Depicting his life from his childhood in Pennsylvania to his time as a public official, including his experiences recruiting and training his own troops for the Revolutionary War, Graydon's memoirs provide a unique and personal view of the American Colonial period. First published in 1811, his memoirs were not initially popular, probably because of their inflammatory remarks about public figures ranging from Albert Gallatin to Thomas Jefferson and his followers. Memoirs of a Life Chiefly Passed in Pennsylvania shows Graydon's disdain for those he saw as seduced by power and money and leaves the reader with a critical view of some of the most popular figures of his time.