2013 Fred's 1st published book "The Great White Elk

Copies are available via computer at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Outskirts Press, and other major outlets. The 9x6" book is 420 pages long and sells for $18.95

Book received 2nd place (Silver Medalist)  in a 2013  international competition called Readers' Favorite (Category non-faction - history)

THE COVER I HAVE CHOSEN

I told the designer I wanted a person of mixed blood to be McKee and I wanted the cover to also convey conflict. I think he did both well. I like it that it kind of symbolically shows natives facing adversity. The back cover was written by me. The designer picked the photo of me from those I sent him.

MY FIRST BOOK REVIEWS

Dear Frederick,
I want to give you my overall impression of your work: You have a terrific writing style. I can tell that you have done much planning and preparation in crafting your work. To be able to write a believable historical piece with all of the details is no small feat. You obviously have a passion for your subject matter — you present your findings in a very well-researched, thorough manner. You really give your reader a lot to consider and present a wealth of information. Your prose is very nicely written with details that capture the reader. I can tell that you have spent countless hours with your subject matter both researching and writing. Right from the start your work was very engaging and I found myself really connected with what was going on. It is easy to have too much going on too soon — not in your case. Your work is slow and methodical and as a reader I learned so much. You have presented your material in a way that just about anyone could understand and benefit from reading it (thanks to the fact that you have really considered your audience). You add details that add to the credibility of your writing and really do come across as an expert on this time period. In your work, your narrative voice is just great – very familiar and easy to follow. I have to say that you have put together an excellent piece here. It looks to me like you have meticulously gone through your document revising and smoothing things out. It flows very nicely. It is one that should be well received by a wide audience.

Lisa of Outskirts Press


Dr. John Isch of New Ulm commented via e-mail:

You have a very well written manuscript that provides interesting and important insights into the issues on the western frontier during the 18th century. The manuscript is very well supported by primary and secondary sources, and it seems to bring together interpretations that have not been discussed as extensively as you have. It is a book worth publishing.

I will have my book represented at the London Book Fair in April, 2013. The London book fair is regarded by many as the most important spring publishing event, with over 23,000 attendees from all over the globe. In partnership with a trade exhibitor , Outskirts Press will display my book on an Outskirts designated shelf and a representative will be on hand to personally answer questions about my book.



Very Interesting, May 28, 2013
By Dr. Paul R. Boehlke (Milwaukee, WI USA)

This review is from: Alexander McKee - The Great White Elk: British Indian Agent On The Colonial Frontier (Paperback)For the history buff this is a serious academic study in which author Frederick Wulff, helps us understand Alexander McKee, the British Indian Agent, who became the leading figure to organize the Native Americans against the United States. The early frontier was lawless: cruel murders, brutality, heavy drinking, and racism were common. Expect insight into human nature and less romantic views of Daniel Boone and George Washington. At one point President Washington even offers a $300 reward for McKee's scalp. The book fills out one's knowledge of the conflicts at the beginning of our nation and the efforts to gain control of Indian lands. However, the focus is on an interesting individual who the tribes came to respect rather than on a series of battles. I could not put this book down. One sees how the Native Americans were caught in the middle of conflicting interests. Especially sad was the telling of the brutal murders of the Delaware that had become Christians. Wulff has provided a genuine contribution to understanding this period of history.

Reviewed by Fiona Ingram for Readers' Favorite
Alexander McKee, a mixed-blood British Indian agent, was one of the few individuals in history able to unite Indians and exert unbelievable leadership on their behalf. When the War for Independence broke out between the Colonies and the British, McKee chose to remain loyal to his mother country. He played a major role on the American frontier during the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the post-war era. Because of his selfless devotion to the British and the Native Americans, he forfeited massive real estate and social standing when he left his Pittsburgh mansion to organize Indian raids on the American frontier, for which he was branded a traitor by the Continental Congress. It is hard to make history come alive, but in the capable hands of Frederick Wulff, the historical character of Alexander McKee, a British Indian agent of the colonial frontier, springs vibrantly from the dusty pages of history books. The author uncovers the tragic realities and the bloody consequences of colonialism and the sad disintegration of the Indian way of life as the white man’s behaviour and lawlessness eroded their culture and their rights. The devastating effects of the rum trade cannot be underestimated. The author also reveals the incredible personal story behind the man who played a seminal role in this compelling and chaotic piece of American history. Born of a Shawnee mother and a British father, choosing sides could not have been easy for McKee in the culture clash between the land-grabbing colonialists, the traders, and the Indians, the original inhabitants of this new territory. McKee was a man who could straddle two cultures, understanding both, but ultimately choosing to speak up for the displaced Indians, and losing much in the bargain. McKee is revealed as an exceptional man, intelligent and educated, perceptive, and possessing great leadership qualities. From his mother he learned the values and traditions of her people. He helped broker a precarious peace between Indians, traders, and settlers. McKee earned the title “The Great White Elk,” and this term of respect and admiration was well-deserved as he maneuvered British frontier policy and promoted the interests of the beleaguered Native Americans in the post-Revolution era. His principles and actions did not appeal to later historians who branded him a traitor.
Frederick Wulff’s account of this remarkable man will keep history buffs captivated. Minutely researched and written with a deep understanding of the era and Alexander McKee, this book is an excellent read. The author has an easy-to-read style that makes the wealth of information easily assimilated. Highly recommended.

Below are maps that are being included within the text:

BELOW:
Alexander McKee was a scout on the Forbe's Road which began in Pennsylvania. George Washington tried to get the military expedition to use the old  Braddock Road with its source in Virginia, but the Pennsylvanians won out. After the war the Forbe's Road aided the development of Pennsylvania. Today it is a major highway.

BELOW:
When Alexander McKee left Pittsburgh (Fort Pitt) during the advent of American Revolution he traveled through Delaware country (on the Tuscarowas River) to reach his Shawnee brethren further west.  Later he established his base on the Maumee River and/or at Detroit further north (next map).

INTRODUCTION (Preface)

Although Alexander McKee is a relatively little known figure to most readers, he is worthy of note. This British Indian agent is important primarily because of his tremendous influence over Native Americans, an influence that was greater than any other leader of Indians in American history. And at the same time he was in a position to maneuvered British frontier policy to promote the interests of the beleaguered Indians. His behind the scene activities had such an impact on frontier history that his story must be told. A study of Alexander McKee also offers a valuable perspective in which to view the broader framework of colonial history. He assumed a major role on the American frontier in the colonial era that embraced the French and Indian War, the American Revolution and the critical years that followed.

The Noble Renegade 

When the War for Independence broke out between the Colonies and the British, Alexander McKee chose to remain loyal to the mother country. This decision of conscience was made in the light of his experiences among the Native Americans with whom he had a great affinity. The decision was unpopular and the Continental Congress branded him a traitor. Furthermore he brought upon himself the wrath of his former neighbors in Pennsylvania for his role of leading Indian war parties on forages against the frontier settlements. Naturally he was hated and portrayed in the darkest colors by those who fought against British "tyranny” as well as by the early historians of the new nation. Historians of the next generation were not any kinder and continued to present him in the same perspective, which is when they chose not to overlook him entirely. Typically, H.H. Brackenridge classified McKee "of that horrid brood called refugees, whom the devil long since marked as his own." The ability of McKee to lead Indians was referred to unfavorably by the same historian, as "exerting a sinister influence on the tribes." Another nineteenth century historian, Lorenzo Sabine, believed Loyalists like Alexander McKee were no more than outlaws and exiles and not worthy of note. He wrote, "Such men leave few memorials behind them. Their papers are scattered and lost, and their very names pass from human recollection." Yet with the turn of the century McKee was not entirely forgotten, nor forgiven. Alexander Withers wrote in 1903 that Alexander McKee and his assistant, Simon Girty, were "disgraces to human nature." Theodore Roosevelt believed that McKee was actually more of a renegade than Girty. In 1910, the Rev. Lichlifer consigned McKee to hell, calling him "one whose treachery and cruelty has no parallel in the history of that or any other age of American history." Nor has the vilification process abated in recent treatment. Paul Beers, in 1973, made reference to Alexander McKee as "an ugly, big nosed man" who was "totally ruthless." As late as 1978 McKee earned a citation in an article entitled "The Evilest Men in America." The author of this article informed her readers they need to be told it was McKee who plotted the mischief Girty carried out. This same article, however, did touch upon a central truth about Alexander McKee: "In all his dealings McKee showed great sympathy and respect for the red men" I believe that a close examination of any period of Alexander McKee's life will bear out that this gentleman lived a life of service and dedication for his Indian friends. Recently Larry Nelson did McKee some justice in his book A Man of Distinction Among Them. My personal research has led me to conclude that this British Indian agent was honorable and humane in his relations with all men.1-7

One of the main purposes of this book is to show how Alexander McKee became a key formulator of policy on the frontier and a major active player in colonial history. Born of a Shawnee mother and growing up on the cutting edge of the frontier with his British Indian agent father, he was raised among two distinct cultures and diametrically opposed value systems. Among the European settlers he witnessed a greedy materialism that contrasted sharply with the simple "take no thought for tomorrow" philosophy of the woodland Indian culture. The one group sought to acquire the land and divide it up for profit; the other needed the land for communal hunting and looked for a close affinity with nature so closely tied up with their cosmology.

After the Revolution he took upon himself the responsibility of providing land reserves for displaced Indians who had been pushed from their homeland into Canada. Throughout this time Alexander McKee was also employed by the British Indian Department. True, he served two masters, and served both well, but his foremost concern was for the Native Americans. With his command of diplomatic skills and administrative abilities, so necessary in the British system, he could serve as a vital link for Indian voices. In this position McKee could influence and lead the tribes as he moved freely through their councils. Often he formulated the British policy in the Post-Revolution period because the English relied so heavily upon him. He used this leverage to set forth a more sympathetic and stronger policy than Whitehall was advocating. Since his work was often done in private councils and in Indian languages he charted his own course. Consequently he influenced the Natives Americans to take a strong stance on insisting upon an Ohio boundary from the Americans, even when both Whitehall and the great Indian leader Joseph Brant were counselors for appeasement. Whether he prevailed in his objectives or not he always served a life as a selfless servant.

This investigation of the life of Alexander McKee has been a worthwhile enterprise, if for no other reason than to find all the missing pieces of his life and to fit them into a meaningful pattern. Not much has been known about the real man, and for that reason his life has been shrouded with misconceptions. Writing about McKee has been a satisfying experience of seeing the real person emerge from the dusty records bit by bit. I purposely made liberal uses of quotes so that the participants live and are “heard” in their own words. Misspellings and grammatical errors used by them were intentionally preserved for the same reason.

Acknowledgements 

I am gratefully conscious of the patience and assistance exercised on my behalf by the librarians and staffs of the University of Minnesota, the Regenstein Library of the University of Chicago, the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Madison, the William Clements Library of the University of Michigan, the Detroit Public Library, the Pennsylvania State Library and William Penn Memorial Museum and Archives in Harrisburg, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Fort Defiance Library of Ohio. In Canada, I was assisted by the Windsor Museum, the Fort Malden Museum in Amherstburg and the Public Archives of Canada in Ottawa.

My sincere thanks to the native American instructors of the Wisconsin Woodland Indian Culture Institute, which through a six weeks "live-in" seminar in the woods of northern Wisconsin I was provided an opportunity to explore firsthand the cultural experiences of a simulated Indian village. Instructors of the University of Wisconsin Institute were all Native Americans and they generously shared their cherished time-honored traditions and cosmology. Their tutelage proved helpful in providing an added dimension for me when I later searched through the records of Indian councils and correspondence. Although the Institute instructors are not quoted or listed in the bibliography, they are worthy of mention: John Boatman (Ojibwa), Irene Mack (Menomonee), Wallace Pyawasit (Menomonee/Potawatomi), Keewaydinoquay (Ojibwa), Lillian Rice (Chippewa/Escanaba), and James Zhucckkahosee (Kickapoo).

Above all I would like to express a debt of gratitude to Professor Reginald Horsman of the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Graduate School who introduced me to the topic of Alexander McKee and encouraged my research; and to Professor R. David Edmunds, who guided my doctoral dissertation on Alexander McKee.

Footnotes Introduction 

1-7 H.H. Brackenridge, The History of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 2 vols. (A. Warner & Co., Chicago, 1889) 1:84. Lorenzo Sabine cited in J.J. Talman, "The United Empire Loyalists," Profiles of a Province (Ontario Historical Society, Toronto, 1967) p. 3. Alexander Withers, Chronicles of Border Warfare (Cincinnati, 1903) p 256. Rev. Lichlifer Papers, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, box 2, p. 604. Paul Beers, Profiles from the Susquehanna Valley (Harrisburg, 1973) p. 202. Lillian M. Carroll, "The Evilest Men in America," Ohio Cues (Maumee Valley Historical Society, March, 1978) vol. 27, no. 2, p. 1. Larry Nelson, A Man of Distinction Among Them: Alexander McKee and the British-Indian Affairs along the Ohio Country Frontier, 1754-1799, Kent State University Press, 1999.

CONTENTS 

Introduction

Chapter 1 Diverse Roots

Chapter 2 Assimilation Into Two Cultures

Chapter 3 Frontier Religion: A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Chapter 4 Baptism with Fire: The French and Indian War

Chapter 5 Post War Mediations with the Indians

Chapter 6 Postlude: The Challenge of Pontiac’s Rebellion

Chapter 7 Dark Clouds of Polarization

Chapter 8 Tragic Lord Dunmore’s War 1774-1775

Chapter 9 A Frontier Loyalist in Pittsburgh

Chapter 10 A Frontier Warrior in the Conflict

Chapter 11 A Postwar Bulwark of Steadfastness

Chapter 12 A Sentinel for Threatened Christian Indian Communities

Chapter 13 Consolidation Efforts to Preserve the Ohio Boundary

Chapter 14 Moment of Truth: Fallen Timbers

Chapter 15 Legacy of the Great White Elk

Bibliography


MAPS

Susquehanna Trade Region of the McKees  (place right after footnote 10-11, chapter 2)

Military Routes of the French and Indian War (place right after footnote 73-74, chapter 4)

Indian Country During the American Revolution (place right after footnote 29-30, chapter 11)

Maumee River Region Around McKee’s Command Post (place right after footnote 3-5, chapter 14)