A volume composed of three unrelated groups of papers:

1) Papers pertaining to the Indian skirmish in the Valley of Virginia in 1742, the earliest hostility recorded in that region. These include: a deposition [circa 1803] by Samuel McDowell, son of John McDowell who was killed in the fight; a letter (1808) about the skirmish sent to Arthur Campbell by Samuel McDowell; one from Campbell (1809) giving his account of the event based on his knowledge of the area and information from the survivors; and notes from newspapers and secondary sources copied by or for Draper. McDowell's deposition used in a lawsuit contains a history of the settlement of the land grants to Benjamin Borden (Bordin) beginning in 1737 and also details the genealogical relationships of the Borden, Bowyer, Harvey, and McDowell families in the region.

2) Papers concerning the attacks on Wheeling in 1777 and 1782, with emphasis on the earlier one. Original manuscripts of interest are dated in 1777-1778: a letter of James Booth describing the Indian attack on the Charles Grigsby family; letters of David Shepherd and James Henderson from Fort Henry; and a speech by the Shawnee Indians. Draper's correspondence, notes, and clipped periodical articles relate also to Simon Girty, the Zane family but especially Elizabeth, William Foreman's defeat (1777), and the attack on Wheeling in 1782.

3) Papers, 1758-1761, 1772, of William Byrd III (1728-1777). These fill the latter half of the volume and pertain primarily to Byrd's actions as commander of Virginia troops on the frontier and his plans for the Cherokee expedition of 1761. Nine letters from Governor Francis Fauquier; more than a dozen from Jeffrey Amherst; an affidavit by Little Carpenter and other Cherokee leaders concerning George Turner's recruitment efforts in 1758; a list of men recruited by Byrd in 1759; and single letters by John Blair, William Bull, and Turner comprise most of this section. Fauquier in his letter of January 23, 1759, appointing Byrd to the command of Virginia military forces also mentioned the resignation of George Washington from this post and his marriage to “his agreeable widow.” A letter by Byrd in 1772 concerns a survey of bounty lands.