As there are too many historical facts in the novel to use in a short essay, limit your choices to those that interest you the most: actual people represented in the novel; actual locations and names of forts and towns; actual battles and various skirmishes and attacks; and so forth. Your essay should be based on research and documentation of the sources you used for your information/quotes in your essay. Feel free to include historical photographs and drawings that you may find during the course of your research.