The Last of the Mohicans & How I Survived the French & Indian War
Date and Time:
June 9, 2026 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Events Location:
Carnegie Library Center, 731 College St., Shelbyville, KY, 40065, United States
About The Events
James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Last of the Mohicans, set in 1757 and based on the fall of Fort William Henry in the French and Indian War, represents the birth of American literature. The movie became Hollywood’s most recreated epic about the frontier wilderness and in 1991, Ted Franklin Belue worked as an extra on the set. For this program he will present an overview and influence of Cooper’s work, then discuss the madcap phantasmagorical world that he lived in on a Hollywood film set – a genuine, two-month survival enduro.
Ted Franklin Belue began his professional career as a lecturer at Murray State University, has been a staff writer for Muzzleloader magazine, a member of speakers’ bureau for Kentucky Humanities Council, a History Channel technical and script consultant and commentator, performed as an “extra” for the television broadcasts River Pirates and Frontier Medicine (both for History Channel); a public lecturer and historical consultant. He is the 2021 winner of the Western Writers of America’s prestigious Spur Award. As an author, he has written numerous books including “Finding Daniel Boone,” “The Hunters of Kentucky” and “The Long Hunt.” Belue edited Lyman Draper’s “Life of Daniel Boone” and has published more than 100 essays in trade and scholarly publications. He has served as a consultant/commentator for the INSP Network’s “Wild Americans” and Outdoor Channel’s “SHOOTING USA,” History Channel, A&E, BBC, NBC, and NPR.
The With Liberty & Justice For All speaker series was created by the Shelby County Historical Society and the Countdown to USA 250! Committee. The SAR (Sons of the American Revolution, Gov. Isaac Shelby Chapter), DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution, Isaac Shelby Chapter), Painted Stone Settlers, Inc., and the Shelby County Public Library are partnering with the Shelby County Historical Society to present this series of four programs, this being the final one. These 250th programs were made possible by a generous anonymous donor.
Programs are free and open to the public. This program held at the Carnegie Library Center (731 College St.).
Celebrating 250 Years of History in Shelby County, Kentucky!