John Pope

John Pope (c. 1754 – January 31, 1795) was an American soldier, traveler, and author of the book A Tour through the Southern and Western Territories of the United States of North-America. The book attracted little notice during Pope's lifetime but is valued by historians for its first-hand descriptions of the frontiers of the early United States, including the Spanish provinces of Luisiana and the Floridas as well as the Creek Nation.

Early life and military career John Pope, author of A Tour, was the eldest son of Nathaniel Pope IV (1729–1806) and his wife, Lucy Smith (Fox) Pope (1732–1789) of Louisa County, Virginia. Evidence from A Tour suggests that John Pope was well educated, and tax records imply that he was wealthy, with more than 700 acres of land in his name. He married Lucy DuVal of Henrico County, Virginia, a daughter of Samuel and Lucy (Claiborne) DuVal in 1775 or 1776. Lucy (DuVal) Pope was probably deceased by the time John Pope published A Tour in 1792. He has been tentatively identified with a John Pope Jr. who served as an officer in the militia from that county. In June 1781 this John Pope attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. His battalion took part in battles at Lynch's Ferry, Cowpens, Rockfish Gap, and Jamestown. At the siege of Yorktown this battalion was merged with the "Main Army" commanded by the Marquis de Lafayette.

Namesakes

John Pope, the author, has often been confused with his cousin, also named John Pope. This namesake was born in 1749 in either Westmoreland or Prince William County, Virginia. He lived in Prince William County for most of his life before moving his family to Wilkes County, Georgia, in late 1800 or early 1801. This John Pope died in Wilkes County, Georgia, in the summer of 1802.

By the first of March 1791, Pope set out down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers with a French boatman, arriving at New Madrid on March 4 and dining with the Spanish commandant. Continuing down the Mississippi, Pope met Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, the Spanish governor of Luisiana. After stopping for a week at Natchez, Pope continued downriver to New Orleans, where he stayed six weeks. Despite this new edition, the book remained rare and obscure through most of the twentieth century.

In 1971 the Arno Press printed a facsimile of the 1792 edition that was purchased by many American libraries. In 1979 the University Press of Florida published a facsimile edition of Pope's Tour with an introduction and indexes by historian J. Barton Starr.

In 1985 the book was reproduced on microfiche by Readex Microprint as part of that company's Early American Imprints series.