This handsome two-volume set is one of the most thorough works on early Southwest Virginia and contains the journals of Colonel Thomas Batts, Dr. Thomas Walker, and Colonel Christopher Gist--three of the region's earliest explorers to record their journeys. The volumes also include lists of soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War, the French-Indian War, and the Indian wars prior to 1800. Also compiled are the early records of most of the land surveys and marriages, briefs of deeds and wills, and the court minutes of Botetourt, Fincastle, Montgomery, Washington, and Wythe counties. In addition, the set includes reprints of George Bickley's 1856 "History of Tazewell County" and Charles B. Coale's "Wilburn Waters."