fought hand-to-hand with a bear, escaped from Indians by swinging on vines (as Tarzan would later do), and so on. Although Boone's family thought the book was absurd, Flint greatly influenced the popular conception of Boone, since these tall tales were recycled in countless dime novels and books aimed at young boys.^[30] Parson Weems Fable by Grant Wood (1939) Mason Locke Weems (October 11, 1756 - May 23, 1825), generally known as Parson Weems, was an American printer and author known as the source of some of the best-known stories about George Washington, the Father of his Country, including the famous tale... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ... For other uses, see Tarzan (disambiguation). ... An example of the original dime novel series, circa 1860. ...

Symbol and stereotype

Thanks to Filson's book, in Europe Boone became a symbol of the "natural man" who lives a virtuous, uncomplicated existence in the wilderness. This was most famously expressed in Lord Byron's epic poem Don Juan (1822), which devoted a number of stanzas to Boone, including this one: Byron redirects here. ... Byrons Don Juan (Penguin Classics version) Don Juan is a long narrative poem by Lord Byron, based on the legend of Don Juan. ...

Of the great names which in our faces stare,

The General Boon, back-woodsman of Kentucky,

Was happiest amongst mortals any where;

For killing nothing but a bear or buck, he

Enjoyed the lonely vigorous, harmless days

Of his old age in wilds of deepest maze.^[31]

Byron's poem celebrated Boone as someone who found happiness by turning his back on civilization. In a similar vein, many folk tales depicted Boone as a man who migrated to more remote areas whenever civilization crowded in on him. In a typical anecdote, when asked why he was moving to Missouri, Boone supposedly replied, "I want more elbow room!" Boone rejected such an interpretation of his life, however. "Nothing embitters my old age," he said late in life, like "the circulation of absurd stories that I retire as civilization advances…."^[32]

Existing simultaneously with the image of Boone as a refugee from society was, paradoxically, the popular portrayal of him as civilization's trailblazer. Boone was celebrated as an agent of Manifest Destiny, a pathfinder who tamed the wilderness, paving the way for the extension of American civilization. In 1852, critic Henry Tuckerman dubbed Boone "the Columbus of the woods", comparing Boone's passage through the Cumberland Gap to Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. In popular mythology, Boone became the first to explore and settle Kentucky, opening the way for countless others to follow. In fact, other Americans had explored and settled Kentucky before Boone, as debunkers in the 20th century often pointed out, but Boone came to symbolize them all, making him what historian Michael Lofaro called "the founding father of westward expansion".^[33] This article is about the history and influence of the concept. ... Henry Theodore Tuckerman Henry Theodore Tuckerman (1813 - 1871), essayist, etc. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, by Howard Chandler Christy. ...

This 1874 lithograph entitled "Daniel Boone protects his family" is a representative image of Boone as an Indian fighter.

In the 19th century, when Native Americans were being displaced from their lands and confined on reservations, Boone's image was often reshaped into the stereotype of the belligerent, Indian-hating frontiersman which was then popular. In John A. McClung's Sketches of Western Adventure (1832), for example, Boone was portrayed as longing for the "thrilling excitement of savage warfare." Boone was transformed in the popular imagination into someone who regarded Indians with contempt and had killed scores of the "savages". The real Boone disliked bloodshed, however. According to historian John Bakeless, there is no record that Boone ever scalped Indians, unlike other frontiersmen of the era. Boone once told his son Nathan that he was certain of having killed only one Indian, during the battle at Blue Licks, although he believed that others may have died from his bullets in other battles. Even though Boone had lost two sons in wars with Indians, he respected Indians and was respected by them. In Missouri, Boone often went hunting with the very Shawnees who had captured and adopted him decades earlier. Some 19th century writers regarded Boone's sympathy for Indians as a character flaw and therefore altered his words to conform to contemporary attitudes.^[34] Image File history File linksMetadata Daniel_Boone_protects_his_family. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Daniel_Boone_protects_his_family. ... Indian Removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States that sought to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river. ... This article is about Native Americans. ...

Fiction

Boone's adventures, real and mythical, formed the basis of the archetypal hero of the American West, popular in 19th century novels and 20th century films. The main character of James Fenimore Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales, the first of which was published in 1823, bore striking similarities to Boone; even his name, Nathaniel Bumppo, echoed Daniel Boone's name. As mentioned above, The Last of the Mohicans (1826), Cooper's second Leatherstocking novel, featured a fictionalized version of Boone's rescue of his daughter. After Cooper, other writers developed the Western hero, an iconic figure which began as a variation of Daniel Boone.^[35] Cooper portrait by John Wesley Jarvis, 1822 James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was a prolific and popular American writer of the early 19th century. ... The Leatherstocking Tales is a series of novels by American writer James Fenimore Cooper, each featuring the hero Natty Bumppo, known by European settlers as Leatherstocking, and by the Native Americans as Pathfinder, Deerslayer, or Hawkeye. Listed chronologically by story action, the books are: Note that these are the dates... For other uses, see The Last of the Mohicans (disambiguation). ...

In the 20th century, Boone was featured in numerous comic strips, radio programs, and films, where the emphasis was usually on action and melodrama rather than historical accuracy. These are little remembered today; probably the most noteworthy is the 1936 film Daniel Boone, with George O'Brien playing the title role. Audiences of the "baby boomer" generation are more familiar with the Daniel Boone television series, which ran from 1964 to 1970. In the popular theme song for the series, Boone was described as a "big man" in a "coonskin cap", and the "rippin'est, roarin'est, fightin'est man the frontier ever knew!"^[36] This did not describe the real Daniel Boone, who was not a big man and did not wear a coonskin cap. Boone was portrayed this way because Fess Parker, the tall actor who played Boone, was essentially reprising his role as Davy Crockett from an earlier TV series. That Boone could be portrayed as a Crockett, another American frontiersman with a very different persona, was another example of how Boone's image could be reshaped to suit popular tastes.^[37] George OBrien, right, with actor Johnny Weissmuller. ... For the video game, see Baby Boomer (video game). ... Daniel Boone was a TV show that aired from September 24, 1964 to September 10, 1970 on NBC for 165 episodes, and was made by 20th Century Fox Television. ... Coonskin cap A coonskin cap is a cap fashioned from the skin and fur of a raccoon. ... Fess Parker (born August 16, 1924) is an American film and television actor. ... Colonel David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was a celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician; usually referred to as Davy Crockett and by the popular title King of the Wild Frontier. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the...

Notes

Blackfish (c. ... Blue Jacket or Weyapiersenwah (c. ...

References

• Bakeless, John. Daniel Boone: Master of the Wilderness. Originally published 1939, reprinted University of Nebraska Press, 1989; ISBN 0-8032-6090-3. The definitive Boone biography of its era, it was the first to make full use of the massive amount of material collected by Lyman Draper.
• Draper, Lyman. The Life of Daniel Boone, edited by Ted Franklin Belue. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1998; ISBN 0-8117-0979-5. Belue's notes provide a modern scholarly perspective to Draper's unfinished 19th century biography, which follows Boone's life up to the siege of Boonesborough.
• Elliott, Lawrence. The Long Hunter: A New Life of Daniel Boone. New York: Reader's Digest Press, 1976; ISBN 0-88349-066-8.
• Faragher, John Mack. Daniel Boone: The Life and Legend of an American Pioneer. New York: Holt, 1992; ISBN 0-8050-1603-1. The standard scholarly biography, examines both the history and the folklore.
• Jones, Randell. In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone. Blair: North Carolina, 2005. ISBN 0-89587-308-7. Guide to historical sites associated with Boone.
• Lofaro, Michael. Daniel Boone: An American Life. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2003; ISBN 0-8131-2278-3. A brief biography, previously published (in 1978 and 1986) as The Life and Adventures of Daniel Boone.

Draper, Lyman Copeland, (1815 – 1891) was a librarian and historian who served as secretary for the Wisconsin Historical Society at Madison. ...

Further reading

• Aron, Stephen. How the West was Lost: The Transformation of Kentucky from Daniel Boone to Henry Clay. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8018-5296-X.
• Hammon, Neal O., ed. My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1999; ISBN 0-8131-2103-5. Draper's interviews with Nathan Boone.
• Morgan, Robert. Boone: A Biography. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2007; ISBN 978-1-56512-455-4.
• Slotkin, Richard. Regeneration through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier, 1600–1860. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1973. ISBN 0-8195-4055-2.
• Smith, Henry Nash. Virgin Land: The American West as Symbol and Myth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950.
• Sweeney, J. Gray. The Columbus of the Woods: Daniel Boone and the Typology of Manifest Destiny. St. Louis, Mo.: Washington University Gallery of Art, 1992. ISBN 0-936316-14-4.
• Thwaites, Reuben Gold. Daniel Boone. The first modern biography, originally published in 1902 and often reprinted.

Reuben Gold Thwaites (1853-1913) was an American historical writer, born in Dorchester, Mass. ...

External links

Military of the United States Portal

Primary material

• "The Adventures of Col. Daniel Boon" (sic) Filson's "autobiographical" memoir
• The Discovery, Settlement and present State of Kentucke The entire work by John Filson, including the "Appendix" life of Boone
• Personal papers of Daniel Boone at the Wisconsin Historical Society searchable 32-volume collection of Boone manuscripts and correspondence, part of the Lyman Draper collection

Other material

• Kentucky gravesite, additional photographs
• Daniel Boone birthplace, Berks County website
• "Daniel Boone, The Extraordinary Life of a Common Man", genealogical information, photographs of Missouri gravesite, various other material