Wheeling

Deposition of Silas Zane Regarding the Siege of Fort Henry, September 1777 — Draper Manuscript Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society

Eyewitness deposition from a survivor of the first siege of Fort Henry at Wheeling. The Draper Collection contains the primary survivor accounts--collected by Lyman Draper in the nineteenth century--that are the foundational source for the Fort Henry sieges.

Draper Manuscript Collection: Ohio Valley Frontier Papers — Wisconsin Historical Society

The Lyman Draper Collection at the Wisconsin Historical Society is the preeminent archive for frontier Revolutionary War history. The "Border Wars" and "Virginia" series contain the most important primary materials on both Fort Henry sieges (1777, 1782).

Journals of the Continental Congress: Western Land and Defense Resolutions, 1779-1783 — Library of Congress

Congressional records addressing Virginia's requests for support of frontier settlements including Wheeling, and the broader debate over western land policy that shaped the region's political future.

Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania — Cadiz, Ohio (Joseph Doddridge)

Firsthand account by a contemporary who grew up on the Virginia frontier during the Revolution. Doddridge's observations on frontier life, warfare, and the Fort Henry sieges are invaluable as they bridge lived experience and early historical writing.

Virginia State Papers, Volume III: Frontier Defense Correspondence, 1781-1785 — Virginia State Library (William P. Palmer, ed.)

Published Virginia state records documenting the frontier defense system, requests from Wheeling settlers for militia reinforcements, and correspondence with George Rogers Clark regarding Ohio Valley operations.

History of West Virginia, Old and New — American Historical Society (Virgil Lewis)

Multi-volume state history with detailed chapters on the Fort Henry sieges, the defense of Wheeling, and the role of frontier settlements in the broader Revolutionary War. Draws on Draper manuscripts and local records.

The Legend and the Reality: Betty Zane at Fort Henry — West Virginia History (West Virginia Archives and History)

Scholarly examination of the Betty Zane legend--the famous story of a young woman bringing gunpowder to the besieged fort--separating documented evidence from nineteenth-century embellishment in accounts of the 1782 siege.

The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830 — Indiana University Press (Andrew Cayton and Stuart Hobbs, eds.)

Scholarly anthology examining the Ohio Valley frontier from Native American, British, and American settler perspectives. Provides context for the Mingo, Delaware, and Shawnee attacks on Wheeling-area settlements.

West Virginia State Archives: Ohio County Records — West Virginia Archives and History Division

State archives holding Ohio County (Wheeling) Revolutionary War-era records, including militia lists, land grants, and correspondence documenting the frontier settlement during the war years.

Wheeling: A History — McClain Printing (H. Boyd Ohley)

Local history drawing on Ohio County records, Draper manuscripts, and secondary literature. Provides essential context for Fort Henry's role in Wheeling's settlement and its position as the westernmost settlement on the Virginia frontier.

Battle of Fort Henry (1777) -- Wikipedia — Wikimedia Foundation

General reference entry on the first siege of Fort Henry. The Betty Zane story is presented somewhat uncritically; consult the West Virginia History scholarly article for a more careful assessment of the evidence.

Visit Wheeling: Historic Sites and Civil War Heritage — Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau

Tourism resources covering Wheeling's Revolutionary and Civil War heritage, including the Fort Henry monument, the Wheeling Heritage Port, and access to West Virginia Archives resources on the region's frontier history.