Under the leadership of Rufus Putnam, 48 men, departed New England during the severe winter of 1787/88 and made their way west through the mountains to Sumrill's Ferry on the Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania. There they spent the winter building two huge flatboats and three canoes to take them down the Youghiogheny to the Monongahela River and then down the Ohio River to their destination, a point of land at the mouth of the Muskingum River. Here, these pioneers would establish the first settlement in the territory northwest of the Ohio River and name it Marietta. Among these early pioneers, who opened the door to western settlement of the United States, were many heroic men and officers of the American Revolution. George Washington said, "I know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community." General Lafayette, the Frenchman who fought alongside the colonists during their struggle for independence said, "I knew them well. I saw them fighting for their country. They were the bravest of the brave. Better men never lived." This book contains the true stories of these great men and other pioneers who withstood Indian Warfare, starvation, sickness, death and deprivation to establish themselves in the wilderness of the early American frontier and begin the westward expansion of the greatest nation on earth. A great companion book for "Pioneer History" by S. P. Hildreth first published in 1848. This book is part of the Historical Collection of Badgley Publishing Company and has been transcribed from the original. The original contents have been edited and corrections have been made to original printing, spelling and grammatical errors when not in conflict with the author's intent to portray a particular event or interaction. Annotations have been made and additional contents have been added by Badgley Publishing Company in order to clarify certain historical events or interactions and to enhance the author's content. Photos and illustrations from the original have been touched up, enhanced and sometimes enlarged for better viewing. Additional illustrations and photos have been added by Badgley Publishing Company.