''The King's Orchard'' is an historical novel by the American writer Agnes Sligh Turnbull (1888–1982) based upon the life of James O'Hara (1752?–1819), an American industrialist. Set in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

during the early years of the American republic, it is the fictionalized biography of O'Hara, who came to America shortly before the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

from Ireland in 1772 to find adventure and fortune on the Indian frontier. He became a trader, soldier and industrialist. He traveled to Western

and helped to build Fort Pitt, which is now the site of modern-day Pittsburgh. O'Hara also became Washington's quartermaster during the war, and was prominent in the early history of Pittsburgh. The book includes characters such as

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

Guyasuta Guyasuta (c. 1725–c. 1794; see, Kayahsotaˀ, either "he stands up to the cross" or "he sets up the cross") was an important Native American leader of the Seneca people in the second half of the eighteenth century, playing a central role i ...

Mad Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

, and

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...

References

* 1963 American novels Novels set in Pittsburgh Biographical novels Houghton Mifflin books Novels set in the 1770s {{1960s-bio-novel-stub