Rattlesnake Colonel: Thomas Cresap, An American Paradox

Thomas Cresap's life serves as a primer on American history. He was at the forefront of the contentious border conflicts between the colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and spearheaded American expansion into the Ohio Valley. His explorations of the frontier inadvertently helped start a chain of events that ultimately led to the French and Indian War, Pontiac's Rebellion, and the American Revolution. He served in the Maryland militia, the Ohio Company of Virginia, the Lower House of Maryland, the Committee of Observation, and the Sons of Liberty. Cresap's personal relationships with George Washington, Lord Baltimore, Colonial governors, British and American military officers, and many of the most influential men of his time helped shape the America in a way few did. However, despite all his well-intentioned contributions, Cresap was not held in high esteem by everyone. Known in Pennsylvania as "The Maryland Monster," by the Indians in Maryland as "Big Spoon," and by the British Army as "Rattlesnake Colonel," Thomas Cresap's life is a paradox. Regarded by Pennsylvanians as a quarrelsome and lawless villain, he reached almost folk hero status after moving to Western Maryland. In his ninety-three years, Cresap was many things, including a frontiersman, soldier, politician, trailblazer, ferryman, land speculator, Indian trader, surveyor, patriot, husband, and father. Drawn from Colonial records, newspapers, and correspondence, Rattlesnake Colonel details Thomas Cresap's rich life experiences and relates the story of the complicated conflicts of eighteenth century America in a personal and understandable way.