Charles McKnight (1826-1881) was born in Pittsburgh, PA. A graduate of Princeton, he went into the iron business for a short time before becoming the editor and owner of the periodical The Chronicle. He sold that during the Civil War and began publishing and writing for several other periodicals in Philadelphia. In addition, he found time to write novels, publishing Old Fort Duquesne in 1873. This was well-received and was published in England and Germany soon afterward. He also wrote Simon Girty the White Savage, Our Western Border, and several other novels published serially.