author
Nathaniel C. (Nathaniel Claiborne) Hale
1903–1948
A military officer turned popular historian, he wrote lively books about colonial America, frontier conflict, and Virginia history. His work blends a soldier’s eye for strategy with a storyteller’s feel for adventure.
1 Audiobook
Pelts and palisades: The story of fur and the rivalry for pelts in early America
by Nathaniel C. (Nathaniel Claiborne) Hale
About the author
Graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1925, he first served in the Army, then later returned to duty during World War II. A note published with Pelts and Palisades says he served with the Signal Corps overseas and was commandant of an officers training school before that wartime assignment.
After the war, he became known for accessible history writing. His books include The American Colonial Wars, Virginia Venturer, Pontiac's War, and Pelts and Palisades, works that focus on early America, imperial rivalry, and the frontier.
He also wrote Roots in Virginia, a family and regional history published in 1948. Reliable catalog and family-history records found during research identify him as Nathaniel Claiborne Hale, born in 1903; some library-style listings show an open-ended life date, while family-history sources place his death later than 1948, so the commonly repeated 1903–1948 date appears to reflect publication-era cataloging rather than his full lifespan.