Author Description

The conflicts occurring in the Washington Territory in the 1850s provide an interesting case study of the Native American "Indian Wars." It is an excellent story, not only of the conflict itself, but also the interplay between the natives, early settlers, missionaries, and army personalities involved. There is a wealth of contemporary documentation available, but modern histories often center on only certain aspects of those conflicts. Many of the tribes on the Washington coast and in the interior had strong ties with one another and the events of the Washington Territory Indian wars in the Puget Sound area and the Inland Empire area are tied to one another. This is not often been brought together in a single work. This is short history of those conflicts, along with an extensive bibliography of references of both contemporary works and original source material. Most of the sites where the major events that occurred during this conflict are marked today, and a guide to those sites is included.