Vermont: A Study of Independence

A regional history recounts early European exploration and frontier settlement, examines military campaigns during the French and Indian Wars and the Revolutionary period, and follows the political conflict over land grants that produced militia resistance and episodic violence. It describes fort actions and naval contests on inland waters, cross-border excursions, the emergence of a short-lived independent commonwealth and its diplomatic exchanges, and eventual admission as a state. Later sections survey participation in subsequent wars, traditional industries and customs, religious and educational institutions, patterns of emigration, and the social character of the region's inhabitants.