Sunday, July 6, 2025

The Western Theater - Appalachia in the American Revolution


 

The Western Theater of the American Revolutionary War surrounded Appalachia.


Imagine a vast landscape, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River.

This area was called Trans-Appalachia. Trans-Appalachia was frequently used in the 17th and 18th century to refer to the "frontier land", an area separate from the Eastern parts of America. In today's world, it became the states of Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Western Virginia. But, it can also be divided into four sub regions which includes states much more West of the Appalachian Mountains and even into Canada.


 


This area became the backdrop for intense conflicts during the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783.



This is the story of the western theater, a deeply contested region influencing the future United States. In the years leading to the Revolutionary War, tensions simmered in the Ohio Valley. The British had gained control over the region after the French and Indian War. This set the stage for conflicts involving Native Americans and American settlers.