A Point of Controversy: the Battle of Point Pleasant

Was the ?Shot heard round the World? at Lexington actually an echo from the gently rolling hills around the confluence of the Great Kanawha and Ohio Rivers? Was the Battle of Point Pleasant actually the first battle of the American Revolution? At the beginning of the 20th century, through the tireless efforts of Mrs. Livia Nye Simpson Poffenbarger, the battle site, the monuments and the recognition by congress that this was a ?battle of the Revolution? were secured. If it was indeed a battle of the Revolution, then it was the first as it occurred six months before the fight at Lexington. Her adversary on the theory of it being a battle of the Revolution was Virgil Anson Lewis, noted Historian and Archivist for the State of West Virginia and a former proponent of the theory. Both Poffenbarger and Lewis wrote books on this controversial subject and these books are both presented complete in this volume. The author has provided some very interesting, thought provoking facts and speculations for you to consider as you ponder the works of these two adversaries and form your own opinion as to whether this battle was the first of the American Revolution.