French and Indian War (1755-1763)

Library resources: United States History -- French and Indian War 1755-1763

Films

• The War That Made America
  The War That Made America is a four-hour TV retelling of the French and Indian War produced by WQED and aired nationally on PBS, 9 to 11 p.m. January 18 and 25, 2006. A PBS home video is available. Much of the action depicted in the film actually occurred in Western Pennsylvania. Read more about the series in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  

Websites

• French and Indian War Commemoration: 250 Years
  http://www.frenchandindianwar250.org/
  Visit, Learn, and Relive. This website was developed to encourage Americans to visit historical sites of the French and Indian War (1755-1763). Many of those sites are right here in Western Pennsylvania (Fort Pitt, Fort Ligonier, Bushy Run, and Fort Necessity). You can visit them by following Braddock's Road and Forbe's Road. You can also register to receive reports from the front lines of the French and Indian War as it happened from embedded journalist Phineus Cobb.

• French and Indian War
  These resources from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Department include a bibliography covering topics in History, Personal Narratives & Journals, Art and Music, Music Scores - Compact Discs - Video & DVD, Fiction, Crafts, Cookery & Herb Lore, and Weapons & Militia.

• Clash of Empires: The British, French & Indian War, 1754-1763
  The Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center is currently presenting Clash of Empires, the first and only comprehensive exhibit on the French & Indian War, featuring an unprecedented collection of nearly 300 rare artifacts and period paintings from Europe, Canada and the U.S. It runs through April 23, 2006.

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Booklists - Nonfiction

Anderson, Fred
Crucible of war : the Seven Years' War and the fate of empire in British North America, 1754-1766
Winner of the Francis Parkman Prize in 2001, given annually by the Society of American Historians to the "best book on American history."

Anderson, Fred
The War that Made America : a short history of the French and Indian War
This is a companion book to the PBS series above and a shortened version of the 900 page Crucible of War. More about it can be read in this New York Times Book Review.

Ward, Matthew C.
Breaking the backcountry : the Seven Years' War in Virginia and Pennsylvania, 1754-1765
While other histories of the war have focused on the large military campaigns along the Hudson and St. Lawrence Valleys, Matthew Ward describes the impetus, progress, and devastating effects of the war as it played out in the region where it began. He combines Indian history, social history, and military history to present a complete picture of the competing interests and struggles facing the people engaged in the conflict.

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Booklists - Fiction

Cooper, James Fenimore
The Deerslayer, or, the first war-path
Follows the adventures of the brave and bold frontiersman, Natty Bumpo. Check out the classic edition with pictures By N.C. Wyeth.

Cooper, James Fenimore
The Last of the Mohicans
In 1757, the third year of the French and Indian War, Hawkeye, a colonial scout, and his friends, Chingachkook, a chief of the Mohicans, and his son Uncas risk their lives to guide two English sisters through hostile territory and evade the evil Huron, Magua, who is determined to destroy them. This is a Classic.

Coyle, Harold
Savage Wilderness
From the bestselling author of "Look Away" and "Until the End" comes a sweeping historical saga about the pivotal years before the American Revolution. From the shores of Lake Champion to Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, the British and the French battle over the unclaimed territories of the West--and experience the fury and passion of war.

Swerling, Beverly
Shadowbrook: A Novel of Love, War, and the Birth of America
The author of "The City of Dreams" returns with a sweeping story of love and war set in 1754 America, an extraordinary time of turmoil and transformation. 2004

Kilian, Michael
Major Washington
During the period of 1753-1755, Washington grew from a young, awkward major in the fledgling militia to a powerful leader as Colonial America evolved into an important player in the world's first global conflict, the French and Indian War. 1998