As with much else of Drake's work, "Old Nathan" is one part pastiche and one part fanfic. You've mentioned Manly Wade Wellman; these stories were, according to Drake's comments, written as tribute to Wellman's "John The Balladeer" (http://david-drake.com/2000/old-nathan/) There's also an older sci-fi short, "Thy Rocks And Rills", which is probably much more the direct inspiration for Old Nathan than the Wellman stories. It was reprinted in Drake's project "The World Turned Upside Down", a collection edited by Drake and several other Baen writers with the theme of works that had influenced them as writers. (https://www.baen.com/Chapters/0743498747/0743498747___7.htm)