Canada and the Great War: Western Front Association Papers

History

Busch, Briton C.

Americas

McGill-Queen's University Press

The topics covered are wide-ranging and eclectic, and include, among others, studies of the Battle of Amiens, the Halifax explosion, Charlie Chaplin and wartime propaganda in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, Newfoundland's contribution to the war effort, the leadership capabilities of Brigadier General Griesbach, and the wartime poetry of John McRae. Contributors include Major John Armstrong (ret.), author many articles on military history and an administrative specialist in the Canadian Forces for thirty-two years, including stints as an instructor in history at the Royal Military College; Laura Brandon, curator of war art at the Canadian War Museum and co-author of Canvas of War: Painting and the Canadian Experience, 1914-1918; Patrick Brennan, associate professor of history at the University of Calgary; Tim Cook, archivist at the National Archives of Canada; Owen Cooke, independent researcher and former chief archivist at the Directorate of History, Canadian Department of National Defence; Andrew Horrall, archivist in charge of military records at the National Archives of Canada; John Hurst, retired administrator from the University of Guelph and head of the Ontario Branch of the WFA ; Jeff Keshen, associate professor of history at the University of Ottawa; David Parsons, Lt. Colonel with the Canadian Forces in Korea and chair of the Newfoundland Branch of the WFA; Roger Sarty, director of Historical Research and Exhibit Development at the Canadian War Museum; Christopher J. Terry, director, Canada Science and Technology Museums and chair of the Aviation Museum Group of the International Association of Transportation Museums; and Sidney F. Wise, professor emeritus in history and former dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Carleton University.

"Boston Men." The term was used generically by native peoples for years to refer to any American trading furs in the Pacific Northwest. Why? Because the first Americans to engage in fur trading on the North Pacific Coast were all from Boston-pioneers in the trade long before Americans made the first overland trek to the Pacific. The earliest accounts of the Northwest fur trade comprise this new work, prepared and edited by two top scholars in the field. They have gathered original narratives of the earliest stages of the fur trade: William Dane Phelps' "Solid Men of Boston," William Sturgis' "The Northwest Fur Trade," "William Sturgis on the American Vessels and the Maritime Fur Trade," and "Account of the Vessels Engaged in the Sea-Otter-Fur-Trade on the Northwest Coast from 1787 to 1809," compiled by William Tufts, Esq., from his own memoranda. These rare documents are brought together under one cover to reveal the the inner-workings and alliances on which the early fur trade depended. William Dane Phelps' "Solid Men of Boston" ranks as among the great texts of American maritime enterprise, and is published here in book format for the first time. It was the first history of the Northwest coast fur trade, compiled from original documents, invaluable ship logs, letters, journals and personal narratives. The first description of the pioneer American vessels fitted out of the Northwest Coast trade, the Columbia and the Lady Washington, is presented by Phelps. His is the only description of the voyages of the O'Cain and the experiences of the Winships. "Solid Men of Boston" clarifies the link between Yankees and the Northwest Coast, and with the Hawaiian Islands, Alaska, and Alta California. The Columbia River colonization experiment figures prominently in Phelps' narrative. It was the first American attempt to establish a base on the Northwest coast, just months before Astor's famous Tonquin voyage to Astoria. John Kendrick's many alliances with Northwest Coast peoples are treated in detail. The validity of the Kendrick deeds and their consequences still inspire controversy. "The Northwest Fur Trade," William Sturgis' original account, accompanies Phelps' text. It is an important recollection of the operation of the commercial fur hunt. Before Phelps' own "Webfoot" adventures, Sturgis had sailed on four voyages in the Boston maritime fur trade. The Sturgis history recounted here set down a tradition of early fur-trade narratives. The final two appendices contain a further account by Sturgis on American vessels in the Northwest trade, and William Tufts' list of American vessels on the Northwest Coast, 1787-1809, drawn from James G. Swan's The Northwest Coast, or Three Years' Residence in Washington Territory (1875). The historical introduction to the work provides a detailed background to the text, supporting and clarifying its conclusions. A full bibliography and analytical index enhance the presentation.

Fur Traders from New England: The Boston Men in the North Pacific, 1787-1800 (Volume 18) (Northwest Historical Series)

Gough, Barry

The Arthur H. Clark Company

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