Full text of “History of Southwest Virginia, Washington County, 1777-1780
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^-? Sc History OF Southwest Virginia, 1 746- 1 786, Washington County, 1777-1870. BY LEWIS PRESTON SUMMERS, OF THE ABINGDON BAR, Alumnus of the University of Virginia, and of Tulane University, Louisiana, and Member of the Virginia Historical Society. Richmond, va. : J. L. Hill Printing Company, 1903. CMjAiZ. 1-232 copy THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Two Copies Keceived OCT 21 !903 CopyrighJ Entry 'LAS^J A. XXo. No, ^ M- 1. I COPY A. ' COPYRIGHT 1903 LEWIS PRESTON SUMMERS. This Book is dedicated to the memory of the first settlers of Southwest Virginia, whose enterprise conquered her domain and whose love of freedom and valor in defending their rights have given to, their posterity the blessings of civil and relig- ious liberty. ERRATA. On pau;cs 18 ivnd .'It) the inotto on the Golden Horseshoe presented hy (Jovernor Spotswood to his comrades in the expedition across the Blue Ridge Mountains is fiiven as, "Sic jurat transcendere montes." (Tlius he swears to cross the inonntains.) r am aware that some autliorities state the motto was, "Sic.juvat transcendere niontes." (Thus it deli^lits (us) to cross the mountains.) On page 18, last line, instead of "countries" read "two counties." On page 31, line 14, read "other" between words "the" and "Indians." On page o3, line 5, instead of " settling" read "setting." On page 57, line 11, instead of " Inglish " read " Inglis." On page 73, line 17, instead of ".Tudds' friend" read .Judds Friend." On page 70, line 2, the word " Fountainbleau " should lie " Fountainehleau." On page 93, lines 25 and 2i), instead of " Cloud's Fort " read " Cloud's Ford." On page 114, line 3, instead of " Walden " read " Wallen." On page 14:5, line 4, instead of " Glass " read " Gass." (Jn page 146, line 7, instead of "Bower" read "Bowyer." (^n page 148, line 18, instead of " Isaach " read " Isaac." On page 1()4, line 2, a period should appear after "Burgesses," CoHowcd l)y a new paragraph. On page 184, line 7, instead of "county " read "country." On page 195, line 22, instead of " marehandise" read " merchandise." On page 257, line li, instead of "Washington Districts" read "Washington Dis- trict." On page 291, instead of " 1,098.9" read "1.098." On page 292, line 26, instead of " rank " read " ranks." ( )n page 360, line 2, instead of " was " read " were." On page 361, line 11, instead of "citizens" read "citizen." On page 364, line 5, instead of "commissioners" read "commissioner." On page 367, line 4, instead of "Tranalleghany " read "Transalleghany." On page 369, line 6, instead of " Walliam" read "William." On page 370, line 6, instead of "bans" read " banns." On page 435, line 11, instead of "agents" read "agent.'' On page 448, line 14, instead of "A. S. A." read " U. S. A." On page 461, line 20, Instead of "effecting" read "affecting." On page 463, line 15, instead of "effected " read "affected." On page 488, line U, instead of "Moline del Rey " read "Molino del Rcy." On page .502, line 1, instead of "receive" read "receives." On page 521, line 23, instead of "ordinance" read "ordnance." On page 522, line 1, instead of " Cecill " read " Cecil." On page 571, line 9, instead of "Dupree" read "Dupre." On page 590, line 12, instead of "Hindley Harris" read "Findley Harris." INTRODUCTION. The writer is a native born son of Southwest Virginia, and has always felt a great pride in his country, and since reaching ma- tui-ity has been interested in the history of this section. Jn the schools bnt little has been tanght in regard to the his- tory of this portion of Virginia, as but a small part of its history has been preserved. Our historians have been citizens of Eastern \'n-giiiia or of other States; and while onr people have been mak- ing history from the earliest settlement, scarcely any effort has been made to preserve it, and as a result other parts of our country whose history has been preserved have in many instances received credit that properly belongs to the people of this section of Vir- ginia, and being impressed with this fact, and prompted by a de- sire to preserve the past history of our people, he determined, a few years since, to collect the history of Southwest Virginia, in so far as it was possible, and to rescue the same from oblivion, and in doing this work he has given such time only as he could spare from his professional duties. If an apology is .needed for his effort in thus attempting to pre- serve this history it will bo found in the remark oi Lord Macaulay, wherein he justly observed : "A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants." There can be no question that this section of Virginia has been robbed of much of the honor due her for the early settlement of the vast extent of country to the west and south thereof, and that the noble deeds of her sons have been ascribed to others ; and a knowledge of this fact has rendered necessary the preservation of the deeds of the worthy citizens that this section has produced, not only to gratify the pride of our citizens, but to remind them of the obligations they are under, and to supply them with exam- ples of patriotism which they may seek to emulate. The writer feels his inability to properly perform this task, but hopes that the gleanings he has gathered may suffice in some more skillful hands to weave for the founders and builders of our country 8 Jntroduciory. an enduring garland of glorv, and lie asks a kind iiidnlgoncc of the reader for sucli errors^ omissions, and imperfections as ma}' be found in this work. In the words of Judge Haywood: "Let no one censure his mo- tives, for they are pure. Thcire will indeed be much room to blame the defective perfar-mancc of the author, but this he will hear with the greatest pleasure if the person dissatisfied will, for the benefit of his eountr\'', either produce a more perfect work or con- tribute to tlio merits of this." Ill the pre])aration of this woi'k he has obtained information from various pei-sons and ])laees, hut in nearly every instance has ]-e(|uireil documentary evidence for all statements made, and has. given I'eferences where the statement is liable to be (piestioned, and in quoting original pa])ers has clone so without changing the same in any particular. In the course of the preparation of this work he has received as- sistance from a number of persons, for which he feels deeply grateful. He desires to mention in this connection the following persons: Miss Lucy Land rum, his stenographer, who has faithfidly labored in preparing his manuscript for the printer; W. G. Stan- ard, secretary of the Virginia Historical Society; the secretary of the New York Historical So{;iety, Hon. J. L. Bristow; Fourth As- sistant Postmaster-General, C. A. Dmmington ; Congressional Li- brary, AVashington, D. C. ; Thomas E. N-imnK>, State Library, llich- mon, Va. ; Mrs. IVlargarct C. Pilcher, Nashville, Tenn. ; Prof. T. I). Davidson and maiiy others. L. P. Summers, June 13, 1903. Abingdon, Va.. History of Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870. CHAPTEE I. 1001-1716. The history of Virginia, from the earliest times until the date of the formation of Washington county by the General Assembly of Virginia, is interesting and instructive, and is necessary to a thorough comprehension of thai part of our history subsequent thereto. In the year 1001, the American Continent was discovered by Leif Erickson, a ISTorthman, who sailed west from Greenland, and landed on the coast of America in 411/4 north latitude. He named the land of his discovery Vineland. This discovery was made in the spring of the year, and the luxuriant growth of vegetation that adorned the land suggested the name^ — Vineland. This continent was visited by the ISTorthmen at intervals from the time of the discovery of Erickson until as late as 1347. The visits of the Northmen to America have often been questioned, and were generally doubted, until discoveries made in recent times. An examination of the records and documents to be found in the archives of the Antiquarian Society of Copenhagen put to rest this question. So eminent an authority as Humboldt, after an examination of the record, says : "The discovery of the northern part of America by the Northmen cannot be disputed." No practical benefit resulted from the adventures of the North- men, and in view of the fact that those people ceased to visit the newly discovered country after 1347, and actually forgot the ex- plorations of their people, they are to be given but little credit for their early discoveries. Erom the time of the last visit of the Northmen, in 1347, until the year 1492, the continent of America was unknown to the inhabi- 10 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. tants of the rest of the world ; they had never before heard of such a land; the curtain of oblivion shut out from the vision of man- kind the garden spot of God^s creation. 1492. In the year 1492, Christopher Columbus, a native of Grenoa, Italy, bearing the flag of Spain, after surmounting innumer- able difficulties, sailed west in search of a new land and discovered what afterwards proved to be San Salvador, one of the Bahama Islands. He took possession of the newly discovered land in the name of the King and Queen of Spain. Columbus did not visit the mainland of the American Continent until many years thereafter. Nothing could be more pleasant than to study the life and daring adventures of Columbus and other Spanish, Portuguese, and French explorers, but their efforts are in no way associated with the history of the country that we purpose to deal with in this book ; this pleasure, therefore, must be deferred to another time. Columbus ! His name should be ever revered, and his fame is as imperishable as the continent that he gave by discovery to the world. 1497. John Cabot, in the year 1497, sailing the flag of England, commissioned so to do by Henry VII, discovered Newfoundland and Labrador, and declared that he had found a new world. 1498. The following year John and Sebastian Cabot, under a new commission from the King of England, fitted out an expedi- tion under the charge of Sebastian Cabot, and, sailing in a north- wardly course, sought a rente to the East India Islands, but the inclemency of the weather and the insurpassable barrier of ice forced the abandonment of the original purpose of the expedition. The course of the voyage was consequently changed, and, as a result, Virginia was discovered in the year 1498. John and Sebastian Cabot were the first to discover the Eastern coast of America, and England laid claim to all the vast territory between the 34th and 68th parallels of north latitude from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, basing her claim on this discovery. 1539. De Soto, by a commission from the King of Spain, in the years 1539 and 1540, extended his discoveries from the north of Florida inland to the head waters of the present Holston and Clinch rivers and thence to the Mississippi river. 1584. Eighty-five years intervened -between the time of the Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 11 discoveries of John and Sebastian Cabot and the first permanent set- tlement made in all the vast territory claimed by England by reason of their discoveries, and the honor attending this event justly be- longs to Sir Walter Ealeigh, a young nobleman, a participant in the French Protestant wars, who in 1493 applied to Queen Eliza- beth for assistance in fitting out an expedition for the purpose of planting a Colony in America. In answer to his application the Queen gave him a commission creating him Lord of all that por- tion of the American continent claimed by England. The first expedition sent out by Ealeigh was composed of two ships, and their object was to make discoveries. This expedition sailed in April, 1584, and', on the 13th day of July of the same year, entered Ocracoke inlet within the present limits of North Carolina. Here they remained until September, 1584, at which time they sailed for England, and upon their arrival Elizabeth gave the country the name of Virginia. Immediately upon their return seven ships carrying one hundred and eighty men set sail for the New World and landed at Eoanoke Island in the year 1585. This company, charmed with the prospects, decided to settle on the island. Many of the company, not being accustomed to labor and not being inclined to work, were greatly disappointed in their hopes, became disheartened and, at the first opportunity, returned to England. Sir Eichard Grenville left fifteen men on the island to guard the rights of England., Sir Ealph Lane, one of the returning colonists, introduced the use of tobacco into England, he and the other colonists having learned from the Indians to smoke it. 1587. In 1587 Ealeigh sent out another expedition to settle Eoanoke Island. This expedition was composed of women and children as well as men. Upon reaching their destination in safety they found the tene- ments and fort in ruins and the beasts of the forest feeding on the vegetation where the former settlements had been located. They found, also, scattered about the former settlement, the bones of the fifteen men left by Sir Eichard Grenville. This Colony was in charge of John White. Soon after the land- ing, on August 18th, 1587, a child was bom to Annias and Vir- ginia Dare, to whom was given the name of '"Virginia Dare." This. 13 Southwest Virginia, nJlt.6-1786. was the first white child born of Englisli parents in America. Soon after the birth of Virginia Dare, John White returned to England for supplies for the Colony, leaving behind him eighty-nine men, seventeen women and eleven children. He was delayed on his return voyage and when he arrived at Eoanoke Island after an absence of three years no trace of the Colony could be found except the word Croatan carved on a tree. It is said, but not verified, that some of this Colony found shelter among the Indians on the coast of North Carolina. This story of the first settlement in this part of America remains one of the saddest tragedies in our history. 1606. One hundred and fourteen years had passed since the discovery of America by Columbus, when King James the First of England granted to a company* of wealthy merchants a patent of that part of America lying between the 34th and 45th degrees north latitude and all islands within one hundred miles of the coast. This grant was divided between the London and Plymouth companies. The London Company sent out an expedition composed of one hundred and five colonists under the command of Captain Christo- pher Newport, an experienced seaman. Although this expedition sailed in 1606, it did not reach the mouth of Chesapeake bay until May 15, 1607. f James river and Capes Henry and Charles were discovered and named for the king of England and his sons. The colonists continued the voyage up the James river about fifty miles, when they landed and began the erection of houses and the making of all necessary arrangements for a permanent settlement. Thus was founded Jamestown, and thus occurred, according to a noted histo- rian, "The most important event in profane history," and thus the foundation stones of the greatest commonwealth and republic the world has ever known were laid by m^en whose posterity were destined to kindle a spirit of political and religious liberty such as can be extinguished only with the Anglo-Saxon race. This settlement at Jamestown may be regarded as the starting point of all Virginia histories. The first Colony in Virginia began under circumstances having *Stith— Henning's Statutes at Large, page 60. I Indian name "Powhatan River." Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 13 a tendency to discourage the thoughtful, and reasonably so, because of the fact that of the one hundred and five colonists only twelve were laborers, the remaining ninety-seven being tliriftless and dis- solute. All power was vested in a body of councillors composed of Bartholomew Gosnold, John Smith, Edward Winfield, Christopher Newport, Jolin Eatcliffe, John Martin and George Kendall. Edward Winfield was chosen the first Grovemor of the Colony of Virginia, and thus began civil government in America. Shortly after the settlement Captains Newport and Smith de- cided to explore the country, traveled up the James river as far as the falls and visited Powhatan, the king of the Indians, whose capital was near the present site of the city of Eichmond. After a short stay at the Indian village, Newport and Smith returned to Jamestown. Newport soon left for England, and immediately thereafter trouble arose among the colonists. Win- field was succeeded by Eatcliffe, and Eatcliffe by Captain Smith, who, by his excellent management of the Colony, won the title of the "Father of Virginia." Late in the autumn Captain Newport returned from England, bringing about seventy new colonists, two of the number being women (Mrs. Forrest and Annie Bergess), and a considerable quantity of supplies. Among the new colonists were several gold refiners, who, dis- covering earth near Jamestown having a resemblance to gold, pro- nounced the same gold of the best quality, and, thereupon, the entire Colony forsook all commendable enterprises and wasted their time and energies in loading one of Newport's vessels with this earth, which proved, upon its arrival in England, to be worthless. Another ship returning to England would have been loaded with a similar cargo, but Captain Smith objected, and it was loaded with cedar wood. This was the first valuable cargo exported from this part of America to England. The Colony, having thus wasted their energies and consumed their supplies, would, no doubt, have perished during the winter that followed, had not Captain John Smith exercised the energies of his resourceful mind in feeding and protecting them. The best friend Captain Smith found in this New World was Poca- hontas, the daughter of Powhatan, the chief of the Indians. The 14 Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. colonists charged that Smith intended to marry Pocahontas and make himself king of Virginia. 1608. In the year 1G08 Captain Smith, in a small open barge, explored the Chesapeake bay and its tributaries. 1609. In the month of May, 1609, a new and very beneficial charter was granted the London Company, and the Colony began to prosper. The new charter conferred on the company the powers of the king, the local authority of the Governor was greatly increased and Lord Delaware was made Governor for life. Captain Smith, in this year, divided the Colony and sent a part thereof to mai:e a settlement at the falls of the James river, near Eichmond, and another part thereof to Nansemond. In this year Captain Smith was forced to return to England in consequence of serious injuries received from the explosion of his powder flask. At the time of his departure the Colony numbered four hundred and fifty persons, all abundantly supplied. Thus terminated the career in America of the man who faithfully earned the title of the "Father of Virginia." The Colony thereafter, for a time, was without a competent ruler, and such was the profligacy and viciousness of the ruler they had, and the people, that in a short time the condition of the Colony was changed from prosperity to abject want, and by the spring of 1610 there remained but sixty persons in the Colony, and these were on the verge of starvation. At this time Gates and Somers arrived from the West Indies, and all the Colony, crowding aboard their ships, had actually sailed for Newfoundland, but they were not out of the James river when they were met by Lord Delaware, with three ships, many new set- tlers and a large quantity of provisions, in fact everything requisite to relieve the situation. Lord Delaware prevailed upon the colo- nists to return to Jamestown, where under his splendid manage- ment the Colony prospered again. Unfortunately, in the year 1611 Lord Delaware was forced by bad health to return to England, and the government was placed in the hands of Sir George Percy, a man wanting in authority. In a short time the Colony was again reduced to abject want. Percy was succeeded by Sir Thomas Dale, a man of practical ideas, and again the Colony prospered. He was a soldier by profession, and Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 15 his authority, exercised rightly, met the demands of the hour. During his administration the Colony was augmented by the arrival of three hundred emigrants from England, From the founding of the Colony at Jamestown in 1607 until the latter part of the administration of Sir Thomas Dale all property had been held in common, but he directed a division of property among the colonists, and from this time we may certainly trace an improvement in the conditions of the people. Every man thereafter was dependent upon his individual exer- tions for his livelihood. Laziness was punished by flogging and irons. Mutineers and deserters were punished with death. The lands of the colonists were divided and allotted to the members of the Colony, and then, for the first time, the right of property in lands was recognized in America. Several new settlements were made during this time on both sides of the James river. The administration of the affairs of the Colony was entrusted suc- cessively to Sir Thomas Gates, George Yeardly and Captain Argall, and to George Yeardly again in 1619. The administration of George Yeardly marks an epoch in the history of mankind. Beyond question his inspiration was human liberty and repre- sentative govenment. He believed the colonists should have a hand in the government of themselves. He called a legislative assembly to meet at Jamestown on July 30th, 1619, to be composed of two representatives from each of the eleven boroughs into which the Colony was divided, and this assembly was called the House of Burgesses. Thus was planted the germ from which sprang representative government in x\merica, and thus to Virginia may be credited the honor of being the first State in the world* ''composed of separate boroughs diffused over an extensive surface in which the govern- ment was organized on the principle of universal suffrage." All freemen, without exception, were entitled to vote. In the following year, 1620, a Dutch ship landed at Jamestown and sold to the planters about twenty Africans to be held as slaves, and thus began slavery in America. On the 24th day of July, 1621, the London Company gave to the Virginia colonists a written Constitution, granting all the rights *Bancroft. 16 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. and liberties theretofore granted l)y George Yeardly, and, about the same time, a shipload of English maidens, about one hundred in all, arrived at Jamestown. There was great rejoicing, and general prosperity prevailed; the colonists were no longer numbered by hundreds, but by thousands. 1622. Sir Francis Wyatt became Governor in the year 1G23, and this year witnessed, on March 22d, the massacre of three hun- dred and forty-seven men, women and children by the Indians, but the Colony continued to grow and prosper. The London Company was dissolved by the King in the year 1625, and from this time the crowTi of England dictated the policy of the Colony. Events passed rapidly in Virginia for the next twenty years. One governor after another came and Avcnt, but none of them was of sufficient importance to be mentioned. 1634. /.y-In the year 1634^the territory of Virginia was divided into eight shires or counties similar to those in England. For each shire lieutenants were appointed to look after the military affairs, and sheriffs and justices of the peace were commissioned to hold courts in each of the counties, or shires. Thus was constituted and thus began the county court system that continued with but little change until 1870. 1646. The Virginia Colony in the struggle between Charles T of England and his Parliament S3'mpathized with the King and did not hesitate, upon the death of Charles I, to recognize his son, Charles II, as king. - Cromwell sent a force to subdue the Colony in 1650, but the attempt was futile and the Virginians submitted only upon condi- tion that they be permitted to retain their government and the rights and privileges previously bestowed by the kings of England ; which was readily agreed to. Eichard Bennett was elected Gover- nor, but was shortly thereafter succeeded by Edward Diggs. The next Governor of Virginia was Samuel Mathews, a Virginia planter of forty years' standing. 1660. Upon the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Sir William Berkley again became the Governor of Virginia. 1666. The next event of importance in the history of Virginia arose in the Colony from the dissatisfaction aroused by the acts of the British Parliament and the conduct of Sir William Berkley. A Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 17 large portion of the people of Virginia, under the leadership of JSTathaniel Bacon, rebelled, and drove Sir William Berkley from Jamestown and forced the commissioning of Bacon as a general. These troubles ceased with the death of Bacon. This is known as Bacon's rebellion, and it partook of the spirit that prompted Patrick Henry and the people of Virginia, a hundred years later, to aspire to liberty and independence. For a period of nearly fifty years but little of interest occurred in the history of Virginia save the succession of governors. 1698. The seat of government was removed from Jamestown to Williamsburg in 1698. The reason assigned for the removal was that Williamsburg was healthier, and the situation more convenient. 1710. Alexander Spotswood became the Governor of Virginia in 1710, and with prudence governed the Colony for twelve years. He faithfully guarded the interests of the people of Virginia and, during his administration, inaugurated many new enterprises for their good.. He was the first Postmaster-General for the Colonies and estab- lished many postofiices. Under his administration the mails were regularly carried from Williamsburg to Philadelphia. The one undertaking of this accomplished gentleman and officer that is espe- cially interesting to the people of Western Virginia is the expedition undertaken by him, when, on the 1st day of August, 1716, he set out from Chelsea upon the famous expedition to the Blue Eidge mountains. The Virginia Colony of one hundred and five souls in 1607 had grown to nearly one hundred thousand. Twenty-four counties are to be found in the Colony, and the hardy pioneer was fast pushing his way to the base of the Blue Eidge mountains, but of the country beyond the Blue Eidge mountains notliing was known except the indefinite accounts of Indian traders. Governor Spotswood determined to explore this unknown region and, leaving the home of his son-in-law at Chelsea, in August, 1716, accompanied by a gay and gallant band, he began his journey through a dense wilderness inhabited by beasts of prey and the cruel savage, and after thirty-six days of incessant toil and fatigue, the Governor and his party, on September 5, 1716, reached the sum- mit of one of the highest peaks of the Blue Eidge mountains, at Swift Eun Gap, Augusta county, Virginia. 18 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. What a spot ! What an occasion ! What must have been the feel- ings experienced by these gallant knights, when for the first time the beautiful Shenandoah was presented to their vision! The inspiration of the occasion must have been full compensation for all the toil and perseverance expended in the effort. Governor Spots- wood, in commemoration of this expedition into the heart of the savage wilderness, presented each of the company with a small golden horse-shoe set with jewels, and this was the origin of the order, "Knights of the Golden Horse-Shoe." The inscription upon the golden horse-shoe was "Sic jurat trans- cendere montes.'^ (Thus he swears to cross the mountains), and it is stated that these mementoes were given to all who would accept them, promising to comply with the terms of the inscription. Spotswood Crossing the Blue Ridge. Governor Spotswood and his company descended the western side of the mountain into the valley, and, finding a ford, they crossed the Shenandoah river and "took possession of the country for King George the First of England." They crossed the Shenandoah river on September 6th and called it the Euphrates. Thus the first passage of the Blue Eidge into the Valley of Virginia was made by Governor Spotswood at this time, but, as early as 1710, a company of adventurers found and went to the top of the highest mountain with their horses, but did not pass over it into the valley, by reason of the lateness of the season. Abraham Wood had visited the New Eiver section in the year 1654. 1738. In the year 1738 the House of Burgesses of Virginia passed a bill for the formation of two countries west of the Blue Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 19 Eidge mountains, and accordingly Orange county was divided and that part of Orange county west of the Blue Eidge mountains was formed into two counties, called Frederick and Augusta counties. Thus was opened to settlement a magnificent country of which Washington county is a part, and as the history of Washington county is inseparably connected with the early history of Augusta county, I will here take leave of the general history of Virginia. 20 . Southwest Virginia, 17JiG-17SG. CHAPTER II Indians Living in Close Pkoximity to Southwest Virginia. The discovery of America by Columbus in 1492 can be attrib- uted to the pious zeal of the Queen of Spain to extend the bene- fits of the religion of Eome to all manldnd, and to the search for gold. It is a matter of history that the Queen of Spain, to enable Columbus to explore the western seas, sacrificed many of the jewels pertaining to her queenly estate. And the Queen of Spain was but one of many emissaries of the church, who, in their zeal, were ready, to brave tlie unknown seas and to make any sacrifices to serve their master. With Columbus came a number of priests, and with every ship that sailed from the co-ast of Spain, France, Portugal and Italy, the missionaries of the cross were to be numbered among the passengers, bound for Amer- ica, determined to explore the New World, hunt out the inhabitants thereof, and convert them' to their master. Thus, within a few years after the discovery of America, priests were to be found in almost every part of the New World, exploring the country and teaching the Indians their blessed religion. The priesthood of Rome in those early days were educated, energetic, observing men, as they have ever been, and it is to this source that we must look for the earliest histor}^ of our country and of the Indian inhabitants for many years previous to the coming of the Anglo-Saxon race. These early visitors to this portion of America preserved a history of their times, and it is to be found in the archives of the govern- ments of France, Spain and Portugal, and of the Church of Rome. This investigation will not permit any inquiry extending beyond the limits of that portion of Southwest Virginia included within the bounds of Washington county. In the year 1539 Hernando De Soto landed at Tampa, Florida, with orders from the Court of Spain to form a settlement on the seashore and to explore Florida to its westernmost limits. The Spanish government at that time contended that Florida included all that part of America extending from the Gulf of Mexico on the south to Virginia on the north, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Southwest Virginia, llJ^G-nSG. 21 Pursuant to his authority De Soto, at the head of a thousand nien, exploring the country, traveled in a northerly direction to the home of the Appalaches, a tribe of Indians living on the banks of a river in Georgia called by the Indians Witchlacooche ; thence, continuing in a northerly direction, they passed near the present site of Columbia, S. C, where they struck the Santee river, thenoe pass- ing up the Saluda branch of the Santee, they came, for the first time, to a country uninhabited, and found it difficult to obtain food sufficient to sustain themselves, but sending out companies of men to search for Indians, after some time a party of men returned to camp accompanied by a few Indians, who, being questioned, informed De Soto that to the north of them there lived a powerful tribe of Indians on the Hogoheegee river (Tennessee river), to which place they traveled. This tribe of Indians was called, at that time, Cafitachique and was governed by a queen. The historian of this expedition, Louis Hernandez De Biedma, says : "We remained ten or twelve days in the Queen's village, and then set off to continue our explorations of the country." De Soto marched thence ton days in a northerly direction through a mountainous country where but little food was to be found until he reached a province called Xuala, which was thinly settled. Ho then ascended to the source of the Great river,* which he supposed was the St. Esprit. This information was furnished by De Biedma to the King and council of the West Indies in 1544 and is now in existence and fully authenticated. To any one who will take the time and trouble to investigate this matter it will be evident that De Soto and his followers explored the country from Florida to the Queen's village, which must have been on the Tennessee river near the present site of Knoxville, Tennessee. Thence ascending the same to its sources they were, as early as 1540, beyond question, visitors to the territory now included within the boundaries of Washington county. The course pursued and the time required, it has been aptly said, confirm this opinion. But a small part of the account of this trip of exploration has been herein copied, but space will not permit much to be said. The reader must not conclude from what has been said that De Soto and his followers met with no resistance from the inhabitants of *The Indians always spoke of the Tennessee river as the Great river. 23 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. the country through which they passed, for this same account de- tails the incidents connected with many desperate battles between the invaders and the invaded, and at no part of the journey did De Soto meet such magnificent specimens of mankind or find greater resistance than upon his arrival at the Queen's village on the Ten- nessee and in his progress thence to the sources of the Great river. De Biedma tells us that the inhabitants of Xuala were a hardy race, living in log houses daubed with clay and very comfortable in the winter season, but that during the summer months they usually reposed in the open air, spending much of their time in hunting. According to this same authority they used sharped-edged stones, slings, bows, arrows and clubs in war and peace. Many evidences of the instruments used by the Indians and the places of their manufacture are to be found in Southwest Virginia at this date. The inhabitants of Xuala lived, as did all the Indian inhabitants south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers, in towns, but the towns of the inhabitants of Xuala differed from those of most other tribes of Indians in this, that their towns generally were so built as to combine the requisites of a town and a fort. These forts were circular and varied in size from three hun- dred to six hundred and a thousand feet in diameter. They were sometimes built of stone, and in other instances of earth. The embankments were from six to ten feet high and in many cases surrounded by ditches of requisite width and depth. They were used as towns as well as forts. Many fragments of carved stone and earthenware are to be found near those old forts. The remnants of these forts or towns can be found in Southwest Virginia at this time. In Castle's Woods, Eussell county, as well as on the farm of T. P. Hendricks and at other places in this county, the evidences of former Indian towns are clearly perceptible. A stone fort of great size formerly stood in Abb's Valley, Taze- well county, and what is spoken of as a remarkable fort is to be found on the farm formerly owned by a Mr. Crockett near Tazewell C. H., having evident traces of trenches and something like a draw- bridge. An Indian town stood upon the Byars farm in the upper end of this county, and the Indian name thereof is preserved : "Kilmack- ronan." Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 23 These forts and other eyidences of Indian occupancy must be attributed to the men occupying Xuala at the time of the visit of De Soto in 1540, for they cannot be the product of the Cherokees. since an examination of the age of trees found growing on these forts is sufficient to show that they were there before the coming of the Cherokees, and, for this better reason, these forts were not built after the manner of the Cherokees. From a perusal of the preceding pages it is evident that the land of the Xualas of three hundred and sixty years ago was none other than Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee, and that it was peopled by a hardy, ingenious, war-like race. It is proper to state here that many historians repudiate the idea that De Soto visited Southwest Virginia in 1540, but it is the opinion of this writer that he did visit this section at that time, and this opinion is given after a careful perusal of all available authorities. We know nothing further of the people who inhabited Xuala, or Southwest Virginia in 1540. A tradition existed among the Chero- kees that these people were driven from Southwest Virginia by the Cherokees some time in the ages preceding the coming of the white man, but no authentic information exists by which their exit can be noted. Captain Henry Batte with a company of rangers, by direction of Governor Berkley, crossed the Blue Eidge mountains at "Wood's Gap now in Floyd county, in 1671 and came near to the habitations of a tribe of Indians living on a river flowing westward, said by the Indian guides to be the makers and venders of salt to Ihe other Indian tribes, and Trembling, in many particulars, the inhabitants of Xuala as described by De Biedma, and it is rn^re than prob- able that the early inhabitants of Southwest Virginia were not driven from their homes until after 1671. As far as I can ascertain, the Indian inhabitants of Southwest Virginia have been Xualans, Cherokees and Shawnese. Some time between the years 1671 and 1685 the Xualans were driven from Southwest Virginia by the Cherokee tribe of Indians, and this tribe is closely identified with the settlement of Southwest Virginia. Adair, an early writer, says that this tribe of Indians derive their name from Chee-ra "fire," which is their reputed lower heaven. 24 Southwest Virginia, 17 Ji 6-17 80. The origin of this tribe is not known, but a tradition existed among them that when they crossed the Alleghanies they found a part of the Creek Nation inhabitating this countr}^, and it may be that the Creek Indians were the inhabitants of ancient Xuala. The Cherokees were the mountaineers of ahoriginal America; they loved their homes, were brave to a fault, and were never happy except when engaged in war. This nation and many of their villages will be frequently men- tioned in connection with the early exploration and settlement of Southwest Virginia, for many times did our ancestors suffer from their vigor and enterprise. This tribe of Indians gave names to most of the rivers in South- west Virginia, and it may be proper to here detail the aboriginal names of the rivers of Southwest Virginia. The Holston river from its source to the junction of the French Broad, was called the Hogoheegee, and from thence to the mouth of the Little Tennessee river it was known as the Cootcla. The early maps of this section of America made by the French explorers gave to the Holston river the name of the Cherokee river ; to the Clinch they gave the name of Shawanon, and to the same river the English gave the name of Shawanoa, and the Indian name for the Clinch river was Pellissippi. The Cherokees were not long permitted to enjoy the fruits of their conquest, for as early as 1672 the confederacy of the Six Nations conquered the Illinois and Shawnese Indians, the latter tribe being a part of the Six Nations. In 1685 they added to their conquests the Miamis and carried their victorious arms to the Mississippi and south as far as Georgia, a vast territory twelve hundred miles in length and six hundred miles in breadth, and, in doing so, destroyed whole nations of In- dians of whom no record was found by the English. The Cherokees were driven south of the Tennessee, and settled upon the Savannah and in the territory south of the Tennessee, and there made their homes until moved by the Anglo-Saxon settlers about one hundred years thereafter. Thus the vast extent of territory lying south and east of the Ohio river and including Southwest Virginia was conquered, but not occupied, by the confederacy of the Six Nations, and its inhabitants were driven into other countries. It thus became a vast wilderness, Southwest Virgmia, 1746-1786. 25 never thereafter to be occupied until the coming of the white man, except by roving bands of Indians while himting, or in passing from their habitations in the south to the Indian towns and villages in Ohio. This vast park was filled ^vith the finest game in great quantities, and, for more than one hundred years previous to its settlement by the Anglo-Saxon, it was jointly used, as if by common consent, as a hunting ground by the Cherokees, Shawnese and Six Nations, but the Cherokees were compelled to admit the superior title of the Six Nations to the sovereignty of the soil, which they did by frequent gifts of game killed within the territory. Some writers, in explanation of the absence of the Indians from this section of America at the time of the early explorations of the white man, give the following as a tradition of the Cherokees and Shawnese: "tbat in so favored a land, where man's natural wants are so fully satisfied, there could be no community of peace and happiness^, that with such ease to the body and disquiet to the soul the councils of man must always overflow with the vanities of argument and the pride of innate egotism; so the tradition was, that once of old there was a delegated assemblage of the chiefs of the Indian tribes for a conference with the Great Spirit, at which conference the Great Spirit detailed certain great calamities that had befallen them in the paradise of Hogoheegee, which were trace- able to the causes named above, and thereupon the Great Spirit ordered all their nations to remeve beyond certain boundaries, out of this Eden, which the Great Spirit informed them was too easy of life for their content and happiness and their future security." Thereupon this vast empire was consigned to the peaceful domin- ion of nature, and all the lands upon the waters from the Holston to the headwaters of the Kentucky and Cumberland rivers were with- out permanent inhabitants. The first cause above assigned was the true cause of the uninhab- ited condition of Southwest Virginia, the enmity between the Chero- kees and Shawnese. This enmity was such as to deter both tribes from any considerable aggressions on this territor}^, the middle ground between the nations. Many battles were fought between these two nations, and, even so late as the summer of 1768, a des- 26 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. perate battle was fought between the Cherokees and Shawnese near Eieh Mountain,* in Tazewell county, Virginia. Early in the summer of 1768 about two hundred Cherokee In- dians camped near a lick in that part of Southwest Virginia to spend the summer in hunting. They were soon disturbed by the appearance of several hundred Shawnese Indians, their deadly enemies. The Shawnese chief immediately sent orders to the Cherokees to leave the lick and the hunting grounds, but his messenger was sent back with a defiant answer by the Cherokees and both parties began to prepare for battle. The Cherokees retired to the top of Rich Montain and there threw up, before night, a breastwork consisting of an embankment running along the top of the mountain about eighty yards and then turning off down the mountain side, the em- bankment being three or four feet high and running east and west. The battle was opened the evening of the first day, but after some fighting the Shawnese withdrew and made preparations to begin the attack the following morning. It is said that long before day the fiendish yells of the warriors might be heard echoing over the rugged cliffs and deep valleys of the surrounding country. Day came, and for the space of half an hour, a deathlike stillness reigned on the mountain top and side. With the first rays of the rising sun a shout ascended the skies as if all the wild animals in the woods had broken forth in all their most terrifying notes. The sharp crack of rifles and the ringing of tomahawks against each other, the screams of women and children and the groans of the dying now filled the air around. Both parties were well armed and the contest was nearly equal, the Shawnese having most men, while the Cherokees had the advan- tage of their breastworks. Through the entire day the battle raged, and when night closed in, both parties built fires and camped on the ground. During the night the Cherokees sent to two white men then in the vicinity for powder and lead, which they furnished. When the sun rose the next morning the battle was renewed with the same spirit in which it had been fought on the previous day. In a few hours, however, the Shawnese were compelled to retire. The loss on both sides was great. A large pit was dug and a common *Bickley's History of Tazewell County. Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 27 grave received those who had fallen in this the last battle fought between the red men in this section of America. The battle-ground, breastwork and great grave are still to be seen. At the time of the earlier explorations of Southwest Virginia the nearest permanent Indian settlements were to be found south of the Tennessee river. Many vestiges of an earlier and numerous population were found in Southwest Virginia and, in many instances, are still to be seen, indicating a state of civilization far in advance of that found among the Indians of that day. Tlie first hunters and explorers in their many exped^itions throughout all this vast territory never found a single wigwam cr Indian village., It was nothing more than the common hunting ground of the Cherokees and Shawnese. Along the valley of what is known as Southwest Virginia lay the usual route of travel between the Southern and Northern Indians, whether engaged in peaceful intercourse or warlike expeditions, and by this same path they traveled when on the chase or their migra- tions. Several considerations prompted the Indians to adopt this course in their travelings, viz. : such as the ease with which the mountains could be crossed, the abundance of game, the absence of swamps and large streams of impassable water and the absence of hostile inhabi- tants, and these same considerations led to the early settlement of this section and the adoption of this route of travel by the early Scotchf^rish and English settlers of Kentucky and Tennessee. One of these routes or Indian trails was nearly on the present McAdam road passing Eoanoke, Va., thence to New Eiver near Inglis' Ferry, thence, following the same McAdam road, to Seven Mile Ford, thence to the left of the present main road and following near to the present location of the same by Abingdon until it strikes the North Fork of Holston river a few miles above the Long Island of Holston river, crossing the same at the old ford of the North Fork and on into Tennessee until it connected with the great warpath of the Creeks. Near Wolf Hills, now Abingdon, another route or trail came in from the northwest. This trail from the northwest pursued nearly the route traveled by the early settlers to Kentucky, crossing the mountains at Cumberland Gap. A more 28 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. minute description of this trail will be given in another and more appropriate place in this book. This trail crossed the first above described Indian trail at a point on West Main street where the Eussell road leaves Main street. The statement has been often made that an Indian trail followed the northwest bank of the JSTorth Fork of Holston river through this count}', but I am not satisfied that such was a fact. Bickley, in his history of Tazewell county, says the principal Indian trails through Tazewell county led through the Clinch Val- ley, but after the whites began to settle, these Indian trails all led from the Ohio river. One of these trails led up the Indian Eidge (now on the boundary between Virginia and West Virginia) till opposite the Trace Fork of Tug river; it then crossed over to that braiich and, keeping into the lowest gap of the hills, led into Abb's Valley. Another trail, afterwards much used by the whites, left the Indian Eidge and struck Tug river at the mouth of Clear Fork creek, thence up that creek till it fell over on a branch emptying into tlie Dry Fork of Tug river. It then followed that stream to its head and passed through Eoark's Gap, near Maxwell's, in Taze- well county. Another trail cauie up the Louisa Fork of Sandy river, leading into the settlements on Clinch river, now in Eussell and Tazewell counties. It is worthy of notice tliat these trails always crossed the mountains and ridges at the lewdest gaps to be found, and frequently, built in these gaps, are to be found monuments of rock piled up oftentimes to considerable height. Several of these monuments may be seen in this coimty, in Little Moccasin Gap, on the Byars farm on Middle Fork, on the Mahaffey farm on South Fork, and another in Eoark's Gap, in Tazewell county. Eamsey, in his Annals of Tennessee, states that the first described Indian trail after leaving Seven Mile Ford bore to the left and fol- lowed the Middle and South Forks of Holston river until it crossed the North Fork of Holston river at the Old Ford above Long Island in Tennessee. In making this statement the historian may be correct, and some evidences yet remain that might be given to sustain this statement, notably a small Indian mound and the vestiges of an old Indian village (Kilmackronan), on the north and south sides of the Middle Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 29 Fork of Holston river, where the same passes through the farm formerly owned by Captain James Byars near Glade Spring, and a small Indian mound on the farm formerly owned by J. Gr. Mahaffey about six miles southeast of Abingdon. But we cannot admit this statement to be coj-rect, because the route as described is inconsistent with the habits of the Indians, besides, it does not confonn to the course pursued by the early set- tlers of this section of Virginia. The Indian in traveling (almost without a single exception, as far as I can ascertain) followed that course of travel which would, as far as possible, avoid the crossing of water, and of course he followed the highlands near the headwaters of the creeks and rivers. It is evident to every man conversant with the topography of this county that he would have passed through this county near Glade Spring, Meadow View and Abingdon. It is generally accepted as true that the early hunters and explor- ers in this, as well as other sections of Virginia and the United States, followed, almost without a single deviation, the trails made and used by the Indians. And to this cause may be attributed the fact that many of the public roads of this section when first estab- lished were located over the steepest hills and ridges to be found in our country. In other words, the Indian made his trail over the hills to avoid the waters ; the white man adopted the Indian trail as his road becaiise it was already open, and possibly, to some extent, for the same reason as the Indian, to avoid crossing water. We know that the early hunters and settlers traveling through and settling in this section, after leaving Seven Mile Ford passed througli the Byars farm near Glade Spring, thence near Meadow View and through the location of Abingdon of the present day, and into Tennessee. Another statement made by Eamsey as to this same Indian trail is frequently challenged, and for very good reason. Ramsey states that this Indian trail crossed the North Fork of Holston river above Long Island as above stated, while from all present indications this trail crossed the South Fork of Holston river at Long Island. At least evidences of an Indian trail and ford are to be seen near Long Island at this time, and it is not reasonable to believe 30 Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. that the Indians would cross the Xorth Fork of the Holston river and then the Holston river proper to reach his towns and home, when he could cross the South Fork of Holston once and reach his home. While Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee were unoccupied by the Indians at the time of the early settlements, still it may not be amiss to give briefly a description of the Indian tribes that pre- ceded our forefathers and afterwards gave them so much trouble in their first undertakings. As to the remote Indian inhabitants of this section of the Ameri- can Continent, nothing authentic is known beyond the evidences of their occupancy to be gathered from tumuli scattered throughout the country and the remains found in close proximity thereto. These remains indicate the existence, at some distant time, of a dense population, civilized to a great extent, and it is not improb- able that at a time in the past all this section was the seat of a civilization that would have compared favorably with that of Greece and Eome. The Cherokee Indians Icnew nothing further of these vestiges than that their forefathers found them here, and they considered them the evidences of a numerous population far advanced in civili- zation. The modern Indian held in great veneration these evidences of an extinct tribe, and never used them save for religious purposes. The piles of stones often found scattered throughout the country, generally to be found in the gaps of the mountains and ridges, are believed to be the work of modern Indians. The modern Indian was of an exceedingly superstitious turn, as all barbarians or heathen nations have been. It has been for all time not uncommon to find, in heathen coun- tries, similar heaps of stone erected by the inhabitants at some particular spot, as an offering to an evil spirit, who, according to their superstitions, would afflict or bless the passer-by. A pile of stone, such as indicated, may be seen near the main turnpike road as it passes through Little Moccasin Gap. The Indian tribes that molested the early settlers in this section were the Cherokees and the Shawnese. Adair, an early Indian trader, and later historian, in describing the Indian and his passion for revenge, says: 'Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 31 "I have known them to go a thousand miles for the purpose of revenge, in pathless woods, over hills and mountains, through large cane swamps full of grape-vines and briars, over broad lakes, rapid rivers and deep creeks and all the way endangered by poisonous snakes, if not by the rambling and lurking enemy, while, at the same time, they were exposed to the extremities of the heat and cold, the vicissitudes of the season, to hunger and thirst, both by chance and their religiously scanty method of living when at war, to fatigue and other difficulties. Such is their revengeful temper that all these things they contemn as imaginary trifles, if they are so happy as to get the scalp of their enemy." And this record is preserved by a man who spoke from his experience with the Cherokee Indians, the one tribe that gave the early settlers of this section more trouble than all the Indian tribes combined. CHEROKEES. The Cherokee tribe of Indians, at the time of the. settlement of Southwest Virginia, inhabited one of the most attractive sections of the American Continent, occupying the banks of the Catawba, Savannah, Yadkin and Tennessee rivers on the east and south and several of the feeders of the Tennessee on the west. There were no fortresses to be found among them. Their settle- ments were rude huts scattered irregularly along some water way convenient to good pasture land and hunting and fishing grounds. They usually had small clearings which were cultivated by the women and children in Indian corn and beans. But little of the history of the Cherokees can be gathered from their traditions. The existence of this tribe of Indians was noted by the historian of the expedition of De Soto when traveling in the South, and it is said that they came originally from east of the Alleghany mountains. Their principal town or capital city was Choto, located about five miles from the ruins of Fort Loudon, in Tennessee. They were the mountain people of America and loved their homes and their liberties. They frequently aided the early settlers of this portion of America in their wars with the French and English, a company of Indians from this tribe having participated in the siege of Fort Du Quesne 32 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. under Captain Pearls, but much oftener did they carry death into the homes of tlie early settlers of the Carolinas and Virginia. This tribe, previous to 1769, were numerous and exceedingly quarrelsome and arrogant. At this time they quarreled with the Chickasaw Indians and undertook an invasion of their country, but were overwhelmed by the Chickasaws after a great battle at the Chickasaw old fields. This overwhelming defeat occurred at the same time that Arthur Campl)ell, William Edmiston, and many other ' hardy pioneers fii-st pitched their tents on the waters of the Holston and Clinch, and there can be no doubt that this occurrence contributed much to the rapid settlement of this section of Virginia. For thirty years following the advent of the first settlers into this country the Cherokees killed and scalped the inhabitants at every opportunity. The population of tliis tribe in 1735 was considerable. Adair says that they had sixty^four populous towns, and their fighting men numbered ahove six thousand.. In the year 1776 the number of warriors pertaining to this tribe was two thousand four hundred and ninety-one. This h-lhe of Indians now occupy a part of the Indian Territory. It will be remembered that the Cherokees used principally the val- leys of the Holston in their hunting expeditions and seldom visited the valleys of the Clinch. SIIAWNESE. But little can be said of this Indian tribe save that it was known as a wandering nation. At times in their history they occupied territory in almost all sections of the country east of the Mississippi river and south of the Lakes, but at the time when this tribe gave trouble to our ancestors their homes were on the Wabash and Miami rivers, where they built many villages. Their principal town, called "Piquo,^' was the birthplace of the great Tecumseh. This tribe had a tradition respecting their origin. They believed their fathers crossed the ocean from the East under the guidance of a leader of the Turtle tribe, one of their original subdivisions, and that they walked into the sea, the waters of which parted, and thus passed over on the bottom to this -land. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 33 This tribe of Indians were responsible for many of the murders and outrages suffered by the early settlers on the Clinch and many times on the Holston, the Indians coming by the trails through Cumberland Gap and the trails coming into Tazewell county pre- viously described. The population of this tribe in 1735 did not, according to Adair, exceed four hundred and fifty souls. This tribe of Indians assisted the British in the wars of 1776 and 1812, and in the latter struggle did effective service for their British allies. In 1817 they ceded their lands in Ohio to the United States and were soon confined to a small reservation west of the Mississippi river. 34 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. CHAPTEE III Eaely Explorations of Southwest Virginia by the White Man. From the time of the first settlement at Jamestown in 1607, the English Colony had grown rapidly and had expanded until their western borders were in view of the Blue Eidge. With the usual vigor and enterprise of the Anglo-Saxon, we find, in the year 1641, a number of the citizens of Virginia petitioning the House of Bur- gesses for permission to undertake the discovery of a new river of land west and southerly from the Appomattox, and, in March, 1642, we find the House of Burgesses passing an act granting such per- mission. The act is as follows : "Forasmuch as Walker Austin, Eice Hoe, Joseph Johnson and Walter Chiles, for themselves and such others as they shall think fitt to joyn with them, did petition in the Assembly in June 1641 for leave and encouragement to undertake the discovery of a new river of unknowne land bearing west southerly from Appomattake river. Be it enacted and confirmed, that they and every one of them and whom they shall admit shall enjoy and possess to them, their heirs, executors, administrators or assigns all profit whatsoever they in their particular adventure can make unto themselves by such discovery aforesaid, for fourteen years after the date of the said month of January, 1641, provided there be reserved and paid into his Majesty's use by them' that shall be appointed to receive them, the fifth part of Eoyal Mines whatsoever ; provided also, that if they shall think fit to employ more than two or three men in the said discovery they shall then do it by commission from the Governor of the Councill."* It is well to preserve this the earliest known evidence of the desire of any man to hunt out the very country we now occupy. The names of a portion of these first daring spirits, Austin, John- son and Chiles, afterwards became familiar to our own country, and while no evidence is at hand to establish the fact, yet it is more than probable that these men by their efforts made possible the future success of Walker, Draper, Inglis, Wood, and others. ^1 Hen. Stat., p. 262. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 35 The record of the next effort to reach this portion of the wilder- ness by the enterprising citizens of Eastern Virginia is to be found in an act of the House of Burgesses of Virginia passed in July, 1653j more than a hundred years before a permanent settlement was effected on the waters of the Clinch or Holston rivers. The Act is as follows. Passed July, 1653 : "Whereas, an act was made in the Assembly, 1642, for encour- agement of discoveries to the westward and southward of this country, granting them all profits arising thereby for fourteen years, which act is since discontinued and made void, it is by this Assembly ordered that Colonel William Clayborne, Esq., and Captain Henry Fleet, they and their associates vidth them, either jointly or severally, may discover, and shall enjoy such benefits, profits and trades for fourteen years as they shall find out in places where no English ever have been and discovered, nor have had par- ticular trade, and to take up such lands by patents proving their rights as they shall think good : nevertheless, not excluding others after their choice from taking up land and planting in these new discovered places, as in Virginia now versed. The like order is granted to Major Abram Wood and his associates." The three gentlemen, William Clayborne, Henry Fleet and Abra- ham Wood, mentioned in this act, each represented a shire in the Virginia House of Burgesses, and were intent, no doubt, upon the acquisition of wealth and the development of the country. We have no information that leads us to believe that any of the persons named in the preceding act, with the exception of Colo- nel Abraham Wood, at any time made an effort to accomplish the purpose of that act. Dr. Hale, in his book 'entitled "Trans- Alleghany Pioneers,'^ makes the following statement : "The New river was first discovered and named in 1654 by Colo- nel Abraham Wood, who dwelt at the falls of the Appomattox, now the site of Petersburg, Va.^' Being of an adventurous and speculative turn, he got from the Governor of Virginia a concession to explore the country and open up trade with the Indians to the west. There is no record as to the particular route he took, but as the line of adventure, explora- tion and discovery was then all east of the mountains, it is prob- 36 Southwest Virginia, 171^0-1786. able that he first struck the river not far from the Blue Kidge and near the present Virginia and North Carolina lines.'' I do not know from what source Dr. Hale obtained this infor- mation, and I give it for what it is worth. It is reasonable to believe that Colonel Wood made this trip, and, to support this view, three circumstances may be mentioned. First. The House of Burgesses of Virginia had authorized Colo- nel Wood, along with others, in July of the preceding year, to discover a new river of unknown land where no English had ever been or discovered. Secondly. A gap in the Blue Ridge, lying between the headwaters of Smith river, a branch of the Dan, in Patrick county, and of Little river, a branch of New river, in Floyd county, is to this day called Wood's Gap. Thirdly. The present New river was known at first as Wood's river. It is known that at the time Thomas Batts and a company of men acting under the authority of Colonel Wood visited this section in the year 1671, Wood's Gap and New river had been previously visited and named by Colonel Wood. In the year 1671, Thomas Batts and several other persons traveled from the falls of the Appomattox, the present site of Pe- tersburg, Va., acting under a commission from Governor Berkley, to explore the country west of the Blue Ridge mountains and the South Sea. It is worthy of notice that at the time this expedition was under- taken it was believed that the waters flowing westward beyond the Appalachian mountains emptied into the South Sea. This was the first effort made to explore the country west of the Blue Ridge, of which any record has been preserved. A journal of this expedition was made by Thomas Batts, one of the company. The first entry in this journal is as follows : "A commission being granted the Hon. Maj. Gen. Wood for ye finding out of the ebbing and flowing of ye waters behind the mountains in order to the discovery of the South Sea: Thomas Batts, Thomas Wood, Robert Fallen, accompanied by Perachute, a great man of the Appomattox Indians, and Jack Nesan, formerly servant to Majr. Genl. Wood, with five horses, set forward from Appomattox town in Va., and about eight of the clock in the morn- ing being Fryday Septr. 1st. 1671, and traveling about forty miles, took up their quarters and found they had traveled from Okene- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 37 chee path due west: They traveled for twenty-five days, a part of the time through that portion of Virginia, near the present line between this State and North Carolina, but when they reached the foot of the Alleghany Mountains where the same merges into the Blue Eidge, now in Floyd Co. Va., they turned to the north west at a low place in the said mountain known as Wood's G-ap; and after some time they came to a river which Genl. Wood had named Wood's Eiver.* This river for many years thereafter was known as Wood's Eiver, and many of the early patents in that section of the country describe the lands as located upon Wood's Eiver." The entry in this diary of date the 16th of Sept. says : "About ten of the clock we set forward and, after we had traveled about ten miles, one of the Indians killed a deer; presently after they had a sight of a curious river like the Thames agt. Chilcey (Chel- sea), which having a fall yt made a great noise, whose course was N. and so as they supposed, ran W. about certain pleasant mountains which they saw to the westward. At this point they took up their quarters, their course having been W. by N. At this point they found Indian fields with cornstalks in them. They marked the trees with the initials of the company, using branding irons, and made proclamation in these words: 'Long live King Charles ye 2nd. king of England, France, Scotland, Ireland and Virginia and all the terrytories thereunto belonging, defender of the faith.' "Wlien they came to ye river-side they found it better and broader than they expected, fully as broad as the Thames over agt, Maping, ye falls much like the falls of the James Eiver in Va., and imagined by the water marks it fiowed there about three feet. It was then ebbing water. They set up a stick by the water, but found it ebbed very slowly." At this point their Indian guides stopped, and refused to go any farther, saying that there dwelt near this place a numerous and powerful tribe of Indians that made salt and sold it to the other tribes, and that no one who entered into their towns had ever been able to escape. Thereupon the trip was abandoned and they started on their return to their homes without having accomplished the object of the exploration, to-wlt: the finding of the South Sea. But the journal adds that when they were on the top of the hill they took a prospect as far as they could see and saw westwardly *Now New River. 38 Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. over certain delightful hills a fog arise, and a glimmering light as from water, and supposed they might be from some great bog. Many writers suppose that this exploring party, after reaching the New river, descended the same to the falls of the Kanawha, but it is more than probable that after they reached the river they ascended the same, and the stopping point mentioned in the diary was in Southwest Virginia, and near where the New river first enters Virginia. Upon the return of this company to their homes Governor Berk- ley was very much interested in their report, but strange as it may seem to the reader, no further attempts were made by au- thority of the Government of Virginia for forty years to explore the country west of the mountains. It will be seen from' the journal of Thomas Batts that he and his associates, and, beyond a doubt. Colonel Abraham Wood an- ticipated, by more than half a century. Governor Spotswood and his Knights of the Golden Horse-Shoe, in the exploration and dis- covery of the country west of the Blue Ridge mountains. The next effort made to explore the region west of the moun- tains, of which we have any account, occurred in 1716, forty-five years after the journey made by Thomas Batts, above described, and sixty years subsequent to the visit of Colonel Abraham Wood. In the month of August, 1716, Governor Alexander Spotswood, with several members of his staff, left Williamsburg by coach and proceeded to G^rmania, where he left his coach and proceeded on horseback. At Germania this party was supplemented by a num- ber of gentlemen, their retainers, a company of rangers, and four Meherrin Indians — about fifty persons in all. They journeyed by way of the upper Eappahannock, and on the thirty-sixth day out, being September 5, 1716, they scaled the Blue Eidge at Swift Run Gap, now in Augusta county. John Fontaine, a member of this company, has left a journal of this expedition, and therein thus describes what occurred when they reached the summit of the Blue Ridge: "We drank King George's health and all the royal family's at the very top of the Appalachian mountains." The company then descended the western side of the mountain, and, reaching the Shenandoah river, they encamped upon its banks. Fontaine thus preserves an account of what occurred : Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 39 "The Governor had graving irons, but could not grave anything, the stones were so hard. I graved my name on a tree by the river- side, and the Governor hurried a bottle with a paper enclosed on which he writ that he took possession of this place in the name and for King Geo. 1st. of England. We had a good dinner, and after it we got the men together, and loaded all their arms, and we drank the King's health in champaign and fired a volley, the Princess's health in Burgundy and fired a volley, and in claret and fired a volley. We drank the Governor's health and fired an- other volley. We had several sorts of liquers', viz. Virginia Eed Wine and White Wine, Esquebaugh, brandy, shrub, rum, cham- paign, cavory, punch water, cider, etc. "We called the highest mountain Mount George and the one we crossed over ]\Iount Spotswood." Governor Spotswood, from the fertility of the soil, gave the name of Euphrates to the river (now Shenandoah), and he be- lieved the same emptied into the great lakes and flowed northward. The Governor, upon his return to Williamsburg, instituted the Order of the Golden-Shoe, and presented to each of the gentlemen accompanying him a small horse-shoe made of gold inscribed with the motto : Sic jurat transcendere monies, "Thus he swears to cross the mountains." Governor Spotswood, in a letter written in 1716, says: "The chief aim of my expedition over the great mountains in 1716 was to satisfy myself whether it was practicable to come to the lakes." The country thus described was a part of Sussex county, the western boundary of which was undefined. Spotsylvania was formed from Sussex in 1720, Orange from Spotsylvania in 1734, all of said counties including the territory now within the bounds of this county. All this information is necessary to a history of Washington county, because Washington county was formed from the territory we are now dealing with, and, for the better reason, that the pro- moters of our early settlements and the founders of our early gov- ernment came from the Valley of Virginia. In the year 1726, two men named Mackey and Sailings explored the Valley of Virginia. John Peter Sailings, one of the two explorers of the valley 40 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. above mentioned, was ca^jtured by the Indians and passed through this immediate section as early as 1726. Withers, in his history entitled "Border Warfare/' thus de- scribes the captivity of Sailings : "Sailings," he says, "was taken to the country now known as Tennessee, where he remained for some years. In company with a party of Cherokees, he went on a hunting expedition to the salt licks of Kentucky and was there captured by a band of Illinois Indians, with Mdiom the Cherokees were at war. He was taken to Kaskaskia, and adopted into the family of a squaw, whose son had been killed. While with these Indians he several times ac- companied them down the Mississippi river, below the mouth of the Arkansas, and once to the Gulf of Mexico. The Spaniards in Louisiana, desiring an interpreter, purchased him of his Indian mother, and some of them took him to Canada. He was there redeemed by the French Governor of that province, who sent him to the Dutch settlement in New York, whence he made his way home after an absence of six years. The earliest visit to this section of Virginia by an Anglo-Saxon of which we have any record or knowledge was made by Dority, a citizen of Eastern Virginia, who in the year 1690 visited the Chero- kee Indians in their home, south of the Little Tennessee, and traded wdth them. There can be no reasonable doubt that from a very early period, long preceding the making of a permanent settlement by the wdiite man in this section, many of the citizens of Virginia living east of the mountains carried on, in many in- stances, an active trade with the Indians living south of the Little Tennessee and in Kentucky, This section was uninhabitated by the Indians for many years previous to the explorations of the white man, and the wilderness was full of game of almost all kinds. Their flesh was valuable, and the skins and furs taken in one season by a single hunter would bring many hundreds of dollars, and thus many daring hunters were induced to visit this section long before any white man thought of settling the lands. In confirmation of this idea Mr. Vaughan, of Amelia county, Va., who died in the year 1801, was employed about the year 1740 to go as a packman with a number of Indian traders to the Chero- kee nation. Southwest Virginia, 17 Jf 6-17 86. 41 The last hunter's cabin he saw as he traveled from Amelia county, Va., to East Tennessee was on Otter river, a branch of Staunton river, now in Bedford county. The route he traveled was an old trading path following closely the location of the Buck- ingham road to a point where it strikes the Stage Eoad in Bote- tourt county; thence nearly upon the ground which the Stage Road occupies, crossing ISTew Eiver at Inglis' Ferry; thence to Seven Mile Ford on the Holston; thence to the left of the road which formed the old Stage Road; thence on to the North Fork of Holston, above Long Island in Tennessee, crossing it where the Stage Road formerly crossed it, and on into the heart of Ten- nessee. This hunter's trail, or Indian trace, was an old path when he first saw it, and he continued to travel the same until 1754, trad- ing with the Indians. In the year 1730, Jolm and Isaac Van Meter obtained from Gov- ernor Gooch, of Virginia, a patent for forty thousand acres of land to be located in the lower valley, and this warrant was sold in 1731 to Joist Hite, of Pennsylvania, who, in 1732, brought his family and sixteen other families and located a few miles soiith of the present site of Winchester, Va., and this is generally believed to be the first settlement by a white man west of the Blue Ridge. Emigration to this new land was rapid, and soon reached beyond the confines of Hite's possessions. About the time of the Hite settlement John Lewis, Peter Sal- lings and Mackey made settlements in the valley. Lewis settled on Lewis' creek near the present site of Staunton, Sailings, at the forks of James river and Mackey, at Buffalo Gap. Within less than one year the population of the country near the settlement made by Lewis was considerable, so rapid was the migration to the new land. The early settlers in this portion of Virginia had to contend with titles obtained by individuals and companies for large tracts of land, and such grantees were usually favorites of the King or of the King's councillors. On the 6th of September, 1736, William Gooch, Lieutenant-Gov- ernor of Virginia, issued a patent for the "Manor of Beverly," covering one hundred and eighteen thousand and ninety-one acres of land lying in the county of Orange between the great mountains 42 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. and on the River Sherando, and on September 7, 1736, William Beverlj^^of Essex, became the owner of the entire grant.. This patent covered most of the fine lands in the Valley of Vir- ginia near Staunton and Waynesboro, and soon thereafter Gov- ernor Gooch granted Benjamin Borden -^tfe hundred thousand acres of land situated south of Beverly Manor and on the waters of the James and Shenandoah rivers. Each of the grants above described was to become absolute, pro- vided the patentees succeeded in settling a given number of families thereon in the time named in the grant, and as a result the paten- tees, Hite, Beverly and Borden, solicited and obtained settlers from America and Europe. Benjamin Borden, upon the receipt of his grant, immediately visited England, and in 1737 returned with a hundred families, among whom were the McDowells, Crawfords, MeClures, Alex- anders, Walkers, Moores, Matthews and many others, the found- ers of many of Virginia's distinguished families. In 1738, the counties of Frederick and Augusta were formed out of Orange. The territories embraced within these two counties in- cluded all of Virginia west of the Blue Ridge and was, almost with- out exception, a howling wilderness occupied by the Indians and wild beasts. It is evident from the statement contained in the act establishing Augusta county that there had been a rapid and con- siderable increase of the population in the valley. The act establishing the county of Augusta provided that the organization of the county should take place when the Governor and Council should think there was a sufficient number of inhabi- tants for appointing jiistices of the peace and other officers and creating courts therein. While the act establishing Augusta county was passed in 1738, the county was not organized until 1745. The first court assem- bled at Staunton on December 9, 1745, at which time the following magistrates were sworn in, having been previously commissioned y by the Governor of Virginia — viz. : James Patton^, John Buchanan, George Robinson, James Bell, Robert Campbell, John Lewis, John Brown, Peter Scholl, Robert Poa^^, John Findley, Richard Woods, John Christian, Robert Craven, John Pickens, Andrew Pickens,"" Thomas Lewis,. Hugh Thompson, John Anderson,'' Robert Cun- ningham, James Kerr and Adam Dickenson. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 43 James Patton was commissioned high sheriff, John Madison, clerk, and Thomas Lewis, surveyor of the county. It is worthy of note that James Patton, the first sheriff of Au- gusta county, was the first man to survey and locate lands within the boundaries of Washington county as originally formed, and the land by him acquired composed a considerable part of the best lands within this county. The idea of offering the dissenters from the Church of England inducements to settle the lands west of the mountains had often 1:)een suggested and earnestly advocated by many of the promi- nent men in the Virginia Colony, but no move in that direction was taken until about the time of the first settlement o.f the lower Valley, at and after which time the Governoa- and Council of Vir- ginia, with but little hesitancy, permitted the erection of dissenting churches in the Valley, and encouraged the immigration of settlers whenever possible. The result of this action was a flood of settlers, emigrants froan Scotland and Ireland, who came by way of Pennsylvania, mostly Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in belief. They passed into and settled in the Valley, and in a few years the Valley from Harper's Ferry to ISTew river was populated with a progressive, liberty-loving peo- ple second to none on earth. Colonel James Patton, who came from the north of Ireland in 1736, was one of the first and most influ-cntial settlers of the Val- ley of Virginia. In the year 1745, he secured a grant from the Governor and Council of Virginia, for one hundred and twenty thousand acres of land west of the Blue Eidge, and he and his son-in-law, John Buchanan, who was also deputy surveyor of Augusta county, lo- cated lands on the James river, and founded and named Buchanan and Pattonsburg, villages that were built on the opposite sides of the James river, now in Botetourt county. In the year 1748, Dr. Thomas Walker, who afterwards, on the 39th day of September, 1752, qualified as a deputy surveyor of Augusta county; Colonel James Patton, Colonel_Jqhn Buchanan, Colonel James Wood and Major Charles Campbell, accompanied by a number of hunters, John Findlay being of the number, ex- plored Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee, and located and 44 Southwest Virgmia, 17Ji6-17SG. surveyed ;i miiiil)er of very v;iliial)l(! tracts of land by authority of the grant to Colonel James Patton. We give below a list of the first surveys made on the waters of the Holston and Clinch rivers. This information i« derived from the surveyor's recorcTs of Augusta county at Staunton, Va. Each of the above surveys is signed by Thomas Lewis, surveyor of Augusta county, and in the left-hand corner of the plot, recorded with each survey, are w^ritten the letters J. B., the initials of John Buchanan, deputy snryeyor of the county. Tt is evident from this rc>eord that John Buchanan surveyed the rseveral tnicts of land first located in Washington county, and that he was on the waters of the Indian or Holston river surveying as early as the 14th day of March, 174(5. It will be observed from an inspection of this list of surveys that on April 2, 1750, there was surveyed for Edmund Pendleton 3,000 acres of land lying on AVest creek, a branch of the South Fork of Indian river, which tract of la,nd now lies in Sullivan county, 'I'ennessee. '^^riiis ti'act was patented to Edmund Pendleton in 1756 ujjon the idea that the Virginia line, Avhen run, Avould embrace these lands. ]t is \\(n-thy of note (hat these early explorers and the many hunters and traders who had previously visited this section called the Holston river the Indian river, while the Indians gave it the name of Hogoheegee, and the French gave it the name of the Cherokee river. All of the lands surveyed in this county previously to 1,748 are described in the surveys as being on the waters of the Indian river. These explorers returned to their homes delighted, no doubt, with the excellent lands they had visited, but nothing resulted from their efforts save the acquisition of a knowledge of the country. At the time Dr. Walker and his associates made their trip of exploration above described they were followed as far as New river by Thomas Inglis and his three sons, Mrs. Draper and her son and daughter, Adam Harman, Henry Leonard and James Burke, pio- neers in search of a home in the wilderness. Lands were surveyed for each of them, which lands are described in the respective sur- veys as lying on Wood's river, or the waters of Wood's river. Here • • • ? ? ? ? ti^i— ;rii" i_it>3i— 'I— '? ,. W 00 t-- Ol O Jf^ 1-1 >f>-^t<^J-'JO «Oi^J>2 OSJ^JO *^ Ol- ^- - o,P hf^ 05 b !*>. i4^ 05 CO O50«D0000~4--l^40000«0C0?0OOOO00l-i. . . . 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The name given to this new settlement was "Draper's Meadows." The surveys, with accompanying plats for these, the first set- tlers on any of the waters flowing into the Mississippi, are exceed- ingly interesting and instructive. These first settlers were immediately followed by a large num- ber of other persons. The Alleghany mountains having been crossed and the waters flowing into the Mississippi reached, the pioneer rapidly sought to bring the wilderness under his dominion. The first company of settlers at Draper's Meadows were at once increased by new ar- rivals, and numerous tracts of land west of ISTew river and near what were afterwards known as the Lead Mines occupied. Among the early settlers in that section of Southwest Virginia were the Crocketts, Sayers, Cioyds, McGavocks and McCalls. James Burke, with his family, settled in 1753 in what has since been known as Burk's Garden, and Charles Sinclair in Sinclair's Bottom. Stephen Holston built his cabin within thirty feet of the head spring of the Middle Fork of Indian, since called Holston river, some time previous to 174'8, and thus Burke, Sinclair and Holston gave names to the localities of their early settlements. A colony of people called "Dunkards" settled on the west side of New river near Inglis' Ferry, and in the year 1750 Samuel Stal- naker, with the assistance of Dr. Walker and his associates, erected his cabin on the Holston nine miles west of Stephen Holston's cabin. It is worthy of mention in this place that in this year, 1749, the commissioners appointed by the Legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina continued the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina to a point on Steep Eock Creek,* in this county. Dr. Walker and his associates had met Samuel Stalnaker on the waters of the Holston in April, 1748, between the Eeedy Creek settlement and the Holston river, at which time it is evident, from a journal kept by Dr. Walker, that Stalnaker told Walker and his associates of the Cumberland Gap, and made an engagement with Dr. Walker to pilot him upon a trip to Kentucky at a subsequent date. *Now Laurel Fork of Holston river. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 47 The French had established settlements on the waters of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and claimed, by right of discovery and occupancy, as territory belonging to the French crown, all the lands west of the Alleghany mountains, and were actively as- serting their right to all of this territory at all times and by every possible means. It is claimed that the French had established a fort near the Broad Ford of the Tennessee river, and had opened and operated mines in the territory now included in Eastern Ken- tucky; and it is well Icnown that the French traders were to be found in nearly all of the Indian villages east of the Mississippi river and west of the Alleghany mountains. The English Government and the American Colonies denied the pretensions of the French crown, and looked with jealousy upon every movement made by France in the direction of the accom- plishment of her claim. As a result, on the 12th day of July, 1749, the Governor and Council of Virginia granted to the "Ohio Company" 500,000 acres of land, to be surveyed and located south of the Ohio river, and to forty-six gentlemen, styling themselves the "Loyal Company," leave to take up and survey 800,000 acres of land in one or more surveys, beginning on the bounds between this State and North Carolina and running to the westward and to the north seas to include the said quantity, with four years' time to locate said land and make return of surveys. The "Ohio Company" employed Christopher Gist, one of the most noted surveyors of that time, to go, as soon as possible, to the westward of the Great Mountains, and to carry with him such a number of men as he thought necessary, in order to search out and discover the lands upon the river Ohio and other adjoining branches of the Mississippi, down as low as the Great Falls thereof, now Louisville, Kentucky. He was also directed to observe the passes through the mountains, to take an exact account of the soil and products of the lands, the width and depth of the rivers, the falls belonging to them, the course and bearings of the rivers and mountains, and to ascertain what Indians inhabitated them, with their strength and numbers. Pursuant to his instructions, he set out from the old town on the Potomac river, in Maryland, in October, 1750, and spent many days on the lands south of the Ohio river, in the present State 48 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. of Kentucky; he finall_y came to the Cumberland mountains at Pound (lap, at which gap he crossed and passed down Gist's river to Powell's and Clinch valleys. On Tuesday, the 7tli day of May, 1751, he came to"New river and crossed the same about eight miles above the mouth of Bluestone river. On Saturday, the 11th, he came to a very high mountain, upon the top of which was a lake or pond about three-fourths of a mile long northeast and south- west, and one-fourth of a mile wide, the water fresh and clear, its borders a clean gravelly shore about ten yards wide, and a fine meadow with six fine springs in it. From this description it is evident that Gist visited Salt Lake mountain, in Giles county, Va., as early as 1751, and found the lake as it now is. It is evident from this journal that the traditions that we so often hear repeated about this lake are nothing more than mythi- cal, and that this lake existed as it now is at the time of the earliest explorations of the white man. Colonel Gist then passed south about four miles to Sinking Creek and on to the settlements. In the meantime the "Loyal Companj'^' were not idle, but, hav- ing employed Dr. Thomas Walker for a certain consideration, sent him on the 12th day of December, 1749, in company with Ambrose Powell, William Tomlinson, Henry Lawless and John Hughes, to the westward in order to discover a proper place for a settlement. A journal of this trip will be found in the Appendix to this work, and the reader will find a perusal of this journal ex- ceedingly interesting, as Dr. Walker and his associates passed di- rectly through what might reasonably be termed the centre of Washington county. It will be necessary, in speaking of this journal of Dr. Walker's, to call the reader's attention to only a few incidents connected with the trip, which we will do as briefly as possible. On March 15, 1750, they came to the "Great Lick," now the present site of the city of Eoanoke, Va., at which place they bought corn of Michael Campbell for their horses, at which time Dr. Walker remarks: "This Lick has been one of the best places for game in these parts, and M^ould have been of much greater advantage to the inhabitants than it has been if the hunters had not killed the buffaloes for diversion and the elks and deer for their skins," Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 49 It has been the prevailing opinion that there were no bniialoes east of the Blue Eidge, and while the Great Lick, or Eoanoke City, is west of the Blue Eidge, it is altogether probable that buf- faloes in their range did oftentimes travel beyond the mountains; at any rate it is known that Colonel Byrd killed buffaloes in 1739 on the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina and south of Eoanoke. They thence went up the Staunton river, now -called the Little Eoanoke river, to William Inglis'. Dr. Walker, at this point, notes the fact that William Inglis had a mill which is the fur- thest back, except one lately built by the sect of people who called themselves of the Brotherhood of Euphrates, or "Duncards," who are the upper inhabitants of the New river and lived on the west side of the same. It is well to note at this point that the present village of Blacks- burg is near the locality occupied by William Inglis in 1750. The Dunkards spoken of by Dr. Walker lived on the west side of New river opposite Inglis' Ferry, several miles above the crossing of the Norfolk and Western railroad. Their next stopping point was on a small run between Peak Creek and Eeed Creek, or between Pulaski city and Max Meadows of the present day. They next camped near James McCall's on Eeed Creek, and on the 22d of March they reached a large spring about five miles below Davis' Bottom, on the Middle Fork of Holston river, where they camped; they moved thence down the Middle Fork of Holston, where they again camped, and Ambrose Powell and Dr. Walker went to look for Samuel Stalnaker and found his camp, he having just moved out to settle. They assisted Stalnaker in building his house, and spent the Sabbath about one-half a mile below him. On Monday, the 36th, they left the frontiers of civilization, Stalnaker's settlement being the farthest west at that time. Their trip was not eventful until the 30th, on which day they caught two young buffaloes, and on the 31st they traveled down the Eeedy creek to the Holston river at the foot of Long Island, where they measured an elm tree twenty-five feet in circumference three feet from the ground. They crossed the North Fork of the Holston about one-half a mile above the junction of the North and South Fork rivers at a ford. At this point they discovered evidences of Indians. They found, in the fork between the North and South Forks of Holston 50 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. river, five Indian houses built with logs and covered with bark, around which there were an abundance of bones and many pieces of mats and cloth. On the west side of the North Fork of Hol- ston river they foimd four Indian houses, and four miles south- west of the junction of the North and South Forks of Holston river they discovered an Indian fort on the south side of the main Holston river. On April 2d they left the Holston river and traveled in a north- west direction toward Cumberland Gap, passing over Clinch moun- tain at Loony's. Gap, it is thought. They reached the Clinch river above the present location of Sneedsville, in Hancock county, Ten- nessee, and on the 12th day of April they reached Powell's river, ten miles from Cumberland Gap. It is well to note at this point that Ambrose Powell, one of Dr. Walker's companions, cut his name upon a tree on the bank of this river, which name and tree were found in the year 1770 by a party of fifteen or twenty Vir- ginians on their way to Kentucky on a hunting expedition, from which circumstance the Virginia Long Hunters gave it the name of Powell's river, which name it still retains. On the 13th they reached Cumberland Gap, which gap Dr. Walker afterwards named Cumberland Gap in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, the son of George II, and the commander of the English forces, on the 16th of April, 1746, at Culloden, where he defeated, with great slaughter, the Highland forces, refusing quarter to the wounded prisoners. On the 17th of April he reached the Cumberland river and named it at that time. On the 23d a part of this company was left to build a house and plant some peach stones and corn. On the 28th Dr. Walker returned to his company and found that they had built a house 12x8 feet, cleared and broken up some ground and planted corn and peach stones. This was the first house built by an Anglo-Saxon in the State of Kentucky, and it was used and occupied as late as 1835. The location of this house is on the farm of George M. Faulkner, about four miles below Barboursville, Ky. They thence traveled in a northeast direction, crossing Kentucky river and New river and striking the waters of the Greenbrier, and on the 13th day of July Dr. Walker reached his home. On this journey they killed thirteen buffaloes, eight elks, fifty-three bears, twenty deer, four Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 51 wild geese and about a hundred and fifty turkeys, and could have killed three times as much meat if they had wanted it. It is to be recollected that this trip and the building of the cabin in the wilderness of Kentucky was all in the interest of the "Loyal Company/' i\.bout this time the "Ohio Company" entered a caveat against the "Loyal Company," and the Lo3/al Company got into a dispute with Colonel James Patton, who had an unfinished grant below where this company were to begin, and no further progress was made by the company until June 14, 1753. In the year 1748, Mr. Gray, Mr. Ashford Hughes and others obtained a grant from the Governor and Council for 10,000 acres of land lying on the waters of the New river, which grant was soon afterwards assigned to , Peter Jeiferson (father of Thomas Jefferson), Dr. Thomas Walker, Thomas Merriweather and David Merriweather, which lands were surveyed and principally settled in the early days of the settlement of this section. About the same time the Governor and the Council of Virginia granted to John Lewis, of Augusta, and his associates 100,000 acres of land to be located on the Greenbrier river, and thus the English Government sought to displace the French in their efforts to settle and hold the lands west of the Alleghany mountains. On the other hand, the movements of the English were closely watched by the French, who were equally determined to defeat them in their aspirations. A company of French soldiers in 1752 were sent south as far as the Miami river to notify the English traders among the Indians to leave the country, which they re- fused to do, and thereupon a fight ensued between the French and Indians, in which fourteen Miami Indians were killed and four white prisoners were taken, and thus began the contest which re- sulted in the loss to France of all her possessions in Canada and east of the Mississippi river. In April of the year 1749, the house of Adam Harmon, one of the first settlers near Inglis' Ferry, on New river, was visited by the Indians, and his fuis and skins stolen. *This was the first Indian depredation committed on the white settlers west of the Alleghany mountains. In the month of November, 1753, the House of Burgesses of ^Dr. Hale's "Trans-Alleghany Pioneers. 52 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. Virginia passed an act for the further encouraging of persons to settle on the waters of the Mississippi, which act we here copy in full : 1. Whereas, it will be the means of cultivating a better cor- respondence with the neighboring Indians if a farther encour- ageinent be given to persons who have settled on the waters of the Mississippi, in the county of Augusta; and, whereas, a con- siderable number of persons, as well his majesty's natural born sub- jects as foreign Protestants, are willing to come into this Colony with their families and effects and settle upon the lands near the said waters in case they can have encouragement for so doing; and, whereas, the settling of that part of the country will add to the security and strength of the Colony in general and be a means of augmenting his majesty's revenue of quit rents ; 2. Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council and Burgesses of this present General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same. That all persons being Prot- estants who have already settled or shall hereafter settle and reside on any lands situated to the westward of the ridge of mountains that divide the rivers Eoanoke, James and Potowmack, from the Mississippi in the county of Augusta, shall be and are exempted and discharged from the payment of all public county and parish levies for the term of fifteen years next following, any law, usage, or custom to the contrary thereof, in any wise notwithstanding.* The English Government were exceedingly anxious to encourage the settlements on the waters of the Mississippi and thereby strengthen their frontiers and fortify their claim to the lands lying west of the Alleghany mountains, and, in keeping with this desire, the Governor and Council of Virginia, on June 14, 1753, renewed the grant to the "Loyal Company" and allowed them four years' farther time to complete the surveying and seating of said land, and on the 6th day of July following Dr. Thomas Walker, their agent, proceeded with all convenient speed to survey said land and to sell the same to purchasers at three pounds per hundred acres, exclu- sive of fees and rights. The basis of the operations of Dr. Walker was in Southwest Virginia, and by the end of the year 1754 he had surveyed and sold 224 separate tracts of land containing 45,249 acres, which surveys were made in the name of the several pur- *Hen. S., p. 356. , Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. 53 chasers from him, and many of the said tracts of land were actually occupied by settlers. During this time James Patton was actively at work surveying and selling lands to settlers under his grant from the Governor and Council, and the tide of emigration was fast settling towards South- west Virginia, when the French-Indian war of 1754-1763 came on, which war began in all its fury about this time, and thereby Dr. Walker, agent for the "Loyal Company," and James Patton and others were prevented, for the time being, from further prosecuting their enterprises in surveying and settling this portion of Virginia. In the spring of 1754, numbers of families were obliged, by an Indian invasion, to remove from their settlements in Southwest Virginia, and these removals continued during the entire war. It will be well here to note the fact that the lands held by Stephen Holston, James ]\IcCall, Charles Sinclair and James Burke, the earlier settlers of this portion of Virginia, were held by them under what were known at that time as "corn rights — that is, under the law as it then stood, each settler acquired title to a hundred acres for every acre planted by him in corn, but subsequent settlers, as a general rule, held their lands under one of the above-mentioned grants. Stephen Holston, who settled at the head spring of the Middle Fork of Holston some time prior to 1748, did not remain long at this place, but sold his right to James Davis, who, on the 19th of March, 1748, had John Buchanan, deputy surveyor of Augusta county, to survey for him at this point a tract of land con- taining 1,300 acres, to which he gave the name of "Davis' Fancy," and the descendants of James Davis occupy a portion of this land to this day. Stephen Holston, when he had disposed of his rights to Davis, constructed canoes, passed down the Holston, Tennessee and Mis- sissippi rivers to Natchez, Mississippi, and thence returned to Vir- ginia, and settled in Culpeper county, where he lived in 1754; af- terwards, in 1757, he was captured by the Indians, but, making his escape, he returned to the waters of the Holston, and served under Colonel Christian upon the expedition to Point Pleasant in 1774, and in the expedition against the Cherokees in 1776. Many of his descendants are to be found in East Tennessee at this time. At the beginning of the year 1753 two families resided on Back creek; James Eeed, at Dublin, Va. (from whom Eeed creek de- 54 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. rived its name); two families on Cripple creek; James Burk, in Burk's Garden; Joseph and Esther Crockett, at the head waters of the South Fork of Holston river; James Davis, at the head waters of the Middle Fork of Holston river, and a family of Dimk- ards, by the name of McCorkle, on the west bank of New river near Inglis' Ferry. Of these facts we have record evidence. Many other families resided west of New river, of whom we have no record. And thus closes the record of the first efforts made to explore and settle Southwest Virginia by the white man. Southwest Virginia, 1746-17S6. 55 CHAPTEE IV. Southwest Virginia. 1754-1770. Thus matters stood at the beginning of the year 1754. Governor Dinwiddie, in this year, dispatched George Wash- ington on a mission to the French commander on the Ohio. Washington, accompanied by Christopher Gist, arrived at the French headquarters, which were situated near the present city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he delivered the dispatches from Governor Dinwiddie, informing the French commander that war was inevitable unless he immediately withdrew from the coun- try. The French commander denied the right of Governor Dinwiddie to give him orders in the premises, and declared his purpose to destroy every settlement made by the Virginians in the west. To form some idea of the spirit of the American colonies in re- gard to the French settlements on the Ohio and their apprehen- sions therefrom. Governor Dinwiddie wrote to Earl Granville, in 1754, that the French intended to build forts, not only on the Ohio, but on Greenbrier, Holston and New rivers, and the French and Indians, he says, are now making incursions among our inhabi- tants in Augusta coimty, driving them from their homes. Washington returned to Williamsburg and reported the result of his trip, whereupon the Governor of Virginia proceeded to raise a regiment under Colonel Joshua Fry and Lieutenant- Colonel George Washington. This regiment immediately proceeded to the west, and at Eedstone, Western Pennsylvania, they encountered a force, composed of Indians and French, which they attacked, kill- ing ten and capturing the rest. They proceeded to the Great Meadows, halted, and built a fort, to which they gave the name of "Fort Necessity." On the 3d day of July, 1754, a force of French and Indians, numbering about a thousand, under the command of Count de Villiers, vigorously assaulted the fort and attempted to take it. The siege lasted for nine hours, at the end of which time the French leader sent in a flag of truce offering to receive the surrender of the fort upon hon- 5G Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. orable terms, wliicli offer was accepted, and the Virginians marched out next morning. In the spring of 1755, the American colonies attacked the French at Nova Scotia, Crown Point, Niagara and on the Ohio river. The attack on the French and Indians on the Ohio was com- manded by General Braddock, who had arrived from England early in tliat year with two royal regiments — the Eighteenth and Forty-fourth. Virginia sent 800 men to join Braddock, and the Virginia troops were commanded by Captains Waggoner, Cock, Hogg, Stevens, Poulson, Perrony, Mercer and Stewart. Brad- dock marched from Alexandria, Virginia, on the 30th of April, 1755, with 2,200 men, and on the 9th of July he reached the Monongahela river, where his troops fell into an ambuscade. Braddock was mortally wounded, and his army put to flight, with a loss of 777 men killed and wounded, and had it not been for the coolness and courage of Washington and his Virginia troops the entire army would have been destroyed. The army retreated a himdred and twenty miles into the set- tlement, and the whole frontier of Western Virginia was thus left open to the ravages of the French and Indians. The French and Indians crossed the Alleghany mountains into the valley and to New river, killing and scalping, in the most horrible manner, men, women, and children without distinction, and thus ended the first year of the war. On the 21st day of March, 1755, the County Court of Augusta county appointed George Stalnaker constable on the waters of the Holston and New rivers, and he built a stockade fort at Dunk- ards' Bottom, the name of which was, according to some writers. Fort Frederick, but there is some doubt about it. In the month of February, 1755, William Wright, an ensign, who was stationed at Fort Lewis, near Salem, Virginia, by Major Andrew Lewis, accompanied by twenty men, marched to the head waters of the Holston river for the purpose of protecting the set- tlers, but his movements were so slow that he failed to accomplish anything, and, upon his return, he was reprimanded by the Gov- ernor of Virginia. The New river settlers were not permitted to escape the ravages of the Indians and the French, for on the 8th day of July, 1755, the day before Braddock's defeat, a considerable party of Shaw- Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-1786. 57 nese Indians fell upon this settlement and wiped it out of exist- ence. Colonel James Patton, Casper Barrier, Mrs. George Draper and a child of John Draper were killed. Mrs. William Inglis and her two children, Mrs. John Draper and Henry Leonard were taken prisoners. Mrs. Inglis was taken to Ohio, thence to Bone Lick, Kentucky, whence she and an old Dutch woman made their es- cape, and, after many days, returned to her home on New river. This invasion occurred on Sunday, the 8th day of July, 1755. Colonel Patton, accompanied by William Preston, was on a visit to the New river settlement, and was detained by sickness at the house of William Inglish. William Preston, William Inglis and John Draper were away from the house at the time. Mrs. John Draper, who first discovered the Indians, ran to the house, secured her infant child, and attempted to make her escape by the opposite side of the house, but she was detected by the Indians, and, having one of her arms broken, the child fell to the ground. She then took the child in the other arm and continued her flight, but was soon overtaken, the child taken from her, and its brains dashed out upon a log by the Indians. Colonel Patton, at the time of the attack, was seated at a table writing, with his broad sword beside him. He immediately arose, and killed two of the Indians be- fore he was shot by others beyond his reach. The Indians then plundered the premises and began a hasty re- treat. On their retreat they passed the house of an old man by the name of Philip Barger, whom they killed by severing his head from his body, and carried it off in a bag. It was several days before efforts were made to overtake the enemy and rescue the prisoners, as Vause's Fort was the nearest point from which help could be obtained. Mrs. Inglis and the other prisoners were carried by the Indians to Ohio. Mrs. Inglis was al)sent from her home about five months, when, in the month of December, 1755, she reached the house of Adam Harmon on New river, whence she was taken to a small fort at Dunkards' Bottom, on the west side of New river, where she was found on the next day by her husband and her brother. The other captives, with but few exceptions, were either rescued or redeemed and returned to their homes after many years. The body of Colonel James Patton was buried at Draper's 58 Southivcst Virginia, 1746-17S6. Meadows. Colonel John Buchanan sent a company of men to pursue the Indians, but they did not succeed in overtaking them, and thus occurred the first Indian massacre of the white inhabitants of Southwest Virginia. About ten miles west of where Christiansburg now stands, and near the former residence of Captain Jacob Kent, about two and a half miles east of Lafayette and on the head waters of the Eoa- noke river, there stood a small fort that in those days was known as Vause's Fort, and this was the nearest place of refuge for the settlers on New river. In the fall of the year 1755, about a hundred French and Indians came upon the ISTew river, and assaulted and captured this fort and killed or carried into capti\ity twenty-four persons, not a single person escaping. This was a private fort, constructed by the settlers for their own protection, and was built of logs and easily captured. As best I can ascertain, at the time of this invasion James Burk, who had settled in Burk's Garden in the year 1753, was captured with his entire family; they were all either killed or car- ried into captivity. A register of the persons who were killed, wounded, and taken prisoners in the 3'ears 1754, 1755, and 1756 on the New river, Eeed creek, and Holston rivers has been preserved, and is as fol- lows: 1754, Stephen Lyon, Holston Eiver, killed. October. John Godman, Holston Eiver, killed. Benjamin Harrison, Holston Eiver, killed. 1755, Burk, Holston Eiver, prisoner; escaped. ]\Iay 3. Mary Baker, Holston Eiver, wounded. June 18. Samuel Stalnaker, Holston, Eiver, prisoner; escaped. Samuel Hydon, Holston Eiver, prisoner. Adam Stalnaker, Holston Eiver, killed. Mrs. Stalnaker, Holston Eiver, killed. A servant man, Holston Eiver, killed. Mathias Connie, Holston Eiver, killed. June 19. Michael Houck, Holston Eiver, killed. July 3. James McFarland, New Elver, killed. John Bingeman, New Elver, killed. Mrs. Bingeman, New Eiver, killed. Southtvest Virginm, 17Jf6-17S6. 59 Adam Bingeman, New River, killed. John Cook. New Eiver, killed. Henry Lin, New River, killed. A young child, New River, killed. Nathaniel Welshire, New River, wounded. Dutch Jacob, New River, wounded. His wife, New River, prisoner ; escaped. Frederick Stern, New River, wounded. Mrs. Bingeman, Jr., New River, wounded. Mrs. Davis, New River, wounded. Isaac Freeland, his wife and five children. New River ; prisoners. Bridgeman's son and daughter and a stranger, New River; prisoners. July 12. ^Lieutenant Wright and two soldiers, Reed Creek, killed. 30. \ Colonel James Patton, Now River, killed, t--— Caspar Barrier, New River, killed. Mrs. Draper and one child. New River, killed. James Cull, New River, woimded. Mrs. English (Inglis) and her two children. New River, prisoners; escaped. Mrs. Draper, Jr., New River, prisoner. Henry Leonard, New River, prisoner. Morris Griffith, Vause's Fort, prisoner ; escaped. Robert Looney and a Dutchman, Reed Creek, killed. John Lee, Reed Creek, killed. Michael Motes, Reed Creek, killed. Patrick Smith, Reed Creek, killed. Moses Mann, Reed Creek, prisoner. ^Valentine Harman and one son, New River, killed. Andrew Moses, New River, killed. 25. Captain John Smith, Fort Yause, prisoner ; escaped. Peter Looney, Fort Vause, prisoner ; escaped. William Bratton, Fort Vause, prisoner; escaped. Joseph Smith, Fort Vause, prisoner. William Pepper, Fort Vause, prisoner. Mrs. Vause and two daughters, a negro, and two young Indians and a servant man. Fort Vause, prisoners. Ivan Medley, and two daughters. Fort Vause, prisoners. 60 Soutliicest Virginia, I7J16-I786. James Bell, Fort Vause, prisoner. Christoj^her Hicks, Fort Vause, prisoner. Cole, Fort Vanse, prisoner. Graham, Fort Vause, prisoner. Benj. Daries, Fort Vause, prisoner. Lieut. Jolin Smith, Fort Vause, killed. John Tracey, Fort Vause, killed. John English, killed. Mrs. Mary English, Fort Vause, prisoner. Wm. Eobinson, Fort Vause, wounded. Thomas Eobinson, Fort Vause, wounded. Samuel Eobinson, Fort Vause, wounded. Eobert Pepper, Fort Vause, wounded. John Eobinson, Fort Vause, killed. 1757. John Walker, Fort Vause, prisoner."* Feb. In Jul}^ of this year, Eichard Pearls, who was located on the Hols- ton river carrying on a trade with the Cherokee Indians, addressed a letter to the Governor of Virginia requesting a grant for the lands on the Long Island in the South Fork of the Holston river. In reply the Governor encouraged Pearis to believe that he could olitain a grant, and wrote him as follows : "I am surprised the inhabitants on Llolston river should submit to be robbed by a few Indians. Let the Chickasaw know that I greatly approve of his conduct and have a real esteem for him." This last sentence in the Governor's letter had reference to a Chickasaw warrior who had resented the murder of one of the white settlers. At the time of which we write the Virginia colonists, and the Cherokee and the Chickasaw Indians were exceedingly friendly, and through the agency of Eichard Pearis, who was a great favorite with the Indians, the Govern(Nr of Virginia subsequently sought to en- list the Cherokee and the Chickasaw Indians in the war against the French and the Northern Indians. SANDY RIVER EXPEDITION. For the purpose of avenging the massacre of the settlers upon the ISTew river, the Governor of Virginia enlisted a hundred and thirty Cherokee Indians, to whom were joined four companies of the Eang- *Col. Wm. Preston diary in L. C. Draper Manuiseript. Southivest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 61 ers of West Augusta, for the purpose of invading and destroying the Shawnese towns at the mouth of the Big Sandy and on the Ohio river. The command of this expedition was given to Major Andrew Lewis. This force consisted of two hundred and sixty-three white meh, commanded by Captain Peter Hogg, with forty men; Captain William Preston, with thirty men; Captain John fSmith, with thirty men; Captain Samuel Overton, with forty men; Captain Obadiah Woodson, with forty men; Captains Robert Breckenridge, Archibald x\lexander, John Montgomery and Dunlap commanding eighty-three volunteers, and Captain Richard Pearls commanding a hundred and thirty Cherokee and Chickasaw In- dians. This force was rendezvoused at Fort Lewis, near Salem, Va., whence they marched in Feb. 1756, for the Indian towns. They traveled from Fort Lewis, near Salem, to the New river, which they crossed at the Horseshoe Bend; they thence descended the New river to the mouth of Wolf creek, thence up Wolf creek to its source, thence to Bluestone river, thence to the head of North Fork of Sandy, which they reached on the 28th day of February, 1756 ; thence down the Sandy to the Great Burning Springs, at which point they saw the rawhides of several buffaloes hung upon bushes to dry. At this time provisions became very scarce and a famine was threat- ened, but this little army was saved by the bravery and firmness of Major Lewis. The army then proceeded from the Burning Springs to the banks of the Ohio, where they remained for two days. Seeing no evidences of Indians, they began to retrace their steps, and by the time they had reached the Burning Springs on their return, the hunger of the men had become so great that the hides of the buffaloes, which had been hung upon the bushes, were cut into tugs, and the men de- voured them as the only means of preserving life. It is said that from this circumstance the Tug Fork of Sandy river received its name. Thus this expedition ended disastrously for the settlers. The Indians were correspondingly elated and immediately ad- vanced upon the settlements east of the Alleghany mountains, com- mitting many murders and carrying off many prisoners. The Governor and Council of Virginia agreed to build a number of forts for the protection of the western settlements, and, among 62 Southwest Virginm, 1746-1786. '- the number. Fort Vausc, wliicli ]\a(l been destroyed by the Indians a short time previous. The building of tlie fort was to be under the supervision of Captain Peter Hogg, and was to be at least one hun- dred feet square in the clear, with stockades at least sixteen feet long, and was to be garrisoned by seventy men. Immediately upon the erection of this new fort, many of the settlers returned to their homes at and near the fort. About this time companies of Rangers were organized for the purpose of running down and capturing . marauding Shawnese Indians wherever they should be found. A journal of one of these expeditions has been preserved, which we here publish as a relic of the past. An extract of a Journal "Concerning a march that Capt. Eobert Wade took to the New River" in search of Indians, Saturday, 12th of August, 1758 : Capt. Robert Wade marc't from Mayo fort, with 35 men, in order to take a Range to the New River in search of our Enemy In- dians. We marcht about three miles that Day to a Plantation, Where Peter Rentfro formerly Lived and took up Camp, where we continued safe that night — Next morning being Sunday, we con- tinued to march about three or four miles, and one Francis New returned back to the Fort, then we had 34 men besides the Capt — We marcht along to a place called Gobeling Town, where we Eat our Brakefast — & so continued our march till late in the after- noon, and took up Camp at the Foot of the Blew Ledge where we continued safe that night— Next morning being Monday, the 14th, Inst, we started early and crossed the Blew Ledge and Fell upon a branch of the Little River, called Pine Creek, We followed the sd : Creek down to Little River, and crost the Little River & went to Francis Easons' Plantation where we con- tinued that night. Our hunters brought a plentiful supply of Ven- ison — Next morning being tuesday the 15 Inst, we marct. down to Richard Rattlecliffs' plantation on the Meadow Creek, where we continued that night — Next morning being Wednesday the 16th. Inst, we Sent our Spyes and hunters to Spy for Enemy Signs, & to hunt for provisions. But the body of the Company Tarryed there — At Night they came in with a plenty of Venison, but could not dis- cover any fresh sign of the Enemy — Next morning Thursday the 17th Inst, we sent out hunters as usual, & in the afternoon some of them came in & informed us that they had seen signs of Indians Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 63 at Drapers' Meadow, that had been a catching of horses that Day, and that they had gone a straight course for Blackwater — upon that we began to get in Eeadyness to persue them next morning — but one of our men not coming in that night disappointed us — next morning Being Fryday the 18th. Inst. Some of the men were sent to Look for the man that was Lost — & the Eest remained there, for we counted it imprudent to Leave the Place before we knew what had become of the lost man — so we tarryed Till the Day was so far Spent that we could not make anything of a march that Day. So the Capt. said that he and some more men would go to view the sign, and See what they could Discover. The Capt. and Wm. Hall and Adam Hermon, and two or three more went off & Left the men under my Command and ordered that we should be in Eeadyness for a march as soon as he returned — Soon after the Captain was Gone, the man that was Lost Came in & Informed us that he had been lost in a Creek of the Little Eiver — But when the Captain came to the place where the sign was Seen, he Tels us that he saw a Shoe track among them, which caused them to believe that it had been white men after their horses — So the Captain nor none of the men, that was with him returned that night, But went a hunting — Next morning being Saturday 19th Inst, the Captain not coming gave us a great deal of Uneasyness — tho we Bore it with so much pa- tience as we could 'till about noon, for we lay under great appre- hensions of Danger — I ordered the men to keep a Verry Sharp Look out, and Likewise to be in order to march next morning, by Sun Rise, — I was Determined to stay that night & if the Capt: did not come, to march off after him — Soon after we had come to a con- clusion about it Some of the men Spyed five Indians Very near to us, for the place where we was, was grown up with weeds so that we could not Se them, nor they see us 'till thay came Verry near us — I was a Lying down in the house when I heard the news — I Eased up and presented my Gun at one of the Indians, But I heard some of our Company that was in another house, Cry out. Don't Shoot — I Stopt at that and askt them what they were & I beleive they said Cheroke, but Stood in amaise, & Eeason they had, for I suppose there was 20 Guns presented at them, we went up to them & Examined them— they said they were Cherokees, I made signs to them to show me their Pass, But they had none, — They had with them 5 head 6t horse Kind & Skelps, that appeared to be white 64 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. mens — 4 of the horses appeared as tho' they had heen Lately taken lip, hilt the other was very poor — The Indians began to make ready to go off, hut I made Signs to them that they must not Go that uight. But they seemed very intent to go — but we would not agree to it — Some of the Company insisted to fall upon them and Kill them, for they said they believed they were Shawnees, & that they were Spyes- — and was doubtful that they had a superior number Some where nigh — But I said I was determined to keep them till the Capt : came, without they would go by forse, and if they would we would fire upon them — 2 of the men went off after the Capt : who soon met some of the Company, who told them that they had been hunting & that the Capt: would soon be in; who accordingly came soon after .^i we informed him how things had happened in his absence & in wdia^ manner the Indians appeared; that they had no pass and that they had white Skelps — After Capt : heard the opinion of the peo- ple, he past sentence of Death upon tliem ; but there was one Abra- ham Dunkleberry, hunter that we let off who said they were Chero- kees, yet he agreed that they were Eogues ; which seemed to put the Capt: to a stand, but we had their Guns taken from them & a guard kept over them that night — next morning Being Sunday 20th Inst, upon what Dunkleberry had said the Capt : let them have their Guns & let them go off — which displeased some of the Carolina men — so much that they swore if they were not allowed to kill them, they would never go Banging again, for they said it was to no purpose to Rang after the Enemy, & when they liad found them, not to be allowed to kill them — which you must think is very hard for us to be compel to Bang & then let the Enemy have Liberty to Kill some of us, before we Dare to Kill them — at that Bate we may all be Kill'd, and never Kill an Indian, for if there is enough of them to overcome us, then they are Eneni}^, But if we are too numerous for them they are friends. Upon consideration of their having no pass, nor white man, & by reason of their steal of horses, they did not appear any waise Like friends, so the Captain told them to be Easy, and after Dunkleberry was gone, wo would go after them and Kill them. So Dimkleberry packt up his skins to go off & we marcht after the Indians — we overtook them and past them, Because the Capt: said they were in such order that we could not kill them all, but would wate for a better opportunity — They were going toward the New River — so the Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1180. 65 men that had been acquainted Knew of 2 fords & they Emagined they would cross at the upper ford — But we lade an Ambuslikaide at each ford, the Capt : & myself and a partie of men at the upper ford, and a partie of men at the Loer ford & the Capts : orders were to fire at them as they Crost the Eiver — But after we had placed our- selves and sat awhile 3 or 3 of the men came from the Loer Ford & informed us that two of the Indians had Crost at the Loer ford, and they did not fire at them because they were not altogether. So the Capt. and the men went towards the Loer Ford & as we went along we saw 4 of the Indians; we did not fire at them; the Capt: con- cluded to ly by awhile and let them all get together & then follow them and kill them — soon after the other Indians followed them, the (*apts : orders was for 13 of the best men to follow them and Kill them and the remainder of the Company to go to the Dunker Fort which was about half a mile below us & the Capt: took such men as he Lik'd and set clown to conclude how we should follow them — the way the Capt proposed was to Dog them till night and then ly By till the Brake of Day and then Fall upon them and Kill them — he said if we fired upon them in tha day, some would get away — but we did not approve of his skeems, and told him the 111 Consequence that attended it, but he still insisted upon that way of proceeding — ^At length we desired him to go down to the fort with the rest of the. men, & let us go after the Indians, to which he con- sented, and went off to the fort and we after the Indians — The men that followed them Arere Adam hermon, Daniel Her- mon, Wm. Hall, Eic'd Hall, Jun'r, Tobias Clapp, Philip Clap, Joseph Clapp, Benj. Angel, David Currie, Eic'd Hines, James Lyon & my self — 13 of us — We followed them and overtook them at a peach orchard — jest as they were leaving it, we watched our oppor- tunity, and fired at them and followed them up till we Killed 4 of them, and wounded the other — we Skelpt them that we killed, & then followed the other — he bled verry much, he went into the river and to an Island — but we could not find where he went out — some of the men left looking for him, and some went after the Indian horse— but myself and 4 or 5 more, we Sercht the Island till late in the afternoon, & when we came to the Fort the Capt. and men were a handling the Indians' goods & after a while the Capt: told me we were all to be sworn — so we Tarried there that night- Next morning being Monday 21st Inst, we packed up in order to &6 South irest Virginia, 17J,G-1786. march liomeward, for signs of Indians was i:)lenty & we had bi;t lit- tle amimition bnt before we left the fort, we were Sworn — the words of the oath Do not remember exactly, but the Intent of the thing was not to tell that we ever heard them say that they were Chero- kees without required to swere — so left the fort and marcht till dark & took up Camp at a Plantation upon a Branch of the Little Elver. We continued there that night — next morning, being Tuesday the 23nd inst. we marcht from that place to Blackwater — we eat din- ner with them marcht off again Rob Joneses Plantation on the head of Pig Eiver, and Tarryed tliere that night, next morning being Wednesday 23d. inst. they delayed time in the morning, and we had nothing to eat, the Company had some rum to drink, but myself and four more left the Company and went across to Goblingtown & came to Mayo Fort^that night — the Captain and the Rest of the men tells us that they came to Ilickey's fort and that night and next day to Mayo fort — I remember no more worth making a remark of so Courteous Reader I Rem'n Yrs. &., John Echols. Captain Wm. Preston and Captain Wm. Byrd each organized a company of Rangers. A number of the men that enlisted under them afterwards settled in Washington county and their names were as follows: Capt. Wm. Preston s Co. Capt. Wm. Byrd's Co. Wm. Johnston, Michal Morrison, Sergt., Benj. Estill, John Crank, George Martin, Thomas Brumley, John Johnston, John Donnelly, Fifer, Jas. Clendenen, Richard Staunton, Sergt., John Vance, John Lemons, Solomon Kendrick, Richard Chapman, Christopher Aekland, Francis Farmer, Robert Rutherford. Henry Dooley, Drury Puckett, Sergt., John Ross. On the 29th of July, 175G, a Council of War assembled at Staun- ton, by direction of the Governor of Virginia, to determine at what Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 67 points forts should be built along the frontier for the protection of the settlers. The Council was composed of Col. John Buchanan, Samuel Stal- naker and others, of which Council Wm. Preston acted as clerk. There can be no doubt that Captain Samuel Stalnaker represented the Holston settlement and that it was at his request that the stockade fort was built at Dunkards' Bottom, on New river, and at Davis' Bottom, at the head waters of the Middle Fork of Holston river. In the year 1757, Dickenson's Fort, situated on the Cow Pasture river, in Augusta county, was raided by the Indians, and several chil- dren, playing under the walls outside the fort, and a number of men were captured. So careless were the commanding oflBcers that the Indians reached the very gates of the fort before they were discov- ered. At the time of this raid upon Dickenson's Fort, the Indians captured a boy who was destined in after years to play such a part in the history of Washington county as would justly entitle him to the appellation of "Father of Washington County," so intelligent and active were his efforts in the settling of our county and in the protection of its earlier inhabitants ; and this boy was Arthur Camp- bell, who had volunteered as a militiaman for the protection of the frontiers. On the day of the raid he, with others, had gone to a thicket near by in search of plums, when the party was fired upon from ambush by Indians, and Campbell was wounded and cap- tured. He was carried by the Indians to Ohio and thence to the Lakes, where he was detained for a number of years, when he suc- ceeded in making his escape to an English force and returned to his home. Upon his return he addressed a letter to the Governor of Virginia, detailing the circumstances of his capture and detention, and thereby made such an impression upon the Governor that he was afterwards granted a thousand acres of land in consideration of his services. Governor Dinwiddie was so much in earnest about enlisting the Cherokee and other Southern Indians in the war against the French and Northern Indians, that, in the year 1756, he dispatched the Hon. Peter Randolph and Wm. Byrd to their country as commis- sioners, to negotiate formal treaties with them. The commissioners returned to Williamsburg and, either before or at that time, a treaty was made with the Indians, by which it was stipulated that the C8 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1780. Indians were to send reinforcements to aid tlie Colonies, in consid- eration of the agreement of the Government to build a fort in their country. On the 24th day of April the Governor directed Major Andrew Lewis to enlist, sixty men who could use the saw and axe, and to proceed to the Cherokee country with all speed and erect a fort as agreed upon. ]\Iajor Lewis did not start for the Indian country until June of that year, and on the 20th day of August, wrote the Governor that he might expect a reinforcement of a hun- dred and fifty Cherokees and fifty Catawba Indians at an early date. Major Lewis, with his force, passed down the waters of the Hols- ton to the southern bank of the Tennessee river, at the head of navi- gation, about thirty miles from the present city of Knoxville. He there built a fort, which ]:e called Fort Loudon, in honor of the Governor of Virginia. In September of that year, Major Lewis addressed another letter to the Governor of Virginia, in which he stated that the Indians were very much pleased with their fort, and that the Governor might expect a reinforcement of four hundred Indians. This letter also contained a request from the Indians that the Governor would send a small garrison of white men to hold the fort during the absence of their warriors. By the 18th day of September, 1756, Captain Samuel Overton and his men, who had accompanied Major Lewis, had returned to their homes, leaving Major Lewis in the Indian country to bring in the reinforcements. In the fall of that year Major Lewis returned from the Chero- kee country, accompanied by seven warriors and three women, great- ly to the surprise of the Governor. The French in the meantime had bought off the Indians. Fort Loudon was then estimated to be more than a hundred miles from (lie nearest settlement, was at a place at all times difficult to rjach, even in times of peace, and beyond the reach of help from the settlements in the event of war with the Cherokee Indians. This fort was by order of the Earl of Loudon, then Governor of Virginia, garrisoned by two hundred troops from Britain. The Indians allured artisans into Fort Loudon by donations of land, which they caused to be signed by their own chief and^bv Governor Dobbs of North Carolina. There was a rapid increase of the number of settlers, as a result, at and in the vicinity of Fort London. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 69 In the year 1756 the New River Lead Mines were discovered by Col. John Chiswell, at which time operations were begun. Coh Chiswell had been engaged in mining operations near Fred- ericksburg, Va., for some time previous to this time, and was an intimate friend of Col. Wm Byrd. Abont this time the lead mines were discovered, and four hun- dred acres of land, including the mines, were surveyed on October 1st, 3 781, and a patent was issued to Chas. Lynch, trustee for the lead mine company, by Beverly Randolph, Governor of Virginia, on the 7th day of May, 1791, in consideration of £3 10s. sterling, paid by Chas. Lynch, and of pre-emption Treasury warrants Nos. 2393 and 2356. As far as I can ascertain this property was owned orig- inally by Col. Wm. Byrd, Col. John Chiswell and John Robinson, afterwards Treasurer of Virginia. Col. John Chiswell, some time pi-evious to 1775, killed a man in Cumberland county, Virginia, and while awaiting trial he committed suicide.* At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the Legislature of Virginia directed the Committee of Safety for Fincastle county to lease these mines, at a reasonable rent, and if they could not lease them, to impress them for fthe use of the State. The committee, acting according to their authority, took possession of the lead mines, whether by lease or by impressment I cannot say, anc" the State of Virginia, through her agents, Chas. Lynch and Capt. Calloway, operated these mines during the Revolutionary War, and paid rent therefor to the representatives of John Robinson and Wm. Byrd, and to John Chiswell, the son of Col. John Chiswell. A considerable village had grown up around Fort Loudon by the year 1760. British arms were successful at every point in the contest with the French and Indians in 1758-1760. Canada was conquered and the French expelled from it in 1759, and Fort Du Quesne was cap- turned by General Forbes and the French expelled from the Ohio Valley. The result of the expulsion of the French from Canada and the Ohio Valley proved very disastrous to the western settlements of the Southern Colonies. "The scene of action was only changed from *Ninth Henning's Statutes, pages 73-237. t Vol. 14 Call's Rep., page 17. t 2 H. & M. Rep., page 22. 70 Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. one place to another, and the baneful influence of those active and enterprising enemies that had descended the Ohio soon manifested itself in a more concentrated form among the upper Cherokees, the interior position of whose country furnished facilities of immediate and frequent intercourse with the defeated and exasperated French- men, who now ascended the Tennessee river and penetrated to their mountain fastnesses. An unfortunate quarrel with the Virginians helped to forward their intrigues and opened an easier access into the towns of the savages. The Cherokees, as before remarked, had, agreeably to their treaties, sent a number of their warriors to assist in the reduction of Du Quesne. Eeturning home through the back parts of Virginia, some of them, who had lost their horses on this expedition, laid hold on such as they found running at large and appropriated them. The Virginians resented the injury by killing twelve or fourteen of the unsuspecting warriors and taking several more prisoners. This ungrateful conduct from allies, whose fron- tiers they had defended and recovered, aroused at once a spirit of deep resentment and deadly retaliation The flame soon spread through the upper towns. The garrison at Fort Loudon, consisting of about two hundred men under the command of Captains Demere and Stuart, was, from its remote position from the white settlements, the first to notice the disaffection and to suffer from it. The soldiers, as usual, making excursions into the woods to procure fresh provisions, were attacked by them and some of them killed. From this time such dangers threatened the garrison that every one was confined within the small boundary of the fort." . . "All communication with the settlements across the mountains from which they received supplies was cut off, and the soldiers, having no other sources from which provision could be procured, had no prospect left them but famine or death. Par- ties of the young warriors rushed down upon the frontier settle- ments, and the work of massacre became general along the borders of Virginia and North Carolina."* The Governor of North Carolina undertook to pacify the Indians, and negotiated a treaty with six of their head men, but this treaty did not express the sentiments of the Indians and they paid no attention to it. Numerous companies of Eangers were organized to patrol the *Haywood. Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 71 frontiers and punish the Indians for any depredations they might commit, and every means was exhausted to bring about peace, but the Indians were nOt disposed to listen to any terms of accommo- dation and continued their depredations wherever and whenever possible. The Crovernor of Virginia directed Col. William Byrd to proceed to Fort Loudon with a body of backwoodsmen froiu Virginia, num- bering al>out six hundred men, and to relieve the garrison. Col. Byrd organized his force and began the march, but was greatly liampered by lack of men and supplies. JSFotwithstanding the fact that Col. Byrd was an experienced cam- paigner, he occupied most of his time in building block-houses and roads, and accomplished nothing in the way of relieving Fort Lou- don. He crossed Kew river to the lead mines and immediately pro- ceeded to build a fort about two miles south of the present site of Max Meadows on the McAdam road near the home of James Mc- Gavock, to which he gave the name of Fort Chiswell, in honor of his friend. Col. John Chiswell, who was at that time working the lead mines which had been discovered some time previously. From Fort Chiswell Col. Byrd marched to the Long Island in the South Fork of Holston river, opening a road from Fort I'hiswell to Long Island. At this point. Col. Byrd and his men spent the winter of 1760. During the winter Col. Byrd erected a fort upon a beautiful level on the north bank of the South Fork of the Holston river, nearly oppo- site the upper end of Long Island, to which fort he gave the name of Fort Robinson, in honor of John Eobinson, the partner of him- self and Col. John Chiswell in the ownership of tlie lead mines. This fort was built upon an extensive plan. The walls were suffi- cient in thickness to^ withstand the force of a small cannon shot. There were proper bastions, and the gates were spiked with large nails so that the wood was entirely covered.* At the time this fort was built, it was supposed that the Long Island was in Virginia, the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina not having been run farther west than Steep Rock. And thus to Virginians may be assigned the lionor of having *Fort Patrick Heury, 177(3. 72 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-178G. erected Fort London and Fort Eobinson, the first Anglo-American forts witliin tlie present State of Tennessee. \\'!iile ciiiiaged in hiiildiiig Fort IJobinson Col. Byrd was joined by five Inuidi'cd men IVoiii Xoi'lh Carolina nnder the command of Col. Waddell. As a resnlt of the conrse pursued l)y Coh Byrd, great dissatisfac- tion arose among his men, and C^ol. Byrd resig-ned, and was suc- ceeded in the command of the force, now numliering al)out twelve hundred men, by Col. Stephens. In tlie meantime, the distant garrison at Fort Lomlon, consist- ing of two lumdred men, was reduced to the dreadful alternative of perishing by hunger or submitting to the mercy of the enraged Cherokees. The Governor of South Carolina, hearing that the Vir- ginians had undertaken to relieve it, for awdiile seemed satisfied and anxiously waited to hear the news of that happy event, but so remote was the fort from any settlement and so difficult was it to march an army through a barren wilderness, where every thicket con- cealed an enemy, and to- carry, at the same time, suffi.cient supplies along with them, that the Virginians had not succeeded in giving them assistance. Provisions being entirely exhausted at Fort Lou- don, the garrison Avas upon the point of starving. For a whole month they had no other subsistence than the flesh of lean hoTses and dogs and a small supply of Indian beans, procured stealthily for them by some friendly Cherokee w^omen. The officers had long en- deavored to encourage the men. with the hope oi succour ; but now, being blockaded night and day by the enemy and having no resource left, they threatened to leave the fort and die at once by the hands of the savages, rather than perish slowly by famine. In this extrem- ity the commander was obliged to call a council of war tO' consider what was proper to be done. The officers were all of the opinion that it was impossible to hold out longer. They therefore agreed to surrender the fort to the Cherokees on the best terms that could be obtained from them. For this purpose, Capt. Stuart, an officer of great sagacity and address and much beloved by those of the Indians who reuiained in the British interest, ])rocured leave to go to Chota, one of the principal towns in the neighborhood, where he obtained the following terms of capitulation, which were signed by the coni- iiiniiding officers and two of the Cherokee chiefs. "•That the uai-rison of Fort Ijoudon march out with their arms Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 73 and drums, each soldier having as much powder and ball as his officer shall think necessary for the march, and all the baggage he may choose to carry; that the garrison be permitted to march, unmolested, to Virginia or Fort Prince George, as the commanding officer shall tliink proper, and that a number of Indians be appointed to escort them and hunt for provisions diiring the march; that such sol- diers as are lame, or by sickness disabled from marching, be received into the Indian towns and kindly used until they recover, and then be allowed to return to Fort Prince George; that the Indians do ju'ovide for the garrison as many horses as they conveniently can for the march, agreeing with the officers and soldiers for payment ; that tlie fort, gTeat guns, powder, ball and spare arms be delivered to the Indians without fraud or further delay, on the day appointed for the march of the troops.* "Agreeably to this stipulation, the garrison delivered up the fort and marched out with their arms, accompanied by Oconostota, Judds' friend, the Prince of Chota, and several other Indians, and that day went fifteen miles on their way to Fort Prince George. A-t night they encamped upon a plain about two miles from Tali- quo, an Indian town, when all their attendants, upon one pretext or another, left them ; which the officers considered as no good sign, and therefore placed a strict guard around their camp. During the night they remained unmolested, but next morning about break of day a soldier from an outpost came running in and informed them that he saw a number of Indians, armed and painted in the most dreadful manner, creeping among the bushes and advancing in order to surround them. Scarcely had the officer time to order his men to stand to their arms, when the savages poured in upon them a heavy fire from different quarters, accompanied by the most hideous yells, which struck a panic into the soldiers, who were so much en- feebled and dispirited that they were incapable of making any effect- ual resistance. Captain Demere, with three other officers and about twenty-six privates, fell at the first onset. Some fled into the woods and were afterwards taken prisoners and confined among the towns in the valley. Captain Stuart and those that remained were seized, pinioned and brought back to Fort Loudon. No sooner had Attakul- lakulla heard that his friend, Mr. Stuart, had escaped, than he has- tened to the fort and purchased him from the Indian that took him, *Haywood. 74 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. giving him his rifle, clothes and all he could command hy way of ransom. He then took possession of Capt. Demere's house, where he kept his prisoner as one of his family and freely shared with him the little provisions his table afforded, until a fair oppor- tunity should offer for rescuing him from the hands of the savages, but the poor soldiers were kept in a miserable state of captivity for some time and then redeemed by the province at great expense. "While the prisoners were confined at Fort Loudon, Oconostota formed the design of attacking Fort Prince George. To this bold undertaking he was the more encouraged, as the cannon and am- munition surrendered by the garrison would, under direction of French officers who were near him, secure its success. Messengers were therefore dispatched to the valley towns requesting their war- riors to meet him at Stickoee. "By accident, discovery was made of ten bags of powder and a large quantity of ball, that had been secretly buried at the fort to pre- vent their falling into the enemy's hands. This discovery had nearly proved fatal to Captain Stuart ; but the interpreter had such presence of mind as to assure the incensed savages that these warlike stores were concealed without Stuart's knowledge or consent. The sup- ply of ammunition being sufficient for the siege, a council was held at Chota, to which the captive Stuart was taken. Here he was re- minded of the obligations he was under for having his life spared, and as they had determined to take six cannon and two cohorts against Fort Prince George, the Indians told him he must accom- pany the expedition, manage the artillery and write such letters to the commandant as they should dictate to him. They further in- formed him that if the officer should refuse to surrender, they had determined to burn the prisoners, one by one, before his face and try whether he could be so obstinate as to hold out while his friends were expiring in the flames. "Captain Stuart was much alarmed at his present situation and from that moment resolved to make his escape or perish in the attempt. He privately communicated his design to Attakullakulla and told him that the thought of bearing arms against his country- men harrowed his feelings, and he invoked his assistance to accom- plish his release. The old warrior took him by the hand, told him he was his friend and was fully apprised of the designs of his country- men, and pledged his efforts to deliver him from danger. Attakulla- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 75 kulla claimed Captain Stuart as his prisoner and resorted to strata- gem to rescue him. He told the other Indians that he intended to go a hunting for a few days and to take his prisoner with him. Accordingly they departed, accompanied by the warrior's wife, his brother and two soldiers. The distance to the frontier settlements was great and the utmost expedition was necessary to prevent sur- prise from Indians pursuing them. Nine days and nights did they travel through a dreary wilderness, shaping their course by the sun and moon, for Virginia. On the tenth they arrived at the banks of the Holston river, where they fortunately fell in with a party of three hundred men, sent out under the command of Col. Byrd for the relief of Fort Loudon. On the fourteenth day the Captain reached Col. Byrd's camp on the frontiers of Virginia. His faithful friend Attakullakulla was here loaded with presents and provisions and sent back to protect the unhappy prisoners till they should be ran- somed and to exert his influence with the Cherokees for the restora- tion of peace."* It will be observed that Fort Loudon was defended by twelve great guns. It cannot be explained how the cannon had been transported to Fort Loudon as early as 1756. They could not have been brought down the Ohio and up the Tennessee, for the French were in pos- session of the mouth of the Tennessee. The only plausible ex- planation that can be given is that these cannon were carried across the mountains from Augusta county when reinforcements were sent to Fort Loudon, and then along Indian trails upon pack-horses. It is possible that these cannon were brought from Fort Lewis to the head waters of the Holston and carried down the same in boats or canoes to the mouth of the Holston, and thence up the Little Ten- nessee to Fort Loudon. It is sad to contemplate the fate of the occupants of this the first Anglo-American fort established in Tennessee. It does not appear that the fort at Long Island was permanently occupied at this time. About this time, large numbers of hunters from Eastern Virginia, allured by the report of the abundance of game and the prospect of gain in the western wilderness, organized themselves into companies, and hunted throughout Southwest Vir- ginia, East Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky. The first company of hunters who visited this section, as far as *Haywoo(i. 76 Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-1786. I can ascertain, was a company organized by Elislia Wallen (from whom Wallen's Creek and Wallen's Eidge received their names, as well as Wallen's Station in Lee county), accompanied by Scaggs, Blevins, Cox and others. They remained eighteen months, during which time they hunted in Clinch and Powell's Valleys in Virginia, and Carter's Valley in Tennessee, and went as far as Laurel moun- tain in Kentucky. About the same time Daniel Boone, accompanied by several hunt- ers, visited the Holston and camped the first night in what is now known as Taylor's Valley. On the succeeding day, they hunted down the South Fork of Holston river and traveled thence to what was thereafter known as Wolf Hills, where they encamped the second night, near where Black's Fort was afterwards built. It is interest- ing to note at this point that Daniel Boone and his companion, im- mediately after nightfall, were troubled by the appearance of great numbers of wolves, which assailed their dogs with such fury that it was with great difficulty that the hunters succeeded in repelling their attacks and saving the lives of their dogs, a number of which were killed or badly crippled by the wolves. The wolves had their home in the cive that underlies the town of Abingdon. The entrance to this cave is upon the lot now occupied by the residence of Capt. James L. White, and it was from this incident that Abingdon re- ceived its first name, Wolf Hills. Boone and his companion re- mained at Abingdon for a short while, during which time they dis- agreed and separated, Boone taking the Indian trail leading to Long Island, and ISTathaniel Gist, his companion, following the Indian trail to Cumberland Gap. They did not meet again upon this trip. On Boon's creek in East Tennessee was found a tree upon which was found the following inscription: "D. Boon cilled a bar on this tree in the year 1760"; and near Long Island in Tennessee a tree was found in recent years upon which was the following inscription : "D. Boon killa bar on this tree 1773." A block containing the last inscription was taken from this tree and is now in possession of Mrs. James W, Preston, of Abingdon, and establishes the fact that Daniel Boone was upon the waters of the Holston as early as 1760, and again in 1773. A treaty of peace was conclwded between the French and English at Fontainbleau, in 1762, by which the English acquired Canada and that portion of the Mississippi Valley east of that river, but Daniel Boone and Boone Trees. 78 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. peace was not concluded with the Indians until the next year. The Indians had become accustomed to bloodshed and greatly detested the Anglo-American settlers. They were greatly exasperated by the cession of Canada to the English and at the French for deserting them. The Indians detested the Anglo- American settlers for the very evi- dent reason that they asserted title to all the lands lying upon the western waters, were building forts at various places upon the fron- tiers and manning them with British troops, and because their set- tlers were occupying the favorite hunting grounds of the Indians. The Indians, being deprived of the more moderate counsel of their French allies, therefore became more brutal and savage in their con- duct towards the settlers, and so active and intelligent were the Indians in conducting their campaigns against the settlements that all the land lying along the waters of the Mississippi was depopulated by July, 1763, except a small settlement at Draper's Meadows, on New river. The condition of the country at that time is best de- scribed by a letter of Col. Wm. Preston, which letter is here pub- lished. The letter is dated Greenfield, 27th July, 1763. The writer says : "Our situation at present is very different from what it was when we had the pleasure of your company in this country. All the valleys of Eoanoke river and along the waters of the Mississippi are depopulated, except Captain English with a few families on the New river, who have built a fort, among whom are Mr. Thompson and his family, alone remaining. They intend to make a stand till some as- sistance be sent them. Seventy-fi,ve of the Bedford militia went out in order to pursue the enemy, but I hear the officers and part of the men are gone home, and the rest gone to Eeed creek to help in the family of James Davis and in two or three other families there that dare not venture to travel. "I have built a little fort in which are eighty-seven persons, twenty of whom bear arms. We are in a pretty good posture of defence, and with the aid of God are determined to make a stand. In five or six other plades in this part of the country they have fallen into the same method and with the same resolution. How long we may keep them is uncertain. No enemy have appeared here as yet. Their guns are frequently heard and their footing observed, which makes us believe they will pay us a visit. My two sisters and their families Southivest Virginia, 1746-1786. 79 are here and all in good health. We bear our misfortunes so far with * * * and are in hopes of being relieved I have a thousand things * * * Captain Christian can't wait * * * i give you joy/' (The asterisks indicate parts of the letter torn out.) In the year 1760, a party of Indians, numbering eight or ten, crossed the Blue Eidge and murdered a number of people in Bedford county, took several women and children prisoners and returned by way of New river. A man in the New river settlement, while searching for stray horses, discovered the Indians eiicamped about six miles from the New river fort, of which information was given to William Inglis, who gathered sixteen or eighteen men and proceeded to attack the Indians, about daybreak the next morning. A considerable battle followed, in which one white man and seven Indians were killed, the rest of the Indians making their escape. Capt. Inglis and his men secured all the provisions and plunder of the Indians. The western settlements for ten years enjoyed comparative peace from the Indians. The only trouble they had to contend with was from parties of thieving Indians that occasionally visited the settle- ments. The British Government previously to 1763 claimed the lands lying west of the Alleghany mountains by right of the discov- ery of John Cabot made in 1497, and at no time recognized the claims of the Indian inhabitants to these lands. In the treaty concluded with France in 1762, while France ceded to England all her rights in this territory, otill no provision was made for extinguishing the Indian title thereto, and the Indians denied the right of France to cede England these lands. In March, 1764, a company of Indians visited the home of David Cloyd, about five miles west of the present Fincastle, Va., and tomahawked Mrs. Cloyd, killed John Cloyd, destroyed the entire household, and carried off a large sum of money that belonged to David Cloyd. Mrs. Cloyd lived until the next morning and told all the circumstances connected with the raid. Before dying she told how an Indian had taken up a cob and wiped the blood from her temples, exclaiming "Poor old woman !" This company of Indians were pursued by a company of militia under Capt. James Montgomery, and one of the Indians was killed (m John's creek about thirty miles from Cloyd's house, with £137 18s. on his person. A dispute arose among the militia as to the 80 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. ownership of the money and it was deposited in the hands of Capt. James Montgomery until the matter should be decided. We here insert a copy of the court records, which best explains the matter. In Augusta County Court, August Term, 1766. David Cloyd * Plaintiff, vs. Recover goods taken by Indians. James Montgomery, Defendant. We agree that a party of Indians made an Irruption into the Colony, attacked the Plaintiff's House, rifled it and bore off up- wards of £200 in gold and silver and several household goods and negroes. We agree that a party of the militia pursued the enemy and over- took them on John's creek, a branch of the James river, at the dis- tance of 30 or 35 miles from the Plaintiff's House, and attacked and killed one of the number. We agree that upon searching the Indian's Budgett a quantity of gold, some dollars and pieces of small silver were found, which upon being weighed amounted to the sum of £137 18s. We agree that the money found in the budgett of the Indians consisted of the same coins whicli the Plaintiff was known to have in his house when plundered by the Indians. We agree that after the money was recovered from the Indians a dispute arose among the militia to whom the money of right be- longed, whether it should be delivered to the Pltff. who was deeuied to have been the owner of it before it fell into the hands of the Indiana, or whether the militia were entitled to it as having recov- ered it from them, upon which dispute that sum of money was lodged in the hands of the Defendant to be by him kept till that point should be settled. We agree that the Plaintiff made an offer of 30 shillings to each of the men who had assisted in the pursuit of the Enemy. We agree that a part of the Company of Militia made an offer to the Plaintiff of delivering up his* negroes and household goods if he would allow them the money. We agree that the Defendant paid the sum of money out of his hands to the Militia and that several of them returned their divi- dends to the Plaintiff amounting to the sum of £106.17.2. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 8l We agree that the Plaintiff paid to several of the captors who returned him their dividends the sum of 30s. the premium by him before offered for their service. We agree that if the law be for the Plaintiff that Judgment be entered for him for the sum of £31.0.10, if the Law be for the Defendant we agree that Judgment be entered for him. Gabriel Jones^ Atty. for Pltff. Peter Hogg^ Atty. for Deft. We have no further account of Indians invading Southwest Vir- ginia, until the year 1764, at which time a party of Indians came up Sandy and on to New river, where they divided, one party go- ing towards the settlements at Roanoke and Catawba, the other to the settlement on Jackson river. The company of Indians that went towards the Eoanoke settlement were accidentally discovered by Captain Paul and a company of twenty men, at midnight, on the New river, near the mouth of Indian creek. Capt. Paul's men fired upon the Indians, killing three and wounding many others; the rest fled and escaped. It is hard to depict the effect of these terri- ble scenes upon the settlers of Western Virginia. iVmong the pri- soners rescued by Capt. Paul was a Mrs. Green, who knew Capt. Paul and recognized his voice. She was mistaken for an Indian squaw by one of Capt. Paul's men, who was in the act of tomahawk- ing her, when she called the name of Capt. Paul, which saved her alive. She was asked why she made no resistance ; to which she replied, "I would as soon die as not; my husband is murdered, my children slain, my parents are dead ; I have not a relative in America, every- thing dear to me is gone. I have no wishes, no hopes, no fears. I would not rise to my feet to save my life." The English Government was exceedingly anxious to secure peace with the Indians, and this year Col. Boquet published a royal proclamation forbidding the whites to settle or hunt west of the Alleghany mountains; which read as follows: "And we do strictly enjoin and require all persons whatsoever, who have, either will- fully or inadvertently, seated themselves upon any lands within the Countries above described (West of the Alleghany mountains), or upon any other lands which not having been ceded to, or purchased by us, are still reserved to said Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to 83 Southwest Virginia, 111^6-1786. remove themselves from said settelments." This proclamation was issued in October, 17G4, but it failed to accomplish the object in view, and thereupon, in the year 1765, two armed movements were made into the Indian Territory, the one to Lake Erie and the other to the Muskingum. Two treaties were made Avith the Indians in the autumn of this year, one at Niagara and the other at the Mus- kingum. The treaty signed at the Muskingum was negotiated by Col. Boquet with the Delaware and Shawnese Indians. At the time of the signing of this treaty. Col. Boquet received from the Indians two hundred and six prisoners, ninety Virginians from West Augusta and one hundred and sixteen Pennsylvanians. And thus was concluded at the end of ten years of hard fighting the French-Indian war, which began in 1754. If the British Government was candid in the promulgation of the proclamation of 1763, she thereby admitted the claims of the Indians, and accomplished nothing as a result of the ten years' war with the French and Indians just closed. After the publication of this proclamation, the citizens of the Colonies became criminals when they, in any way, trespassed upon any of the lands on the waters of the Mississippi. Nevertheless, the frontier hunters and the western settlers proceeded with their explorations as if that proclamation had never been issued, and some historians go as far as to say that even the leading public men of that day did not consider this proclamation binding, but as only intended to appease the apprehensions of the Indians, but in this opinion we cannot join. Whatever may have been the intention of the proclamation, it is certain that its effect was to greatly retard the settlements of the lands west of the mountains. The "Loyal Land Company" on the 25th day of May, 1763, peti- tioned the Governor and Council for a renewal and confirmation of the grant made to them for 800,000 acres of land by the Gov- ernor and Council of Virginia in 1749, but their petition was de- nied, upon the ground that they were restricted by his Majesty's instructions from renewing or confirming the grant. From this action of the Governor and Council of Virginia, it may be well said, all the surveys made upon the waters of the Holston and Clinch rivers by James Patton, Dr. Thomas Walker and others, and all the patents issued therefor were void, for the reason that Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 83 the King of England had no right to grant to any of his subjects lands belonging to the Indians. Nevertheless, Dr. Walker, agent for the "Loyal Land Company," and the devisees of Col. James Patton, immediately proceeded to survey and sell lands upon the waters of the Holston and Clinch rivers, under their grants, as if they had never been restrained from so doing by the proclamation of 1763 and by the action of the Governor and Council of Virginia, and by the 16th day of Decem- ber, 1773, Dr. Walker, as agent for the "Loyal Company," had actually surveyed and disposed of to purchasers 1,756 tracts of land containing 156,164 acres; and this, in addition to the lands sur- veyed in the years 1753-'54 — making a total of 201,554 acres out of the 800,000 acres granted. In the year 1766, Dr. Walker, as agent for the "Loyal Com- pany," caused advertisements to be distributed through several of the States, north and south, requesting all persons who had contracted for any of the company's land and were driven off their settlements in the former war, to return and claim the same or it would be sold to others. The Legislature of Virginia, in the fall of the year 1778, confirmed the acts of Dr. Walker in the premises to the extent stated, but declined to allow the company any fur- ther time or to survey any further lands under this grant. At the same session of the General Assembly of Virginia William Pres- ton and William Thompson, executors of James Patton, deceased, were authorized to complete the grant of 120,000 acres of land made by James Patton, under his grant, and to execute deeds to the purchasers therefor. Nathaniel Gist, a noted Indian trader, in the year 1761, pur- chased from the Cherokee Indians the Great Island lying in the Holston river, known as Long Island, and claimed the same, under his grant from the Indians, and in the year 1777 he peti- tioned the Legislature of Virginia to confirm the title thereto to him. What action the Legislature took upon this petition cannot be ascertained, but it may be presumed that the Legislature de- clined his request, as on the 24th day of June, 1776, the General Assembly of Virginia, with the approval of the Governor, "Eesolved, That no purchase of lands within the chartered limits of Virginia shall be made under any pretense whatever, from any Indian tribe or nation, without the approval of the Virginia Legislature." 84 Souiliwest Virginia, 17Jf6-178G. This island was a favorite resort of the Indians, and seemed to have been anxiously sought after by Eichard Pearis and Na- thaniel Gist, probably two of the best Indian spies and hunters we read of in our early history. From the conclusion of the French- Indian war in December, 1764, until February 13, 1770, nothing of importance occurred beyond the visits of the Long Hunters and the surveyors for the land companies, a few settlements being made. In the year 1765, John Campbell, who afterwards became clerk of the County Court of Washington county, visited the waters of the Holston with Dr. Walker, and purchased for his father, David Campbell, and himself, from John Buchanan, a large tract of land near the head waters of the Holston river, containing 740 acres, called "Eoyal Oak,"* and, being the same tract of land surveyed V for John Buchanan on the 14th day of October, 1747. Among the settlers that came this year (1768) was Joseph Mar- tin, a daring and enterprising backwoodsman. He was accom- panied by a band of from twenty to thirty men, and led them to Powell's Valley, now in Lee county, Ya., where they erected a fort upon the north side of a creek, near two fine springs of water, which fort and creek were thereafter called Martin's Fort and Martin's Creek. The shape of the fort was a parallelogram which enclosed about one-half an acre of ground. There were some five or six cabins built about twenty feet apart, with strong stockades between them, and in these stockades there were port-holes. Here they cleared the land and planted corn and other vegetables. In the latter part of the summer of this year the Indians broke them up, and the settlers returned to the waters of the Holston. Mar- tin's Fort was not occupied after the Eevolutionary War. Several years thereafter John and Arthur Campbell, accom- panied by their sister, Margaret, came out and settled at Eoyal Oak, and in the year 1769 David Campbell, the father, with his wife and sons, James, David, Eobert and Patrick, and his daugh- ters, Mary, Martha, Sarah and Ann, came out and settled at the same place. In the year 1766, a party of hunters visited the Clinch Valley, and two of their number, Carr and Butler, decided to remain. They built a cabin at a place afterwards known as "Crab Or- *Near Marion, Va. Southivest Virginia, 17It-6-1786. 85 chard," about three miles west of Tazewell Courthouse. In the year 1769, Carr separated from Butler and settled on a beautiful piece of land two miles east of Tazewell Courthouse. While many prospective settlers visited this section previously to 1769, but few permanent settlements were made because of the fact that the Indians claimed, and the English Government ad- mitted their right to all the lands lying west of the mountains, but the frontiers were lined with prospective settlers anxious for an opportunity to take possession of and settle the new land. Great numbers of emigrants were impatiently waiting along the fron- tiers for an opportunity to make a rush for new homes on the waters of the Mississippi. The British Government recognized the fact that it could not much longer restrain the people and protect the Indians in their rights, and early in the spring of 1768 Sir William Johnson was directed by the home government to negotiate a treaty with the Delaware and the Shawnese Indians. John Stuart, the superintend- ent of Indian affairs, about the same time was directed to negotiate a treaty with the Southern Indians, extinguishing their rights to the much-desired land. Sir William Johnson, pursuant to order, appointed a Congress for the meeting of the Six Rations with the commissioners of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, at Port Stanwix, near Oswego, ISTew York, on October 24, 1768. The Con- gress met pursuant to order, and on Kovember 5, 1768, a treaty was negotiated with the Indians, by* which they conveyed unto the British Sovereign, Lord King George III, all of a certain tract of land situated in North Am.erica at the back of the British settle- ments, tlie deed being in the words and figures following, to-wit: To ALL to whom these presents may come, or may concern : We the Sachems & Chiefs of the Six United Nations and of the Shaw- nese, Delawares, Mingoes, of Ohio and other dependent Tribes, on behalf of ourselves and the rest of our several Nations, the Chiefs and Warriors who are now here convened by Sir William Johnson, Baronet, His Majesty's Superintendent of our Affairs, send greet- ing. Whereas His Majesty was graciously pleased to propose to us in the year 1765, that a Boundary line should be fixed between the English and us, to ascertain and establish our limits and prevent those encroachments of which we have so long and so loudly com- plained, and to put a stop to the many fraudulent advantages 86 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. which had been so often taken of us in Land affairs, which Bound- ary appearing to us as a wise and good measure, we did then agree to a part of a line and promised to settle the whole finally whenso- ever Sir Wm. Johnson should be fully empowered to trade with us for that purpose. And whereas his said Majesty has at length given Sir William Jolinson orders, Sir William Johnson has convened the Chiefs and Warriors of our respective Nations, who are the true and absolute proprietors of the lands in question and who are here now to a very considerable number, and whereas many uneasinesses and doubts have arisen amongst us, which have given rise to appre- hension that the line may not be strictly observed on the part of the English, in which case matters might be worse than before, which apprehensions together with the dependent state of some of our Tribes, and other circumstances which retarded the settlement and became the subject of some debate. Sir Wm. Johnson has at length so far satisfied us as to induce us to come to an agreement concerning the line, which brought to a conclusion. The whole being explained to us in a large assembly of our people, and before Sir William Johnson, and in the presence of his Excellency the Governor of New Jersey, the Commissioners for the Provinces of Virginia and Pennsylvania, and sundry other gentlemen, by which line, so agreed upon, a considerable tract of country along several provinces is to be thus ceded to his Majesty which we are induced to and do ratify and confirm to his said Majesty, from the expectation and confidence we place in his royal goodness, and he will graciously comply with our humble request, as the same is expressed in the speech of the several Nations addressed to his Ma- jesty through Sir William Johnson, on Tuesday the first of the pres- ent month of November, wherein we have declared our expectations of the continuance of his Majesty's favor, and our desire that our ancient engagements be observed and our affairs attended to by the officer who has the management thereof, enabling him to dis- charge all these matters propefly for our interest. That the land_s occupied by the Mohocks around their villages, as well as by any other Nation affected by this our cession, may effectually remain to them and to their posterity, and that any engagements regard- ing property that they may now be under, may be prosecuted and our present grants deemed valid on our parts, with the several other humble requests contained in our speech. And whereas at the set- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 87 tling of the said line, it appears that the line described by his Majesty's order, was not extended Northward of Oswego, or to the Southward of Great Kanawha Eiver, we have agreed to con- tinue the line to the Northward, on the supposition that it was omit- ted by reason of our not having come to any determination con- cerning its course at the Congress held in 1765, inasmuch as the "line to the Northward became the most necessary of any for pre- venting the encroachments at our very towns and residences, and we have given this line more favorable to Pennsylvania for the reasons and considerations mentioned in the treaty. We have like- wise continued it South to Cherokee River,"* because the same is and we do declare it to be our true bounds with the Southern In- dians, and that we have undoubted right to the country as far south as that River, which makes our cession to his Majesty much more advantageous than that proposed. Now THEREFOKE KNOW YE, that we, the Sachems and Chiefs beforementioned, native Indians and proprietors of the lands here- inafter described, for and in behalf of ourselves and the whole of our Confederacy, for the consideration hereinbefore mentioned and also for and in consideration of a valuable present of the sev- eral articles in use and among the Indians, which, together with a large sum of money, amounting in the whole to the sum of £10,460 7s 3 pence, sterling, to us now delivered and paid by Sir William Johnson, Baronet, his Majesty's Sole Agent and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, for the Northern Department of America, in the name and on behalf of our Sovereign Lord, George Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, De- fender of the Faith, the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge, we the said Indians have for us, our heirs and successors, granted, bargained, sold, released and confirmed, and by these presents, do grant, bargain, sell, release and confirm, unto our said Sovereign Lord, King George Third, all that tract of land situated in North America at the back of the British settlements bounded by a line which we have now agreed upon, and do hereby establish as the boundary between us and the British Colonies in America, begin- ning at the mouth of the Cherokee or Hogohegee River, where it empties into the River Ohio, and running from thence along the Southern side of the said River to Kittanning, which is above Fort *Holston river. 88 Southtvest Virginia,, 17JfG-17S0. Pitt, from thence by a direct line to the nearest fork of the West Branch of the Susquehanna, thence through the Alleghany Moun- tains along the Southern side of the said West Branch until it comes opposite to the mouth of a creek called Tiadgton, thence across the West Branch, and along the South Side of that creek and along the North side of the Burnett Hills to a creek called Awandae, thence down the same to the East side of that Eiver to Oswego, from thence East to the Delaware Kiver, and up that Eiver to opposite where Tianadhera flows into the Susquehanna, thence to Tianahedra and up the West side thereof, and the West side of its West Branch to the head thereof, and thence by a direct line to Canada Creek, where it empties into the Wood Creek at the West End of the carrying place, beyond Fort Stanwix, and extend- ing Eastward from every part of the said line as far as the lands formerly purchased so as to comprehend the whole of the lands or settlement, except what is within the Province of Pennsylvania, to- gether with the hereditaments, and appurtenances to the same be- longing or appertaining in tlie fullest and most ample manner, and all the Estate, Eight, Title, Interest, Property, possession, Benefit and claim and demand, either in law or equity, of each and every one of us, in and of the same, or any part thereof, to liave and to hold, the whole lands and premises hereby granted, bargained, sold, released and confirmed as aforesaid with the hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging, under the reservations made in the Treaty, unto our Sovereign Lord, King George Third, his heirs and successors to and for his and their behoof forever. In witness whereof, we the Chiefs of the Confederacy, have hereunto set our marks and seals at Fort Stanwix, the 5th day of November, 1768, in the 9th year of his Majesty's reign. Signed, Sealed and delivered. In presence of Sir William Franklin, Gov. N. J. Fred Smith, Chief Justice, Thos. Walker, Commiss'r from Va. Eichard Peters, ) of the Council, James Tilghman, j His Texanasore, or Abraham, [L. S.] Mark. Southwest Virginia^ 1H6-1786. His Conaquieso, Mark. His Sugnaregsora, Mark. His Blunt or Chenngliita, Mark. His Tigaya, ' Mark. His Gostrave, Mark. 89 [L. S.] [L. S.] [L. S.] [L. S.] [L. S.] This Congress was attended by 3,200 Indians of the different tribes composing the Six Nations, and thns the title of the North- ern Indians to all the territory included within Washington coun- ty was extinguished. The Confederacy of the Six Nations claimed, by right of con- quest, title to the lands thus ceded. About the year 1685 this Con- federacy of Indians overran and conquered all the country south- wards from the Ohio as far south as Georgia and as far west as the Mississippi. An immense territory, 1,300 miles long and 600 miles broad. It will be observed from an inspection of this deed that Dr. Thomas Walker was the Virginia Commissioner at this Congress, and he was beyond question interested in the successful negotiation of this treaty, not only in behalf of Virginia, but to a greater extent in behalf of the "Loyal Land Company," of which he was a part owner and the agent. Nothing was of greater importance to the "Loyal Land Company" than the extinguishment of the title of the Indians to the lands on the western waters, out of which they had a grant for 800,000 acres of land, and from the prosecution of their work in surveying, settling and selling the same, they had been re- 90 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. strained and prohibited by the King's proclamation in 17G3, and by the action of the Governor and the Council of Virginia. About the same time John Stuart, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the South, concluded a treaty with the Cherokee Indians in the absence of Dr. Walker, by which the British Crown acquired the right to all the land lying east of a straight line passing by Chiswell's mine, on the eastern bank of the Great Kanawha* Eiver, and from Chiswell's mine on the eastern bank of the river in a straight line to the confluence of the Great Conhoway in Ohio. The Commissioner of Indian Affairs communicated the result of the treaty to the Governor of Virginia by letter, which letter is as follows: Hard Labor, Oct. 17, 1768. Sir: I have the honor to acquaint you in obedience to his Majesty's commands, on the 13th curr't, I met at this place all the principal Chiefs of the upper and lower Cherokee Nations, and on the 14th by his Majesty's royal authority concluded the Treaty with said Indians, ratifying the cession of land lying within the Provinces of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia by them to his Ma- jesty and His heirs forever, and confirming the Boundary line marked by the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, ac- cording to the several agreements entered into with said Indians. The line now ultimately confirmed and ratified by said Treaty was as follows: Prom the place called Towahilie, on the Northern Branch of the Savannah Eiver, a North 50 degrees East course in a straight line, to a place called Dewisses corner, or yellow water, from Dewisses, or yellow water, a North 50 degrees East course in a straight line to the south bank of Eeedy Elver, at a place called Wanghoe, or Elm Tree, where the line behind Carolina terminates. From a place called Wanghoe, or Elm Tree, to the South Bank of Eeedy Eiver, a course in a straight line to a mountain called Tagon Mountain where the great ridge of the mountains becomes impervious. In a straight line to Chiswell's mine on the Eastern Bank of the Great Conhoway Eiver, to a N. B. E. course, and from Chiswell's mine on the East- ern Bank of the Great Conhoway in a straight line to a North course *New River. Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 91 to the confluence of the Great Conhoway with the Ohio. As soon as possible after my return to Charlestown I shall send you extracts of my conference and an authentic copy of the above mentioned Treaty concluded with said Chiefs. I acquainted the Chiefs that I expected their Deputies to set out immediately from this place with my Deputy to meet your Commissioners at Colonel Chis- well's Mine in order to finish marking the Boundary line, as agreed upon, but they objected, and desired that that service might be de- ferred till the spring of next year. The reasons they urged for this delay are as follows : That when they set the 10th of Novem- ber for the time of meeting your Commissioners to proceed upon that important service, they understood that they had no more to mark than from the mountains where the line behind North Caro- lina was, to Chiswell's Mine on the Conhoway, as they considered the river from there to its confluence with the Ohio as a natural Boundary. But as the line is to run in a straight line, almost due North from the Mine, to the mouth of the river, the advanced season of the year will render that service impracticable until the Spring, as the line now ultimately agreed upon runs through a large extent of mountainous country, uninhabited, where in the winter the cold will be extremely intense, and there will be no shel- ter for men, nor food for horses at that season. The reasons ap- peared to me so just and good, that I was obliged to acquiesce in them, and I send this letter by Express to prevent, as much as pos- sible, any disappointment that may result from this alteration. I hope you will receive it in time to prevent your Commissioners from setting out. The Chiefs have appointed the 10th of May next for meeting your Commissioners at Chiswell's Mine, which I hope will prove agreeable and their reasons for altering the time satis- factory to you. I reproached the Cherokees severely for the mur- der of flve emigrants from your provinces, who were going to the Mississippi, which was committed in the summer last. They con- fessed it and said the perpetrators were a party, of Chilhowie peo- ple who urged in their own defence, that their relations had been killed in Augusta County, in the province, in 1765, for which they had never received any satisfaction although repeated promises had been made either of putting the guilty persons to death, or making a compensation in goods from your province, which they believed, because I had confirmed them. That they nevertheless 92 Southivest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. were disappointed, and being tired with waiting, took that satis- faction which they could not obtain from our justice. All the warriors declared that they disapproved of the action, but that the Chilhowie people were authorized by the custom of their country to act as they did, and their idea of never having received any satisfac- tion was undeniable ; that in any other instance nothing should pre- vent their executing strict justice according to Treaties. It is not only extremely disagreeable to myself, but very detrimental to his Majesty's service, to be obliged to fail in any promise I make to Indians. The compensation of 500 Indian dressed Deer skins value in goods for every person murdered, which on the faith of Gov. Fauquier's repeated letters, I engaged them to receive, early in the Spring, was extremely moderate, and this you will acknowledge if you will compare it with the sum expended by the Province of Pennsylvania, on a late similar occasion. And I must confess that this disappointment will render me extremely cautious in making promises on any future occasion. I am to meet the Chiefs of the Upper and Lower Creek Nations at Silver Bluff on Savannah Eiver, the first of November, to ratify the cessions to his Majesty in the two Floridas and Georgia, and expect to be at Charlestown by the time the bearer can return there. I have the honor of being, very respected Sir, Your most obedient and very humble servant, John Stuart. It will be observed from a perusal of the above letter that the superintendent contemplated the running of the line, as fixed by the treaty, immediately, but the Indians insisted upon postponing the time for running this line till the 10th day of May, 1769. This treaty gave great dissatisfaction to the Colony of Virginia and to Dr. Walker, the agent for the "Loyal Land Company," for, at the time the treaty was negotiated, hundreds of settlers had fixed their homes on the lands west of the line as fixed, and not only had many settlers occupied portions of these lands, but Dr. Walker as agent for the "Loyal Land Company," and Col. James Patton's representatives, had actually surveyed and sold large and numer- ous tracts of land lying in the present counties of Pulaski, Wythe, Smyth f^nd Washington, and west of the line fixed by this treaty. The result of this treaty gave the Indians an excuse for depredating Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 93 on the settlers, and the settlers were forced to the necessity of denying the rights of the Cherokee Indians to the lands thus set- tled. The settlers on Holston denied the right of the Cherokees to the lands included within this county, and under the claim that the lands belonged to the Confederacy of the Six Nations, they held possession of their lands and continued their settlements. Dr. Thomas Walker acted as the Virginia representative in the mak- ing of the treaty at Fort Stanwix in the fall of the year 1768 and, by December of that year, had communicated the result to the emigrants along the borders, and no longer could the settlement of this country be postponed. In the winter of 1768 and the early part of the year 1769, a great flood of settlers overran Southwestern Virginia and advanced as far south as Boone's Creek in East Ten- nessee. The one settler who ventured farthest into the wilderness was Captain William Bean, who, with his family, settled on Boone's Creek, early in the year 1769. His son, Russell Bean, was the first white child 1)orn in Tennessee. When Col. William Byrd visited the Long Island in 1760, two men, by name Gilbert Christian and William Anderson, accompa- nied his regiment. In this year, 1769, Christian and Anderson de- termined to explore this western wilderness, and, in company with Col. John Sawyers and four others, they crossed the North Fork of the Holston river at Cloud's Fort in Tennessee and explored the wilderness as far as Big Creek, now a part of Hawkins county, where they met a large body of Indians, at which point they deter- mined to return to their homes. About twenty miles above Cloud's Fort, on the North Fork, they found a cabin on every spot where the range was good, where only six weeks before nothing was to be seen but a howling wilder- ness. When they passed by before, on their outward destination, they found no settlers on Holston, save three families on the head springs of that river. Just preceding this inrush of settlers, a young Englishman by the name of Smith visited this section of Virginia and describes the country, as he found it, in such an excellent manner that I here copy in full his remarks upon the appearance of the country, as well as the daily journal which he kept. When he had reached 94 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. the summit of the mountains above New river, he thus speaks of the view presented : "Language fails in attempting to describe this most astounding and almost unbounded prospective. The mind was filled with a reverential awe, but at the same time the ideas, and I had almost said soul, were sensibly enlarged. The reflection on our own little- ness did not diminish our intellectual faculties nor consequences, and the mind would boldly soar over the vast extent of the earth and water around, and even above the globe itself, to contemplate and admire the amazing works of the great Creator of all. In short, the strong, mighty, pointed and extended sensations of the mind at this astonishing period are far beyond the power of human language to describe or convey any idea of. On the northwest you will observe with great astonishment and pleasure the tremendous and abrupt break in the Alleghany moun- tains, through which pass the mighty waters of New river and the Great Kanawha. On the west you can very plainly discover the three forks or branches of the Holston, where they break through the great Al- leghany mountains, forming striking and awful chasms. And still beyond them you may observe Clinch river, or Pelli- sippi; that it is almost equal to all three branches of the Holston. Throughout the whole of this amazing and most extensive per- spective there is not the least feature or trace of art or improve- ments to be discovered. All are the genuine effects of nature alone, and laid down on her most extended and grandest scale. Contemplating them fills the eye, engrosses the mind and en- larges the soul. It totally absorbs the senses, overwhelms all the faculties, expands even the grandest ideas beyond all conception and causes you almost to forget that 5'^ou are a human creature." He then proceeds to give the details of his journey through this section of Virginia : "We descended the moimtain, and halted for the night on the side of a large rivulet, which we conjectured to be either Little river itself, or some of the waters of it, having crossed the Blue ridge at a most disagreeable and dangerous gap in the afternoon. Next morning we set out early and traveled down the north side Soufhwest Virginia, 17ji.6-1786. 95 of the rivulet, which we found to be Little river, until we arrived at New river and at last came to the ford. The New river is broad, deep and rapid, frequently impassable and always dangerous. However, we crossed it in safety, though with great difficulty and hazard of being carried down with the stream, and we looked out for a convenient spot on the west side, where we now are, to re- main for the night. The low ground on New river is narrow, but exceedingly rich and fertile ; the high land is also very fine in many places, but excessively broken, rocky and mountainous. The timber on the high land is very large and lofty, and that on the low ground is almost equal to the prodigious heavy trees on the Eoanoke river. The extreme roughness of this country and the diflSculty of ac- cess to it, the roads, or rather paths, being not only almost impas- sable, but totally impossible ever to be rendered even tolerable by any human efl^orts, will not only greatly retard the settlement of this country, but will always reduce the price and value of the land, be it ever so rich and fertile. In the morning our horses and ourselves being very much re- freshed, we set out again on our journey, and, after traveling ten or twelve miles, crossed a pretty large water course named Peaks' creek, and soon afterwards a large branch of Eeed creek. In the afternoon we crossed another great ridge of the Alleghany mountains at a gap, and in the evening came to the waters of the Middle Fork of the Holston, where we halted for the night, having traveled this day nearly fifty miles and over a vast quan- tity of excellent land. Next morning we pursued our journey and traveled down the side of the Middle Fork of the Holston, which we crossed no less than three times this day, and at night came to Stalnaker's, where a few people, indeed all the inhabitants, had also erected a kind of wretched stockade fort for protection against the Indians ; but they had all left it a few days before our arrival and returned to their respective homes. Here we remained for two days at the old Dutchman's house for rest and refreshment for ourselves and horses, which we had really very much need of, and also to make inquiry concerning our future route. 96 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. The land on the Holston is certainly excellent and fertile in the highest degree; the climate also is delightful. But the value of the estates here cannot be considerable for many years — perhaps centuries to come; for the same roughness that has been mentioned to affect those on New river. Here we gained intelligence of a nearer way to Kentucky than that commonly made use of, which had very lately been discovered, viz. : by crossing Clinch river about sixty miles from Stalnaker's, going over the great ridge of the Alleghany, or Appalachian moun- tains, at a gap which had been used only by a few of the best hunters, and falling down on the waters of the Warrior's branch, a river that runs into Kentucky. With this route pretty exactly laid down, we set out from the Dutchman's house on the third morning after our arrival, and, after traveling over a vast quantity of exceedingly strong, rich land covered with lofty timber, we reached the banks of the Nortli Branch of the Holston, crossed the river, and put up for the night, having traveled that day more than thirty miles. The ford of this branch of the Holston is, if possible, worse than any we have hitherto met with, and is indeed extremely dangerous, but we were so familiarized to danger and fatigue as to regard any- thing of that nature but little. On the next morning we set out on our journey by the route which we had been directed to pursue, and at noon arrived at the summit of a vast chain of mountains which separates the north branch of the Holston from the Clinch river. Here we had the pleasure of enjoying an extensive, wild and romantic view, particularly that stupendous ridge of the Alleghany, or Appalachian mountains, which is the chief and most lofty of the whole. It was rendered more interesting to me by reflecting that I must cross it on my journey, our route being directly over it. We made no unnecessary delay, however, on this commanding spot, but de- scended the mountain and pursued with all the expedition we could ; and we arrived on the banks of Clinch river late that even- ing, so that we could not venture to cross the ford that night. In the morning we undertook the hazardous task of fording Clinch river, and accomplished it after several plunges, as usual, over our heads: neither did we halt to dry our clothes until noon, when we rested at the side of a savannah (meadow) ; here we re- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 97 mained for two hours, and then arose exceeding!}^ refreshed, and jnirsned our journey. On the evening we had reached half way up the stupendous west- ernmost ridge of the Alleghany mountains, the last, greatest and loftiest of the whole. Here we remained all night, concluding to attempt the steepest and most difficult ascent in the morning. We always alighted, and led our horses up these jjrodigious and perilous ascents. We pursued our journey up the mountain next morning, hut the sun was several hours high before we could possibly reach the sum- mit. This ridge of the Alleghany mountains is indeed of a most stu- pendous and astonishing height, and conunands a prospect propor- tionately extensive. I took a retrospective view, with satisfaction and pleasure, of the vast chain of mountains beyond Clinch river, which I had crossed, and I looked forward, with interested anxiety and eagerness, toward the great ridge of mountains which I had still to pass over. The summit of this ridge is the most lofty of all the Alleghany, is nearly a mile wide, and consists of excellent strong, rich land of a deep red or a dark reddish-brown color, with very large, tall timber; and there are springs of water almost on the very summit of the mountains. When we rested that night we were on the waters of Warrior's branch." We give no more of this diary, for our traveler has now passed beyond the limits of the original bounds of W^ashington county. The Governor of Virginia, upon the receipt of the letter from John Stuart, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, immediately set about to undo what had been done by the treaty at Hard Labor, S. C. He thereupon commissioned Colonel Andrew Lewis and Dr. Thomas Walker to visit the Indians and secure a new line from them. On the 5th day of January, 1769, they began their journey t(y&(f^^ Carolina for the purpose of seeing the Indians and nego- tiating with them. Dr. Walker and Colonel Lewis returned to their homes in the month of February and made a report to Lord Bote- tourt, which report we here copy in full, as it is very interesting, and explains fully what was done : My Lord, — On receiving your Excellency's instructions, we be- 98 Southwest Virginia, 1H6-1786. gan our journey to Charlestown, South Carolina; on the fifth day of January, we waited on his Excellency, William Tryon, Esq., at Brunswick, by whom we were kindly received and promised all the assistance in his power ; on the next day we went to Fort Johnson, near the mouth of Cape Fear Eiver. On the 8th, Gov. Tryon wrote us that some Cherokee Indians were at Brunswick, that Judds Friend and Salue, or the Young warrior of Estitoe, were two of them, and that they would wait up at Fort Jolmston. His Excellency was again invited to go with them. On their arrival we informed them we were going to their father, John Stuart, Esq., on business relative to the Nation, and should be glad to have their company, and they readily agreed to come with us. On the 9th the ofiicer we had engaged was ready to sail, and we embarked with the two Cherokee Chiefs, two Squaws and an Interpreter. On the 11th, we waited on Mr. Stuart, de- livered your Lordship's letter and full information of our business. In answer Mr. Stuart told us that the Boundary between the Cherokees and Virginia was fully settled and ratified in Great Britain, and that any proposal of that kind would be very alarming to them, but after some time agreed that we might mention it to them, which we did on the 13th of Jan'y. The Indian Chiefs ap- peared much pleased, and agreed to wait on Mr. Stuart with us, and in his presence, Judds Friend spoke as follows : Father, — On an invitation from Governor Tryon, we left our country some time since; Our two elder Brothers, Col. Lewis and Doctor Walker, from Virginia, who had matters of importance to mention to us, that equally concerned our people as well as theirs. His news gave us great joy, and we lost no time in waiting on them, and with great pleasure took passage with them in order to wait on you on the business which was much concerning us, as well as their people, and to convince you that we like their talk, we now take them by the hand giving them a welcome, and present them with this string of Wampum. Father, — They tell us that by running the line lately mentioned, as a boundary between our people and Virginia, a great number of their people will fall within the bounds of our country, which would greatly distress these our poor Brothers; which is far from our intention. And to evidence to you, that we are on all occasions, willing to testify our brotherly affection towards them, we are Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 99 heartily willing to join in any such negotiations as may be thought necessary and most expedient for fixing a new Boundary, that may include all those people settled in our lands in the bounds of Vir- ginia, and we now give them in the presence of you our Father, this string of Wampum as an assurance that those people shall remain in peaceable possession of those lands, until a treaty is held for fix- ing a new Boundary, between them and our people. Gives a string of Wampum. We then delivered the following Talk to the Warriors, to be by them communicated to their Nation. To the Chiefs of the CheroTcees: Brothers, — On the 20th day of December last, being in Williams- burg, we received instructions from Lord Botetourt, a great and good man, whom the great King George has sent to preside over his Colony of Virginia, directing us to wait on your father, John Stu- art, Esq., Supt. Indian Affairs, in order to have a plan agreed upon for fixing a new Boundary between your people and his Majesty's subjects in the Colony of Virginia. On our way to the place, to our great joy, we met with our good brothers, Judds Friend and the Warrior of Estitoe, who with great readiness took a passage with us from Governor Tryon, to this place where we had the happiness to wait upon your father, Mr. Stuart, and with joint application, represented to him the necessity of taking such meas- ures as may effectually prevent any misunderstanding that might arise between his Majesty's subjects of the Colony of Virginia and our brothers the Cherokees, until a full treaty be appointed and held for the fixing a new Boundary that may give equal justice and satisfaction to the parties concerned, and that his Majesty's sub- jects, now settled on the lands between Chiswell's Mines, and the Great Island of Holston River, remain in peaceable possession of said lands, until a line is run between them and our good brothers the Cherokees, who will receive full satisfaction for such lands as you, our brothers, shall convey to our Great King for the use of his subjects. I Your Father, Mr. Stuart's, message to you on this head, makes it needless for us to say any more on this subject. He will let you, at a proper time, know both the time and place where this great work shall be brought into execution. We have the pleasure to 100 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. inform j'oii that 3'our two great Warriors now present, have heartily concurred with us in every measure and make no doubt of such measures giving great satisfaction to the whole Nation. Gave a string of Wampum. Jan. 16th. In answer to which, Judds Friend and the Warrior of Estitoe spoke as follows : Father: and our Brothers from Virginia, — We have heard your Talks, which we think very good, and shall with all convenient speed return to our Nation, and when our Chiefs are assembled shall lay these Talks before them. Brothers, — We are sorry to have it to say, that for some time bad blood and evil actions prevailed amongst us, which occasioned a stroke from our Elder Brothers; but now we have the satisfaction of telling you that our hands are good and straight, and you may de- pend on their continuing so, and, that you may depend the more on what we say, we take off these black beads from the end of this string, that nothing may remain but what is pure and white, and now put the black beads in your hands, which we call the re- mains of our evil thoughts, and desire you may now cast them away, that they may never be had in remembrance more. Brothers, — We shall with great pleasure comply with the request that yon have made with regard to the lands you have mentioned, and shall wait with impatience for a general meeting, that we may have opportunity for convincing our Elder Brothers of our friendly disposition towards them, as we may be of real use to them, for to us it is of little or none, as we never hunt there; the deer do not live in the mountains, and you, in the meantime, may depend that your people shall enjoy peaceable possession until we make a Treaty with the Great King. Brothers, — We hope the measures now taken will be productive of many advantages to our people, as well as those who by living so much nearer to us, will have it in their power to supply us with goods, for we are often imposed upon greatly, as we have no trade at present but with this Province, and we hope you, our Brothers, will signify to your Governor, whom we believe to be that great and good man you mention, our great desire to have a trade with Virginia, that after this business is happily finished, which we make no doubt of on the part of our Nation, we may enjoy a Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 101 friendly intercourse and have an advantageous trade with our Brothers, the Inhabitants of Virginia. Brothers, — We have often joined you in war against your ene- mies and you may always depend on our assistance on any future occasion. Gives a string of Wampum. After we had given Mr. Stuart the reasons for thinking it ab- solutely necessary that the new Boundary should be agreed upon, he desired us to commit these reasons in writing and sign them: which we did in the following words : Sir, — His Excellency, the Eight Honorable ISTorborne, the Lord Botetourt, Governor in Chief of the Colony of Virginia, and the King's Coimcil of that Dominion, having ordered us to wait on you and assist in settling the Boundary line between that Colony and the Cherokee Indians, we beg leave to inform you that the line pro- posed to be marked from Chiswell's Mines to the confluence of the Great Kanawha and the Ohio, would be a great disadvantage to the Crown of Great Britain, and would injure many subjects of Britain that now inhabit that part of the frontier, and have in mak- ing that settlement complied with every known rule of government and the laws of that Colony. Lands were first granted on the waters of the Mississippi by Sir William Gooch of Virginia, and the Council about the year 1746, in consequence of instructions from England, and many families settled on the lands so granted. In the year 1752, the Legislature of Virginia passed an act to encourage settlers on the waters of the Mississippi. By that act they were exempted from the payment of taxes for ten years. To this act his late Majesty, of glorious mem- ory, gives assent. The next year another act was passed, by which five years' indulgence was added, and in that or the succeeding year Eobert Dinwiddle, Esq., Governor of Virginia at that time, received instructions from King George 2nd. to grant lands on these waters, exempted from the payment of the usual right money and free from Quit-rents for ten years. Under these encouragements was that part of the Colony settled. Whilst the inhabitants were settling on these lands, the Cherokee Indians were frequently at their habitations, and never that we, either of us, ever heard made the slightest complaint of our settling, 102 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. or laid any claim to the lands we settled, until ISTovember, 1763, after the King's proclamation issued in that year. The Six Nations both claimed the lands that were settled on the branches of the rivers Kanawha and Monongahely and were paid a proper consideration for them at Lancaster, in 1744, when they executed a deed of cession to his late Majesty. We flatter ourselves that the above is sufiScient to convince you of the justice and legality of making those settlements. The Boundary line that has been proposed would include many of the inhabitants above mentioned within the limits of the Cherokee Hunting Grounds. For all such lands and improvements, the jus- tice of the crown would be an inducement to make some satisfac- tion to the owners which would be expense to the crown and injure the inhabitants much and totally ruin many of them, and the evil would be increased by the loss of the Quit-rents paid for these lands, and would also give the Cherokees a large tract of coun- try that was never claimed by them and now is the property of the crown, as Sir William Johnson actually purchased it of the Six United Nations of Indians at a very considerable expense, and took a deed of cession from them at Fort Stanwix, near the head of Mohock's Eiver, on the 5th day of November last. The interest of the crown and the inhabitants of Virginia will be most served by fixing the Boundary with the Cherokees in 36° 30m. North Latitude, that Boundary being already marked by proper authority as far as Steep Eock Creek, a branch of the Cherokee Eiver, and is the proper division between Lord Granville's Pro- prietary and the Dominion of Virginia, and includes but a small part of the lands now claimed by the Cherokees, they having often disclaimed the lands lying between the Ohio and a ridge of moun- tains called Sheep Eidge, that divides the waters of the Cumber- land Eiver from those of the Cherokee Eiver. This boundary will give room to extend our settlements for ten or twelve years, will raise a considerable sum by the Eights, much increase* the Quit- rents, and enable the Inhabitants of Virginia to live thus manu- facturing such material as they raise. ANDREV7 LeWIS^ Thomas Walker. Feb. 2nd. 1769. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. * 103 Thus it will appear that Colonel Lewis and Dr. Walker suc- ceeded in securing from the Indian chiefs the assurance that the settlers on the land in Southwest Virginia should remain in peaceable possession of their homes until a treaty could be held fix- ing new bounds between them. Acting upon this assurance, emigra- tion to the land continued, and during this year James Bryan settled near the present residence of Captain Kendrick, Moab, Va., and erected Bryan's Fort, William Cocke settled upon Spring creek, then called Eenfro's creek, and erected Cocke's fort, near the present residence of C. L. Clyce. Anthony Bledsoe settled in the lower end of this county about thirty miles east of Long Island, on the Fort Chiswell road, and afterwards built Bledsoe's Fort. Amos Eaton settled seven miles east of Long Island, where Eaton's Fort was afterwards built, and by the beginning of the year 1770 there were many settlers upon Holston. The first settlers of the Liberty Hall neighborhood were the Edmistons, Moores and Buchanans. The first name was written ?' Edmiston until sixty or seventy years ago. All the land from ( Liberty Hall to some distance east of Friendship was held by j William Edmiston under a grant from Charles II, King of Eng- land, and under the King's proclamation of 1763, Edmiston being an officer in the French-Indian war of 1754-1763. Fort Edmiston was built by the settlers as a protection against the Indians, who made frequent inroads on the settlements. As nearly as can be learned, it was built about 1765. The site was about three hundred yards east of Liberty Academy. The old Keys' dwelling, now owned by William Snodgrass, stands on the site of the old fort. A soldier by the name of Edmiston died at the fort and was the first person buried in the old Moore graveyard. The Indians made frequent attacks on the fort and, in one, cap- tured and carried off a Miss Steele. The Indians were followed by parties from the fort, and she was recaptured on Walker's moun- tain. She was traced by means of twigs, which she had presence of mind enough to break off along the road. Several persons from the fort were in the battle at King's Moun- tain, among whom were the eight Edmistons and William Moore. Several of the former were killed. They were the ancestors of <he Edmondsons of this day. 104 • Southwest Virginia, 17J^6-1786. Fort Edmiston was one of the first forts erected in this section. Fort Thompson, six miles northeast of Liberty Hall, on the Huff, formerly the Byars place, was erected about the same time. It was named for Captain James Thompson, who owned the property at that time, and it remained many years after the revolution. Tradition says Fort Edmiston ceased to exist about the year 1800. The first settlers in Widener's Valley were John Widener, Paul- ser Eouse and John Jones. They came from Germany, a few years prior to the Eevolutionary War, or about 1767. They first settled in Pennsylvania, but afterwards came to this country and settled temporarily near Fort Thompson. x\fter remaining there a short time, they removed to the valley. John Widener located near W. M. Widener's mill, and Jones and Eouse in the lower end of the valley. In order to raise money to get away from Germany, John Widener pawned or bartered his son Mike, a boy twelve or four- teen years old. John Widener found employment in Pennsylvania, and earned money enough to redeem Mike. Mike tlien followed his father to the New World. He arrived just about the commence- ment of the revolution, joined Washington's army, was a brave sol- dier, acted as interpreter when the Hessians were captured, and appears to have been a favorite of Washington's, who called him "Mikey." After the revolution Mike followed his father and settled in the valley on what is now known as the Lilburn Widener farm. Mike died at the age of eighty-four. Joel Widener, now living, is a grandson. The present generation are all descendants of John and Mike. Several families of Eouses, descendants of Paulser, still live in the valley. At the time of these early settlements there were a good many Indians hunting and fishing in and near the valley. They were very peaceable, however. Two large Indian camps were established — one on the Middle Fork at a point east of the New Bridge; the other in the lower end of the valley. Of the latter many evidences still remain. John and Michael Fleenor settled in Poor Valley; Casper Flee- nor in Eich Valley, on the head waters of what is now called Gas- per's creek, and Nicholas Fleenor settled at the Lilburn Fleenor Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 105 place in Eich Valley, below Benhams. The four persons named were of German descent and brothers, and are the ancestors of many of our best citizens. At this point it may be appropriate to give a description of the early forts erected by the settlers in the West. My readers will understand by this term, not only a place of de- fence, but the residence of a small number of families belonging to the neighborhood. As the Indian's mode of warfare was an indiscriminate slaugh- ter of all ages and both sexes, it was as requisite to provide for the safety of the women and children as for that of the men. The fort consisted of cabins, block-houses and stockades. A range of cabins commonly formed one side, at least, of the fort. Divisions or par- titions of logs separated the cabins one from another. The walls on the outside were ten or twelve feet high, the slope of the roof being turned wholly inward. Very few of these cabins had plank floors ; the greater part were earthen. The block-houses were built at the angles of the fort. They pro- jected about two feet beyond the outer walls of the cabins and stockades. Their upper stories were about eighteen inches, every way, larger in dimension than the under one, leaving an opening at the commencement of the second story to prevent the enemy from making a lodgement under their walls. In some forts, instead of block-houses, the angles of the fort were finished with bastions. A large folding gate, made of thick slabs nearest the spring, closed the fort. The stockades, bastions, cabins and block-house walls were fur- nished with port-holes at proper heights and distances. The whole of the outside was made bullet-proof. It may be truly said that "necessity is the mother of invention," for the whole of this work was made without the aid of a shingle, nail, or spike of iron, because such things were not to be had. In some places less exposed a single block-house, with a cabin or two, constituted the whole fort.* In this same year Daniel Boone, John Finley, John Stuart and a few others, as well as numerous other companies of hunters who are of no importance in the history of this country, explored Ken- *Dodridge. 106 Southwest Virginia, 17Jk6-n86. tucky and hunted throughout Southwest Virginia, East Tennes- see and Eastern Kentucky. In the year 1769 there occurred a circumstance that greatly aided the early settlers of Southwest Virginia and Eastern Tennessee in settling this country and in conquering their Indian neighbors, the Cherokees. The Cherokee Indians were exceedingly overbearing in their dis- position and they sought a quarrel with the Chickasaw Indians and invaded their country. When they had reached the Chickasaw Old Fields, they were met by the Chickasaw warriors. After a terrible battle the Cherokees were defeated with great loss and retreated to their own villages. The very flower of the Cherokee Nation were destroyed in this bat- tle, and, the number of their warriors being greatly reduced, for seven years the early settlers were permitted to pursue their course in peace. All of the incidents above related occurred while the lands, now included in Washington county, were a part of Augusta county, but in the year 1769, the House of Burgesses of Virginia passed an act for the division of Augusta county, and all that part of Augusta county lying south and west of the North river, near Lexington, Va., was given the name of Botetourt county, and thus a new county was formed, which included all that part of Virginia in which we live and about which I write. The act establishing Botetourt county provided that from and after the 31st day of January next ensuing, 1770, the said county and parish of Augusta be divided into two counties and parishes by a line beginning at the Blue Eidge, running north 55 degrees west to the confluence of Mary's creek, or the South river, with the north branch of James river, thence up the same to the mouth of Carr's creek, thence up said creek to the mountain, thence north 55 degrees west as far as the courts of the two counties had it extended, and further. Whereas the people situated on the waters of the Mis- sisippi in the said county of Botetourt will be very remote from their courthouse and must necessarily become a separate county as soon as their numbers are sufficient, which probably will happen in a short time, be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid that the inhabitants of that part of said county of Botetourt which lies Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 107 on the said waters shall be exempted from the payment of any levies to be laid by the said county court for the purpose of building a courthouse and prison for said county. It will thus be seen that the organization of the county of Bote- tourt was intended to be temporary only. 108 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. CHAPTEE V. SOUTHWEST VIEGINIA— BOTETOUET COUNTY. 1770-1773. The first Coimty Court of Botetourt county met at the house of Eobert Breckenridge^ near the location of Fincastle, Va., on Tues- day, the 13th of February, 1770. The justices composing the court were : ^William Preston, David Eobinson, George Skillem, James Trimble Eichard Woods, John Maxwell Benjamin Hawkins, William Fleming, Benjamin Estill, Israel Christian, John Bowyer, Jlobert Breckenridge. A number of the members of this court were not present on the first day of the court, but were subsequently qualified. The follow- ing officers qualified on that day: County Court Clerk, John May. Sheriff Botetourt county, Eichard Woods. Deputy Sheriffs Botetourt county, Jas. McDowell and Jas. Mc- Gavock. County Surveyor, William Preston. Escheator, William Preston. Coroner, Andrew Lewis. Colonel of Militia, William Preston. The attorneys qualifying to practice in the court were: Edmund Winston, John Aylett, Luke Bowyer, Thomas Madison. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 109 On the 14tli day of February, 1770, the following magistrates qualified and took their seats : John Bowman, Anthony Bledsoe, AVilliam Christian, Walter Crockett, Robert Doach, John Howard, William Herbert, William Inglis, Phili]) Love, Andrew Lewis, John Montgomery, James McGavock, William Matthews, William McKee, James Eobertson, Francis Smith, Stephen Trigg, Andrew Woods. And on the 11th day of June, 1771, the following members of the court qualified: John Van Bebber, James Thompson, of Holstou, John Stewart, Matthew Arbuckle. Botetourt county was named for Lord Botetourt, Governor of Virginia, in 1768, and the county seat was fixed at the present loca- tion of Finscastle, Va., upon forty acres of land presented to the county for a town seat by Israel Christian. Fincastle was named for the county seat of Lord Botetourt in England, and was estab- lished as a town by law in 1772. Of the members of the County Court of Botetourt county, James Eobertson, Anthony Bledsoe and James Thompson had their resi- dence upon the waters of the Holston and the Watauga. On the second day of the court, being February 14, 1770, Frederick Stern and Eobert Davis were appointed constables upon the Holston river ; on the 12th of June, 1770, William Pruitt was appointed a con- stable upon the waters of the Clinch, and Arthur Campbell was appointed surveyor of the roads from the State line to the Eoyal Oak, and James Davis from the Eoyal Oak to his house. On the 13th of March, 1770, Arthur Campbell obtained permis- sion from the County Court of Botetourt county to erect a mill at Eoyal Oak, on the Holston, and there can be no question that this was the first mill erected upon any of the waters of the Holston or Clinch river. On the same day Francis Kincannon was appointed surveyor of the roads from Stalnaker's to Eighteen Mile creek; Thomas Eam- 110 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. say from said creek to Beaver, or Shallow, creek, and David Looney from said creek to Fall creek. On the 10th of May, 1770, xVnthony Bledsoe was appointed to take the tithables from Stalnaker's to the lowest inhabitants. The next order of the County Court of Botetourt county, of any importance in the history of this county, was made on the 14th of August, 1771, when the County Court ordered that Andrew Colvill, George Adams, George Tiller, George Baker, David Ward and Alexander Wilie, or any three of them, being first sworn to view the way from the head of Holston river to the Wolf Hill creek, both the old and the new way, make report to the next court of the con- veniences and inconveniences thereof. The records of Botetourt county fail to show that this report was ever made or that the road was established, but there can be but little doubt that the road was established and used, and, if so, this was the first public road estab- lished upon the waters of the Holston or Clinch river. The fore- going is all the information that the records of Botetourt county give of any of the people living upon the waters of the Holston and Clinch rivers. The one matter of supreme importance to the inhabitants of this section of Virginia at that time was the extinguishment of the claims of the Cherokee Indians to the lands which they were set- tling and occupying, and, pursuant to instructions, John Stuart, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, assembled the Indian chiefs at Lochaber, S. C, October 18, 1770, and on Monday, October 22, 1770, he succeeded in concluding a treaty with the chiefs and war- riors of the Cherokee Nation, by which George III, King of Eng- land, became the owner of all the lands lying east of a line beginning at a point where the North Carolina (now Tennessee) line terminates at a run, thence in a west course to Holston river, where it is intersected by a continuation of the line dividing the Province of North Carolina (now Tennessee) and Virginia, and thence in a straight course to the confluence of the Great Canaway river, the treaty being here given in full : TREATY. At a meeting of the principal Chiefs and Warriors of the Cherokee Nation with John Stuart, Esq., Superintendent of Indian Affairs, etc., Lochaber, South Carolina, Oct. 18th, 1770. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. Ill Present Colo. Donelson by appointment of his Excellency, the Eight Honorable Lord Botetourt, in behalf of the Province of Vir- ginia. Alex'r Cameron, Deputy Superintendent ; James Simpson, Clk of his Majesty's Council of South Carolina; Major Lacy, from Vir- ginia ; Major Williamson, Capt. Cohoon, John Caldwell, Esq., Cap- tain Winter, Christopher Peters, Esq., besides a great number of the back inhabitants of the province of South Carolina, and the fol- lowing chiefs of the Cherokee Nation: Oconistoto, Killagusta, At- tacallaculla, Keyatory, Tiftoy, Terreaino, Encyod Tugalo, Scali- loskie Chinista, Chinista of Watangali, Octaciti of Hey Wassie, and about a thousand other Indians of the same Nation. John Watts, 'j ' David McDonald, I Interpreters. John Vans, j Treaty, Monday, 22nd Oct. At a Congress of the principal chiefs of the Cherokee Nation, held at Lochaber, in the province of South Carolina^ on the 18th day of October in the year of our Lord 1770, by John Stuart, Esq., his Majesty's agent for and Superintendent of the Affairs of the In- dian Nation in the Southern district of North America. A Treaty for a cession ! His most sacred Majesty, George the Third, by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc., by the said Nation of Cherokee Indians, of certain lands lying within the limits of the Dominion of Virginia. Whereas by a Treaty entered into and concluded at Hard Labor, the 14th day of Oct. in the year 1768, by John Stuart, Esq. his Majesty's Agent for and Superintendent of the affairs of the In- dian Nations, inhabiting the southern district of North America, with the principal and ruling Chiefs of the Cherokee Nation, all of the lands formerly claimed by, and belonging to the said Nation of Indians, lying within the province of North Carolina and Virginia, running in a N. B. E. course, to Colo. Chiswell's mine on the East- ern bank of the Great Canaway, and from thence in a straight line to the mouth of the said Great Canaway river, where it discharges itself into the Ohio river, were ceded to his most sacred Majesty, his 113 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. heirs and sucessors. And whereas by the above recited Treaty, all the lands lying between Holston's Eiver, and the line above specified were determined to belong to the Cherokee Nation to the great loss and inconvenience of many of his Majesty's subjects inhabiting the said lands; and representation of the same having been made to his Majesty by his Excellency, the Et Hon'ble ISTorborne, Baron de Botetourt, his Majesty's Lieutenant and Governor General of the dominion of Virginia. In Consequence whereof, his Majesty has been generously pleased to signify his Eoyal pleasure to John Stu- art, Esq., his Agent for and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Southern District of North America, by an instruction contained in a letter from the Et. Hon'ble the Earl of Hillsborough, one of his Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, dated the 13th of May, 1769, to enter into a negotiation with the Cherokees for establishing a new boundary line beg'g at the point where the No. Carolina line terminates, and to run thence in a west course to Holston's Eiver, where it is intersected by a continuance of the line dividing the province of North Carolina & Virginia, and thence a straight course to the confluence of the Great Canaway and Ohio Elvers. Dec. 12, 1770. Article 1st. Pursuant therefore to his Majesty's orders to & power and autho- rity vested in John Stuart, Esqr. Agent for and Superintendent of the Affairs of the Indian Tribes in the Southern District: It is agreed upon by the said John Stuart, Esqr. on behalf of his most sacred Majesty, George Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc., and by the subscribing Cherokee Chiefs and Warriors on behalf of their said Nation in consideration of his Majesty's paternal goodness, so often demonstrated to them, the said Cherokee Indians, and from their affection and friendship for their Brethren, the Inhabi- tants of Virginia as well as their earnest desire of removing as far as possible all cause of dispute between them and the said inhabi- tants on account of encroachments on lands reserved by the said In- dians for themselves, and also for a valuable consideration in various sorts of goods paid to them by the said John Stuart, on behalf of the Dominion of Virginia that the hereafter recited line be ratified and confirmed, and it is hereby ratified and confirmed ac- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 113 cordingly : and it is by these presents firmly stipulated and agreed iipon by the parties aforesaid that a line beginning where the boun- dary line between the province of No. Carolina and the Cherokee hunting grounds terminates and running thence in a west course to a point six miles east of Long Island in Holston's river and thence to said river six miles above the said Long Island, thence in a course to the confluence of the Great Canaway and Ohio rivers, shall remain and be deemed by all his Majesty's white subjects as well as all the Indians of the Cherokee Nation, the true and just boundaries of the lands reserved by the said Nation of Indians for their own proper use, and dividing the same from the lands ceded by them to his Majesty's within the limits of the province of Virginia, and that his Majesty's white subjects, inhabiting the pro- vince of Virginia, shall not, upon any pretense whatsoever, settle beyond the said line, nor shall the said Indians make any settlements or encroachments on the lands which by this treaty they cede and confirm to his Majesty; and it is further agreed that as soon as his Majesty's royal approbation of this treaty shall have been signified to the Governor of Virginia or Superintendent, this treaty shall be carried into execution. Article 2nd. And it is further agreed upon and stipulated by the contracting parties, that no alteration whatsoever shall henceforward be made in the boundary line above recited, and now solemnly agreed upon, ex- cept such as may hereafter be found expedient and necessary for the mutual interest of both parties, and which alteration shall be made with the consent of the Superintendent or such other person or persons as shall be authorized by his Majesty, as well as with the consent and approbation of the Cherokee Nation of Indians, at a Congress or general meeting of said Indians, to be held for said purpose, and not in any other manner. In testimony whereof, the said Superintendent, on behalf of his Majesty, and the underwritten Cherokee Chiefs on behalf of their Nation have signed and sealed this present treaty at the time and place aforesaid. John Stuart, (L. S.) Oconistoto, YC, (L. C.) Kittagusta, 0., (L. C.) 114 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. Attacallaculla, X., (L. C.) Keyatoy's mark ISTG., (L. C.) Unkayonla, C, (L. C.) Chuckamuntas, C, (L. C) Kinalilaps, NG., (L. C.) Skyagusta Tucelicis, S., (L. C.) Wolf of Keewees, G., (L. C.) Skyagusta Tiftoy, (L. C.) Terrapino, (L. C.) Ency of Tugalo, (L. C.) Scalil^^skey of Sugar Town, (L. C.) Thus all claim asserted by both the northern and southern In- dians to any of the lands located within the present bounds of Washington county was extinguished, and the settlement of these lands was greatly expedited thereby. This portion of Virginia now opened to settlement was one vast forest overspreading a limestone soil of great fertility and excellently watered, and this, accompa- nied by the comparative security and quiet succeeding the French- Indian war of 1763, contributed greatly to the rapid settlement of Southwestern Virginia. In the year 1770, Col. James Knox,* accompanied by about forty hunters from the settlements on New river, Holston and Clinch, passed oved the Cumberland mountains for the purpose of hunting and trapping, and penetrated to the lower Cumberland. They were equipped with their rifles, traps and dogs, and the usual outfit of backwoods hunters, and thus originated the name Long Hunters. The usual mode of hunting followed by what were known as the Long Hunters, in those days, was for not more than two or three men to go in one company, each man having two horses, traps, a large surplus of powder and lead, a small hand vise and bellows and files and screw plates for the purpose of fixing guns, if any should get out of fix. They usually set out from their homes about the first of October and returned the latter part of March or first of April. The most noted Long Hunters were Elisha Walden, William Carr, William Crabtree, James Aldridge, William Pitman and Henry Scaggs. During the season above mentioned, large numbers of hunters *Afterwards Gen. Knox. The last named erected a fort near the present site of Kiioxville, Tenn., to which was given the name of Fort Knox. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 115 visited the valleys of the Holston, Clinch and Powell's rivers, and oftentimes penetrated into the very heart of Kentucky. In the year 1771, Absalom Looney settled in Abb's Valley, Taze- well county, Virginia, and from him the valley received its name. Thomas Witten and John Greenup settled at Crab Orchard, a few miles west of Tazewell C. H. ; Mathias, Jacob and Henry Harmon settled a few miles east of Tazewell C. H., and John Craven, Joseph Martin, John Henry, James King and John Bradshaw set- tled in Tazewell county, on the headwaters of the Clinch. In the year 1771, a company of about twenty men from near the Natural Bridge in Virginia and from the New river settle- ments met about eight miles below Fort Chiswell on New river, whence they traveled to the head of the Holston, and thence down the Holston Valley, and on into Kentucky, where they continued to hunt for about nine months. The Holston settlements received during this year a large num- ber of emigrants from North Carolina. The government of North Carolina was in the hands of a class of people who were very haughty and oppressive in their manner towards the poorer classes of citizens, which caused great numbers of the people of North Carolina to organize themselves into bands called Regulators. They petitioned Governor Tryon for relief, which was denied; tu- mult and violence succeeded, the courts were prevented from sit- ting and the laws were disobeyed. The principal ground of com- plaint was that the people were taxed without the right to vote and send representatives to the House of Commons of North Carolina. About three thousand Eegulators banded themselves together, and on the 16th of May, 1771, a battle was fought at the Alamance, between the Regulators and the forces commanded by Governor Tryon. The Regulators, being undisciplined and poorly armed, were defeated with the loss of nine killed and many wounded, the Governor's forces having lost twenty-seven killed and many wounded. And thus it is said was fought the first battle of the Revolution, and thus was shed the first blood for the enjoyment of liberty. The Eegulators being thus defeated and dispersed, many of their number found homes on the waters of the Holston and Clinch rivers. At this time the settlements extended down the north side of the Holston river as far as Carter's Valley, about fourteen or fifteen miles above Rogersville, Tenn., and that por- 116 Southivest Virginia, 17J,6-17S6. tion of the country being supposed to be a part of Virginia, it was soon settled by people from the Wolf Hills in Virginia. A settlement was made on the Watauga as early as the year 1770, upon the idea that the lands were in Virginia, and that the set- tlers would be entitled to take up the lands given to settlers under the laws of Virginia, to-wit: To each actual settler who should erect a log cabin and cultivate one acre in corn, four hundred acres, located so as to include all improvements, with the right to buy a thousand acres adjoining at a nominal price. Most of the early settlers on the Watauga came from near the Wolf Hills and, being loyal Virginians, they did not contemplate establishing a residence in the State of North Carolina, but thought they were near the boundary between the two States. In the fall of the year 1771, Anthony Bledsoe ran the boundary line between the Colonies of Virginia and North Carolina, far enough west to ascertain that the Watauga settlement was in North Carolina, and Alexander Cameron, the British agent, immediately ordered the settlers on the Watauga to move off of the Indian lands. James Eobertson and John Sevier, two of the leading members of the Watauga settlement, immediately set about to devise ways and means by which they could avoid the order of the British agent. They could not buy the lands from the Indians, because the purchase was prohibited, but there was no law prohibiting a lease of the land, and in the year 1774, the Indians leased to the settlers on the Watauga the lands in the Watauga Valley and all was peace once again. The stream of emigration that poured over the mountains ex- tended along the Holston as far as Carter's Valley and on the lands belonging to the Indians. They were all from Virginia and of Scotch-Irish descent, their wealth consisting of strong arms and stout hearts. In the year 1772, James Moore and James Poage settled in Abb's Valley, William Wynn at Locust Hill, John Taylor and Jesse Evans on the north fork of Clinch ; Thomas Maxwell, Benja- min Joslin, James Ogleton, Peter and Jacob Harmon, Samuel Ferguson and William Webb, near Tazewell C. H.; Eees Bowen, at Maiden Spring, David Ward in the Cove, and William Garri- son at the foot of Morris' Knob. William Wynn erected a fort on Soufhwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 117 Wynn's Branch, Thomas Witten at Crab Orchard, and Bees Bowen at Maiden Spring. The earlj/Settlers of Southwest Virginia came principally from the Valley^of Virginia, western Pennsylvania and Maryland, some of them coming directly from Ireland. They were of a mixed race, and a large majority were Scotch-Irish. In studying the nationality of the early settlers of Southwest Virginia, it must be kept in mind that there was a great difference between the people inhabiting the eastern shores of Virginia and the early set- tlers in the mountains of western Virginia. They differed both in their ancestry and in their religion. The early settlers of Eastern Virginia were English by birth and / Episcopalians in religion; while the early settlers of Southwest Virginia were Scotch-Irish by birth and Presbyterians in religious j belief. ' The government of the Colony of Virginia, early in the eigh- teenth century, adopted the policy of offering inducements to the dissenters from the established church to settle and make their homes in the Valley of Virginia and in the Southwest, and thereby sought to establish a barrier between the Indian tribes and the set- tlers east of the mountains. In the adoption of this policy the government of the Colony of Virginia was actuated by selfish motives; they little dreamed that they were thus giving a foothold to a vigorous people, who were destined tp play a strong part in the future history of their country. The people thus invited to settle the garden spot of Virginia were the sons of the men who followed Cromwell. They were men who regarded themselves, according to Macaulay, as "kings by the right of an earlier creation and priests by the interposition of an Almighty hand." King James I, when speaking of a Scotch Pres- bytery, said, "Presbytery agreeth as well with monarchy as God and the devil." They were Protestants and detested the Catholics, the enemies of their forefathers, and they despised the Episcopalians, their oppressors. They constituted the outposts of our earlier civiliza- tion, their homes being in the moimtains. A distinguished writer, in speaking of these people, says : "That these Irish Presbyte- rians M^ere a bold and hardy race is proved by their at once pushing past tlic settled regions and plunging into the wilderness as the 118 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. leaders of the white advance. They were the first and last set of emigrants to do this; all others have merely followed in the wake of their predecessors. But indeed they were fitted to be Americans from the very start; they were the kinsfolk of the Covenanters: they deemed it a religious duty to interpret their own Bible, and held for a divine right the election of their own clergy. The creed of the backwoodsmen who had a creed at all was Presbyterianism, for the Episcopacy of the tidewater lands obtained no foothold in the mountains, and the Methodists and Baptists had but just be- gun to appear in the west,* before the Revolution broke out." Governor David Campbell, who lived and died at Abingdon, in speaking of these people, says : "The first settlers on Holston river were a remarkable race of people, for their intelligence, enterprise and hardy adventure." The greater portion of them had emi- grated from the counties of Botetourt, Augusta and Frederick, and others from along the same valley and from the upper counties of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and generally, where they had any religious opinions, were Presbyterians. A very large proportion were religious, and many were mem- bers of' the church. It is generally supposed that the motive actuating the early explorers and settlers of this country was the acquisition of wealth, and while • such motive may have had its influence on some, we cannot believe that such was the real motive of the great body of our early settlers. The early settlers and forefathers had been persecuted in their homes across the Atlantic because of their independent . spirit and their undying fealty to the doctrines taught by Calvin and Knox ; and when they crossed the waters they were driven, by the intolerant spirit of the estab- lished church, beyond the lowlands to the very mountains, where they sought a place and opportunity to exercise their religion ac- cording to the dictates of their consciences. The important part played by this people in the early history of our country cannot be overestimated. Our forefathers were inspired and governed by the same senti- ments that actuated the founders of our nation. The theology of Calvin, the founder of the republic of Geneva, combined with the sturdy independence of the Scotch-Irish settlers of the American colonies, gave birth to our republic. "The first voice raised in *The Winning of the West, Vol. I., page 138. Soutliwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. 119 America to destroy all connection with Great Britain came from the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.*" The Hon. Wm. C. Preston, of South Carolina, a native of Wash- ington county, in speaking of the resemblance between the consti- tution of the Presbyterian Church and the constitution of our country, said : "Certainly it was the most remarkable and singular coincidence that the constitution of the Presbyteilian Chuj-ch should bear such a close and striking resemblance to the political con- stitution of our country." f Not only were they the first to demand the separation of the colonies from the mother country, but they were the first to de- mand religious liberty and the separation of Church and State. Hanover Presbytery, of which the Eev. Chas. Cummings was an honored member, prepared a petition with this object in view and presented it to the General Assembly of Virginia on the 24th of October, 1776, the petition being as follows: "A memorial of the Presbytery of Hanover was presented to the House, and read : setting forth that they are governed by the same sentiments which have inspired the United States of America, and are determined that nothing in their power and influence shall be wanting to give success to the common cause : that Dissenters from the Church of England in this country have ever been desir- ous to conduct themselves as peaceable members of the civil gov- ernment, for which reason they have hitherto submitted to several ecclesiastick burthens and restrictions, that are inconsistent with equal liberty, but that now when the many and grievous oppres- sions of our mother country have laid this continent under the necessity of casting off the yoke of tyranny, and of forming inde- pendent governments, upon equitable and liberal foundations, they flatter themselves they shall be freed from all the encumbrances which a spirit of domination, prejudice or bigotry hath interwoven with most other political systems : that they are more strongly en- couraged to expect this, by the declaration of rights, so universally applauded for the dignity, firmness and precision with which it delineates and asserts the privileges of society and the prerogatives of human nature, and which they embrace as the Magna Charta of the Commonwealth, which can never be violated without endanger- *Bancroft's His. U. S., Vol. X., page 77. t Scotch-Irish Seeds, page 346. 120 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1780. ing the grand superstructure it was destined to support: There- fore they rely upon this declaration, as well as the justice of the Legislature, to secure to them the free exercise of their religion, according to the dictates of their consciences : and that they should fall short in their duty to themselves and to the many and nu- merous congregations under their care, were they upon this occasion to neglect laying before the House a statement of the religious griev- ances under which they have hitherto labored, that they may no longer be continued in the present form of government: that it is well known that in the frontier counties which are justly sup- posed to contain a fifth part of the inliabitants of Virginia, the dissenters have borne the heavy burthens of purchasing glebes and supporting the established clergy, where there are very few Episco- palians either to assist in bearing the expense or to reap the ad- vantage: and that throughout the other parts of the country there are also many thousands of zealous friends and defenders of the State who, besides the invidious disadvantageous restrictions to which they have been subjected annually, pay large taxes to sup- port an establishment from which their consciences and principles oblige them to dissent, all which are so many violations of their natural rights, and in their consequences a restraint upon freedom of inquiry and private judgment. In this enlightened age, and in a land where all are united in the most strenuous efforts to be free, they hope and expect that their representatives will cheerfully concur in removing every species of religious as well as civil bond- age. That every argument for civil liberty gains additional strength when applied to liberty in the concerns of religion, and that there is no argument in favor of establishing the Christian religion but what may be pleaded for establishing the tenets of Ma- homet by those who believe in the Alcoran : or, if this be not true, it is at least impossible for the magistrate to adjudge the right of preference among the various sects which profess the Christian faith, without erecting a chair of infallibility which would lead us back to the Church of Eome. That they beg leave farther to repre- sent that religious establishments are highly injurious to the tem- poral interests of any community, without insisting upon the ambi- tion and the arbitrary practices of those who aro favored by govern- ment, or the intriguing seditious spirit which is commonly excited by this, as well as every other kind of oppression. Such establish- Southwest Virginia, nJf6-1786. 131 ments greatly retard population and consequently the progress of arts, sciences and manufactures: witness the rapid growth and improvement of the northern provinces compared with this. That no one can deny the more early settlement, and the many supe- rior advantages of our country, would have invited multitudes of artificers, mechanics and other useful members of society, to fix their habitation among us, who have either remained in the place ef their nativity, or preferred worse civil government, and a more barren soil, where they might enjoy the rights of conscience more fully than they had a prospect of doing in this : from which they infer that Virginia might now have been the capital of America, and a match for the British arms, without depending upon others for the necessaries of war, had it not been prevented by her reli- gious establishment. jSTeither can it be made appear that the gos- pel needs any such civil aid : they rather conceive that when our Blessed Savior declares his kingdom is not of this world, he renounces dependence upon State power, and as his weapons are spiritual and were only designed to have influence upon the judg- ment and heart of man, they are persuaded that if mankind were left in the quiet possession of their unalienable privileges, Chris- tianity, as in the days of the Apostles, would continue to prevail and flourish in the greatest purity by its own native excellence, and under the all-disposing providence of God. That they would also humbly represent, that the only proper objects of civil gov- ernment are the happiness and protection of men in the present state of existence, the security of the life, liberty and property of the citizens, and to restrain the vicious and encourage the virtuous by wholesome laws, equally extending to every individual : but that the duty they owe their Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can only be directed by reason and conviction, and is nowhere cognizable but at the tribunal of the universal judge, and that therefore they ask no ecclesiastical establishments for themselves, neither can they approve of them when granted to others, and earn- estly entreating that all laws now in force in this Commonwealth which countenance religious denominations may be speedily re- pealed, that all and every religious sect may be protected in the full exercise of their several modes of worship, and exempted from the payment of all taxes for the support of any church whatever. 122 Southivest Virginia, 171,6-1786. farther than wliat may be agreeable to their own private choice, or voluntary obligations."* But few of the inhabitants of this beautiful country at the present time have even a slight idea of the dangers and priva- tions endured by the early settlers, the dim shadows of which are vanishing like the tints in a dissolving scene. The men who worked their way from tlie settlements in the valley to their future The First Temjiles. home, groping through the forest without a road and with nothing to guide them in their course, except the trail of the Indian and the buffalo ; at night resting on the ground with no roof over them save the branches of the mighty oak or the broad expanse of heaven; exploring an unknown wilderness, surrounded by insur- mountable obstacles and momentarily threatened with assault from their deadly enemies, the rattlesnake, the Indian and the wild beast of the forest, but always accompanied by a trust in their God, came, "with the Bible in one hand and a cross in the other, tread- ing the sombre shades of these dark old woods and often with a boulder of granite for a footstool, and the eternal cataracts thundcr- *Journal Va. House of Delegates, 1776. resolution by many years. This petition preceded Jefferson Southwest Virginia, 17J^6-1786. 123 ing amid the everlasting solitudes for an organ, these devout men Avorshipped their God according to the dictates of their consciences." Each emigrant brought with him some clothes, a little bedding, guns and ammunition, cooking utensils, seed corn, an axe, a saw and the Bible. Such were the men and the manner of their com- ing, who cleared the forests and opened the beautiful and rich farms that are now spread out upon our. hills and mountain sides and grassy plains. The early settlers in their intercourse with others were kind, beneficent and disinterested: extending to all the most generous hospitality that their circumstances could afford. That selfish- ness which prompts to liberality for the sake of remuneration and professes the civilities of life with an eye to individual interest was unknown to them. They were kind for kindness' sake and sought no other recompense than the never failing concomitant of good deeds, the reward of an approving conscience. There existed in each settlement a -perfect unison of feeling. Similitude of situation and community of danger operated as a magic charm and stifled in their birth those little bickerings which are so apt to disturb the quiet of society.* Ambition of preferment, the pride of place, too often hin- drances to social intercourse, were unknown among them. Equal- ity of condition rendered them strangers alike to the baneful dis- tinctions of wealth and other adventitious circumstances, a sense of mutual dependence for their common security, linked them in amity and they conducted their several purposes in harmonious con- cert; together they toiled and together they suffered. Such were the pioneers of the Southwest; and the greater part of mankind might now derive advantage from the contemplation of their "hum- ble virtues, their hospitable homes, their spirits potential, noble, proud and free, their self-respect grafted on innocent thoughts, their days of health and nights of sleep, their toils, by dangers dignified, yet guiltless, their hopes of cheerful old age and a quiet grave with cross and garland over its green turf and their grand- children's love for an epitaph."* The early settlers of this section of Virginia were a strong, stern people, simple in their habits, God-fearing in their practices, imbibing the spirit of freedom, such as is usually found among the *Dodridge. 124 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. inhabitants of a mountainous country, kind in their disposition towards the well-disposed and unmerciful in their dealings with their enemies. They were upright in all their dealings, fearless advocates of the right and undying lovers of their country. Dr. Dodridge, an author who wrote from his personal knowl- edge, says that "linsey coats and bed-gowns, were the universal dress of the women in the early times." The weed, now known among us as the "wild nettle," then furnished the material which served to clothe the persons of our sires and dames." It was cut down while yet green and treated much in the same manner in which flax is now treated. The fibrous bark, with the exception of the shortness of the fibres, seemed to be adapted to the same uses. When this "flax," if I may so term it, was prepared, it was mixed with buffalo hair, and woven into a substantial cloth in which the men and women were clothed. It is a true maxim, "Necessity is the mother of invention." "The furniture of the table, for several years after the settle- ment of this country, consisted of a few pewter dishes, plates and spoons; but mostly of wooden bowls, trenchers and noggins. If these last were scarce, gourds and hard-shelled squashes made up the deficiency. Iron pots, knives and forks were brought from the East, with the salt and iron on horseback." "In our whole display of furniture, the delft, china and silver were unknown. It did not then, as now, require contributions from the four quarters of the globe to furnish the breakfast table, viz., the silver from Mexico, the coffee from the West Indies, the tea from China and the delft or porcelain from Europe or Asia. Yet, a homely fare, unsightly cabins and furniture produced a hardy race, who planted the first footsteps of civilization in the immense regions of the West. Inured to hardship, bravery and labor from their early youth, they sustained with manly fortitude the fatigue of the chase, the campaign and scout, and with 'strong arms turned the wilderness into fruitful fields,' and have left to their descendants the rich inheritance of an immense empire blessed with peace, wealth and prosperity."* "For a long time after the settlement of this country, the in- *Bickley. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 125 habitants in general married young. There was no distinction of rank and very little of fortune. On these accounts the first impres- sion of love resulted in marriage, and a family establishment cost but little labor and nothing else. "A description of a wedding from beginning to end will serve to show the manners of our forefathers and mark the grade of civi- lization which has succeeded to their rude state of society, in the course of a few years. "In the first years of the settlement of a country, a wedding en- gaged the attention of the whole neighborhood, and the frolic was anticipated by young and old with eager expectation. This is not to be wondered at when it is told that a wedding was almost the only gathering which was not accompanied with the labor of reap- ing, log-rolling, building a cabin, or planning some scout or cam- paign. On the morning of the wedding day the groom and his at- tendants assembled at the house of his father for the purpose of reaching the home of his bride by noon, which was the usual time for celebrating the nuptials and which, for certain reasons, must take place before dinner. "Let the reader imagine an assemblage of people without a store, tailor or mantua-maker within a hundred miles, and an as- semblage of horses without a blacksmith or saddle within an equal distance. The gentlemen dressed in shoepacks, moccasins, leather breeches, leggings, linsey hunting shirts, and all home-made. The ladies dressed in linsey petticoats and linsey or linen bed-gowns, coarse shoes, stockings and handkerchiefs and buckskin gloves, if any. If there were any rings, buckles, buttons or ruffles, they were the relics of olden times; family pieces from parents or grand- parents. The horses were caparisoned with old saddles, old bridles or halters, and pack-saddles with a bag or blanket thrown over them; a rope or string as often constituted the girth as a piece of leather. "The march, in double file, was often interrupted by the narrow- ness of our mountain paths, as they were called, for we had no roads, and these difficulties were often increased by the good and sometimes the ill-will of neighbors by felling trees and tying grape- vines across the way. Sometimes an ambuscade was formed by the wayside, and an unexpected discharge of several guns took 126 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. place, so as to cover the wedding party with smoke. Let the reader imagine the scene which followed this discharge ; the sudden spring of the horses, the shrieks of the girls and the chivalrous bustle of their partners to save them from falling. Sometimes, in spite of all that could be done to prevent it, some were thrown to the ground. If a wrist, elbow or ankle happened to be sprained, it was tied up with a handkerchief, and little more said or thought about it. "The ceremony of the marriage preceded the dinner, which was a substantial backwoods feast of beef, pork, fowls, and sometimes venison and bear meat roasted and boiled with plenty of potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables. During the dinner the greatest hilarity prevailed. The table might be a large slab of timber, hewed out with a broad-axe, supported by four sticks, set in auger holes; and the furniture, some old pewter dishes and plates; the rest, wooden bowls and trenchers: a few pewter spoons much bat- tered about the edges were to be seen at some tables. The rest were made of horn. If knives were scarce the deficiency was made up with scalping knives which were carried in sheaths suspended to the belt of the hunting shirt. Every man carried one. "After dinner the dancing commenced and generally lasted until the next morning. The figures of the dancers were three and four handed reels, or square sets and jigs. The commencement was always a square form, which was followed by what was called jig- ging it off; that is, two of the four would single out for a jig, and were followed by the remaining couple. The jigs were often ac- companied with what was called cutting out, that is, when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation, the place was 'supplied by some one of the company, without any interrup- tion to the dance. In this way the dance was often continued till the musician was heartily tired of his situation. Toward the lat- ter part of the night, if any of the company through weariness at- tempted to conceal themselves for the purpose of sleeping, they were hunted up, paraded on the floor, and the fiddler ordered to play, 'Hang out till to-morrow morning.' "About nine or ten o'clock a deputation of young ladies stole off the bride and put her to bed. In doing this it frequently hap- pened that they had to ascend a ladder, instead of a pair of stairs, Southwest Virginia, 1740-1786. 137 leading from the dining and ball room to a loft, the floor of which was made of clapboards lying loose. "This ascent, one might think, would put the bride and her attendants to the blush; but the foot of the ladder was commonly behind the door, which was purposely opened for the occasion, and its rounds at the inner ends were well hung with hunting- shirts, dresses and other articles of clothing. The candles being on the opposite side of the house, the exit of the bride was noticed but by few. "This done, a deputation of young men, in like manner, stole off the groom and placed him snugly by the side of his bride. The dance still continued; and if seats happened to be scarce, as was often the case, every young man when not engaged in the dance, was obliged to offer his lap as a seat for one of the girls; and the offer was sure to be accepted. In the midst of this hilarity the bride and groom were not forgotten. Pretty late in the night some one would remind the company that the new couple must stand in need of some refreshments. Black Betty, which was the name of the bottle, was called for and sent up the ladder; but sometimes Black Betty did not go alone. I have sometimes seen as much bread, beef, pork and cabbage sent along as would afford a good meal for half a dozen hungry men. The young couple were compelled to eat and drink more or less of whatever was offered. "But to return: it often happened that some neighbors or rela- tions, not being asked to the wedding, took offence, and the mode of revenge adopted by them on such occasions was that of cutting off the manes, foretops, and tails of the horses of the wedding company. "On returning to the infare, the order of procession and the race for Black Betty was the same as before. The feasting and dancing often lasted several days, at the end of which the whole company were so exhausted with loss of sleep that many days' rest were requisite to fit them to return to their ordinary labors." HUNTING. "This constituted one of the greatest amusements, and, in many instances, one of the chief employments of the early settlers. The various intrigues of a skillful hunter, such as mimicking a turkey. 128 Southtvest Virginia, 1740-1786. owl, wolf, deer, etc., were soon learned, and the eye was taught to catch, at a glance, the faintest impressions left upon the earth by any animal. IMarks which would be by any but a hunter overlooked were easily detected. The times and grounds on which elk, deer, etc., fed were soon learned, and then the important lesson of preventing spells or enchantments by enemies was studied, for it is a singular fact that all hunters are more or less superstitious. Frequently, on leaving home, the wife would throw the axe at her husband to give him good luck. If he chanced to fail to kill game, his gun was enchanted or spelled, and some old woman was shot in effigy, then a silver bullet would be run with a needle through it and shot at her picture. To remove these spells, they would sometimes unbreech their rifles, and lay them in a clear running stream for a certain number of days. If this failed, they would borrow patching from some other hunter, which transferred all the bad luck to the lender, etc. "Game was plenty at the time this country was first settled by the whites, and, acordingly, the woods furnished most of ihe meat. The elks and buffaloes were generally killed at the licks whither they repaired to salt themselves. Animals were hunted there not merely for their meat, but for their skins and furs. These served to pay for powder, lead, or anything else, being nomi- nally the currency of the country. "Neither was hunting a mere pastime, devoid of skill, as it now is. The hunter might be considered somewhat of a meteorologist; he paid particular attention to the winds, rains, snows, and frosts, for almost every change altered the location of the game. He knew the cardinal points of the compass by the thick bark and moss on the north side of a tree, so that during the darkest and most gloomy night he knew which was the north, and so the direction of his home or camp. "The natural habits of the deer were well studied; and hence he knew at what times they fed, etc. If, in hunting, he found a deer at feed, he stopped, and though he might be open to it, did not seek to obscure himself, but waited till it raised its head and looked at him. He rem.ained motionless till the deer, satisfied that nothing was in sight, again commenced feeding. He then began to advance, if he had the wind of it, and if not, he retreated and Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 139 came up another way, so as to place the deer between himself and the wind. As long as the deer's head was down, he continued to advance till he saw it shake the tail. In a moment he was the same motionless object, till again it put down its head. In this way he Avould soon approach to within sixty yards, when his unerring rifle did the work of death. It is a curious fact that deer never put their heads to the ground, or raise it, without shaking the tail be- fore doing so."* *Bickley. 130 Soutluvest Virginia, 17 46-17 S6. CHAPTEE VI. SOUTHWEST VIEGINIA— FINCASTLE COUNTY. 1773-1777. The House of Burgesses of Virginia in tlie fall of the year 1772, in answer to the petition of the inhabitants and settlers on the waters of the Holston and New rivers, representing their in- conveniences by reason of the extent of Botetourt county and their remote situation from the courthouse, with the consent of the Governor and Council enacted a law providing that from and after the first day of December, 1772, the said county of Bote- tourt should be divided into two distinct counties; that is to say, all that part of said county within a line to run up the east side of New river to the mouth of Culberson creek, thence a direct line to the Catawba road where it crosses the dividing ridge between tlie north fork of Roanoke and the waters of New river, thence with the top of the ridge to the bend where it turns eastwardl.y, thence a south course, crossing Little river to the top of the Blue Eidge mountain, shall be established as one distinct county, to be called and known by the name of Fincastle ; and all that other part thereof which lies to the east and northeast of said line shall be one other distinct county and retain the name of Botetourt. The act establishing Fincastle did not designate the place of holding the court of the county, but, by order of the Governor of the Colony, the Lead Mines, now in Wythe county, Virginia, was desig- nated as the county seat of the new county.* Pursuant to a commission from the Governor of the Colony bearing date December 1, 1772, directed to William Preston, William Inglis, William Christian, John Montgomery, Stephen Trigg, Eobert Doach, Walter Crockett, James McGavock, Anthony Bledsoe, James Thompson, Arthur Campbell, William Eussell, Benjamin Estill, Samuel Crockett, Alexander McKee, *8 Hen. Stat., page 600. Southwest Virginia, 17JiG-J786. 131 the first County Court for Fincastle county assembled at the Lead Mines, on New river, in the present county of Wythe, on the 5th day of January, 1773. The following m^^anbers of the court being present: Arthur Campbell, James Thompson, -William Preston, William Inglis, William Christian, Stephen Trigg, Walter Crockett, James McGavock. Arthur Campbell and James Thompson administered the oath to William Preston and William Inglis, and they to : William Christian, Stephen Trigg, Robert Doach, Walter Crockett, James McGavock, James Thompson, Arthur Campbell. Subsequently in the year 1773, William Campbell, James Mc- Corkle and William Herbert were commissioned and qualified as members of the court. The following officers of the new county qualified on that day: Sheriff Fincastle count}', ^William Preston. Deputy Sheriffs : Daniel Trigg, John Floyd, James Thompson, Henry Moore. Surveyor Fincastle County, William Preston. Deputy Surveyors : John Floyd, Robert Preston, Daniel Smith, Robert Doach, William Russell, James Douglas. Clerk Fincastle county, John Byrd. Deputy Clerks : William Christian, Stephen Trigg, ? Richard Madison. 132 Southwest Virginia, 174-6-1786. King-'s Counsel or Dept. Attorney : John Aylett, Jan. 5th, 1773. Thomas Madison, May 3rd, 1774. The following attorneys qualified in this court during the exist- ence of the county: Ephraim Dun! op, Luke Bowyer, John May, Jolin Todd, Harry Innes, Charles Simm, John Aylett, Gabriel Jones, Benjamin Lawson, Thomas Madison. On the first day of the court many interesting orders were en- tered, several of the number being here copied as entered : "The Court doth appoint the house adjoining the Court House, where the court is now held, for a prison, which house William Preston, Sheriff, doth protest against as insufficient. "Ordered that Stephen Trigg send for weights and measures for the use of the said county, as soon as possible and on as low terms as he sells goods to his best customers on.^' "Ordered that John Byrd do provide all necessary law books for this county, and that he bring in his charge." A number of orders were entered by the court on the first day of its existence, in regard to that section of Fincastle county lying iipon the waters of the Holston and Clinch rivers. Leave was given Francis Whitney and William Kennedy to erect mills on the properties on which they lived, on the Holston river and the waters of Holston river. In this connection it is worthy of notice, tliat at the time per- mission was given to Kennedy and Whitney to erect their mills, there was but one mill on the waters of the Holston, so far as the records show, to-wit: the mill of Arthur Campbell at Royal Oak. "It is further ordered by the court that Williiim Edmiston, George Adams, John Beaty, Joseph Drake, David Snodgrass and James Kincannon, or any three of them, being first sworn, do view the nighest and best way from the Town House (now in Smyth County, Va.,) to the Eighteen Mile creek (now Abingdon), and report." It seems that there was some contention among the settlers on Holston as to the location of this road; for, on the 3nd day of South IV est Virginia, 17^6-1786. 133 ^iarcli, 1773, the above order was set aside by the court, and on that day it was ordered that John Hays, Benjamin Logan, William Campbell, Arthur Bowen and Thomas Eamsey, or any three of them, being first sworn, do view the several ways proposed for said road and make a report of the conveniences and inconveniences attending the same. The viewers thus appointed made their re- port to the County Court on July 6, 1773, recommending that the lower road be established, which report was confirmed and the road established, and William Campbell, William Edmiston and James Bryan were appointed overseers of the said road. The above is all the information that the records contain of the controversy in regard to the establishment of this road, but I ap- prehend that the action of the court in establishing the road as they did had considerable bearing in settling the future location of the county seat of Washington county at Abingdon. Upon the second day of the court it was recommended to his Excellency the Governor that he wnll be pleased to establish the courthouse for this county at a piece of land commonly called ]\rc(^airs place, now the property of Eoss & Co., and the lands of Samuel Crockett, in lieu of the Lead Mines, for the several reasons following: That tlie said McCall's place and Crockett's lies on the Great Eoad that passes through the county, and that it is well watered, timbered and level. That it is more central than the mines, and that it is in the neigbborhood of a great deal of good lands and meadows. That the Lead ]\Iines are near the south line of the county, that there is no s})ring convenient, the place is very bare of timber and in a neighborhood where there is very little pasture, and it is certainly off the leading road. From which order Arthur Campbell dissented. While the records are to some extent indefinite as to the action of the Governor upon this petition, it is clear that the county seat was not removed from the Lead Mines during the existence of the county of Fincastle, as is evident from other records that have a bearing upon this subject. The County Court on March 2, 1774, entered the following order : ^'Ordered that the surveyor lay off the prison bounds, and that 134 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. he include all the houses and some part of the waters." This clearly applied to the Lead Mines. The act of the Legislature of Virginia establishing Montgomery county directed that the county scat should be Fort Chiswell, and one of the first orders of that court was to appoint commissioners to contract for and superintend the erection of a courthouse. The above facts, when taken in connection with the circumstance that Fort Chiswell was at no time mentioned in the records of the County Court of Fincastle county, except in the petition above set out, are conclusive in regard to this matter. On May 2, 1773, the court ordered that Robert Davis, Alexan- der Wylie, Eobert Buchanan, and Hugh Gallion, any three of whom being duly sworn, do view the nighest way from James Davis' (at the head spring of the Middle Fork of the Holston) to James Catherine's (near the head spring of the South Fork of the Hol- ston), but the records of Fincastle fail to show that this road was established. The next order of importance entered by the court was on May 5, 1773, when the court ordered that Isaac Riddle, Wesley White, James Young and James Montgomery do view the nighest and best way from Eleven Mile creek, on Holston, by Jones' place at the crossing place, going to Watauga, and report. The commissioners made their report on July 6, 1773, and the road was established, and James Montgomery, James Young and Isaac Riddle were appointed overseers. On March 3, 1773, James McCarthy, Matthew Mounts, John Smith, Thomas Byrd, Nathan Richerson and Peter Lee, or any three of them, being first sworn, were ordered to view the nighest and best way from the Town House on Holston to Castle's Woods on Clinch river, and make report. The commissioners made their report on July 6, 1773. and the road was partially established, beginning at John Dunkin's in Elk Garden, thence over the mountains to Poor Valley, about five miles to the westward of the old path, and from thence by the Big Lick, through Lyon's Gap to the Town House. On March 2, 1773, the court directed John Maxwell, Robert Al- lison and Robert Campbell, or any three of them, to view the nighest and best way from Catherine's Mill to Charles Allison's, and so on to Sinclair's Bottom, and report. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 135 On July 6, 1773, the commissioners reported, and the court di- rected a road to l)e established from Catherine's Mill to Charles Allison's house on the condition that the people on the South Fork, or any others on same road who think it useful, do cut the same themselves. On the same day the court ordered that William Edmiston, Kobert Edmiston, Alexander McNutt, Robert Buchanan, and John Edmiston, any three of whom may act, do view a road from Charles Allison's house down the South Fork to Robert Edmiston's house and report. On May 5, 1773, the County Court directed Arthur Camp- bell to take a list of the tithables on the Clinch river and on all its forks, as low as the Elk Garden, and on the Wolf Hill creek. And William Eussell to take a list of the tithables from the Elk Garden, on the Clinch, down to the county line. And Anthony Bledsoe to take a list of the tithables from Cap- tain Campbell's down to the county line, on the North, South, and Middle Forks of Holston river. And that Captain James Thompson do take a list of the tith- ables in Captain William Campbell's company. On May 4, 1773, the court directed James Hays, John Hays, "^ Archibald Buchanan, and Robert Davis to view the nighest and best way by Robert Davis' into the leading road from Holston. At" the meeting of the County Court on July 6, 1773, Jonathan Jenning was fined forty shillings for speaking of the court with contempt and saying that they were self-interested and partial. And on the same day Stephen Trigg, James McCorkle, Walter Crockett and James McGavock were directed to agree with work- men to repair the second house from the courthouse for a prison in such manner as is necesssary. And on the 9th day of July, 1773, Joseph Black, Andrew Col- vill, Samuel Ewen, William Blackburn, George Blackburn, Samuel Briggs, Davis Galloway, John Berry, Christopher Acklin, John Keswick, John Vance and Benjamin Logan were directed to clear the nearest and best way from Samuel Brigg's^ on Eighteen Mile creek, to James Bryan's, on Eleven Mile creek. On November 2, 1773, on the petition of a number of the in- habitants, it was ordered that William Priest, Henry Willis, Jo- seph Martin, William Bowen and Joseph Craven, any three of 136 Southwest VirgiJiia, 1746-1786. whom may act, after being duly sworn, do view the best way from Maiden Springs settlement (now in Tazewell county) into the Great Road. No further orders pertaining to Washington county were en- tered by the court until March 2, 1774, on which day Patrick Por- ter was given leave to build a mill on Falling creek, the waters of Clinch river, this being the fii-st mill erected on Clinch river, so far as the records disclose. On the same day, on the motion of Charles Allison, leave was given him to build a mill on his land, on the South Fork of Hol- ston, near the head spring. On the same day the court appointed Andrew Miller and Thomas Ramsay commissioners to view the nighest and best way from Thomas Ramsay's, by Kennedy's mill, to the Great Road. At a meeting of the court on May 3, 1774, tlie court, on the petition of the inhabitants of Beaver creek, m;dei"ed Benjamin Lo- gan to open a road from James Fulkerson's to the wagon road at Joseph Black's (now Abingdon), the best and most convenient way. On the same day the court directed Anthony Bledsoe to take a list of the tithables in Captains Looney's, Shelby's, and Cocke's com- panies, William Campbell in his own and Captain Arthur Camp- bell's companies, and William Russell in his own and Captain Smith's companies. The County Court of Fincastle county was composed of men of dignity and respectability, and they purposed to deal with the at- torneys practicing at tlieir bar in such a manner as to command the respect of the bar and the citizens of the county, and, as an evidence of the manner in which they dealt with the members of the legal profession, we here copy an order made 1)y this court on May 3, 1774: "John Gabriel Jones, having misbehaved himself in the court, it is ordered that for his contempt he make his fine with our Ijord, the King, by the ])ayniont of twenty shillings, and that he be taken," etc. On the same day a peculiar order was entered, which read as follows : "John Dougherty came into court, and, it being fully proved that his left ear had been bitten off by a person in an affray, it is ordered that the same be recorded." It is hard to perceive his ob- Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 137 ject in making this proof and having it recorded unless there ex- isted at that time, or at an earlier date, some law or custom by which criminals lost their ears. At the August term of this court it was directed that a road be built from Arthur Camjjbell's mill to Blue Spring, at the head of Cripple creek, by way of Eye Bottom, and on August 3d, being the same day as the above order, the court directed a road to be built from Arthur CampbelFs mill to Archibald Buchanan's, on ^ the North Fork of Holston river. In the preceding pages we have given a great deal of the records of the County Court of Fincastle county directing the opening of the first roads and granting permission to erect the first mills on the waters of the Holston and Clinch rivers, and it cannot be other- wise than interesting, for, previously to the opening of these roads, the early settlers of this country, as a general rule, were compelled to follow the Indian and buffalo trails made before their advent. The main trail down the Holston and through Washington county was, from the very earliest time of which we have any record, called the Great Eoad. Before the erection of the first mills on the waters of the Holston, if the early settlers wished to have meal, it could be obtained in one way only, and that by cracking the grains of corn with a hammer or by some other similar method. The first deed executed to any of the settlers on the Holston was dated January 5, 1773, and was made by Edmund Pendleton. It conveyed to Benjamin Logan and John Sharp 676 acres of land situated on Beaver creek, alias Shallow creek, and was the same land surveyed by John Buchanan for Edmund Pendleton on April ?2, 1750. On the same day Edmund Pendleton conveyed to William Cocke and Eobert Craig 950 acres of land situated on Spring creek, alias Eenfro's creek, being the same land surveyed by John Buchanan, deputy surveyor of Augusta county, for Edmund Pendleton on April 3, 1750, and described in the survey as lying on Eenfro's creek. This survey covered a considerable part of the farms now owned and occupied by C. L. Clyce, Jerry Whitaker, Allen Lester and H. B. Eoberts on Spring creek. The four conveyances above described are older by more than one year and three months than any others to be found in the pres-- 138 Southwest Virginia, 17J^6-1786. ent bounds of Washington county, the next oldest conveyance bearing' date April 14, 1774. It may be interesting at this point to know the oath required of the members of the first County Court administering justice among the settlers upon the Holston. We here copy the oath : "You shall swear that as a justice of the peace in the county of Fincastlo in all articles in the commission to you directed, you shall do equal right to the ])oor and to the rich, after your cunning, wit and power according to law; and 3^ou shall not be of any counsel of any quarrel hanging before you, and the issues, fines and amercements that shall happen to be made, and all the forfeitures which shall fall before you, you shall cause to be entered, without any concealment or embezzling; you shall not let for gift or other causes, but well and truly you shall do your office of justice of the peace, as well within your county court as without; and you shall not take any gift, fee or gratuity, for anything to be done by vir- tue of your office, and you shall not direct or cause to be directed, any warrant by you to be made to the parties, but you shall direct them to the Sheriff, or bailiffs of said county, or other the King's officers or ministers, or other indifferent persons, to do execution thereof, so help you God." The oath of a justice of the County Court in Chancery was as follows : "You shall swear that well and truly you will serve our sovereign lord, the King, and his people, in the office of a justice of the county court of Fincastle in ( 'hancery, and that you will do equal right to all manner of people, great and small, high and low, rich and poor, according to equity and good conscience and the laws and usages of this colony and dominion of Virginia, without favor, affection or partiality. So help you God."* A considerable number of people had settled in the immediate vicinity of Abingdon, and eastward to the head waters of the Hol- ston, and in the beginning of this year two congregations of Pres- byterians had organized in the county — one at Sinking Spring (now Abingdon) and another at Ebbing Spring, on the Middle Fork of the Holston river, near the James Byars farm ; and in the month of April, 1773, Samuel Edmiston was commissioned by the two congregations above mentioned to present a call to the Rev. *5 Hen. Stat., pages 489-490. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 139 Charles Cummings at the Eeverend Presbytery of Hanover when sitting at the Tinkling Springs, in Angusta county. This call was reduced to writing and signed by the members of the Sinking Spring and Ebbing Spring congregations. It was presented to the Presbytery by Samuel Edmiston for the services of Mr. Cum- mings at Brown's meeting-house, in Augusta county, on June 3, 1773. The call with the signatures thereto is as follows: "A call from the united congregations of Ebbing, and Sinking springs, on Holston's river, Fincastle county, to be presented to the Rev, Charles Cummings, minister of the gospel, at the Eeverend Presbytery of Hanover when sitting at the Tinkling Spring: Worthy and Dear Sir, — We, being in very destitute circum- stances for want of the ordinances of Christ's house statedly ad- ministered amongst us ; many of us under very distressing spiritual languishments ; and multitudes perishing in our sins for want of the bread of life broken among us; our Sabbaths too much pro- faned, or at least wasted in melancholy silence at home, our hearts and hands discouraged, and our spirits broken with our mournful condition, so that human language cannot sufficiently paint. Hav- ing had the happiness, by the good providence of God, of enjoying part of your labors to our abundant satisfaction, and being uni- versally well satisfied by our experience of your ministerial abili- ties, piety, literature, prudence and peculiar agreeableness of your qualifications to us in particular as a gospel minister — we do, worthy and dear sir, from our very hearts, and with the most cor- dial affection and unanimity agree to call, invite and entreat you to undertake the office of a pastor among us, and the care and charge of our precious souls, and upon your accepting of this our call, we do promise that we will receive the word of God from your mouth, attend on your ministry, instruction and reproofs, in public and private, and submit to the discipline which Christ has appointed in his church, administered by you while regulated by the word of God and agreeable to our confession of faith and directory. And that you may give yourself wholly up to the important work of the ministry, we hereby promise to pay you annually the sum of ninety poimds from the time of your accepting this our call ; and that we shall behave ourselves towards you with all that dutiful respect and affection that becomes a people towards their minister, using all means within our power to render your life comfortable and 140 SovtJL'west Virginia, 17Ji6-17S6. liapp}''. We entreat 3'ou, worthy and dear sir, to have compassion u])on us in this remote part of the world, and accept this our call and invitation to the pastoral charge of our precious and immor- tal souls, and we shall hold ourselves bound to pray. (I^orge Blackburn, Win. Blackburn, John Vance, John Casey, Benjamin Logan, l»(bert Edmiston, Tliomas Berry, IJobert Trimble, AVm. McGaughey, David Dry den, V.'m. McNabb, \ . •)hn Davis, ] [albert McClure, Arthur Blackburn, "^ Tiathl. Davis, Saml. Evans, \Vm. Kennedy, "^ Andrew McFerran, Saml. Hendry, John Patterson, -Tames Gilmore, John Lowry, Wm. Christian, Andrew Colville, Eobert Craig, Joseph Black, Jonathan Douglass?, John Cusick, Eobert Gamble, , Andrew Martin, Augustus Webb, Samuel Briggs, Wesley White, James Dorchester, James Fulkerson, John Long, Eobert Topp, v John Hunt, Thomas Bailey, David Getgood, Alex. Breckenridge, George Clark, James Molden, William Blanton, James Craig, "^ Thomas Sharp, John Berry, James Montgomery, Samuel Houston, Henry Creswell, George Adams, George Buchanan, James Dysart, William Miller, Andrew Deeper, David Snodgrass, Danl. McCormick, Francis Kincannon, Jos. Snodgrass, James Thompson, Eobert Denniston, William Edmiston, Saml. Edmiston, Andrew Kincannon, John Kelley, John Eobinson, James Kincannon, Margaret Edmiston, John Edmiston, John Boyd, David Carson, Samuel Buchanan, William Bates, William McMillin, John Kennedy, Eobert Lamb, Thos. Eafferty, Tliomas Baker, John Groce, Eobert Buchanan, Chrisr. Acklin, Joseph Gamble, John McNabb, Chris. Funkhouser, John Funkhouser, Sr., John Funkhouser, Jr., Thomas Evans, William Marlor, Wm. Edmiston, Thos Edmiston, John Beaty, David Beaty, George Teator, Michl. Halfacre, Stephen Cawood, James Garvell, Eob. Buchanan, Jr., Edward Jamison, ISTicholas Brobston, Alexander McNutt, William Pruitt, John McCutchen, James Berry, James Trimble, Eichard Heggons, Southwest 'Virginia, 17JfG-17SG. 141 Stephen Jordan, Alex. Laughlin, James Inglish, Richard Moore, Thomas Ramsey, Samuel Wilson, Joseph Vance, William Young, William Davidson, James Young, John Sharp, Robert Kirkham, Martin Pruitt, Andrew Miller, William Berry, James Piper, James Harrold, Saral. Newell, David Wilson, David Craig, William Berry, V Moses Buchanan, John Lester^ Hugh Johnson, Edward Pharis, Joseph Lester, Saml. White, William Lester, William Poage, Saml. Buchanan, Thos. Montgomery, Samuel Bell, John Campbell. Tliis call was accepted by Mr. Cummings, but no record is pre- served of any installation being appointed or performed. It was intended that this call should have been presented at a session of the Presbytery in the preceding April, but, for some cause, it was delayed until the following June. Having accepted this call, he removed his family to the Holston, and settled upon three hundred acres of land on the head waters of Wolf Hill creek, which he pur- chased from Dr. Thomas Walker for the consideration of thirty- three pounds, and which land was conveyed to him by Dr. Walker by a deed dated April 14, 1774. We hope our readers will indulge us if we pause at this place to remark that every acre of this three-hundred-acre tract of land is to-day, 129 years thereafter, in the possession of the direct lineal descendants of the Rev. Charles Cummings. A remarkable fact. As soon as he had settled his family on the Holston, he set about the performance of the duties pertaining to his station with all the energy and intelligence of which he was capable. He purchased from Dr. Thomas Walker, for five shillings, by estimation, fifty- five acres of land, which land was deeded ])y Dr. Walker "to the minister and congregation of the Sinking Spring Church and their successors for the time being on April 14, 1774. This tract of laud was bounded as follows: Beginning at a red oak corner to Andrew Colvill, running thence E. 10 poles to a white oak, N. 20', E. 126 poles to a hickory; thence N. 31', W. 48 poles to a chestnut on a high ridge, S. 53', W. 96 poles to a chestnut and a white oak on the side of said ridge, S. 35', E. 46 poles to a large white oak, S. 40', W. 28 poles to a black oak near Sinking Spring, 142 SouUiwest Virginia, 17J^6-1786. S. 30', E. 48 poles to a white oak; thence E. 12 poles to the be- ginning."* A considerable part of noi-thwest Abingdon is built upon this same tract of land. The first meeting house of the Sinking Spring congregation was erected on the first rise in the present cemetery in the rear of the Martin vault, and was a very large cabin of unhewn logs.' It was from 80 to 100 feet long and about 40 feet wide, and had a very remarkable appearance. Governor David Campbell, in speaking of the men who signed this call, says: "In early life I knew personally many of those whose names are signed to it, and I knew nearly all of them from character." They were a most respectable body of men, were all Whigs in the revolution, and nearly all, probably every one of them, performed military service against the Indians, and a large portion of them against the British in the battles of King's Mountain, Guilford Courthouse, and other actions in North and South Carolina. Such was the character of the first men who inhabited our county and worshipped in this, the first place of worship, on all the waters of the Holston and Clinch. Daniel Boone again visited the waters of the Holston in the fall of this year. The Boones and five other families set out from their homes on the Yadkin river, N". C, on September 25, 1773. They passed through Washington county and on into Powell's Valley (on their way to Kentucky), where they were joined by William Bryan, with forty other people. While this body of emi- grants were leisurely traveling through Powell's Valley a small company, under James Boone, Daniel Boone's eldest son, left the main body and went to the home of William Eussell to secure pro- visions, and on the 9th of October James Boone and his company, among the number being Eussell's son Henry and two slaves, en- camped a few miles in the rear of the main body. At this point they Avere, the next day, waylaid by a small company of Shawnese and Cherokee Indians, who were supposed to be at peace with the white settlers. On the morning of the 10th James Boone and his entire company were captured, and, after cruel torture, were slaught- ered. After this occurrence Daniel Boone's company of emigrants *Deed Book "A," page — , Fincastle county. Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 143 broke up and returned to the settlements, and Daniel Boone and his family returned to the home of William Kussell, near Castle's Woods, on Clinch river, about forty miles distant, and took up their residence in an empty cabin on the farm of Captain David Glass, seven or eight miles from William Eussell's, where they spent the M'inter of 1773-1774. Daniel Boone had twice, previously to this time, visited the Kentucky wilderness, and had decided to settle in the beautiful country which he had visited. And thus rudely were his first efforts frustrated. The motive actuating the Indians in making this assault must have been jealousy of these, the first emigrants to Kentucky. They could not have had for their object the securing of plunder alone, for the Indians had long lived in peace with the white settlers without any effort to murder or burn. In this assault six men, including Boone's son, were slain, and their cattle and plunder secured and carried oft'. We have now reached the time when the eyes of all frontiersmen were fixed upon the fertile lands lying beyond the Cumberland mountains. The Kentucky wilderness was no longer visited by the hunter alone, but the explorer and the settler were seeking an opportunity to acquire a future home in the new country. A distinguished author, in speaking of the condition of the Indians at that time, says : "Recently they had been seriously alarmed by the tendency of the whites to encroach on the great hunting grounds south of the Ohio, for here and there hunters and settlers were already beginning to build cabins along the course of that stream," and in another place the same author speaks as fol- lows : "The savages grew continually more hostile, and in the fall of 1773 their attacks became so frequent that it was evident a general outbreak was at hand. Eleven people were murdered in the county of Fincastle alone. The Shawnese were the leaders in all these outrages. Thus the spring of 1774 opened with every- thing ripe for an explosion. The Virginia borderers were fear- fully exasperated, and were ready to take vengeance upon any In- dian, whether peaceful or hostile, while the Shawnese and Mingoes, on their side, were arrogant and overbearing, and yet alarmed at the -continual advance of the whites."* The Virginia Colony was at peace with the Cherokees, and *The Winning of the West, Vol. I., pages 250-252. 144 SouUiivest Virginia, 1746-1786. most of the Indians' depredations during the year 1774-1775 were comniitted by the northwest Indians. A Mr. Russell and five of his companions were murdered by the Indians in the fall of the year 1773 in Fincastle county, and about the same time two men, l)y the name of Cochran and Foley, and a man by the name of Hayes, with his three companions, were murdered by the Indians, but as to the locality of these murders or the circumstances attending them we have no information.! In the course of the summer of 1774, a number of the citizens of Fincastle county were captured and killed by the northern In- dians, among the number being Thomas Hogg and two men near the mouth of the Great Kanawha, and Walter Kelly, with three or four other persons, below the falls of the Great Kanawha. William Kelly and a young woman were captured on Muddy creek, a branch of Green river. Kelly was killed and the young woman carried into captivity. During this same summer a man by the name of Shockley, a scout employed by the County Court of Fincastle county, was shot and killed, and on the 7th day of August, 1774, the house of one John Lybrook, situated on Sinking creek in the_ present county of Craig, was attacked by the Indians. Lybrook was wounded in the arm, and only saved his life by hiding in a cave. Three of his children (one of them a sucking infant), a young woman, a daughter of one Scott, and a child of widow Snidow were killed. All the children were scalped but one, and were mangled in a most crxiel manner. At the same time and in the same community, John and Jacob Snidow and a younger brother, whose name is not known, were captured and made pris- oners. Two of the brothers escaped from the Indians on the fol- lowing Wednesday, but tlic other was carried into captivity and remained with the Indians until he acquired their habits and be- came so fond of their manner of life that he ever afterwards lived among them. At the same time a Miss Margaret McKiusie was captured and carried into captivity, where she remained for eighteen years, at the end of which time she returned to New river and married a Mr. Benjamin Hall. The white settlers near Pittsburg were on very bad terms with the northwest Indians. On the last day of April, 1774, a small •company of Indians left the camp of the Indian Chief Logan, at tWm. Preston Mss. Southwest Virginia, 17-^6-1786. 145 Yellow creek, and crossed the river to visit a man by the name of Greathouse, a place which they had been accustomed to visit for tlie purpose of buying rum from the whites. The Indians were made drunk with liquor, and while in this condition were cruelly murdered by Greathouse and his associates. Nine Indians in all were murdered at this time, among the number being the entire family of the Indian Chief Logan. Logan had always been the friend of the white man, and had always been exceedingly kind and gentle to women and children, notwithstanding the fact that some of his relatives had been killed by the whites some years before. Logan was a skilled marksman and a mighty hunter of com- manding dignity, who treated all men with a grave courtesy and exacted the same treatment in return. He was greatly liked and respected by all the white hunters and frontiersmen whose friend- ship and respect were worth having. They admired him for his dexterity and prowess, and they loved him for his straightforward honesty and his nol)le loyalty to his friends.* This last stroke was more than Logan could stand. He at- tributed his misfortune to Captain Cresap, and he began at once to raid the settlements with small bands of Indians. This raid was upon the settlers of the Holston and the Clinch. On his first expedition he took thirteen scalps, six of the number being chil- dren. He was pursued and overtaken by a party of men com- manded by a man by the name of McClure, but he ambushed and defeated them on McClure's creek, now in Dickenson county, and it was from this occurrence that the creek obtained its name. Again, during the same year, he visited the waters of Holston, within twelve miles of the present location of Bristol, and cap- tured and murdered many families. At the house of one Eoberts, whose family was cut off, Logan left a war-club, to which was tied a note, which read as follows : "Captain Cresap, — ^What did you kill my people on Yellow creek for? The white people killed my kin at Conestoga a great while ago, and 1 thought nothing of that. But you killed my kin again on Yellow creek, and took my cousin prisoner. Then I thought I must kill, too, and I have been three times to war since; but the Indians are not angry, only myself. elulv 21, 1774. "Captain John Logan." ^Winning of the West, Vol. I., page 256. 146 Southwest Virginia, 174G-1786. While the settlers at Pittsburg provoked this diificulty, it seems that the settlers on the Holston and Clinch were the principal sufferers thereby. Numerous surveyors, with their instruments, visited Kentucky during this year. Among the number were James Douglas, Han- cock Taylor, Isaac Bledsoe, and John Floyd. The last named left the home of Colonel William Preston at Smithfield on April 9, 1774, accompanied by eight men. They passed down the Kanawha river to the Ohio, where they were informed by a company they met that an Indian war was probable; notwithstanding which in- formation they continued their explorations, surveying many tracts of land on the Ohio and in the present State of Kentucky. We here give a list of a few surveys made by the men who visited Kentucky in this year. We copy this list from the fact that it is exceedingly interesting, and for the further reason that it contains the first sur- veys made by the white man in the present State of Kentucky : Notable Tmcit^ of Land, Surveyed hy John Floyd, Hancock Taylor and James Doug- las, in 1774-i77S, lying mostly in Kentucky Time. April 25 1774 " '20. 177-i " 22, 177-1 June 7, 1774 " », 1774 April 15, 1774 June 7, 1774 July 8, 1774 7, 1774 n, 1774 12, 1774 H, 1774 20, 1774 May t>, 1774 June 2, 1774 Name. Mitchell Clay. Wni. Inglis. Wm. Inglis. Col. Wm. Cliristian. Jas. McCorkle. Col. Geo. Washington John Floyd. Patrick Henry. Patrick Henry. Wui. Christian. Wm. Russell. •>* Wm. Preston. ^ Audley Paul. Wm. Christian. Wm. Byrd. May 24, 1774 Wm. Fleming. " 27, 1774 John Corlin. June 2, 1774 Henry Harrison. Mar. 23, 1774 Samuel Scott. N- Aug. 8, 1774]Andrew Lewis. " 16, 1774 Evan Shelby. May 31, 1774 Zachary Taylor. June 17, 1774 Zachary Taylor. " 29, 1774 Adam Stephens. 1, 1774 Jolin Connallv. 1, 1774 Wm. Byrd. I 2, 1774 Thomas Bower. 14, 1775 James McDowell. 11, 1775 Samuel McDowell. July June 12, 1774 Wm. Christian. " 24, 1775 Jethro Sumner. " 3, 1774 Arthur Campbell. May 12, 1774 Wm. Christian ACBBS 1,000 200 1,(100 2,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 2,000 3,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 3,000 200 1,000 40 2,000 2,000 1,000 2,000 2,000 1,000 1,00) •..',000 2,000 1,000 2,000 1,000 1,000 Location. Botii sides Bluestone Cr., Clover Bottom. H'd Spring Wolf Cr., Burks Garden. Abbs' Valley. Bear Grass Creek, Br. of Ohio. Bank of Cole River. W. Bear Grass Creek. Elk Horn Creek, Br. of Kentucky. N. Br. Ky. River, 95 miles from the Ohio. S. Br. Kentucky River. N. Br. of Kentucky. S. Side Ohio, 3 miles above mouth of Ky. About 11 miles below mouth of Ky., called " Mt. Byrd." On Ohio River. On Ohio, 19 miles above falls. On Ohio, 23^ miles from h'd of fall. The Narrows. Giles County. Sinking Cr., 8 miles from Ky. River, N, course from Harwood Landing. Elk Horn Cr., Branch of Kentucky. On Ohio, Mouth Bear Grass Creek. Br. Kv. that empties at Gireat Crossing. N. si<lV K y. River and N.W. side Klk Horn Creek al)i)ut8 miles I'min a remarkable l)arialo feeding place, tlie Ky. River. S. side Ohio River opposite the falls. S. side ( ihio, nearly opposite flrst island above the falls. Near falls of Ohio. S. Fork Licking Cr., Br. of Ohio. Elk Horn Cr., Br. of Kentucky. Salt River, 20 miles from Great Falls Inc'd Spring and Buffalo Lick. Elk Horn Creek (Sumner's Forest). Br. Bear Grass Cr., S. Br. Ohio. Big Bone Lick and Butt'alo Lick. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 147 This is a partial list only of the many surveys made in west Fincastle county, now in the State of Kentucky, by Hancock Tay- lor, James Douglas, and John Floyd. These men were sent to Kentucky by direction of the Governor of the Colony of Virginia, and all the lands thus located were for men or the assignees of men who took part in the French-Indian war of 1754-1763, and who acquired their rights under the King's proclamation of 1763. When the war with the Indians broke out Lord Dunmore was exceedingly anxious to give information of that fact to the surveyors, and he directed Colonel William Preston, who had charge of the defenses of Fincastle county, to communi- cate the fact to the surveyors. Colonel Preston authorized Colo- nel William Russell, who then lived on the Clinch river, to employ two faithful woodmen to go to Kentucky and convey the infor- mation to the several companies of surveyors and their assistants, and on the 26th of June, 1774, Captain Russell wrote Colonel William Preston as follows : "I have engaged to start immediately upon the occasion two of the best hands I could think of, Daniel Boone and Michael Stoner, who have engaged to reach the coun- try as low as the falls, and to return by way of Gasper's Lick, on Cumberland, and through Cumberland Gap, so that by the as- siduity of these men, if it be not too late, I hope the gentlemen will be apprized of the imminent danger they are daily in." Boone and Stoner set out immediately upon their trip, and warned Colonel James Harrod and thirty men at Harrodsburg, now Ken- tucky. They found another company of surveyors at Fontainebleau and on the Kentucky i-iver they found Captalin John Floyd and his men, and thence they passed to the falls of the Ohio, where they warned the surveyors at Mann's Lick, and, after an absence of sixty-one days, they reached J^ussell's Fort on Clinch river, having traveled 800 miles on foot. Captain John Floyd imme- diately set out for the settlements, and on the 13th day of August, 1774, he reached the home of Colonel Preston at Smithfield, and reported : "That on the 8th of July he and three others parted with fourteen men, who were also engaged in the surveying business, and went about twenty miles from them to finish his part of the work, and that they were to meet on the first day of August at a place on the Kentucky, known by the name of the Cabin, in order to proceed on their homeward journey. That on the 24th of July 148 Southivest Virginia, 1746-1786. he, with his three men, repaired to tlie place appointed, where he found that a part, or all of the conipan}^, had assembled according to agreement, but had gone off in the greatest precipitation, leav- ing him only this notice written on a tree: 'Alarmed by finding some people killed, we arc gone down,' upon which he, with his small party, iminodiatoly set out, steering for our settlements; and after an extremely painful and fatiguing journey of sixteen days through mountains almost inaccessible and ways unknown, he at last arrived on Clinch river. He did not well understand the notice left him on the tree, whether part of the company had as- sembled at the Cabin, and that they had gone down to the camp in order to warn those who were at work in that neighborhood of danger, or whether the whole company had met and were departed down the Mississippi, as several in the company had before pro- posed returning home that Avay, with a view both to see the coun- try and avoid the fatigue of returning by land. The names of some of the party not then returned are here inserted, viz. : James Douglas, Hancock Ta5dor and Isaach Bledsoe ; Surveyors John Wil- lis, Willis Lee, Captain John Ashby, Abraham Hempenstall, Wil- ' liam Ballard, John Green, Lawrence Darnell, Mordecai Batson, John Sodusky, James Strother and John Ball." The northwestern Indians were greatly alarmed at the encroach- ments of the white settlers, who were daily surveying and settling the lands on the banks of the Ohio and in the wilderness of Ken- tucky. The white settlers insisted that they had a right to survey and settle these lands under the>])]'ovisinus of tlie treaty made with the confederacy of the Six Nations at Fort Stanwix in 17G8, and they were greatly exasperated by the conduct of the northwestern Indians in denying their right to said lands and in murdering their people and plundering their settlements. The white settlers had long been restrained by the British Government from aveng- ing their wrongs on the Indians, and now they clamored for war. When the news of the disposition of the Indians reached Williams- burg the Governor of the Colony and the House of Burgesses of Virginia immediately took steps to protect the western settlers. By the direction of Lord Dunmore, Lieutenant-Colonel William Christian, in the month of May, 1774, left Williamsburg for Fin- castle county with instructions to use every means possible to pre- Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1780. 149 vent the inhabitants from leaving tlie settlements on the approach of the Indian war. As soon as he reached his home a council of the militia officers was held on June 35, 1774, at the Lead Mines, at which council it was resolved that Lieutenant-Colonel Christian should march with a body of militia to the Clinch settlements. The militia Avas at ! once mustered in and equipped at the personal expense of Colonel j Christian, JVilliam Preston and Major Arthur Campbell, and pro- ceeded to the Clinch settlements, where every preparation was ' made for war. A considerable part of this force accompanied Colonel Christian to Point Pleasant in the following August. Gen- eral Andrew Lewis was directed by Governor Dunmore to organize a sufficient force to carry war into the enemy's country. The organi- zation of this body of troops was intrusted to General Andrew Lewis and Colonel Charles Lewis, of Augusta county. As it would require some time to organize this body of troops, it was thought proper to send an advance guard into the enemy's country to re- strain the Indians wjiile the whites were preparing, and early in June about 400 men, under the command of Colonel Angus Mc- Donald, assembled at Wheeling and immediately marched to the Indian grounds, on the Muskingum, with the loss of two men killed and eight or ten wounded. The Indians fled, and in a few days returned and sued for peace, but their pretensions were not sin- cere; and they were only delaying McDonald while they removed their property and their women and children beyond the reach of the Virginia troops. Thereupon Colonel McDonald burned the In- dian towns and crops and retraced his steps to Wheeling. As soon as the troops had retired from the Indian country small bands of Indians invaded the western settlements at many points. Many of the people of Fincastle county were murdered, and by the first of August all the people in Pincastle county, except a few of the settlers on Holston, were gatliered into small forts-; and such was the unhappy situation of the people that they could not attend to their plantations, nor were the scouts employed by the county able to investigate the inroads of the enemy, as they came in small parties and traveled along the mountains with great cau- tion. About the last of June one Knox, who went to Ohio with the surveyors in the spring, reached the settlements and reported : "That on the 13th of June one Jacob Lewis departed from the 150 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. camp on Salt river in the morning to hunt, and had never been heard of since; that on the 8th of July, being at said camp, about one hundred miles from the Ohio and nearly opposite to the falls, he, with nine otliei-s, was surprised and fired upon by a party of about twenty Indians; that two men were killed on the spot, viz.: James Hamilton, from Fredericksburg, and James Cowan, from Pennsylvania, and as the enemy rushed upon them before it was possible to put themselves in any posture of defence, they were obliged to abandon their camp and make their escape to a party of thirty-five men who were in that neighborhood. Next day, the whole company, being forty-three in number, after burying the dead, set out for the settlement on Clinch river, wliere they arrived on the 29th, after making several discoveries of the enemy on the way." General Andrew Lewis had orders to raise four companies of militia from Fincastle and Botetourt counties, to rendezvous at Camp Union, and to march thence down the Kanawha to Fort Pitt, at the junction of the Kanawha and Ohio. Three companies of men were raised in Fincastle county and were commanded by: Captain Evan Shelby, the forces from the waters of the Holston, Captain Wm. Eussell, the forces from the waters of the Clinch, Captain Wm. Herbert, the forces from the waters of New river. Captain Eussell left EusselFs Fort on Clinch river previously to August 13th, 1774, and Captain Evan Shelby began the march with his forces on the 17th of August, 1774, both companies join- ing the regiment of Colonel Cliristian on New river; from which place Colonel Christian, with his regiment, proceeded to Camp Union. On the 11th day of September, 1774, the army of Gen. Lewis began the march down the Kanawha, and, after the expira- tion of twenty-five days, they arrived at Point Pleasant and camped upon the banks of the Ohio. When the army of General Lewis left Camp Union, Colonel Wm. Christian, with four hundred inen, was directed to remain and guard the provisions until the return of a company of horse that had been sent to the mouth of Elk, when he was to hurry things forward. But the companies of Captains Eussell and Shelby accompanied the army of General Lewis upon its march from Camp Union to Point Pleasant and w^ere attached to the command of Colonel Charles Lewis, of Augusta county. At the same time, Lord Dunmore raised a considerable force in Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 151 the lower Valley and was to march to Fort Pitt, and thence to Point Pleasant, where he was to meet General Lewis. Instead of doing so, he marched into Ohio. General Lewis, upon his arrival at Point Pleasant, waited several days, expecting the arrival of Lord Dunmore, and, not hearing from him, he dispatched messengers, but whether he received a reply before the battle is a matter of dis- pute. On Sunday, the 9th day of October, the sturdy Scotch-Irish Presbyterians from Pincastle county spent the day in religious exercises, little dreaming that on the coming day they would be sur- prised by the Indians and win the most hotly contested battle with the Indians recorded in the annals of our history. "^BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT. Early Monday morning, October 10th, James Mooney and James Hughey, of Captain Eussell's company, left the camp in quest of deer. When about three miles distant from their camp, they unex- pectedly came in sight of a large body of Indians, in their en- campment. The Indians, when they discovered the two men, fired upon them, and Hughey was killed by a white renegade by the name of Travenor Eoss. Mooney made his escape, and, returning to the camp, reported that he had seen a body of the enemy covering four acres of ground, as closely as they could stand by the side of each other. About the same time, two members of Captain Shelby's company, James Eobertson and Valentine Sevier, who had been out hunting, returned to camp and reported that they had met a body of hostile Indians advancing upon the camp, and that they had fired upon them at the distance of ten steps. It being dark, the Indians were thereby halted. As no official report of this battle has been pre- served, I will here give the report as obtained by Dr. Hale from a letter published in the Belfast (Ireland) News Letter, a paper published at that time. BELFAST. Yesterday arrived a mail from New York brought to Falmouth by the Harriot packet boat, Captain Lee. Williamsburg, Va., November 10th. The following letter is just received from the camp on Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Great Kenhawa (as then spelled), dated October 17, 1774: "The following is a true statement of a battle fought at this 152 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. place on the 10th instant: On Monday morning about half an hour before sunrise, two of Captain Eussell's company discovered a large party of Indians about a mile from the camp, one of which men was shot by the Indians; the other made his escape and brought in the intelligence. In two or three minutes after, two of Captain Shelby's men came in and confirmed the account. "Colonel Andrew Lewis, being informed thereof, immediately ordered out Colonel Charles Lewis, to take command of one hun- dred and fifty of the Augusta troops, and with him went Captain Dickinson, Captain Harrison, Captain Wilson, Captain John Lewis, of Augusta, and Captain Lockridge, which made the first division. Colonel Fleming was then ordered to take comn^and of one hundred and fifty men of the Botetourt, Bedford, and Fin- castle troops, viz., Captain Thomas Buford, from Bedford; Captain Love, of Botetourt; Captain Shelby and Captain Eussell, of Fin- castle, which made the second division. "Colonel Charles Lewis's division marched to the right some distance from the Ohio, and Colonel Fleming with his division, on the bank of the Ohio to the left. "Colonel Charles Lewis's division had not marched quite half a mile from the camp when, about sunrise, an attack wac made on the front of his division, in a most vigorous manner, by the united tribes of Indians, Shawnese, Delawares, Mingoes, Tawas, and of several other nations — in number not less than eight himdrcd, and by many thought to be one thousand. "In this heavy attack. Colonel Charles Lewis received a wound, which, in a few hours caused his death, and several of his men fell on the spot; in fact, the Augusta division was obliged to give way to the heavy fire of the enemy. In about a second of a minute after the attack on Colonel Lewis's division, the enemy engaged the front of Colonel Fleming's division on the Ohio, and in a short time the Colonel received two balls through his left arm and one through liis breast, and, after animating the officers and soldiers, in a most f fdm manner, to the pursuit of victory, retired to the camp. "The loss in the field was sensibly felt by the officer- in par- ticular; but the Augusta troops being shortly after reinforced from the camp by Colonel Field, with his company, together with Cap- tain McDowell, Captain Matthews, and Captain Stewart, from Augusta ; Captain Paulin, Captain Arbuckle and Captain McClana- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 153 h.m, from Botetourt, the enemy no longer able to maintain ihbiv girimd, were forced to give way till they were in a line Avith the troops. Colonel Fleming being left in the action on the Ohio. "In this precipitate retreat Colonel Fleming was killed. During this time, which was till after twelve, the action in a siT'.all degree elated, but continued, except at short intervals, sharp enoacji till after one o'clock. Their long retreat gave them a most ad\'anta- geous spot of ground, from which it appeared to the otticer^ so diffi- cult to dislodge them that it was thought most advisahlo to stand as the line was then formed, which was about a mile and ^ <|ii.arter in length, and had sustained till then a constant and equal v.-eight of the action, from wing to wing. "It was till alwiit half an hour of sunset they continued firing on us scattered shots, which we returned to their disadvan'cago. At length the night coming on they found a safe retreat. •''Phey had not the satisfaction of carrying off any of our men's scalps, save those of one or two stragglers they killed before the engagement. Many of their dead they scalped, rather than we should have them, but our troops scalped upwards of twenty of their men that were first killed. "It is beyond doubt their loss, in number, far excecided ours, '.vhich is considerable. "The return of the killed and wounded in the above battle, same as our last, is as follows: "Killed — Colonels Charles Lewis and John Fields, Captains John Murray, E. McClanahan, Samuel Wilson, James Ward, Lieu- tenant Hugh Allen, Ensigns Cantiff and Bracken, and forty-four privates. Total killed, fifty-three. "Wounded — Colonel William Fleming, Captains John Dickinson, Thomas Buford, and I. Skidman, Lieutenants Goldman, Eobinson, Lard and Vance, and seventy-nine privates. Total wounded, eighty- seven; killed and wounded, one hundred and forty." When Colonel Charles Lewis fell, Captain Evan Shelby succeed- ed to the command of the regiment, and ^saac Shelby, his son, succeeded to the command of his father's company, and late in the evening General Lewis directed Captains Isaac Shelby, Matthews, and Stewart to assail the Indians in the rear, by advancing up the Kanawha river, protected by the bank and undergrowi:h. In the execution of this order considerable difficulty was experienced, and 154 Southwest Virginia, 174-6-1786. possibly, failure would have been the result had it not been for the request of John Sawyers an Orderly Sergeant in Captain Shelby's company, for permission to take a few men of the com- pany and drive the Indians from the position which afforded them protection. Permission was granted and the Indians were dislodged. The companies above mentioned having gained their rear, the In- dians precipitately took their flight across the Ohio. It is generally admitted that this was one of the most hotly (on- tested battles between the white men and the Indians that took place in the history of the early settlement of our country. The terrible conflict that took place between the white men and the Indians in this battle is hard to depict in ordinary language. De Hass thus describes the conflict : "The battle scene was terribly grand. There stood the com- batants, terror, rage, disappointment, and despair riveted upon the faces of one, while calm resolution and the unbending will to do or die were marked upon the other. Neither party would retreat, neither could advance. The noise of the firing was tremendous. ISTo single gun could be distinguished, it was one continuous roar. "The rifle and the tomahawk now did their work with dreadful certainty. The confusion and perturbation of the camp had now arrived at its greatest height. The confused sounds and wild up- roar of the battle added greatly to the terror of the scene. The shouting of the whites, the continued roar of fire-arms, the war- whoop and dismal yelling of the Indians, were discordant and ter- rific.^ Colonel Christian, whom General Ivewis had left at Camp Union, as soon as he had complied with the. orders of General Lewis, set out for Point Pleasant, with all the troops under his command except one company of Fincastle men, whom he left under the command of Anthony Bledsoe at Camp Union to guard the sup- plies and take care of the sick. He marched his troops with all possible expedition, and arrived at Point Pleasant on the evening of October 10th, after the battle had been fought. Soon thereafter. Lord Dunmore negotiated a treaty of peace with the Indians at one of their towns in Ohio, by which the northwest Indians ceded all their claims to the lands lying south of the Ohio river, to the King of England. General Lewis marched his army back to Camp Union where it Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 155 was disbanded. The body of militia that went from Fincastle upon this expedition were armed with rifle guns, and, being good woods- men, were looked upon to be at least equal to any troops for the number that had been raised, in America. It is sufficient to know that the credit of having been the first to discover the approach of the Indians, and thereby, possibly, to secure the preservation of General Lewis's army, was due to the vigilance of the backwoods- men from Fincastle. And in addition to that, it should be a mat- ter of pride to every citizen of this section of Virginia to know that the troops from the waters of the Clinch and the Holston were among the number to receive the first assault of the enemy, and to their skill and bravery may be accredited, the successful flanking, and consequently the precipitate rout, of the Indian army. The killed and wounded among the Fincastle troops were considerable. The names of a few of the killed and wounded are given below : Eobert Campbell, private, afterwards granted a pension of 10 pounds per year. James Hughey, killed. James Eobinson, wounded. Mark Williams, private, killed. John Carmack, private, wounded. John Steward, wounded. John McKenney, wounded, three times. Lieutenant Vance, wounded. The following is a partial list of the men who accompanied Cap- tain Evan Shelby on this expedition : Isaac Shelby, Captain. Eobert Handley, James Eobertson, 0. S. William Casey, James Shelby, John Stewart, wounded; Henry Span, Eichard Burke, Frederick Mongle, Elijah Eobertson, John Carmack, Eichard Holliway, George Brooks, Julius Eobison, Abram Newland, Benjamin Graham, Emanuel Shoatt, Hugh O'Gullion, Peter Forney, James Hughey, John Fain, . Basileel Maxwell, Samuel Fain, Valentine Sevier, 0. S., Samuel Samples, John Sawyers, 0. S., 156 Southwest Virginia, 171,6-1786. Jolm Find ley, Daniel Mongle, John Williams, Andrew Torrenee, Isaac Newland, George Eiddle, Abram Boga^-d, William Tucker, Samuel Vance, ^ Samuel Hand ley, Arthur Blackburn, George Armstrong, Mack Williams, Conrad Nave, John Riley, Rees Price, Jarrett Williams, Charles Fielder, Andrew Goff, Patrick St. Lawrence, John Bradley, Barnett O'Guillion. Captain Wm. Russell's company: James Mooney, Joseph Hughey. FINCASTLE TROOPS. COMPANIES NOT KNOWN. Daniel Smith, Rohert Campbell, Andrew Waggoner, Jolm Gilmore, John Lyle, Francis Berry, James Robinson, Hickman, AVilliam Tate, George Findley, Rees Bowen. Walter Steward, Adjt. Fincastle troops. William- Campbell, Captain. William McFarland, John McKenney, John Moore, Conrad Smith, John Floyd, John Steward, John Campbell, Lieutenant; "Moses Bowen, died with small-pox on expedition ; Daniel Boone, upon his return fi'om Kentucky to Russell's Fort, on the 13th day of August, found Captain William Russell absent on the Point Pleasant expedition, and he immediately set out with a body of troops to reinforce him, but was ordered back to protect the settlers on the Clinch, where he remained for some time. The forts on Clinch river, at this time, with the number of men in each and the officers in command, were as follows : Fort Blackmore, sixteen men, "Sergeant Moore commanding. Fort Moore, (twenty miles east), twenty men, Lieutenant Daniel Boone commanding. Fort Russell (four miles east), twenty men, Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 157 Sergeant W. Poa^ eonimancling. Fort Glade Hollow, (twelve miles east), fifteen vaeA, Sergeant John Duncan commanding. Elk Gar- den* (fourteen miles east), fifteen men, Sergeant John Kinkead commanding. Maiden Spring, (twenty-three miles east), five men, Sergeant John Crow commanding. Whitlow's Crab Orchard, three men. Ensign John Campbell commanding. Boone was very diligent in protecting the settlements and was commissioned Captain for his valued services. As soon as the Indians ascertained that so many of the citizens from the waters of the Clinch were absent on the expedition to Point Pleasant, they began a series of very alarming raids. On the 8th of September, 1774, they visited the home of John Henry, on the Clinch river, now in Tazewell county, Virginia, in Thompson's Yalley, he, having on the 15th day of May of the same year, settled upon a tract of land that Daniel Smith, Deputy Surveyor of Fin- castle county, had surveyed for him. Henry received a dangerous wound from which he died, his wife and three children were taken prisoners, and on the same day a man was taken prisoner by an- other party of Indians on the Hplston river. On the 13th day of September, 1774, a soldier was fired upon by three Indians on the Clinch river, but was not hurt. He returned the fire and, it is be- lieved, killed an Indian. This company of Indians were pursued for several days, by Captain Daniel Smith and a company of militia, but they could not be overtaken. On tlie 23d, two negroes were taken prisoners at Blackmore's Fort, on waters of Clinch river, and a great many horses and cattle were shot down. On the 24th day of the same month, an entire family were taken and killed, at Reedy Creek, a branch of the Holston river, near the Cherokee line. On Sunday morning, the 25tli, hallooing and the report of many guns were heard. These last murders were believed to be the work of the Cherokees, who appeared at that time in very bad humor. The victory gained at Point Pleasant on the 10th of October put a stop to all organized raids upon the frontier settlements, for the time being. Upon the return of the Fincastle troops from the expe- dition to Point Pleasant, the free-holders of Fincastle county as- sembled at the Lead Mines and drafted an address to the Hon. John, Earl of Dunmore, thanking him heartily for his exertions in *Aboiit six miles east of Lebanou on North Fork of Cedar Creek, on land of the Stuart Land & Cattle Company. V'- 158 Southwest Virgima, 1746-1786. their behalf in the late war, and expressed the wish that the late disturbances might be amicably settled. On the 14th day of April, 1774, Dr. Thomas Walker conveyed to James Piper 365 acres of land on a branch of the Holston river .called Wolf Hill Creek ; on tJie same day, he conveyed to Alexander Breckenridge 360 acres on Wolf Hill Creek, to Samuel Briggs 313 acres on Wolf Hill Creek, alias Castle's Creek, to Joseph Black, 305 acres on Eighteen Mile Creek (this being the name of the small =*-.cre.ek that flows through Abingdon) and to Andrew Colvill, 334 acres on Wolf Hill Creek. The persons above named were the first v settlers in the vicinity of Abingdon. In the spring of the year 1774, the free-holders of Fincastle county met at the Lead Mines, their courthouse, and elected two members of the Virginia House of Burgesses to represent Fincastle county, viz. : William Christian, Stephen Trigg. It may not be amiss at this point to state briefly the laws gO'V- erning the qualifications required of the citizens of Fincastle coun- ty to vote and hold office, in this, the last year that the Colony of Virginia adhered to the crown of England. The freeholders of every county possessed the liberty of electing two of the most able and fit men, being freeholders and qualified to vote, to represent their county in all the General Assemblies. The electors or voters were required to own an estate of freehold for his own life or the life of another, or other greater estate in at least fifty acres of land, if no settlement be made upon it, or twenty-five acres with a planta- tion and house thereon at least twelve feet square, said property be- ing in the county in which the electors offered to vote. The sheriff was required to deliver to the minister and reader of every parish in his county a copy of the writ of election, and, upon the back of every such writ, he was required to endorse the fact that said elec- tion would be held at the courthouse in his county upon a day appointed by him. And the minister or reader was required to publish the same immediately after divine services, every Sunday between the receipt of said writ and the day of election, under heavy penalty for failure to do so. It was further provided that every freeholder actually residing in the county should per- sonally appear at the courthouse on the day fixed and give his vote, upon the penalty of forfeiting two hundred pounds of tobacco, if he Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 159 failed to vote. The sheriff was required to appoint fit persons, and these persons after being duly sworn, were required to enter the names of every candidate in a distinct column, and the name of every freeholder giving his vote, under the name of the person voted for, all of which was required to be done in the presence of the candidates or their agents, and upon the close of the polls the sheriff was ordered to proclaim the names of the successful candi- dates. And it was further provided, that any person who should directly or indirectly, except in Ms usual and ordinary course of hospitality, in his own house, give, present, or allow to any person or persons, having voice or vote in such elections, any money, meat, drink, entertainment or provisions, or make any present, gift, re- ward, or entertainment, or any promise, agreement, obligation, or engagement, to any person, etc., shall be declared guilty of bribery and corruption,* and rendered incapable to sit, or vote, or to hold office." Thus it will be seen that the laws were very strict in regard to the manner of holding elections, and it cannot be doubted, that an elec- tion held under such laws would be honest and would express the will of the people. Our present law-makers might well learn a lesson from the example set them by the law-makers of the Colony of Virginia, under the rule of King George III. Early in the history of Fincastle county, the House of Burgesses enacted a law which provided, "that from and after the first day of December next, the inhabitants of the said county of Fincastle shall discharge all fees due from them to the secretary and other officers in said county at the rate of 8s and 4 pence, for every hun- dredweight of gross tobacco. The principle asserted by the regulators at the Alamance had spread among the American colonies, until, at the time mentioned, it seemed to permeate the whole American body politic, and, on the other hand', the British Parliament had repealed all the port dnties imposed at their session in 1767, except the duty of three pence a pound on tea, which was continued for the purpose of maintaining the principle contended for by the British Parliament, to- wit: that they had the right to tax the American Colonists without giving them representation, and not for the purpose of revenue only. *8 Hen. S., page 526. 160 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. The American Colonists were opposed' to the principle of taxation without representation, and they opposed a small tax as bitterly as they opposed the port duties of 1767. The collection of the tax was resisted at every point, and, at Boston, the cargoes of tea were thrown into the sea. Whereupon the British Parliament passed a bill closing Boston Harbor, upon which information great indig- nation pervaded the entire colonies. The House of Burgesses of Virginia observed the first day of the operation of the bill closing Boston Harbor, as a fast day, and declared : "That any attack made on one of our sister colonies to compel submission to arbitrary taxes is an attack ma^e on all British America, and threatened ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the whole be applied." And they proposed a general Congress to take such action as the united interests of the American Colonies might require. This suggestion, made by the House of Burgesses, was accepted by all the colonies and the first Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774, just one month and five clays preceding the battle of Point Pleasant. The officers and men under command of Lord Dunmore, hearing of the action of the first Continental Congress, met and adopted a resolution, which was as follows : "Eesolved, That as the love of liberty and attachment to the real Interests and just rights of America outweigh every other consideration, they would exert every power within them for the defence of American Liberty and for the support of her just rights and privileges; not in any precipitate, riotous, or tumultu- ous manner, but when regularly called forth by the unanimous voice of our countrymen." THE EEVOLITTIOlSr. The period with which we now purpose to deal will be ever remembered, by reason of the production of one of those master- pieces of political evolution which moidd the world and fix the destiny of mankind, an event unsurpassed in the history of the world; the founding of the American Pepublic. In dealing witli this subject, we deem it necessary to an intelligent understanding of the motives and actions of the men of that day, to give, with some particularity, the story complete, from its inception to its culmina- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 161 tion, recognizing that a story partly told is misleading, and the true merits of a controversy are oftentimes obscured by a mutilated statement, or a half-told tale. For ten years preceding the resort of the American Colonies to extreme measures, a bitterly contested controversy constantly engaged the attention of the British Gov- ernment and the American Colonies, and it has been well said by one of the fathers of our country, that the "Revolution was fin- ished before the war was commenced." Indeed, it seems to the stu- dent of our early history at this distance from the time of the occurrences of which we are now Avriting, that our early fathers in leaving their homes, the highlands of Scotland', the bogs of Ireland, the fertile lands of old England, were imbued with exceedingly un- favorable feelings toward the land of their nativity. They were devoid of that affection which usually accompanies the wanderer from his native home, and it is certain that they lost no opportunity to instil their prejudices and dislikes into the minds of their chil- dren and neighbors, and to resist the operation and execution of the laws enacted by the British Parliament and the rules attempted to be enforced by the Governors of the Colonies. This spirit was evidenced in old Virginia as early as 16C6, at the time of Bacon's Rebellion. This spirit, so prevalent among the English colonies in America, can be attributed to the fact that a large majority of the early emigrants were driven from their homes by the tyranny of the English Government, and, after establishing themselves in this country, their hatred was accentuated by the arbitrary conduct of the English ministry, in pursuing a contracted policy, the natural result of which was to abridge the liberties and property rights of the colonies. A large majority of the early emigrants to the Amer- ican colonies were inspired by that spirit of liberty that has been so much cherished in the history of our country. They were be- lievers in the principles which prevailed at the time of the execu- tion of Charles the First. Many of them were the followers of Oliver Cromwell, and detested the arbitrary conduct of the King and the rulers of England, and it was from this cause that they left their native country to seek a home in the wilderness, vnth the deter- mination never to submit to the oppressions of their native land. Many of the early emigrants found their homes among the high mountains and the pathless deserts of the new continent, the nursery of the spirit of freedom. Among the early emigrants to 162 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. this new country were numerous "Dissenters," a class of people who worsEipped God according to their own reason and conscience, men who acknowledged no authority but that which had been estab- lished by their own sanction and consent, and this applied to their religious principles as well as to their ideas of government. They did not admit the right of the British government to compel them either to attend or to support the established church. They were principally from the middle classes, and neither ad- mitted nor countenanced any claims to honor or distinction, save such as arose from the exercise of industry, talent, or virtue. In their native country they had been tenants, and did not regard themselves superior to the lowest of their fellow citizens; in their new homes they were freeholders, and believed themselves equal to the best, and, naturally, they soon detested that idea which prevailed in the English government, in accordance with which individuals pretended to be their natural rulers and superiors. During the French-Indian war, the British Ministry proposed a union of the Colonies for the purpose of repelling the French en- croachments on the western waters; and, pureuant to this proposi- tion, the Governor and leading members of the provincial assem- blies convened at Albany, N. Y., in the year 1754. This Assembly was unanimously of the opinion, that the Colonies were able to defend themselves from the encroachments of the French without assistance from the English Government. They proposed "that a Grand Council should be formed of members to be chosen by the provincial Assemblies, which Council, together with a governor to be appointed by the Crown, should be authorized to make general laws, and, also, to raise money from all the Colonies for their com- mon defence." This proposition was received by the British Min- istry with displeasure, and, in answer thereto, the ministry submit- ted a counter-proposition, which was as follows : "That the Gov- ernors of all the Colonies, attended by one or two members of their respective Councils, should, from time to time, concert measures for the whole of the Colonies, erect posts and raise troops, with a power to draw upon the British treasury, in the first instance, for the expense, which expense was to be reimbursed by a tax to be laid on the Colonies by an act of Parliament." It will be well to observe that thus early began the contentions between the British Parliament and the English Colonies ; the Brit- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 163 ish Ministry seeking to lodge the taxing power in the hands of the British Parliament, a body in which the American Colonies were not permitted to have representation, whereas, the Colonies insisted that the taxing power should be vested in their local institutions. This proposition upon the part of the British Ministry gave great dissatisfaction to the people of the Colonies, as they objected to being taxed by a body in which they had no representation, but no further action was taken in regard to the matter, until the conclu- sion of the war, in 1763. Previously to the year 1764, when the British Parliament desired a contribution from the American Colonies, the object was accom- plished by a simple requisition upon the legislatures of the several Colonies for the sum needed and, in every instance, the requisition had been honored and the money furnished with a willing hand. But, in tliis year, the British Parliament sought to obtain from tlie American Colonies by a speedier method the taxes desired. A measure was proposed in the British Parliament by the Pre- mier, George Grenville, in the year 1764, having for its object, "the raising of a revenue in America," the entire proceeds of which were to go into the exchequer of Great Britain. We have before mentioned the dissatisfaction produced by the proposition to have the British Parliament levy a tax upon the American Colonies, when the entire proceeds of the tax were to be used for the development and the protection of the Colonies, and the reader can well imagine the alarm and indignation that pre- vailed in the American Colonies at the suggestion of the British Premier, that the British Parliament should lay a tax upon the American Colonies, the entire proceeds of which were to go into the exchequer of Great Britain. Pursuant to the foregoing proposition, Mr. Grenville, on the lOtli of March, ,1764, reported a resolution imposing certain ""stamp duties" on the colonies, with the request that it shoidd not be acted upon till the next session of the Parliament. This gave the agents of the colonies in England an opportunity to transmit copies of this resolution to the assemblies of the several colonies. At the time of the receipt of this information the Virginia House of Burgesses was in session, and immediately appointed a committee to prepare an address to the King of Great Britain and to the two houses of the British Parliament. We hare give the 164 Southwest Virginia, 17J,0-17S6. several addresses in full as prepared by this committee and re- ported to the Mouse of Burgesses "To the King's most excellent Majesty." "Most gracious Sovereign, "We, your Majesty's dutiful and loyal subjects, the Council and Burgesses of your ancient C'olony and dominion of Virginia, now met in General Assembly, beg leave to assure your Majesty of our fii'm and inviolable attachment to your sacred person and gov- ernment; and, as your faithful subjects here, have at all times been zealous to demonstrate this truth by a ready coaupliance with the royal requisitions during the late war, by which a heavy oppressive debt of near half a million hath been incurred, so at this time they implore permission to approach the throne with humble confidence, and to entreat that your Majesty will be gra- ciously pleased to protect your people of this Colony in the en- joyment of their ancient and inestimable right of being gov- erned by such laws, respecting their internal polity and taxation, as are derived from their own consent, with the approbation of their Sovereign or his substitute; a right which, as men, and descendants of BEITONS, they have ever quietly possessed, since first, by royal permission and encouragement, they left the mother kingdom to extend its commerce and dominion. "Your Majesty's dutiful subjects of Virginia most humbly and unanimously hope that this invaluable birthright, descended to them from their ancestors, and in which they have been protected by your royal predecessors, will not be suffered to receive an injury, under the reign of your sacred Majesty, already so illustriously distinguished by your gTacious attention to the liberties of the people. "That your Majesty may long live to make nations happy, is the ardent prayer of your faithful subjects, the Council and Bur- gesses of Virginia." The memorial to the House of Lords was as follows : "To the right honorable the Lord's Spiritual and Temporal, in Parliament assembled; the Memorial of the Council and Bur- gresses of Virginia, now met in General Assembly humbly rep- resents, "That your memorialists hope an application to your lordships, the fixed and hereditary guardians of British liberty, will not be Southivest Virginia, 1746-1786. 165 thought improper at this time, when measures are proposed suh- versive, as they conceive, of that freedom which all men, especiall}' those who derive their constitution from Britain, have a right to enjoy; and they flatter themselves that 3'our lordships will not look upon them as objects so unworthy your attention as to regard any impropriety in the form or manner of their application for your lordship's protection of their just and undoubted right as Britons. "It cannot be presumption in your memorialists to call them- selves by this distinguished name, since they are descended from Britons who left their native country to extend its territory and dominion and who, happily for Briton, and as your memorialists once thought, for themselves too, effected this purpose. As our ancestors brought with them every right and privilege they could with justice claim in their mother kingdom, their descendants may conclude they cannot be deprived of those rights without injustice. "Your memorialists conceive it to be a fundamental principle of the British constitution, without which freedom can no where exist, that the people are not sul^jcct to any taxes but such as are laid on them by their own consent, or by those who are legally appointed to represent them ; property must become too precarious for the genius of a free people, whicli can be taken from them at the will of others who cannot know M^hat taxes such people can bear, or the easiest mode of raising them ; and who are not under that restraint which is the greatest security against a burthensome taxation, when the representatives themselves must be affected by every tax imposed on the people. "Your memorialists are therefore led into an humble confidence that your lordships will not think any reason sufficient to support such a power in the British Parliament, where the Colonies can- not be represented : a power never before constitutionally assumed, and which, if they have a right to exercise it on any occasion, must necessarily establish this melancholy truth, that the inhabitants of the Colonies are the slaves of Britons, from whom they are descended, and from whom they might expect every indulgence that the obligations of interest and affection can entitle them to. "Your memorialists have been invested with the right of taxing their own people from the first establishment of a regular govern- ment in the Colony, and requisitions have been constantly made 166 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. to them by their sovereigns on all occasions when the assist- ance of the Colony was thought necessary to preserve the British interest in America; from whence they must conclude, they can- not now be deprived of a ri,uiit they have so long enjoyed and which they have never forfeited. "The expenses incurred during the last war, in compliance with the demands on this C^olony by our late and present most gracious Sovereigns, have involved us in a debt of near half a million, a debt not likely to decrease under the continued expense we are at in providing for the security of the people against the incursions of our savage neighbors, at a time when the low state of our staple commodit}', the total want of specie and the late restrictions upon the trade of the Colonies, render the circumstances of the people extremely distressful; and wliich, if taxes are accumulated upon them by the British Parliament, will make them truly deplorable. "Your memorialisty cannot suggest to themselves any reason why they should not still be trusted with the property ol their peo- ple, with whose abilities and the least burthensome mode of taxing (with great deference to the superior wisdom of Parliament) they must be best acquainted. Your memorialists hope they shall not be suspected of being actuated on this occasion by any principles but those of the purest loyalty and affection, as they have always endeavored by their con- duct to demonstrate that they considered their connexion with Great Britain, the seat of liberty, as their greatest happiness. "The duty they owe to themselves, and their posterity lays your memorialists under the necessity of endeavoring to estalilish their Constitution upon its proper foundation ; and they do most hum- bly pray your lordships to take this subject into your consideration, with the attention that is due to^ the well being of the Colonies, on which the prosperity of Great Britain does, in a great measure, depend." • And the remonstrance to the House of Commons was this : "To the honorable Knights, Citizens and Burgesses of Great Brit- ain in Parliament assembled : "The remonstrance of the Council and Burgesses of Virginia. "It appearing by the printed votes of the House of Commons of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled, that in a committee of the whole House, the 17th day of March last, it was resolved, that Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 167 towards defending, protecting and securing the British Colonies and Plantations in America, it may be proper to charge certain stamp duties in the said Colonies and Plantations; and it being apprehended that the same subject, which was then declined, may be resumed and further pursued in a succeeding session, the Coim- cil and Burgesses of Virginia, met in the General Assembly, judge it their indispensable duty, in a respectful manner, but with decent firmness, to remonstrate against such a measure, that at least a cession of those rights, which in their opinion must be infringed by that procedure, may not be inferred from their silence at so important a crisis. "They conceive it is essential to British liberty, that laws, impos- ing taxes on the people, ought not to. be made without the consent of representatives chosen by themselves; who at the same timje that they are acquainted with the circumstances of their constituents, sustain a portion of the burthen laid on them. The privileges inlierent in the persons who discovered and settled these regions, could not be renounced nor forfeited by their remO'Val hither, not as vagabonds or fugitives, but licensed and encouraged by their Prince and animated with a laudable desire of enlarging the British dominion and extending its commerce; on the contrary, it was secured to them and their descendants, with all other rights and immunities of British subjects, by a Eoyal Charter which liath been invariably recognized and confirmed by his Majesty and liis predecessors, in their commissions to the several Governors, granting a power and prescribing a form of legislation, according to which, laws for the administration of justice and the welfare and good government of the Colony have been hitherto enacted by the Governor, Council and General Assembly, and to them, requisitions and applications for supplies have been directed by the Crown. As an instance of the opinion which former Sovereigns entertained of these rights and privileges, we beg leave to refer to the three Acts of the General Assembly passed in the thirty-second year of the reign of King Charles II, one of which is entitled 'An Act for raising a public revenue for the better support of the government of his Majesty's Colony of Virginia,' imposing several duties for that purpose, which, being thought absolutely necessary, were pre- pared in England and sent over by their then governor, the Lord Culpeper, to be passed by the General Assembly, with a full power ICxS Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-17SG. to give tlie royal assent thereto, and which were accordingly passed, after several amendments were made to them here; thus tender was his Majesty of tlu^ rights of his American subjects; and the remonstrants do not discern by what distinction they can be deprived of that sacred birthright and most valuable inheritance by their fellow subjects, nor with what propriety they can be taxed or affected in their estates, by the Parliament, wherein they are not, and indeed cannot, constitutionally be represented. "And if it wore proposed for the Parliament to impose taxes on the Colonics at all, which the remonstrants take leave to think would be inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the Con- stitution, the exercise of that power, at this time, would be ruinous to Virginia, who exerted herself in the late war, it is feared, beyond her strength, insomuch that to redeem the money granted for that exigency, her people are taxed for several years to come : this, with the larger expenses incurred for defending the frontiers against the restless Indians who have infested her as much since the peace as before, is so grievous, that an increase of the burthen would be intolerable; especially as the people are very greatly dis- tressed already from the scarcity of circulating cash among them and from the little value of their staple at the British markets. "And it is presumed that adding to that load which the Colony now labors under will not be more oppressive to her people than destructive of the interest of Great Britain ; for the Plantation trade, confined as it is to the mother country, hath been a principal means of multiplying and enriching her inhabitants; and, if not too much discouraged, may prove an inexhaustible source of treasure to the nation. For satisfaction on this jwint, let the present state of the British fleets and trade be compared with what they were before the settlement of the Colonies ; and let it be considered, that, whilst property in land may be acquired on very easy terms in the vast imcultivated territory of North Amei'iea, the Colonists svill be mostly, if not wholly, employed in agriculture, whereby the exportation of their comiiindities to Great Britain and ihe con- sumption of manufactnrers supplied from thence will be daily increasing. But this most desirable connexion between Great Britain and her Colonies, supported by such a happy intercourse of reciprocal benefits as is continually advancing the prosperity of both, must be interrupted, if the people of the latter, reduced Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 169 to extreme poverty, should be compelled to maniifactiire those arti- cles they have been hitherto furnished with from the former. "From these considerations, it is hoped that the Honorable House of Commons will not prosecute a measure which those who may suffer under it cannot but look upon as fitter for exiles driven from their native country, after ignominiously forfeiting her favors and protection, than for the posterity of Britons, who have at all times been forward to demonstrate all due reverence to the mother Kingdom and are so instrumental in promoting her glory and felicity ; and that British patriots will never consent to the exercise of any anti-constitutional power, which, even in this remote cor- ner, may be dangerous in its example to the interior parts of the British empire, and will certainly be detrimental to its commerce." The several papers above given breathe a spirit of humility and dependence that did not correctly voice the sentiments of the Vir- ginia Colonists, and possibly thereby the British Parliament was deceived and led to believe that the American Colonies would not assert their opposition to the tax measures proposed, otherwise than by protest through their Assemblies. Most of the Colonies adopted resolutions protesting against the enactment of such a law ; some offering a specific sum of money in lieu of the proposed tax, provided it was received as a voluntary donation. But no one of the Colonies was willing to admit that the British Parliament had any right to tax them, while they were denied representation therein. Mr. Grenville and his friends argued that the Colonies were already represented in the same manner as a large proportion of the inhabitants of England who had no vote in the election of mem- bers of Parliament, and this same argument is often indulged in by the advocates of a restricted suffrage at the present time. In answer to this ridiculous argument, the Colonies contended that "the very essence of representation consists in this; that the representative is himself placed in a situation analogous to those whom he represents, so that he shall be himself bound by laws which he is entrusted to enact and shall be liable to the taxes which he is authorized to impose." But the soamd reasoning and the humble petitioning of the American Colonies did not influence the British Parliament, the memorials and petitions were not permitted to be read in the House 170 Southwest Virginia-, 1746-1786. of Coninioiis, and iu the month of March, 17G5, the hill for laying a stamp duty in .America was called up in the House of Commons, but little o|)})osition was shown to the measure, and few indeed were the members who denied the right of Parliament to tax the Colo- nies. It may be worthy to note the circumstances attending the debate upon this measure in the House of Commons. Mr. Charles Townsend, an advocate of this measure, concluded his speech in advocacy of the measure in the following words; "And now, will these Americans, children planted hy our care, nourished, hi/ our indulgence, till they are grown to a degree of strength and opulence and protected hy our arms, will they grudge to contribute their mite to' relieve us from the heavy weight of that burden which we lie under?" Colonel Barre, one of the most respectable mem- bers of the House of Commons, with strong feelings of indignation visible in his countenance and manner, thus eloquently replied ; "They planted hy your care! No, your oppression planted them in America. They fled from tyranny to a then uncultivated and inhospitable country, where they exposed themselves to almost all the hardships to which human nature is liable, and among others to the cruelty of a savage foe, the most subtle, and I will take upon me to say, the most formidable of any people upon the face of the earth ; and yet, actuated by principles of true English liberty, they met all hardships with pleasure compared with those they suffered in their own country from the hands of those that should have been their friends. They nourished hy your indulgence! They grew up by your neglect of them. As soon as you began to care about them, that care was exercised in sending persons to rule them in one department and another, who were perhaps the deputies of deputies to some members of this House, sent to spy out their liberties, to misrepresent their actions and to prey upon them. Men whose behaviour, on many occasions, has caused the blood of these sons of liberty to recoil within them, men, who were pro- moted to the highest seats of justice, some who, to my knowledge, were glad, by going to a foreign coimtry to escape being brought to the bar of a court of justice in their own. They protected hy your arms! They have nobly taken up arms in your defence, have exerted a valour, amidst their constant and laborious industry, for the defence of a country whose frontier was drenched in blood. Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 171 while its interior parts yielded all its little savings to yoim* emolument. And, believe me, remember I this day told you so, that same spirit of freedom which actuated that people at first will accompany them still; but prudence forbids me to explain myself further. God knows I do not at this time speak from any motives of party heat. What I deliver are the genuine sentiments of my heart. However superior to me in general knowledge and experience the respectable body of this House may be, yet, I claim to know more of America than most of you, having seen and been conversant in that country. The people, I believe, are as truly loyal as any subjects the King has, but a people jealous of their liberties, and who will vindicate them if ever they should be vio- lated. But the subject is too delicate. I will say no more." Notwithstanding the opposition made to the passage of this bill, it passed the House of Commons, and on the 22d day of March, 1765, having met with the unanimous approval of the House of Lords, it received the royal assent. By the provisions of this bill, this law was not to go into effect until the first day of November, 1765. When the intelligence of the passage of this measure reached Virginia, the indignation and rage of the people knew no bounds. While no violence was offered, the Virginia House of Burgesses, by a series of resolutions proposed by Patrick Henry, expressed the sentiments of the people in a dignified and explicit manner, the resolutions being as follows; "Eesolved, That the first adventurers and settlers of this, his Majesty's Colony and dominion, brought with them and trans- mitted to their posterity and all others his Majesty's subjects since inhabiting in this, his Majesty's said Colony, all the privileges, franchises and immunities that have been at any time held, enjoyed and possessed by the people of Great Britain. "Eesolved, That by two Eoyal Charters granted by King James the First, the Colonists aforesaid are declared entitled to all the privileges, liberties and immunities of denizens and natural born subjects, to all intents and purposes, as if they had been abiding and born within the realm of England. "Eesolved, That the taxation of the people by themselves, or by persons chosen by themselves to represent them, who can only know what taxes the people are able to bear and the easist mode 173 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. of raising tliem and arc equally affected by sucli taxes themselves, is the distinguishing characteristic of British freedom, and with- out which the ancient constitution cannot subsist. "Resolved, That his Majesty's liege people of this most ancient Colony have uninterruptedly enjoyed the right of being thus gov- erned by their own assembly in the article of their taxes and inter- nal police, and the same hath never been forfeited, or in any other way given up, but hath been constantly recognized by the King and people of Great Britain. "Resolved, therefore, That the General Assembly of this Colony have the sole right and power to lay taxes and impositions upon the inhabitants of this Colony; and that every attempt to vest such power in any person or persons whatsoever, other than tho General Assembly aforesaid, has a manifest tendency to destroy British as well as American freedom." The foregoing resolutions passed the House of Burgesses in May, 1765, and formed the first opposition to the. Stamp Act and the scheme of taxing America by the British Parliament. Heretofore, it had been humble petitions, now, we have reached the point where the Colonies were defiantly asserting their rights. Patrick Henry, at this time, was quite a young man, this being the first time that he had served his country in the House of Burgesses, and, while he was inexperienced, he was inspired by that spirit of liberty which was the common heritage of the early settlers of the Amer- ican wilderness. "When these resolutions were offered in the House of Burgesses, many violent debates took place, and, after a great deal of oppasition, the resolutions were adopted by a majority of, possibly, one or two votes. During the progress of the debate upon these resolutions, Patrick Henry gave utterance to the following words ; "Caesar," exclaimed the orator, "had his Brutus ; Charles the First, his Cromwell, nnd George the Third may profit by his ex- ample." The passage of these resolutions gave impetus to tlie cause of American liberty and produced an alarming state of affairs among the uiore timid and loyal inhal)itants. In Massachusetts the opj)osi- tion took a different form, and, in the city of Boston, the populace indulged in every act of violence that could be imagined, in the exhibition of their dislike of the law and the law officers. The Southwest Virginia, l7Jf6-1786. 1'<'3 ships in the harhor placed their flags at half mast, the bells tlironghoiit the town were tolling, the ship masters who bought the stamps were mistreated and insulted and required to deliver the stamps to the people, who made a bonfire of them and of the law. Meetings were held througliout the colonies, protesting against this act of the British Parliament and asserting the inalienable right of the American people. On the second Tuesday in October, 1765, pursuant to a resolu- tion adopted by the Assembly of Massachusetts, the first Couti- nental Congress assembled at New York, "to consult as to the circumstances of the Colonies and to consider the most proper means of averting the diflficulties under which they labored." Twenty-eight deputies, representing the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and South Carolina, composed this, the first Continental Congress held on American soil ; Virginia, New York, North Caro- lina and Georgia were prevented from sending delegates to this Congress by the action of their royal Governors, by dissolving their respective assemblies before action could be taken in the premises. This Congress adopted a series of resolutions stating the griev- ances of the Colonies and, in positive terms, asserting the exemp- tion of the Colonies fro'm all taxes not imposed by their own Legis- latures. They also addressed a petition to the House of Lords and to the King and Commons, and on the 25th of October adjourned. The first day of November, 1765, the date fixed for the Stamp Act to take efi'ect, arrived, and the day in the city of Boston was ushered in by the closing of business houses and the tolling of church bells, and Governor Bernard and Justice Hutchinson, the advocates of the British Parliament in Massachusetts, were hung in effigy on Boston Neck, where the effigies were permitted tO' remain awhile, when they were cut down and torn to pieces, to the great delight of the people. In many places public notice was given to the friends of TAberty to attend her funeral, and a large coffin was prepared, upon which was written the word LIBERTY. This coffin was attended to tlie grave by an immense concourse of people, where, after the firing o,f minute-guns, an oration was pro- nounced, and the word REVIVED added to the former inscription, amidst the shouts and acclamations of the people. Throughout the Colonies the stamp papers were forcibly taken from the stamp 174 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. officials and destroyed, and the business of the country proceeded as if the Stamp law had never been enacted. Upon the assembling of Parliament on the 14th day of January, 17()(), upon a motion for an address to the King, William Pitt, one of the greatest of English statesmen, offered the following remarks upon the state of the country; "It is a long time, Mr. Speaker," said he, "since I have attended in Parliament. When the resolutions were taken in this House to tax America, I was ill in bed. If I could have endured to have been carried in my bed, so great was the agitation of my mind for the consequences, I would have solicited some kind hand to have laid me down on this floor to have borne my testimony against it. It is my opinion that this Kingdom has no right to lay a tax upon the Colonies. At the same time, I assert the authority of this Kingdom to be sovereign and supreme in every circumstance of government and legislature whatever. Taxation is no part of the governing or legislative power; the taxes are a voluntary gift and grant of the Commons alone. The concurrence of the Peers and of the Crown is necessary only as a form of law. This House repre- sents the Commons of Great Britain. When in this House we give and grant, therefore, we give and grant what is our own, btit can we give and grant the property of the Commons of America'? It is an absurdity in terms. There is an idea in some, that the Colonies are virtually represented in this House. I would fain know hy whomf . The idea of virtual representation is the most contemptible that ever entered into the head of man; it does not deserve a serious refutation. The Commons in America, repre- sented in their several assembles, have invariably exercised this constitutional right of giving and granting their own money; they would have been slaves if they had not enjoyed it. At the same time this Kingdom has ever professed the power of legislative and commercial control. The Colonies acknowledge your authority in all things, with the sole exception that you shall not take their money out of their pockets without their consent. Here would I draw the line; quam ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum." This address was replied to by Mr. Grenville in a speech that voiced the sentiments of that part of the people of England that wished to tax the Colonies, and, in reply, William Pitt submitted the following remarks: Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. 175 "Sir, a charge is brought aginst gentlemen sitting in this House, for giving birth to sedition in America. The freedom with which the}^ have spoken their sentiments against this unhappy act is imputed to them as a crime, but the imputation shall not dis- courage me. It is a liberty which I hope no gentleman will be afraid to exercise ; it is a liberty by which the gentleman who calumniates it might have profited. . He ought to have desisted from his project. We are told America is obstinate, America is almost in open rebellion. Sir, / rejoice that America has resisted; three millions of people so dead to' all the feelings of liberty as volun- tarily to submit to be slaves, would have been fit instruments to make slaves of all the rest ". I maintain that Parliment has a right to bind, to restrain Amierica. Oiir legislative power over the Colonies is sovereign and supreme. The honorable gentlemen tells us he i;nderstands not the difference between internal and external taxation.; but surely there is a plain distinction between taxation levied for the purpose of raising a revenue and duties imposed for the regulation of commierce. 'When,' said the honorable gentleman, 'were the Colonies emanci- pated f At what time, say T, in answer, 'were they made slaves?' I speak from accurate knowledge when I say, that the profits to Great Britain from the trade of the Colonies, through all its branches, is two millions per annum. This is the fund which car- ried 5"0u triumphantly through the war; this is the price America pays you for her protection ; and shall a miserable financier come with a boast that he can fetch a pepper-com into the Exchequer at the loss of millions to the nation ? I Imow the valour of your troops, I know the skill of your officers, I know the force of this country ; but in such a cause your success would be hazard- ous. America, if she fell, would fall like the strong man ; she would embrace the pillars of the state and pull down the Constitution with her. Is this yoiir boasted peace? not to sheathe the sword in the scabbard, but to sheathe it in the bowels of your coimtrymen? The Americans have been wronged, they have been driven to mad- ness by injustice. Will you punish them for the madness you have occasioned? No; let this country be the first to resume its prudence and temper. I will pledge myself for the Colonies, that, on their part, animosity and resentment will cease. The system 176 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. of policy I would earnestly exhort Great Britain tO' adopt in rela- tion to America is happily expressed in the words of a favorite poet : 'Be to her faults a little blind, Be to her virtues very kind ; Let all her ways be unconfin'd, And clap your padlock on her mind.' Upon the whole, I will beg leave to tell the House in a few words what is really my opinion. It is. That the Stamp Act he repealed, ABSOLUTELY, TOTALLY and IMMEDIATELY." On the 23d day of February, 176G, a bill was introduced in the House of Commons having for its purpose the repeal of the Stamp Act, which bill was carried by a vote of 275 for, to 177 against, its repeal. The joy of the peo])le at the result of this action of the House of Comanons was great. The opposition to the repeal of the Stamp Act in the House of Peers was much stronger than in the House of Commons, and it was not till the 18th day of March, 1766, that the repeal was carried, and then by a majority of only 34. On the 19th day of March, 1766, the King appeared in the House of Commons and gave his assent, and thereby the war between the English Colonies and the British Government was averted for the time being. ' In Virginia, this information was received with great joy by all classes of people, and the Virginia House of Burgesses voted a statue to the King. The joy that followed the repeal of the Stamp Act was of bnt short duration. The Colonies began to realize that, by the repeal of the Stamp Act, England had virtually surrendered nothing, as Parliament still maintained the right to tax the Colonists, and, by the fall of the year 1766, discontent again pervaded the Colonies. The Virginia House oi Burgesses post- poned the consideration of the Act providing for a statue for the King until some succeeding session. When the new Parliament assembled in the year 1767, they received information that the Assembly of New York had refused to pass a bill providing for the support of his Majesty's troops which had been stationed among the people of that Colony. Whereupon Mr. Grenville, the leader of the Parliamentary forces favoring the taxation of the American colonies, introduced a bill the object of which was to restrain the Assembly and Council of New York from passing any act, until they had complied with the requisition of the act thus mentioned, Southwest Virginia, 171,6-1786. 177 which bill was almost immediately passed and became a law. About the same time a body of British troops arrived in Boston, and Governor Bernard immediately began to provide for their support out of the public treasury. Both of the above acts produced a great deal of discontent in the Colonies, and in the month of June, 1767, a bill was introduced l^y Charles Townsend in the British Parlia- ment, imposing duties on glass, painters' colours, tea and paper, imported into the Colonies. Also, another bill authorizing the King to appoint a Board of Trade to reside in the Colonies. Also, a bill establishing a Board of Admiralty in the Colonies to be paid from the colonial revenue, but to be independent of all colonial regulations, and another bill fixing the salaries of the Governors and other officials of the American Colonies. These several bills passed the House of Commons with but two dissenting votes, and received the royal assent on the 2d day of July, 1767. It will be observed that the system of taxation proposed by Mr. Townsend and adopted by the British Parliament was, beyond question, a legal exercise of the right of Parliament to regulate the commerce of the Colonies, and this right had oftentimes, thereto- fore, been admitted by the American Colonists, but the people of New York and of Massachusetts were greatly irritated by the presence of the British soldiery in their respective Colonies, and acting upon the presumption that this action of the British Parlia- ment was nothing more than a forerunner of other oppressive meas- ures against the Colonies, numerous petitions and remonstrances were addressed to the King and Parliament, but failed to accom- plish any good result. The merchants and citizens of nearly all the Colonies assembled in their different towns and bound them- selves not to purchase goods of any character from the British manufacturers, while these obnoxious laws continued in force. The Assembly of Massachusetts Colony addressed a circular letter to the Legislatures of the other Colonies requesting their assistance and co-operation, which letter was responded to by all the Colonies, expressing their willingness to stand with Massachusetts by what had been done and expressing their readiness to co-operate in what might further be proposed for the common securitj' and welfare of the Colonies. Bernard, the Eoyal Governor of Massachusetts, communicated to Lord Hillsborough, the Secretary for the Colonies, the action of ihe 178 Southwest Virginia, 174G-178G. Massachusetts Assembly; whereupon, his lordship directed Gover- nor Bernard to^ require the Massachusetts Legislature, (in Ms Majest3''s name, to rescind their action, upon the penalty O'f being dissolved, which message the Governor immediately communicated to the Assembly, whereupon, the Assembly voted not to rescind their action, tlie vote being 17 yeas to 19 nays, and they declared, "if the votes of the House are to be controlled by the direction of a minister, we have left us but a vain semblance of liberty." The Governor, thereupon, dissolved the House according to his threat, and the Governors of the other Colonies dissolved their respective Assemblies upon their refusing to rescind their action endorsing the Massachusetts resolves. Lord Hillsborough, upon the receipt of this information, wrote to General Gage, the British Commander at Boston, that at least one regiment of troop would be sent to Boston to assist in preserving peace. Upon receipt of this information, a meeting was held by the people of Boston, and a committee appointed to wait upon the Governor and request him to call the Assembly together. This committee waited upon the Governor and presented their request, which was denied. Thereupon, it was determined to hold a general convention in the city of Boston, on the 22d of September, and all the towns in the province of Massachusetts were requested to send and did send delegates to this Convention. The Convention met at Faneuil Hall, Boston, and adopted sev- eral resolutions and adjourned. Soon thereafter, two reginients of troops landed in Boston and, by direction of the Governor, were quartered in the two public houses of the city, wliich gave great umbrage to the people and produced constant difficulties between the citizens and the soldiers. The Colony of Massachusetts was in open rebellion against the British Governor and the Parliament. At a meeting of the British Parliament in the year 1769, a measure was adopted which was intended to be a death blow to the liberties of the Colonies. This measure directed the Governor of Massachusetts to ascertain the nanues of all persons guilty of treason or misprisions committed since the 30th day of December, 1767, and transmit this informa- tion to one of the Secretaries of State, in order that his Majesty might issue a special commission for inquiring of, hearing and determining the said offences within the realm of Great Britain. Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 179 Heretofore, the offending Americans had been tried by a jury of their own countrymen, upon all the charges that were preferred by the royal government, and, as a general rule, acquitted, but now the British Parliament proposed to have them arrested and transported across the seas for trial in England. The Virginia House of Burgesses assembled a few days after the receipt of this information and adopted a series of resolutions, "declaring their exclusive right to tax their constituents and to petition the Sover- eign, either separately or conjointly with the other Colonies, and affirming that the seizing of any person residing in the said Colony, suspected of any crime whatsoever committed therein, and sending such persons beyond the seas to be tried was highly derogatory to the rights of British subjects." These resolutions were pre- sented l)e]iind dosed doors for the purpose^of preventing the royal Governor fi'om dissolving the Assembly before their adoption. The example of Virginia was followed by the Assemblies of the several Colonies. In the fall of the year 1769, Lord Hillsborough, the British Secretary for the Colonies, addressed a circular letter to the Gov- ernors of all the Colonies, informing them that, at the next session of Parliament, the duty upon glass, paper and painters' colors would be removed. The next session of the British Parliament convened on the 9th day of January, 1770, and, on the 22d 'day of February, the Marquis of Rockingham introduced the subject of the repeal of tliese onerous duties, in the following manner. He said, "That the present unhappy condition of affairs and the universal discon- tent of the people did not arise from any immediate temporary cause, biit had grown upon the nation by degrees from t]^e moment of his Majesty's accession to the throne; that a total change had then taken place in the old system of English, government and a new maxim adopted fatal to the liberties of the coimtry, viz., that the royal prerogative alone was sufficient to support government, to whatever hands the administration should be committed." "The operation of this principle," said his lordship, "can be ti-aced through every act of government during the present reign, in which his Majesty's secret advisers could be supposed to have any influence. He recommended, therefore, strongly to their lordships to fix an early day for taking into consideration the state of the 180 Southwest Virginia, 17 46-17 S6. country hi all its relations and dependencies, foreign, provincial and doniestick, for we had been injured in them all. That consideration, he trusted, would lead their Lordships to advise the Crown, not only how to correct past errors, but how to establish a system of government more wise, more permanent, better suited to the genius of the people and consistent with the spirit of the Constitution." Before a vote was reached upon this motion, the Duke of Grafton resigned the office of first Lord Commissioner of the Treasury and was succeeded l)y Lord North, who remained at the head of the administration until the close of the American Revolution. Among the first acts of Lord North's administration was one for the repeal of the port duties fixed by the act of 1767, with one exception, that being the duty on tea, "which the British Ministry desired to remain in force, as an evidence of the supremacy of the Parliament." It was argued by tlie friends of the repeal of the port duties, that to retain the duty on tea would simply continue the agitation and increase the disturbance in the Colonies without accomplishing any good results. To such arguments, Jjord North answered, "Has the repeal of the Stamp Act taught the Americans obedience? Has our lenity inspired them with moderation? Can it be proper, while they deny our legal power to tax them, to acquiesce in tlie argument of illegality and, by the repeal of the whole law, to give up that power ? No ! the proper time to exert oiir right to taxation is when the right is refused. To temporize is to yield, and the autlwrity of the mother country, if it is now unsupported, will in reality be relinquished for ever. "A total repeal/' he continued, "cannot he thovght of till America is PROSTRATE AT OUR FEET." It seems peculiar that the English ministry should have been so short sighted as to thus insult the American Colonies, at the same time that they were making to them great concessions with the avowed purpose of restoring the Colonies to peace and quietude. While the British Government lost the benefit of the import duties by the repeal of the act of 1767, still, by the retention of the duty on tea, the cause of the discontent in the Colonies remained. The insult offered to the Colonists by Lord North in his speech, and the presence of the King's troops in the province of Massachusetts and New Yo7-k, kept up the agitation in the Colonies, producing mob- Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 181 violence at many places. In the city of Boston a difficulty occurred between one of the King's soldiers and a citizen of the town, which resulted in the defeat of the soldier. He obtaining the assistance of a few of his comrades, the contest between the citizens and the soldiers became general, and the citizens, assembling in great numbers, compelled Governor Hutchinson to remove the soldiers immediately from the town. Similar difficulties occurred in New York and in Ehode Island. Thus matters continued until the 12th of March, 1773, when Dabney Carr, a member of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, introduced the following resolutions in the House of Burgesses; which resolutions were adopted without a dissenting voice. "Whereas the minds of his Majesty's faithful subjects in this Colony have been much disturbed by various rumours and reports of proceedings, tending to deprive them of their ancient legal and constitutional rights ; ^And whereas the affairs of this Colony are frequently con- nected with those of Great Britain, as well as the neighboring Colonies, which renders a communication of sentiment necessary. In order, therefore, to remove the uneasiness and to quiet tho minds of the people, as well as for the other good purposes above mentioned, "Be it resolved, that a standing committee of correspondence and inquiry be appointed, to consist of eleven persons, to-wit: the honorable Peyton Eandolph, esquire, Eobept C. Nicholas, Eichard Bland, Eichard H. Lee, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton, Patrick Henry, Dudley Digges, Dabney Carr, Archibald Cary and Thomas Jefferson, esquires, any six of whom to be a committee, whose business it shall be to obtain the most early and authentic intelligence of all such acts and resolutions of the British Parliament or proceedings of administration as may relate to, or affect the British Colonies in America; and to keep up and main- tain a correspondence and communication with our sister Colonies, respecting these important considerations ; and the result of such their proceedings, from time to time to lay before this House. 'Resolved, That it be an instruction to the said committee that they do, without delay, inform themselves particularly of the principles and authority on which was constituted a court of enquiry, said to have been lately held in Ehode Island, with 183 Southwest Virgima, 111^6-1786. powers to transport persons accused of offences committed in iVmerica to places beyond the seas to be tried. "Resolved, That the Speaker of this House do transmit to the Speakers of the different Assemblies of the British Colonies on the Continent, copies of the said resolutions, and desire that they will lay them before their respective Assemblies, and request them to appoint some person or persons of their respective bodies tO' com- municate, from time to time, with the said committee." The retention of the duty on tea and the action of the different Colonies in entering into an agreement neither to buy nor to sell, nor pay any duty upon teas imported into the Colonies, had been so rigidly observed that the East India Company suffered great inconvenience from the accumulation of their stock and the refusal of the American Colonists to purchase; and, to remedy this state of affairs, this company proposed to the British Parliament to pay double the amount of tlie import duties on tea if the Parliament would repeal the duties, but the object of the Parliament not being the collection of a revenue, but the subjection of the American Colonies, the offer of the East India Company remained unac- cepted, and the oppression of the American Colonies continued until it was evident that the American people had determined to be free. After some time an act was passed by the British Parliament allovidng the East India Company to export their teas to America free of duty, after which, large quantities of tea were shipped by the company to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Charleston. As soon as the Americans heard of the repeal of the duty on tea and the shipments made by the East Indian Company, they deter- mined that the tea should never be disposed of in America. When the ships bearing this tea arrived at the American ports, they were compelled to return immediately without unloading their cargo. In the city of Boston a scene of great disorder prevailed. The captain of the vessel carrying the tea made an application to the Governor for the papers necessary to enable him to return to England without unloading, which request the Governor positively refused to comply with. Of this action the people were informed, and, thereupon, a number, disguising themselves as Mohawk Indians, boarded the ship, took out three hundred and forty-two chests of tea and emptied their contents into the water. It was thought that this occurrence would precipitate the war between the Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 183 Colonies and England, but such was not the case. Upon the receipt of the news of the destruction of the tea, Lord North introduced a bill for the closing of the port of Boston. The Constitution and ('barter of the province of Massachusetts were taken out of the hands of the people and placed in the hands of the king, and all the officers of the Colony were made dependent upon the king. A bill was also passed levying a fine upon the city of Boston to compensate the East India Company for the tea destroyed, and another law was enacted providing that any of the king-'s officers, charged with the commission of murder in the execution of their duties in the Colonies, should be brought to England for trial. All of the foregoing bills had been passed and received the royal assent by the 20th day of May, 1774. The consideration of these measures by the House of Commons produced a long and heated debate, during which Colonel Barre, who had on a previous occasion ably defended the Colonies, con- cluded an able and patriotic speech in opposition to these measures in these words : "Yon have changed your ground. You are becom- ing the aggressors, and offering the last of human outrages to the jjpople of America, by subjecting them, in effect, to military execu- tion. Instead of sending them the olive branch, you have sent them the naked sword. By the olive branch I mean a repeal of all the late laivs, fruitless to you and oppressive to them. Ask their aid in a constitutional manner, and they will give it to the utmost of their ability. They never yet- refused it, when properly required. Your journals bear the recorded acknowledgments of the zeal with which they have contributed to the general necessities of the State. What madness is it that prompts you to attempt obtaining that hy force, which you may more certainly procure by requisition. They may he flattered into anything, but they are too much like your- selves to he driven. Have some indulgence for your own likeness, respect their sturdy English virtue, retract your odious exertions of authority, and remember that the first step towards making them contribute to your wants is to reconcile them to your government." At the same time William Pitt, now Lord Chatham, gave the House of Lords his views upon the bills proposed and the condition of American affairs, in the following words: "If, my Lords, we take a transient view of those motives which induced the ancestors of our fellow subjects in America to leave 184 Southwest Virginia, 17JiG-178G. tlioir native country, to encounter the innumerable diflSculties of the unexplored regions of the western world, our astonishment at the present conduct of their descendants will naturally subside. There was no corner of the globe to which they would not have fled, rather than submit to the slavish and tyrannical spirit which prevailed at that period in their native country ; and viewing them in their original forlorn and now flourishing state, they may be cited as illustrious instances to instruct the world what great exertions man- kind will naturally make, when left to the free exercise ol their own powers. Notwithstanding my intention to give my hearty negative to the question now before you, I condemn, my Lords, in the severest manner, the turbulent and unwarrantable conduct of of the Americans, in some instances, particularly in the late riots at Boston, but, my Lords, the mode which has been pursued to bring them back to a sense ol their duty is so diametrically oppo- site to every principle of sound policy, as to excite my utmost astonishment. You have involved the guilty and the innocent in one common punisliment, and avenge the crime of a few lawless depredators upon the whole body of the inhabitants. My Lords, the different provinces of America, in the excess of their gratitude for the repeal of the Stamp Act. seemed to vie with each otlier in the expressions of loyalty and duty; but the moment they per- ceived that your intention to tax them was renewed, under a pre- tense of serving the East India Company, their resentment got tlie ascendant of their moderation and hurried them into actions which their cool reason would abhor. But, my Lords, from the whole complexion of the late proceedings, I cannot but incline to think, that the administration has purposely irritated them into these violent acts, in order to gratify their own malice and revenge. What else could induce them to dress Taxation, the Father of American Sedition, in the robes of an East India Director, but to break in upon that mutual peace and harmony which then so hap- pily subsisted between the Colonies and the mother county. My Lords, it has always been my fixed and unalterable opinion, and I will carry it with me to the grave, that this country had no right under heaven to tax America. It is contrary tO' all the principles of justice and civil policy; it is contrary to that essential, unalter- able right in nature, ingrafted into the British Constitution as a fundamental law, that what a man has honestly acquired is abso- Southwest Virginia, 1740-1786. 185 lutely his own, which he may freely give, but which cannot be taken away from him without his consent. Pass then, my Lords, instead of these harsh and severe edicts, an amnesty over their errours; by mea.sures of lenity and affection allure them to their duty; act the pavt of a generous, forgiving parent. A period may arrive, when this parent may stand in need of every assistance she can receive from a grateful and affectionate offspring. The welfare of this country, my Lords, has ever been my greatest joy, and, under all the vicissitudes of my life, ha,s afforded me the most pleasing consolation. Should the all-disposing hand of Providence prevent me from contributing my poor and feeble aid in the day of her distress, my prayers shall be ever for her prosperity ; "Length of days be in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honor ! May her ways be ways of pleasantness, and all her paths be peace !" The Legislature of Virginia was in session when the Boston Port Bill arrived, and their sense of it was imauediately expressed by the following order : "This House, being deeply impressed with apprehension of the great dangers to be derived to British America from the hostile invasion of the city of Boston, in our sister Colony of Massachusetts Bay, whose commerce and harbour are, on the 1st day of June next, to be stopped by an armed force, deem it highly necessary that the said 1st day of June next be set apart l)y the members of this House as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, devoutly to implore the divine interposition for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights and the evils of civil war; to give us one heart and one mind, firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to American rights; and that the minds of his Majesty and Parliament may be inspired from above with wisdom, moderation and justice, to remove from the loyal people of America all cause of danger, from a continued pursuit of measures pregnant with their ruin. ^^Ordered, therefore. That the members of this House do attend at their places at the hour of ten in the forenoon, on the said 1st day of June next, in order to proceed with the Speaker and the Mace, to the church in this city, for the purposes aforesaid ; and that the reverend Mr. Price be appointed to read prayers and to preach a sermon suitable to the occasion." Lord Dunmore, the Governor of the Virginia Colony at that time, immediately upon the receipt of the information as to the 186 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. action taken by the Virginia House of Burgesses, dissolved tlie House. But the patriotic Virginians were not to be thus deprived ol their right to speak their sentiments; for on the following day, eighty-nine members formed an association and adopted the fol- lowing resolutions : "We, his Majesty's most duiifid and loyal suhjects, the late repre- sentatives of the good people of this Colony, having been deprived, by the sudden interposition of the executive part of this government, from giving our countrymen the advice we wished to convey to them in a legislative capacity, find ourselves under the hard neces- sity of adopting this, tlie only method we have left, of pointing out to our countrymen, such measures as, in our opinion, are best fitted to secure our dear rights and liberty from destruction by the heavy hand of power now lifted against JSTorth America. With much grief we find that our dutiful applications to Great Britain for the security of our just, ancient and constitutional rights, have not only been disregarded, but that a determined system is formed and pursued for reducing the inhabitants of British America to slavery, by subjecting them to the payment of taxes imposed with- out the consent of the people or their representatives; and that, in pursuit of this system, we find an Act of the British Parliament, lately passed, for stopping the harbour and the commerce of the town of Boston, in our sister Colony of Massachusetts Bay, until the people there submit to the payment of such unconstitutional taxes; and which Act most violently and arbitrarily deprives them of their property, in Avharves "erected by private persons, at their own great and proper expense, which Act is, in our opinion, a most dangerous attempt to destroy the constitutional liberty and rights of all North America. It is further our opinion, that as tea, on its importation to America, is charged with a duty imposed by Par- liament for the purpose of raising a revenue without the consent oi the people, it ought not to be used by any person who wishes well to the constitutional rights and liberties of British America. And whereas, the India Company have ungenerously attempted to ruin America, by sending many ships loaded with tea into the Colonies, thereby intending to fix a pi-ecedent in favour of arbitrary taxation, we deem it highly proper, and do accordingly recommend it strongly to our countrymen, not to purchase or use any kind of East India commodity whatsoever, except salt-petre and spices, until the griev- Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. 187 ances of America are redressed. We are further clearly of opinion, that an attack made upon one of onr sister Colonies, tO' compel submission to arbitrary taxes, is an attack mad© on all British America, and threatents ruin to the rights of all, unless the united wisdom of the whole he applied. And for this purpose it is recom- mended to the coanmittee of correspondence, that they communi- cate with their several corresponding committees, on the expedi- ency of appointing deputies from the several Colonies of British America, to meet in General Congress, at such a place annually as shall be thought most convenient; there to deliberate on those gen- eral measures which the united interest of America may, from time to timCy- require. "A tender regard for the interest of our fellow-subjects, the merchants and manufacturers of Great Britain, prevents us from going further at this time ; most earnestly hoping that the un- constitutional principle of taxing the Colonies without their con- sent will not be persisted in, thereby to compel us against our will, to avoid all commercial intercourse with Great Britain. Wishing them and our people free and happy, we are their affectionate friends, the late representatives of Virginia." This association was formed on the 27th day of May, 1774, and Stephen Trigg and William Christian, the representatives O'f Fin- castle county, in the Virginia House of Burgesses, were members of this association. Virginia had not suffered from the acts of the British. Parlia- ment as had the colonies of New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, but her statesmen of those days were actuated by princi- ples that they loved and cherished, and, with a political wisdom which should be the admiration of all the citizens of Virginia, they were always ready and willing to resist any encroachment upon those principles, whether the encroachments were made in their own home or in the sister colonies. The 1st day of June, 1774, was observed in most of the colo- nies as a day of fasting and prayer, and in Virginia all business was suspended, and the citizens bore a dejected aspect, but were contemplating a brighter day, when their sorrow would be turned to joy. On the 17th day of June, 1774, the Legislature of the Massa- chusetts Colony adopted a resolution calling a Congress of the rep- 188 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. resentatives of the colonies at Philadelphia on the 5th day of September, 1774. The royal Governor of Massachusetts imme- diately dissolved the Legislature as a punishment. In Virginia the representatives of the several counties met at Williamsburg on August 1, 1774, and adopted the following reso- lutions, which fitly expressed the sentiments of the people of Vir- ginia : "The unhappy disputes between Great Britain and her Ameri- can colonies, which began about the third year of the reign of his present Majesty and since continually increasing, have proceeded to lengths so dangerous and alarming as to excite just apprehen- sions in the minds of his Majesty's faithful subjects of the Colony that they are in danger of being deprived of their natural, an- cient constitutional and chartered rights, and have cjompelled them to take the same into their most serious consideration; and being deprived of their usual and accustomed mode of making known their grievances, have appointed us, their represen- tatives, to consider what is proper to be done in this dangerous crisis of American affairs. It being our opinion, that the united wisdom of North America should be collected in a general Con- gress of all the Colonies, we have appointed the following gen- tlemen as deputies to represent this Colony in the said Congress, to be held at Philadelphia, on the first Monday in September next, viz., Peyton Eandolph, Eichard Henry Lee, George Wash- ington, Patrick Henry, Eichard Bland, Benjamin Harrison and Edmund Pendleton. — and that they may be the better informed of our sentiments touching the conduct we wish them to observe on this important occasion, we desire that they Avill express, in the first place, our faith and our allegiance to his Majesty King George the third, our lawful and rightful sovereign; and that we are de- termined, with our lives and fortunes, to support him in the le- gal exercise of all his just rights and prerogatives. And, however, misrepresented, we sincerely approve of a constitutional connexion with Great Britain, and wish most ardently a return of that inter- course O'f affection and commercial connexion that formerly united both countries; which can only be effected by a removal of those causes of discontent which have of late unhappily divided us. "It cannot admit of a doubt that British subjects in America are entitled to the same rights and privileges as their fellow sub- Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 189 jects possess in Britain, and therefore tliat the power as- sumed by the British Parliament to bind America by their statutes, in all cases whatsoever, is unconstitutional and the source of these unhappy differences. "The end of government would be defeated by the British Par- liament exercising a power over the lives, the property and the liberty of American subjects, who are not and, from their local circumstances, cannot be, there represented. Of this nature we consider the several Acts of Parliament for raising a revenue in America, for extending the jurisdiction of the courts of Admiralty, for seizing American subjects and transporting them to Britain to be tried for crimes committed in America, and the several late oppressive Acts respecting the town of Boston and Province of Massachusetts Bay. "The original constitution of the American Colonies possessing their assemblies with the sole right of directing their internal policy, it is absolutely destructive to the end of their institution that their legislatures should be suspended, or prevented by hasty dissolutions, from exercising their legislative powers. "Wanting the protection of Britain, we have long acquiesced in their Acts of navigation, restrictive of our commerce, which we consider as an ample recompense for such protection, but as those Acts derive their efficacy from that foundation alone, we have reason to expect they will be restrained, so as to produce the rea- sonable purposes of Britain and not be injurious to us. "To obtain redress of these grievances, without which the peo- ple of America can neither be safe, free, nor happy, they are will- ing to undergo the great inconvenience that will be derived to them from stopping all imports whatsoever from Great Britain after the first day of November next, and also to cease exporting any commodity whatsoever to the same place, after the 10th day of August, 1775. The earnest desire we have to make as quick and full payment as possible of our debts to Great Britain, and to avoid the heavy injury that would arise tO' this country from an earlier adoption of the non-importation plan, after the people have al- ready applied so much of their labor to the perfecting of the pres- ent crop, by which means they have been prevented from pursuing other methods of clothing and supporting their families, has ren- dered it necessary to restrain you in this article of non-exporta- 190 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. tion ; but it is our desire that you cordially co-operate with our sister Colonies in general Congress, in such other just and proper methods, as they, or the majority, shall deem necessary for the accomplishment of these valuable ends. *? "The proclamation issued by General Gage, in tlie government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, declaring it treason for the inhabitants of that Province to assemble themselves to consider O'f their grievances and to form associations for their common conduct on the occasion, and requiring the civil magistrates and officers to apprehend all such persons to be tried for their supposed offences, is the most alarming process that ever appeared in a British Gov- ernment; the said General Gage has thereby assumed and taken upon himself powers denied by the constitution to our legal Sover- eign. He not having condescended to disclose by what authority he exercises such extensive and unlieard of powers, we are at a loss to determine whether he intends to justify himself as the rep- representative of the King, or as the Commander in Chief of his Majesty's forces in America. If he considers himself as acting in the character of his Majesty's representative, we would remind him that the statute 20th, Edward III., has expressed and defined all treasonable O'ffences, and that the Legislature of Great Britain hath declared that no offence shall be construed to be treason but such as is pointed out by that statute; and that this was done to taike out of the hands of tyrannical Kings, and of weak and wicked Ministers, that deadly weapon which constructive treason had furnished them with, and which had drawn the blood of the best and honestest men in the kingdom, and that the King of Great Britain hath no right by his proclamation to subject his people to imprisonment, pains, and penalties. "Tliat if the said General Gage conceives he is empowered to act in this manner, as the Commander in Chief of his Majesty's forces in America, this odioais and illegal proclamation must be considered as a plain and full declaration that this despotick Vice- roy will be bound by no law, nor regard the constitutional rights of his Majesty's subjects, wherever they interfere with the plans he has formed for oppressing the good people of the Massachusetts Bay; and therefore that the executing, or attempting to execute such proclamation, will justify resistance and reprisal." All of the American colonies, with the exception of Georgia, Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 191 joined iu the common cause and sent delegates to the Philadel- phia Congress. The second Continental Congress of the American colonies as- sembled in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774, fifty-two dele- gates from twelve colonies present. This Congress was organized by the election of the following officers : President, Peyton Eandolph, of Virginia. Secretary, Charles Thompson, of Pennsylvania. Patrick Henry, of Virginia, was the first member of this Con- gress to address the chair upon the issues which had brought them together. This Congress of able men and noble patriots occupied more than a month's time in serious deliberation before anything of importance was done. On the 8th of October, 1774 (two days before the battle at Point Pleasant) they adopted the following resolutions : "Resolved, That this Congress do approve of the opposition MADE BY THE inhabitants of the Massachusetts Bay to the exe- cution of the late Acts of Parliament; and if the same shall be at- tempted to be carried into execution by force, in such case all America ought to support them in their opposition. "Resolved, That it is the opinion of this body, that the removal of the people of Boston into the country would be not only ex- tremely difficult in the execution, but so important in its conse- quences as to require the utmost deliberation before it is adopted. But in case the provincial meeting of that Colony shall judge it absolutely necessary, it is the opinion of this Congress, that all America ought to contribute towards recompensing them for the injury they may thereby sustain, and it will be recommended ac- cordingly. "Resolved, That this Congress do recommend to the inhabitants of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay to submit to a suspension of the administration of justice, when it cannot be procured in a le- gal and peaceable manner, under the rules of the Charter and the laws founded thereon, until the effects of onr application for a re- peal of the Acts, by which their Charter rights are infringed, are known. "Resolved, unanimously. That every person or persons whoso- ever, who shall take, accept, or act under any commission or au- thority in any wise derived from the Act passed in the late ses- 192 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. sion of Parliament, changing the form of Government and vio- lating the charter of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, ought to be held in detestation and abhorrence by all good men and con- sidered as the wicked tools of that despotism which is preparing to destroy tliose rights which God, nature and compact have given to America." On the 14th, Congress agreed upon the following preamble and resolutions : "Whereas, since the close . of the last war, the British Parlia- ment, claiming a power of right to bind the people of America by statute, in all cases whatsoever, hath in some Acts expressly im- posed taxes on them, and on other various pretences, but in fact for the purpose of raising a revenue, hath imposed rates and duties payable in these Colonies, established a board of commissioners with unconstitutional powers and extended the jurisdiction of Courts of Admiralty, not only for collecting the said duties, but for the trial of causes merely arising within the body of a county. And whereas, in consequence of other statutes, judges, who before held only estates at will in their offices, have been made dependent on the CroAvn alone for their salaries, and standing armies kept in time of peace. And it has lately been resolved in Parliament, that by force of a statute made in the 35th Henry VIII, colonists may be transported to England and tried there upon accusations for treasons and misprisions, or concealment of treasons, committed in the Colonies; and, by a late statute, such trials have been directed in cases therein mentioned. "And whereas, in the late session of Parliament, three statutes were made, one entitled 'an Act to discontinue in siich manner and for such time as are therein mentioned, the landing and dis- charging, lading or shipping of goods, wares and merchandise, at the town and within the harbour of Boston, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in North America,' another entitled 'an Act for the better regulating the government of the Province of Massa- chiisetts Bay, in New England,' and another entitled 'an Act for the impartial administration of justice, in the cases of persons questioned for any act done by them in the execution of the law, or for the suppression of riots and tumults, in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England,' and another statute was then made 'for making more effectual provision for the govern- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 193 ment of the Province of Quebec, &c./ all of which statutes are impolitick, unjust and cruel as well as unconstitutional, and miost dangerous and destructive of American rights. "And whereas, Assemblies have been frequently dissolved, con- trary to the rights of the people, when they attempted to deliberate on grievances, and their dutiful, humble, loyal, and reasonable pe- titions to tlie cro'wn for redress have been repeatedly treated with contempt by his Majesty's Ministers of State. "The good people of the several colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Ehode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Castle, Kent and Sussex on Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, justly alarmed at these arbitrary proceedings of Parliament and the Administration, have severally elected, constituted and ajjpointed deputies, to meet and sit in general Congress in the City of Philadelphia, in order to obtain such establishment as tliat their religion, laws and liberties may not be subverted : Whereupon, the deputies so appointed being now assembled in a full and free representation of these Colonies, tak- ing into their most serious consideration the best means of attain- ing the ends aforesaid, do in the first place, as Englishmen, their ancestors, in like cases have usually done, for asserting and vindi- cating their rights and liberties, DECLARE ; "That the inhabitants of the English Colonies in North America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English Constitution and the several charters of compacts, have the follow- ing RIGHTS. "Resolved, nemine contradicenie, 1st. That they are entitled to life, liberty and property; and they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent. "Resolved, 71. c. 3nd. That our ancestors, who first settled these Colonies, were at the time of their emigration from the mother country, entitled to all the rights, liberties and immunities of free and natural born subjects within the realms of England. "Resolved, n. c. 3rd. That by such emigration they by no means forfeited, surrendered, or lost any of those rights, but that they .were, and their descendants now are, entitled to tlie exercise and 194 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. enjoyment of all sncli of them, as their local and other circum- stances enable them to exercise and enjoy. "Resolved, n. c. 4. That the foundation of English liberty and all free government is a right in the people to participate in their legislative coimcil ; and as the ' English Colonists are not repre- sented, and from their local and other circumstances cannot pro- ]ierly be represented in the British Parliament, they are entitled to a free and exclusive power of legislation in their several Pro- vincial Ijegislatures, where their right of representation alone can be pr(>served, in all cases of taxation and internal policy, subject only to the negative of their Sovereign, in such manner as has heretofore been accustomed ; but from the necessity of the case and a regard to the mutual interests of both countries, we cheer- fully consent to the operation of such acts of the British Parlia- ment as are bona fide, restrained to the regulation of our external commerce, for the purpose of securing the commercial advantages of the whole empire to the mother country, and the commercial ])enefits of its respective members, excluding every idea of taxation, internal or external, for raising a revenue on the subjects in America, without their consent. "Eesolved, n. c. 5. That the respective Colonies are entitled to the common law of England, and more especially to the great and inestimable privilege of being tried by their peers of the vicinage according to the course ol that law. "Resolved, n. c. 6. That they are entitled to the benefit of such of the English statutes as existed at the time of their colonization, and which they have, by experience, respectively found to be appli- cable to their several local and other circumstances. "Resolved, n. r. 7. That these, his Majesty's Colonies, are like- wise entitled to all tlie immunities and privileges granted and con- firmed to them by royal charters, or secured by their several codes of Provincial laws. "Resolved, 7i. c. 8. That they have a right peacably to assemble, consider of their grievances, and petition the King; and that all prosecutions, prohibitory proclamations, and commitments for the same are illegal. "Resolved, n. c. 9. That the keeping a standing army in any of these Colonies in times of peace, without the consent of the Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-17S0. 195 Tjegislaturo of that Colony in which snch army is kept, is against tlie law. "Eesolved, n. c. 10. It is indispensahly necessary to good gov- ernment, and rendered essential l)y the English constitution, that the constituent branches of the Tjegislature be independent of each other; that, therefore, the exercise of legislative power in several Colonies by a Council a})pointed, during pleasure, by the Crown is unconstitutional, dangerous and destructive of the freedom of American legislation. All and each of which the aforesaid deputies in behalf of them- selves and their constituents do claim, demand, and insist upon, as their indubitable rights and liberties; which cannot be legally taken from them, altered or abridged by any power whatsoever, without their own consent, by their representatives in their several Provincial Legislatures." And upon the 30th day of October, ITT-i, they agreed upon the fol- lowing articles of association, to which each member present sub- scribed his name. "First, That from and after the first day of December next, we will not import into British America from Great Britain and Ireland, any goods, wares, or merchandize whatsoever, or from any other place, any such goods, wares or marchandise, as shall have been exported from Great Britain or Ireland, nor will we, after that day import any East India tea from any part of the world; nor any molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee or pimento, from the British plantations, or from Dominica ; nor wines from Madeira, or the Western Islands ; nor foreign indigo. "Second, That we will neither import, nor purchase any slave imported after the first day of Deceml)er next; after which time we will wholly discontinue the slave trade, and will neither be con- cerned in it ourselves nor will we hire our vessels, nor sell our com- modities or manufactures to those who are concerned in it. "Third, As a non-consum])tion agreement strictly adhered to will 1)0 an effectual security for the observation of non-importa- tion, we, as above, solemnly agree and associate, that, from this day, we will not purchase or use any tea imported on account of the East India Company, or any on which a duty hath been or sliall he paid, and from and after the first day of March next, we will not purchase or use any East India tea whatever, nor will we. 19G Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. nor shall any person for or imdor us, purchase or use, any of those goods, wares or merchandize we have agreed not to import, which we shall know or have cause to suspect, were imported after the first day of December, except such as come under the rules and directions of the tenth article hereinafter mentioned. "Fourth, The earnest desire we have not to injure our fellow- subjects in Great Britain, Ireland or the West Indies, induces us to suspend non-exportation, until the tenth day of September 1775, at which time, if the said Acts and parts of Acts of the British Parliament, hereinafter mentioned, are not repealed, we will not, directly or indirectly, export any merchandize or com- modity whatsoever, to Great Britain, Ireland or the West Indies, except via Europe. "Fifth, Such as are merchants and use the British and Irish trade, will give orders, as soon as possible, to their factors, agents and correspondents in Great Britain and Ireland, not to ship any goods to them, on any pretence whatever, as they cannot be received in America; and if any merchant residing in Great Britain or Ireland shall, directly or indirectly, ship any goods, wares or mer- chandize, for America, in order to break the said non-importation agreement, or in any manner contravene the same, on such unworthy conduct being well attested, it ought to be made publick ; a7id on the same being so done, we will not from thenceforth have any commercial connexion with such merchant. "Sixth, That such as are owners of vessels will give positive orders to their captains, or masters, not to receive on board their vessels any goods prohibited by the said non-importation agree- ment, on pain of immediate dismission from their service. "Seventh, We will use our utmost endeavors to improve the breed of sheep and increase their number to the greatest extent; and to that end we will kill them as sparingly as may be, especially those of the most profitable kind; nor will we export any to the West Indies or elsewhere ; and those of us who are or may become overstocked with, or can conveniently spare any sheep, will dispose of them to our neighbors, especially to the poorer sort, on moderate terms. "Eighth, That we will in our several stations encourage fru- gality, economy and industry, and promote agriculture, arts and the manufactures of this country, especially that of wool, and will Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 197 discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation, especially all horse-racing, and all kinds of gaming, cock-fighting, exhibitions of shows, plays and other expensive diver- sions and entertainments. iVnd on the death of any relation oi friend, none of us, or any of our families, will go into any further mourning dress than a black crape or ribbon on the arm or hat for the gentleman, and a black ribbon or necklace for the ladies, and we will discontinue the giving of gloves and scarfs at funerals. "Ninth, That such as are vendors of goods or merchandize will not take advantage of the scarcity of goods that may be occasioned by this association, but will sell the same at the rates we have been respectively accustomed to do, for twelve months last past. And if any vendor of goods or merchandize shall sell such goods on higher terms, or shall in any manner, or by any device what- soever, violate or depart from this agreement, no person ought, nor will any of us deal with any such person, or his, or her factor or agent at any time thereafter for any commodity whatever. "Tenth, In case any merchant, trader, or other persons shall import any goods or merchandize, after the first day of December, and before the first day of February next, the same ought, forth- with, at the election of the owner, to be either reshipped or deliv- ered up to the committee of the county or town wherein they shall be imported, to be stored at the risk of the importer, until the non- importation agreement shall cease, or be sold under direction of the committee aforesaid ; and in the last mentioned case, the owner or owners of such goods shall be reimbursed out of the sales the first cost and charges, the profit, if any, to be applied towards the relieving and employing such poor inhabitants of the town of Boston as are immediately sufferers by the Boston Port Bill; and a particular account of all goods so returned, stored, or sold, to be inserted in the publick papers; and if any goods or merchandizes shall be imported after the said fi.rst day of February, the same ought forthwith, to be sent back again, without breaking any of the packages thereof. "Eleventh, That a committee be chosen in every county, city, and town, by those who are qualified to vote for representatives in Legislature, whose business it shall be, attentively to observe the conduct of all persons touching the association; and when it shall 198 Southtvest Virginia. 17J,(]-17S(i. 1)1* made to aj)})C'ai" to the satisfaction of a majority of such com- mittee, that any person within the limits of their appointment has violated this association, tliat such majority do fortlnvitli cause tl)e truth of the case to he ])uhlishe(! in the (iazette, to the end that all such t'ocs to the rights of British Auiei'ica may he ])ul)licklv known and universally contemned as the enemies of Amei-ican liherty; and thenceforth we will res])ectively hreak olf all dealings with him or her. "Twelfth, That the Committee of Correspondenci' in the i'esj)ec- tive Colonies do frequently inspect the entries of their custom houses, and inform each other from time to time, of the true state thereof, and of every other material circumstance that may occur relative to this association. "Thirteenth, That all manufactures of this country he sold at reasonable prices, so that no undue advantages W taken of a future scarcity of goods. "Fourteenth, And we do' further agree and resolve, that we will have no trade, commerce, dealings or intercourse whateM'i- with any Colony or Province in North America, which shall not accede to, or which shall hereafter violate this association, hut will hold them as unworthy of the rights of freemen and as inimical to the liberties of their country. "And we do solemnly bind ourselves and our constituents, under the ties aforesaid, to adhere to this association until such parts of the several Acts of Parliament passed since the close of the last war as imposed or continue diities on tea, wine, molasses, syrups, paneles, coffee, sugar, pimento, indigo, foreign ]")aper. glass and painters' colors imported into America, and extend the powers of the Admiraltv courts beyond their ancient limits, deprive the American subjects of trial by jury, authorize the judge's C(>rtificate to indemnify the prosecutor fi-om damages, that he might other- wise be liable to, from a trial by his peers, require oppressive secu- rity from a claimant of ships or goods seized before he shall be allowed to defend his property, are repealed. And until that part of the Act of the 13 Geo. 3, ch. 24. entitled 'an Act for the better securing his Majesty's dock-yards, magazines, ships, ammunition and stores,' by which any persons charged with committing any of tlie offences therein described, in America, may be tried in any shire or county within the realm, is repealed — and until the four Southwest Virginia, 171,6-1786. 199 Acts 2:)assed in the last, session of Parliament, viz., that for stopping tlie i)ort and blocking np the harbonr of Boston — that for alter- ing the Charter and Government of the Massachnsetts Bay — and that which is entitled, ''An Act for the better administration of justice, &c." — and that for "extending the limits of Quebec, &c.," ai'e rejx^aled. And we recommend it to the Provincial Conven- tions, and to the committee in tlie respective Colonies, to establish such furtlier regulations as they may think proper, for carrying into execution this association." After the adoption of the foregoing resolutions and articles of association, the Congress drew up a petition to the king, a memo- rial tO' tlie people of England and an address to the people of the C^olonies, and another to the French Colonists of Quebec, Georgia and Nova Scotia. Tliis Congress adjourned on the 26th day of October, 1774, after having decided to hold another Congress at the same place on the lOth day of May, 1775, if their present grievances continued. The proceedings of this Congress have enlisted the admiration of the world for more than one hundred and twenty- five years, and the work of the fifty-two men composing this Con- gress will live while a Eepul)lican form of Government and free institutions exist. After the adjournment of this Congress, the Colonies were in that condition which precedes the coming of a storm,. The people were willing to foi-give and forget, provided their petitions were listened to and their wrongs corrected ; otherwise they were ready to give their lives and property in defence of their liberty. It was now time for the English statesmen to recognize, in the resistance of the Colonies, that spirit of freedom which has ever marked the actions of the Anglo-Saxon race. At a meeting of the British Parliament on the 30th day of January, 1775, Lord Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colo- nies, laid before the House of Peers all the papers relative to the American Colonies. As soon as all papers were read, William Pitt, the undying friend ot the American Colonies, arose and moved that an address be presented to the King, requesting him to direct Gen- eral Gage to move his Majesty's forces from the town of Boston. He said : "America could not be reconciled, she ought not to be reconciled to this country, till the troops of Britain are removed from the Continent. Besistance to your acts was necessary, and 200 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. therefore ju^t; and your vain declarations of the omnipotence of Parliament, and your imperious doctrines of the necessity of sub- mission, will be equally impotent to convince or enslave America. You may, no doubt, destroy their cities, you may cut them off from the superfluities, perhaps the conveniences, of life; but my Lords, they will still despise your power, for they have yet I'emaining their woods and their liberty. He said that the spirit which now animates America was the same that led to the revolu- tion in England, and that the friends of liberty on both sides of the Atlantic had but one common cause. "In this great cause," he continued, "they are immovably allied; it is the alliance of God and Nature, immutable, eternal, fixed as the firmament of heaven." His Lordship admitted the right of Parliament to con- trol the complicated machinery of commerce and navigation, but denied its authority over the property of the people of the Colonies ; "property is private, individual, absolute, the touch of another annihilates it." He besought the House to rest upon that distinc- tion, to allow the Americans to maintain their principles of taxa- tion, and to confine the exercise of parliamentary authority to the regulation of commerce. Of the Continental Congress the noble Earl spoke in a strain of the highest eulogy. "History, my Lords," said he, "has been my favorite study, and in the celebrated writings of antiquity have I often admired the patriotism of Greece and Eome ; but, my Lords, I must declare and avow, that in the master- states of the world, I know not the people or the Senate, who in such a complication of difficult circumstances can stand in prefer- ence to the Delegates of America, assembled in General Congress at Philadelphia. I trust it is obvious to your Lordships, that all attempts to impose servitude upon such men, to establish despotism over such a mighty continental nation, must he vain, must he futile." The speaker went on to say, that ministerial manoeuvres would never be able to resist such a union as that of America, that the hour of danger was not to be averted by the tricks of office, that matters bad now gone so far that even re])ealing the obnoxious Acts would not restore the lost confidence of America, unless his Majesty's armed force was withdrawn from the Continent. The jSToble Lord pledged himself, that they would one day find themselves compelled to undo alL their oppressive acts. He advised them, therefore, to enter at once into that course, of their own Southwest Virginia, nJt6-1786. ' 201 accord, which they must be ultimately forced to adopt. "To con- clude, my Ivords," said lie, "if the Ministers thus persevere in mis- advising and misleading the King, I will not say that they can alienate the affections of his subjects from the Crown; but, 1 affiriv, they will make the Crown not worth his wearing, I will not say that the King is betrayed, but I will prononnce that the Kingdom is undone." The motion of Lord Chatham was rejected by a large majority, and the British Ministry declared their purpose never to abandon a single right until the American Colonies were whipped into obedience. The same day that William Pitt delivered the pre- ceding address in the House of Lords, the backwoodsmen of Fin- castle county met, pursuant to the resolves of the Continental Con- gress, at the Lead Mines, their county seat, and took action in the premises ; of which the following is a correct account : "In obedience to the resolves of the Continental Congress, a meeting of the Freeholders of Fincastlc County, in Virginia, was held on the 20th day of January, 1775, who, after approving of the Association framed by that august liody in behalf of all the Colo- nies, and subscribing thereto, proceeded to the election of a Com- mittee, to see the same carried punctually into execution, when the following gentlemen were nominated : the Eeverend Charles Curn- mings. Colonel William Preston, Colonel William Christian, Cap- tain Stephen Trigg, Major Arthur Campbell, Major William Inglis, Captain Walter Crockett, Captain John Montgomery, Captain James McGavocl-, Captain William Campbell, Captain Thomas Madison, Captain Daniel Sviith, Captain William Russell, Captain Evan Shelby and Lieutenant William Edmondson.. After the elec- tion the committee made choice of Colonel William Christian for their chairman, and appointed Mr. David Campbell to be clerk." The following address was then unanimously agreed to by the people of the county, and is as follows : To the Honorable PEYTO^t RANDOLPH, Esquire, RICH- AED HENRY LEE, GEORGE WASHINGTON, PATRICK HENRY, Junior. RICHARD BLAND, BENJAMIN HARRI- SON, and EDMUND PENDLETON, Esquires, the Delegates from this Colony, who attended the Continental Congress held at PHILADELPHIA : Gentlemen,— Had it not been for our remote situation and 202 ^^oufhircsi Virginia, 17J,()-17S6. the ludian M'nr wliieli we were bitoly engaged in to chastise those cruel and savage people for the many nuirders and depredations they have committed amongst us, now happily terminated under the auspices of our present worthy Governor, His Excellency the Right Honorable the Earl of Durwiore, we should before this time have made know^n to you our thankfulness for the very important services you have rendered to yowx country, in conjunction with (he worthy Delegates from tlie other Provinces. Your noble efforts for reconciling the motlier country and the Colonies, on rational and constitutional principles and yonr pacifick, steady and uniform conduct in that arduous work entitle you to the esteem of all British America, and will immortalize you in the annals of your country. We heartily concur in your resolutions, and shall, in every instance, strictly and invariably adhere tliereto. We assure you, gentlemen, and all our countrymen, that we are a people whose hearts overflow witli love and duty to our lawful Sovereign, George the Third, whose illustrious House for several successive reigns have been the guardians of the civil and religious rights and liberties of British subjects, as settled at the glorious Eevolution; that we are willing to risk our lives in the service of his Majesty for the support of the Protestant religion and the rights and liberties of his subjects, as they have been estal:)lished by compact, law and ancient chartei's. We are heartily grieved at the dif- ferences which now subsist between the parent state and the Colo- nies, and most ardently wish to see harmony restored on an equi- table basis and by the most lenient measures that can be devised by the heart of man. Many of us and our forefathers left our native land, considering it as a kingdom subjected to inordinate power and greatly abridged of its liberties; we crossed the Atlantic, and ex])lored this then uncultivated wilderness Iwrdering on many nations of savages and surrounded by mountains almost inacces- sible to any but those very savages, who have incessantly been com- mitting l)arbarities and depredations on us since our first seating the country. These fatigues and dangers we patiently encoun- tered, supported by the pleasing hope of enjoying those rights and liberties which had been granted to Virginians, and were denied us in our native country, and of transmitting them inviolate to our posterity; but even to these remote regions the hand of unlim- ited and unconstitutional power hath pursued us, to strip us of Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-17S6. 203 that liberty and property with which God, nature and the rights of himianity liave vested lis. We are ready and willing to coutri- biite all in our power for the support of his Majesty's government, if applied to constitutionally, and when the grants are made by our own Eepresentatives, but cannot think of submitting our liljerty or property to the power of a venal British Parliament, or to the will of a corrupt jVIinisti'y. We by no means desire to^ shake off our duty or allegiance to our lawful sovereign, but, on the contrary, shall ever glory in being the loyal subjects of a Protestant prince, descended from such illustrious progenitors, so- long as we can enjoy the free exercise of our religion as Protestants, and our liberties and properties as British Subjects. But if no pacifick measures shall be proposed or ado])ted Ijy Great Britain, and our enemies will attempt tO' dragoon us out of those inestimable privileges, which we are entitled to as subjects, and to redTice us to a state of slavery, we declare that we are deliberately and resolutely determined never to surrender them to any power upon earth but at the expense of our lives. These are our real, though unpolished, sentiments of lil)erty and loyalty, and in them we are resolved to live and die. We are, gentlemen, with the most perfect esteem and regard, your most obedient servants. The meeting of the freehjDlders of Fincastle county, on the 20th of Janiiary, 1775, in answer to the resolves of the Continental Con- gress was not the first meeting held for this purpose in the Colony, Init it was, as far as we have any record, the first meeting in which the freeholders declared that they were deliberately and resolutely determined never to surrender their inestimable privileges to any power upon earth but at the expense of their lives. The senti- ments of this meeting were definitely stated by the Committee of Safety when they declared that the freeholders of Fincastle county did not desire to shake off their allegiance to their lawful sovereign as long as they could enjoy the free exercise of their religion as Protestants and their liberties and properties as British subjects. The Committee of Safety, appointed by the freeholders of Fin- castle county, was composed of fifteen men, any one of whom, by reason of his intelligence and patriotism, was competent to draft the address be'fore given, '.^he meml)ers of that committee living at that time on lands 204 Southwest Virginia,, 1746-1786. afterwards Avithin tlie limit? of the county of Washington, were ;-even in niiinber, as follows: IJeverend Charles Ciimmings, Major Arthur Campbell, Captain William Campbell, Captain Daniel Smith, Captain William I'ussell, Captain Evan Shelby, Lieutenant William Edmiston. i Early in the year 1775, the British Parliament passed a bill restraining the trade of Virginia and that of a number of the other colonies. Several efforts were made by members of this Parliament to have measures adopted that would have a tendency to bring the Colonies and Great Britain together, but all to no purpose. In the Virginia House of Burgesses, Patrick Henry introduced a num- ber of resohitions for arming and disciplining the militia of the (*olonies, and the delegates to the former Congress held in Phil- adelphia were re-elected, along witli Thomas Jefferson, to^ serve in the next Congress which met at Philadelphia in May, 1775. In the month of April, hostilities began between General Gage, commanding the British forces at Boston, and the troops of the Massachusetts Colony, and the first blood of the Eevolution was shed at Lexington, Massachusetts, on the 17th day of April, 1775. In a few days this news spread, and the entire Colony was in arms. The first blow had been struck by the King's troops, and now the Colonies took up their arms in self-defence. In Virginia, Governor Dunmore, upon a plea that an insurrec- tion existed in a neighboring count)% removed the powder stored in the public magazine at Williamsburg, and placed it on board of a ship by a small body of marines, on the 9th of April, 1775. This action of the Governor provoked a great deal of discontent, and, in answer to a request from the officials of the city of Williamsburg, he promised to restore the powder whenever wanted, but declined to do so at that time, for the reason that he had heard that the people were armed, and that he did not think it prudent to put. powder in their hands. This promise of the Governor did not satisfy the people, and, arming themselves, they began to assemble and march through, the streets of Williamsburg, whereupon, Governor Dunmore sent them a message in which he stated that if they interfered with any of the King's officers he would declare freedom to their slaves and Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 205 lav Williamsburg in ashes. This information being communicated to the sm-i-oimding country and the news from Massachusetts hav- ing reached Virginia, the people flew to arms in all directions. Patrick Henry placed no confidence in the promise of the Governor and resolved upon making an effort to recover the powder. He organized a company in his own county, and, with this com- pany, began his march to Williamsburg. Patrick Henry was very popular with the people of the Colony and upon their hearing of his determination, fully five thousand men tendered him their services. The Governor was greatly alarmed by this occurrence and fled from the capitol and boarded a man-of-war. Apprehending the conse- (luences of this act of Patrick Henrv's, he directed the Eeceiver- General of the Colony to meet Mr. Henry and pay him in full for the powdei" that had been carried off, which he did. Thereupon, Henry and his followers dispersed to their homes. Two days after this occurrence, the Governor proclaimed Patrick Henry an out- law. Upon the ir)th day of July, 1775, the Committee of Safety for Fincastle county assembled at the Lead Mines, ^d adopted the following resolutions in approbation of the course pursued by Pat- lick Henry. S i ' I At a committee held for Fincastle County, July 15th, 1775, William Christian, chairman. The committee, taking into their consideratioB the clandestine removal of the gunpowder from the magazine o^this Colony by order of our Governor, are clearly and unanimously of opinion that his Lordship's conduct reflects much dishonor on himself, and he very justly deserves the censure so universally bestowed upon him. Eesolved, That the spirited and meritorious conduct O'f Pat- rick Henry, Esq., and the rest of the gentlemen volunteers at- tending him on the occasion of the removal of the gunpowder out of the magazine in Williamsburg, very justly merits the very hearty approbation of this committee, for which we return them our thanks, with an assurance that we will, at the risk of our own lives and fortunes, support and justify them with regard to the reprisal they made.* Eesolved, That the council of this Colony in advising and co-operating with Lord Dunmore in issuing the proclamation of the 3d of May last, charging the people of this Colony with an *Amer. Arch., Vol. II., pp. 16-20, 16-21. 20() Soiilhircst Virginia, l'7Jt6-1786. ungovernahlc spirit and licentious 2:)ractices, is contrary to many known inattcM's of fact, and l)nt too jnstly shows to us that those who oiialit to be mediators and guardians of our liberties are become the abject tools of a detested administration. Eesolved, That it is the ojiinion of this committee that the late sanguinary attempt and pre])arations of the King's troops, in the C'olony of Narragansett Bay, are truly alarming and irritating, and loudly call upon all, even the most distant and interiour parts of the Colonies, to prepare and be ready for the extreme event, by a fixed resolution and a firm and manly resolve to avert ministerial cruelty, in defence of our reasonable rights and liberties. A perusal of these resolutions clearly show the spirit that ani- mated the people of Fincastle county. The third Continental Con- gress asseudjled at Philadeli)hia on the loth day of May, 1775, and elected the following oificers : l*residcnt, Peyton Randolph, Virginia; Secretary, -Charles Thompson, of Pennsylvania. Among the first measures proposed and adopted by this Con- gress was one looking to the placing of the Colonies in a defensive position and, on the 7th day of June, 1775, the Congress passed a resolution fixing the 30th day of July, 1775, as a day to be observed by the twelve Colonies in humiliation, fasting and prayer. About this time. General Gage, commander of the British forces at Boston, issued a proclamation in the King's name^ offering a jiardon to all of the people who would lay down their arms, except John Hancock and Samii^l Adams. At this time, Peyton Randolph, President of the Continental Congress, resigned his position as President of the Congress, and thereii]K)n John Hancock was elected president — this election being in answer to General Gage's proclamation. On the 15th of June, 1775, tlie Continental Congress, by a unanimous vote, elected as Commander-in-Chief of all the continental forces George Washington, of Virginia, and elected the following Major-Gen- erals: Artemus Ward. Philip Schuyler and Charles Lee, and Ho- ratio Gates, as Adjutant-General. On the 17th of June, 1775, the battle of Breed's Hill was fought, in which l)attle the British suffered a loss of eleven hundred men, of whdin two hundred and twenty-six were killed, eighty-nine of the niiiiiher ollicers. '^I'lie American loss was four hundred and Southwest Virginia, 17J,0-17S0. ^07 fifty-three killed, wounded and missing. The Continental Con- gress, in this month, ordered twelve rifle companies to l)e raised in Virginia, ^laryland and Pennsylvania, and directed the issuing of two million dollars in continental currency, for the redemption of \\liich they pledged the ])roperty of the twelve Colonies. Gen- eral Washington, immediately upon the receipt of his commission, proceeded to Massachusetts, where he took charge of the continental troops, and, l)y the middle of August, the rifle companies ordered to he raised in Virginia, reached Camhridge, Massachusetts, in ' time to take part in the capture of Boston. While we have no documentary evidence of the fact, there can be no douht that a nuniher of the riflemen from Fincastle county accompanied the troops from Virginia. In the meantime, on the ()th day of July, 1775, the Congress of the United Colonies adojited a memorial setting forth the causes that led to, and the necessity of, their taking up arms. On the 24th day of Jul}', 1775, the ("olonial Convention of Vir- ginia met at ^^'illiamsbu^g and appointed a Committee of Safety, and passed an act for the raising of two regiments to be placed under the command of Patrick Henry, who was made commander of all tlie forces raised and to l)e raised in defence of the Colony. The two regiments were speedily raised, and assembled at Wil- liamsburg. The Committee of Safety for Fincastle county, in answer to the resolutions of the Virginia Convention, immediately dispatched a company of choice riflemen from Fincastle county, under the com- mand of Captain William Campbell, this company being among the first to arrive at Williamsburg. On the 3d day of Septemljer of this year, a Britisli ship-of-war was driven ashore near Hampton, Virginia, during a storm, and, on the morning of the 4th, the people set fire to and destroyed it. The captain of the ship threatened to burn the town and actually tried to do so, but the Virginia Committee of Safety dispatched Colonel Woodford, with three companies of riflemen, to the assist- ance of the people of Hampton. Of the three companies thus dis- patched, one was the company of Fincastle troops under Captain William Campbell.* When the British captain began his attack upon the town he *Amer. Arch., Vol. — , p. 296. 208 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. was so warmly received by Colonel Woodford and his men, that he took to flight after the loss of a number of men. Thus it will be seen that troops from Fincastle county took part in the first engagement of the Eevolutionai-y war, on Virginia soil, in which blood was slied. Upon the receipt of this information. Lord Dun- more issued a proclamation, proclaiming freedom to all the slaves who would join his standard. He thus gathered a considerable number of volunteers, of whom four hundred were slaves. Colonel Woodford and his company returned to Williamsburg. Lord Dun- more with his forces began a series of depredations upon the people living along the sea-coast, and the Virginia Committee of Safety again dispatched Colonel Woodford at the head of eight hundred men to drive him from his position at the Great Bridge. Colonel Woodford had not been long in the vicinity of the Great Bridge, when Lord Dunmore dispatched Captain Leslie, with the regular troops and slaves, to attack the troops under Colonel Woodford, and, as the result of this attempt, every man of the British troops was killed, wounded or captured ; whereupon. Governor Dun- more and his troops went aboard their ships, leaving Colonel Wood- ford and the Colonial troops in complete control of the position formerly occupied by the Governor. The Colonial troops that assembled at Williamsburg formed two battalions, and the first battalion, to which the troops from Fincastle were attached , was officered as followed : Colonel, Patrick Henry. Lieutenant-Colonel, William Christian, of Fincastle county. Major, Frank Eppes. Lord Dunmore, after his defeat at the Great Bridge, placed all his white followers on board the ships and left his negro allies to shift for themselves. After some time his provisions began to grow scarce, when he sent a request to the citizens of Norfolk for supplies, which request was denied, and on the 1st day of January, 1776, he began to bombard the town of Norfolk, with four ships, and, under cover of the fire from these ships, a company of sailors landed and set fire to the town, which soon was a heap of ashes; an uncalled for act upon the part of the British forces. The British Parliament at its session in 1776, passed an act pro- hibiting all trade and intercourse with the thirteen American Colo'nies, and, about the same time, the King of England nego- Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 209 tiated treaties witli some of tJie petty princes of Germany for the use of a number of Hessian troops in the campaign against the American Colonies. When information of this act of the British Parliament reached General Washington, he decided to drive the British from Boston and proceeded to do so on the 2d of March, and, on the 4th day of ]\Iarch, General Thomas, with a detachment of the American troops, took charge of Dorchester Heights over- looking Boston harlwr. In a few days thereafter. General Howe, with nine thousand British troops, evacuated Boston without a fight, and General Washington, at the head of the continental army, took possession on the 17th day of March, 177C. On the 6th day of May, 177C, the first constitutional conven- tion assembled in Virginia, at Williamsburg, pursuant to the direc- tions of the Committee of Safety, under an ordinance of the con- vention of 1775, which directed that, in view of the fact tliat the usual meeting of the General Assembly in a constitutional way had been altogether obstructed, it had become indispensably necessary for the oppressed people of this country, at a crisis so alarming, to adopt such other mode of consulting and providing for the gen- eral safety as may seem most conducive to that great end. The members of this convention were elected in the same manner in which the members of the House of Burgesses had been previously elected, and the representatives in this convention from Fincastle county, were : Arthur Campbell, W^illiam Russell, ^ both citizens of that part of Fincastle county afterwards included in the subseqiiently formed county of Washington. It is hard to understand, except upon the idea that the people living upon the waters of the Holston and Clinch exceeded in number the people living on the waters of the New river in Fin- castle county, how both members of this Convention should have been residents of the western part of Fincastle county. Some may say that this was done by consent, but such was not the fact, for the elections in those days were as hotly contested as any held in more recent times. It is worthy to be remembered, that in these early days every freeholder was required to vote under the penalty of two hundred pounds of tobacco for a failure, and every freeholder was required to attend and vote on the day 210 South iccsrVinjinla, 17J,G-17S0. a])p()inted, at the Lead Mines, the county seat of Fincastle county. Tlie Virginia convention of 1776 was one of the most important comentions ever lield in tlie State, whether we consider the char- acter of the memhers, or the work done by them. The Virginia Colony at tliis time was in open revolt, and Lord Dunmore, the Governor, was an exile from the State. Tlic King by liis proclamation had declared the citizens of the (_!olony rebels and enemies, and now the })eo2jle by their representa- tives proceeded in an orderly manner to establish a government for themselves. The constitution and bill of rights adopted by this convention clearly defined the fundamental principles of all free government, and the Declaration of Independence, enunciated at this time, was, beyond (piestion, the forerunner of the Great Declaration of Inde- pendence adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1770. The Bill of Eights adopted by this convention, is as follows: "1st. Whereas, George the Tliird, King of Great Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover, heretofore intrusted with the exercise of the kingly office in this government, hath endeavored to pei-vert the same into a detestable and insupportable tyranny, by putting his negative on laws the most wholesome and necessary for the publick good ; By denying his governoui's permission to pass laws of imme- diate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation for his assent, and, when so suspended, neglecting to attend to them for many years; By refusing to pass certain other laws, unless the persons to be benefitted by them would relinf[uish the inestimable right of repre- sentation in the legislatures; By dissolving legislative assem.blies repeatedly and continually, for 0])))osing with manly firmness his invasions of the rights of the people; When dissolved, by refusing to call others for a long space of time, thereljy leaving the political system without any legislative head ; By endeavoring to prevent the population of our country, and, for that ])nT]-)ose, obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners ; Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 211 By keeping among us in times of peace, standing armies and ships of war; By affecting to render tlie military independent of, and superior to the civil power; By coml)ining with others to subject us to a foreign jurisdiction, giving his assent to their pretended acts of legislation ; For quartei-ing large bodies of armed troops among us ; For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; For imposing taxes on us without our consent; For depriving us of the benefits of trial by jury; For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended of- fences ; For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever ; By plundering our seas, ravaging our coasts, burning our towm:., and destroying the lives of our people ; By inciting insurrections of our fellow-subjects, with the al- lurements of forfeiture and confiscation; By prompting our negroes to rise in arms among us, those very negroes, whom, by an inhuman use of his negative, he hath refused us permission to exclude by law ; By endeavoring to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers " the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an un- distinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions of exist- ence; By transporting, at this time, a large army of foreign mer- cenaries, to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny al- ready begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy unworthy the head of a civilized nation; By answering our repeated petitions for redress with a repeti- tion of injuries ; And, finally, by abandoning the helm of government, and de- claring us out of his allegiance and protection. By which several acts of misrule, the government of this coun- try, as formerly exercised under the Crown of Great Britain, is TOTALLY DISSOLVED.* The result of this action by the Convention was the formation *9 Hen. Stat., page 112. 212 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. of a stable and efficient government for the State, and the organi- zation of the militia of the commonwealth. This Constitution was proclaimed on the 29th day of June, 1776, on which day the Committee of Safety, designated by the con- vention of 1775, relinquished their authority, and Patrick Henry was -elected the first Governor of the Commonwealth. At the same time the Privy Council, Treasurer, Attorney General, and the other state officers were elected by the convention. This conven- tion, by a resolution, adopted a design for a seal for the new com- monwealth. The design adopted was as follows : "To be engraved on the Great Seal, Virtus, the genius of the Commonwealth, dressed like an Amazon, resting on a spear with one hand and holding a sword with the other hand and treading on Tyranny, represented by a man prostrate, a crown fallen from his head, a broken chain in his left hand and a scourge in his right. In the exergon the word "Virginia" over the head of Vir- tus, and underneath the words, ^'^Sic semper tyrannis." On the reverse a groupe, Libertas, with her wand and pileus. On the other side of her Ceres, with the cornucopia in one hand and an ear of wheat in the other. On the other side Eternitas, with globe and phoenix. In the exergon tliese words : Deus IsTobis Hasc Otia Fecit." This declaration of the Virginia convention is said to have been the first declaration of independence recorded in the world's his- tory. The American people, until this time, had not seriously con- templated a complete separation from England, but now that the British Parliament had refused to listen to their petition and was waging an active war against them, Eichard Henry Lee, a repre- sentative from Virginia in the Continental Congress at Phila- delphia, in the month of May, gave notice that on a day named he would move the Congress to adopt a Declaration of Independ- ence. Early in this same month the Continental Congress had adopted a resolution for the purpose of ascertaining the sentiment of the American colonies on the subject of the independence of America. The motion of Mr. Lee was postponed from day to day, until the first day of July, two days after the adoption of the Virginia Con- stitution and Bill of Eights, when the Continental Congress re- solved itself into a committee of the whole, and began the con- sideration of the report of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benja- Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 213 inin Franklin, Eoger Sherman, and E. E. Livingston, the com- mittee who had been appointed on the 11th of Jime to prepare a Declaration of Independence. It is worthy of note that this committee, when appointed, agreed that each member should draw up a Declaration of Inde- pendence according to his own ideas, with the understanding that the one that best conformed to the wishes of the committee as a whole should be adopted as the report of the committee. It is stated that Mr. Jefferson's Declaration, being the first read, was imanimously adopted by the committee without debate, the other members refusing to submit their papers for consideration. The Continental Congress, after three days of heated discussion, adopted the report of the committee, which report has since been known as the Declaration of Independence, and is as follows : When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and ecpial station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man- kind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to such separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident ; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain un- alienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pur- suit of happiness ; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from tlic consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its founda- tion on such principles and organizing its power in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, would dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accord- ingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed; but when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism. 214 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide now guards for their future security. Such has been tlie patient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity wliich constrains tliem to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all hav- ing in direct object the establishment cf an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this let facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and neces- sary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained ; and when so suspended he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, imless those people would relinquish the rights of representation in the legislature — a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, un- comfortable and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasion of the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to - cause others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapa- ble of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise, the State remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foTcign- ers, refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new aj^propriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither Southwest Virginia, 17J^6-1786. 215 swarms of officers, to harrass our people and eat out their sub- stance. He has kept among ns in times of peace standing armies with- out the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of and su- perior to the civil power. He has combined with otliers to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws, giving his assent to their pretended acts of legislation. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us, For protecting them by a mock trial, from punishment, for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States, For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world. For imposing taxes on us without our consent, For depriving us in many cases of the benefit of trial by jury, FoT transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences, For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring Province, establisliing therein an arbitrary government and enlarg- ing its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies, For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws and altering fundamentally the powers of our gO'Vernments. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislature for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mer- cenaries, to complete the work of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the execu- 216 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. tioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestick insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merci- less Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistin- guished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injur3^ A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time, of attempts, made by their Legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us; we have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here; we have appealed to their native justice and mag- nanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We must there- fore acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown.; and that all political connections between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved ; and that, as free and independent States, they have full power to le\7 war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protec- tion of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. It has been said that this Declaration of Independence was the Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 217 most sublime exhibition that man has ever made to man. The members composing the Congress were, in their intelligence and patriotism, the giants of our race, and the object of that Congress was the protection of our race. This Declaration of Independence was proclaimed at Philadel- phia on the 8th day of July, 1776, and on the 9th it was read to each brigade of the Continental army. This declaration was received by the people at all points with the greatest enthusiasm. A part of the policy adopted by the British Ministry for the reduction of the American Colonies was the enlisting of the Indians in the service of the British Government. We have now reached that point where the history of Southwest Virginia is closely connected with the operations of the Indians in behalf of the British Government. Numerous agents of the Eoyal Govern- ment were sent to the different Indian tribes living along the waters of the western frontiers, and they were so fai successful in their efforts to incite the Indian tribes to war, that, by the spring of 1776, the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws and Chickasaws were induced to take up arms in behalf of their British allies. The Cherokee Indians, who were the nearest and most accessible tribe to the white settlers, were more numerous than most of the other Indian tribes, and they were the first to take up arms at the instance of the British agents. If the British government had any friends among the back- woodsmen of Fincastle county, this action was of such a character as to alienate the affection and respect of every respectable man. In speaking of the success of the British agents in this matter, a distinguished author has said : "Their success and the constant ravages of the Indians maddened the American frontiersmen upon whom the blow fell, and changed their resentment against the British king into a deadly and lasting hatred, which their sons and grandsons inherited. Indian warfare was of such peculiar atrocity that the employ- ment of Indians as allies forbade any further hope of reconciliation. They saw their homes destroyed, their wives outraged, their chil- dren captured, their friends butchered and tortured wholesale by Indians armed with British weapons, bribed by British gold and obeying the orders of British agents and commanders."* ?Winning of the West, Part II., p. 76. 318 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. About this time Colonel Arthur Campbell, of Fincastle county, in writing of this action of the British Government, in arming the Indian tribes, expressed himself as follows : "This infernal malig- nity of a professed Christian prince was reserved to be exhibited to the world in the reign of George III." Alexander Cameron, the British agent among the Cherokee Indians, lost dlo time in calling together the chiefs and warriors of this tribe of Indians, to inform them of the wishes of his govern- ment. When Cameron disclosed to the Indians his plans, they were greatly astonished, and would not, for some time, believe the statement of Cameron, that one part of the white people wished to wage war against their brothers, for a civil war was unknown between Indians speaking the same language, but he finally suc- ceeded in enlisting the Indians by promising them presents in clothing and by telling them that they could plunder and rob the settlers, and by inducing them to believe that all the lands on the western waters would be reserved to them by the British govern- ment as their hunting grounds. This tribe of Indians had been acting for some time in a manner that clearly indicated that they were determined upon hostilities. In the spring of 1775, Andrew Greer, had gone to the Cherokee towns to purchase furs. While there, he had observed the conduct of two white traders, and was convinced that they intended to do him some injury, If possible. When he started from the Indian towns for his home, he left the main trading path and came up the Nolichucky trace and escaped injury, but, at the same time,. two men by the name of Boyd and Doggett, who had been sent to the Indian towns by the Virginia authorities, were met on the trace that Greer had left, at Boyd's creek, by Indians, and were killed by them and their bodies hidden. The Virginia settlement had long been at peace with the Indians, but they were sufficiently acquainted with their character to know, that, having once tasted blood, their disposition was to indulge to excess, and now they knew they must prepare for a long and bloody war with a tribe of Indians that exceeded them in numbers. T"hey at once proceeded to put their frontier settlements in a defensive attitude. A fort was built at Watauga, to which Avas given the name of Fort Lee, the old fort* at Long Island was repaired and called Fort Patrick Henry. *Fort Robinson. Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. 219 Another fort was erected about seven miles east from Long Island, at Amos Eaton's, on the trace leading to Fort Chiswell. A fort was erected shortly before this time at Eye Cove, about fifty miles from the North Fork of Clinch, by a man by the name of Isaac Crismen, who was, afterwards, with two members of his family, murdered by the Indians. Information of the invasion intended by the Indians was for- warded to the Committee of Safety of Fincastle county by Isaac Thomas, an Indian trader, at the instance of Nancy Ward, a noted Indian woman and a relative of several of the principal chiefs. The frontier settlement, at this day, was in Carter's Valley, the settlers obtaining their supplies from the settlement at Wolf Hill ..-.^^(now Abingdon). The action of the Virginia Committee of Safety, requiring a test oath of all the citizens of the Commonwealth, had driven many sympathizers of the British Government to this settlement in Car- ter's Valley, where they hoped to escape the consequences of their refusal to subscribe to the oath, but information of their presence was obtained by John Carter, a Virginian, who communicated the information he had obtained to the settlers near Wolf Hill. These settlers were great Whigs, and, upon receiving this information, a number of them assembled and went to Brown's settlement in Car- ter's Valley, and after having assembled the people, John Coulter, a member of the county court of this county, administered to them an oath to be faithful to the common cause. Early in May, the settlers in Carter's Valley and all the families below the North Fork of the Holston, in view of the threatened Indian invasion, left their homes and returned to the settlements. To add to the alarm of the frontier settlers, a letter was delivered at the house of Charles Eobertson, on the 18th day of May, 1776, under circum- stances that were exceedingly suspicious; which letter accompanied by the affidavit of Nathan Eeed, was as f oIIom^s : "Wattaga This day, Nathan Eeed came before me, one of the justices of Wat- taga, and made oath on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that a stranger came up to Charles Eobertson's gate yesterday even- ing — who he was he did not know — and delivered a letter of which this is a true copy. Sworn before me the 19th of May, 1776. Attest, James Smith. John Carter." "Gentlemen: — Some time ago, Mr. Cameron and myself wrote 220 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. you a letter by Mr. Thomas, and enclosed a talk we had with the Indians resjwcting the purchase which is reported you lately m-J.dc- of them on the rivers Wattaga, Nolichucky. We are since informed that you are under great apprenhension of the Indians doing mis- cirief immediately. But it is not the desire of his Majesty to =iet bis friends and allies, the Indians, on his liege subjects: therefore whoever you are, that are willing to join his Majesty's forces as soon as they arrive at the Cherokee nation, by repairing to the King's standard, shall find protection for themselves and their families and be free from all danger whatever; yet, that his Majesty's oflficers may be certain which of you are willing to take up arms in his Majesty's just right, I have thought fit to recom- mend it to you and every one that is desirous of preventing in- evitable ruin to themselves and families, immediately to subscribe a written paper acknowledging their allegiance to his Majesty King George, and that they are ready and willing, whenever called on, to appear in arms in defence of the British right in America ; which paper, as soon as it is signed and sent to me safe by hand, should any of the inhabitants be desirous of knowing how they are to be free from every kind of insult and danger, inform them that his Majesty will immediately land an army in West Florida, march them through the Creek to the Chickasaw nation, where five hun- dred warriors from each nation are to join them, and then come by Chota, who have promised their assistance, and then to take pos- session of the frontiers of North Carolina and Virginia, at the same time that his Majesty's forces make a diversion on the sea coast of those Provinces. If any of the inhabitants have any beef, cattle, flour, pork or horses to spare, they shall have a good price for them by applying to us, as soon as his Majesty's troops are em- bodied. I am yours, &c., "Henry Stuart.'" Henry Stuart was the Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the British Government, and in this capacity he wrote this let- ter. This letter did not accomplish its purpose, and only had the effect of exciting the settlers to more vigorous efforts to resist the plans of the agents of the British crown. On the 8th of June Jar- rett Williams, an Indian trader, returned to the Virginia settle- ment from the Cherokee towns and gave further information as to the intention of the Indians, which information was embodied in Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. 221 0'- an affidavit given before Anthony Bledsoe, a justice of the peace of Fincastle county. The affidavit was as follows : "Fincastle, ss. — The deposition of Jarret Williams taken before me, Anthony Bledsoe, a justice of the peace for the county afore- said, being first sworn on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God, deposeth and saith : That he left the Cherokee nation on Monday night, the 8th inst. (July) ; "That the part of the nation called the Over-Hills were then preparing to go to war against the frontiers of Virginia, having purchased to the amount of 1,000 skins or thereabouts, for mocka- sons. They were also beating flour for a march, and making other warlike preparations. Their number, from' calculation made by the Eaven Warrior, amoimts to about six hundred warriors; and, according to the deponent's idea, he thinks we may expect a gen- eral attack any hour. They propose to take away negroes and horses, and to kill all kinds of sheep, cattle, &c. ; also to de- stroy all corn, burn houses, &c. And he also heard that the Valley towns were, a part of them, set off; but that they had sent a runner to stop them till all were ready to start. He further relates that Alexander Cameron informed them that he had concluded to send Captain Nathaniel Guist, William Paulin, Isaac Williams and the deponent with the Indians, till they came near to jSTolichucky, then the Indians were to stop and Guest and the other whites above mentioned were to go to see if there were any King's men among the inhabitants; and if they found any they were to take them off to the Indians or have a white sig- nal in their hands, or otherwise to distinguish them. When this was done they were to fall on the inhabitants and kill and drive all they possibly could. "That on Saturday, the 6tli inst., in the night, he heard two prisoners were brought in about midnight, but the deponent saw only one. That the within Williams saw only one scalp brought by a party of Indians, with a prisoner; but, from accounts, they had five scalps. He also says he heard the prisoner examined by Cameron, thought he gave a very imperfect account, being very much cast down. He further says that the Cherokees had received the war-belt from the Shawnese, Mingo, Taawah and Delaware nations, to strike the white people. That fifteen of the said na- tions were in the Cherokee towns, and that few of the Cherokees 222 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. ? • went in company with the Shawnese, &c. That they all intended to strike the settlers in Kentucky; and that the Cherokees gave the Shawnese four scalps of white men, which they had carried away with them. The said Shawnese and Mingoes informed the Cherokees that they were then at peace with every other nation ; that the French were to supply them with ammunition, and that they wanted the Cherokees to join them to strike the white peo- ple on the frontiers, which the Cherokees have agreed to. "And the deponent further saith that, before he left the nation, a number of the Cherokees of the Lower Towns were gone to fall on the frontiers of South Carolina and Georgia ; and further saith not. Jarrett Williams/'' Signed before Anthony Bledsoe. The settlers on the waters of tlie Holston and Clinch were greatly aroused by the information received, and the militia was or- ganized and armed for the purpose of resisting the contemplated expedition planned by Cameron, the British agent. The reader must remember that all the settlements as low down as Carter's Valley, and including the settlement at Watauga, were governed by Virginia laws at this time, and expected and received protec- tion from the authorities of Fincastle county in Virginia. Upon the receipt of this information the Watauga committee sent an express to Colonel William Preston, the county lieutenant of Fincastle county, detailing to him their situation and requesting the assistance of the authorities and supplies of lead and powder. Colonel Preston replied to this letter on June 3d as follows : "Gentlemen, — Your letter of the 30th ult. with the deposition of Mr. Bryan, came to hand this evening by your messenger. The news is really alarming, with regard to the disposition of the In- dians, who are doubtless advised to break with the white people, by the enemies to American liberty who reside among them. But T cannot conceive that you have anything to fear from the pre- tended invasion by British troops, by the route they mention. This must, in my opinion, be a scheme purposely calculated to in- timidate the inhabitants, either to abandon their plantations or turn enemies to their country, neither of which I hope it will be able to effect. "Our Convention, on the 14th of May, ordered 500 poimds of gun- powder to each of the counties of Fincastle, Botetourt, Augusta, and Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 223 West Augusta, , and double that quantity of lead They likewise ordered 100 men to be forthwith raised in Fincastle, to be stationed where our committee directs for the protection of the frontier I sent the several letters and depositions you furnished me, from which it is reasonable to belie\e that when all these shall have been examined vigorous meas- ures will be adopted for our protection. "I have already advertised our committee to meet at Fort Chis- well on Tuesday the 11th instant, and have directed the candidates for commissions in the new companies to exert themselves in engag- ing the number of men required until then. I much expect we shall have further news from Williamsburg by the time the committee meets. I have written toi Colonel Calloway the second time for 200 pounds of lead, which I hope he will deliver the bearer. This re- ply will, I hope, be some relief to j'our distressed settlement, and, as I said before, should more be wantecf I am convinced you may be supplied. I am fully convinced that the expense will be repaid you by the Convention of Virginia or North Carolina on a fair rep- resentation of the case being laid before them, whichsoever of them takes your settlement under protection, as there is not the least reason that any one part of the colony should be at any extraor- dinary expense in the defence of the whole, and you may be as- sured you cannot be overstocked with that necessary article, for should it please Providence that the impending storm should blow over, and there would be no occasion to use the ammunition in the general defense, then it might be sold out to individuals, and the expense of the whole be reimbursed to those who so generously con- tributed towards the purchase. "I am, with the most sincere wishes for the safety of your settle- ment, your most obedient and very humble servant, "Wm. Pkeston." The information brought by Thomas to the settlement was to the effect that seven hundred warriors were to attack the white settle- ments in two divisions of three hundred and fifty each, led by Dragging Canoe and Oconostota. The one commanded by Ocono- stota was to attack the Watauga settlements, while the other, com- manded by Dragging Canoe, was to attack and break up the settle- ments between the North and South fork of the Holston river. 224 Southivest Virginia, 17Jt6-1786. Battle of Long Island Flats. Upon the receipt of this news a few of the militia hastily as- sembled and proceeded to Amos Eaton's, the frontier hoiise, about fifteen miles in advance of tlie settlement, and began to build a kind of stockade fort with fence-rails, and after some time a breast-work was completed suflicient to repel a considerable number. Thereupon expresses were sent to 'J'hompson's Fort, now on the Ihiff farm, in the upper end of this county; to Edmiston's Fort, now near Lodi, Virginia; to Cocke's Fort, on Spring Creek; to Shelby's Fort, on Holston river, and to the settlements"**near Wolf Hills, and on the following morning about one hundred and seventy men reported at Eaton's Fort under the command of : James Thompson, James Shelby, \ William Buchanan, John Campbell, William Cocke, Thomas Madison. On the 19th day of July, 17 76, the scouts returned to Eaton's Fort and reported that a great number of Indians were making into the settlements. Upon the receipt of tliis information it was debated as to the prudent course to pursue, to await the coming of the Indians in the fort or to march out and meet them in the woods and fight them wherever they could be found. Capt. William Cocke argued that the Indians would not attack them in the fort, but would pass by and assail the settlements, killing and butchering and carrying off the property, and proposed to march out and meet the enemy. The proposition made by Captain Cocke prevailed, and the entire company, consisting of one hundred and seventy men, marched from the fort in tlie direction of Long Island, which was about seven miles distant. This company marched in two divisions, with flankers on each side and scouts before, and had proceeded not more than five miles when they discovered about twenty Indians meet- ing them, upon whom they fired. The Indians returned the fire, whcT-eupon the white men rushed upon them and put them to flight. Ten bundles and a good deal of plunder were captured by the white men, and it was thought that some of the Indians were wounded. The ground where this skirmish took place was not very advantage- ous for a pursuit, and the men -were with great difficulty restrained from pursuing the Indians. A council was held, and it was decided Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. 225 to return, as the officers had good reason to believe that a large part}^ of Indians were not a great way off. They accordingly re- turned, and had not marched more than a mile when they heard a noise like distant thunder, and looking around they saw the whole Indian force running upon them at full speed, whereupon they made a hasty retreat to an eminence, where they rallied, and Cap- tain Thompson, the officer in command, ordered that the right line form for battle to the right and the left line to the left, and to face . the enemy. In attempting to obey the orders of Captain Thompson, the head of the right line bore too much along the road leading in the direc- tion of the station, and Lieutenant Eobert Davis, perceiving that the Indians were trying to outflank them, took a part of the line and formed them as quickly as possible on the right, across the flat to the ridge, preventing the Indians from accomplishing their pur- ]jose. The officers and many of the men exhibited in this battle a heroism almost unexampled, ^^'hen the Indians began their attack, it was with great fury, those in front halloing, "The Unacas are run- ning. Come on and scalp them." The Indian attack was made upon the centre and the left flank of the whites at the same time, and as a result the troops were thrown into great confusion, and it was found almost impossible to form the troops in the face of the Indian attacks. Whereupon Capt. James Shelby, stepping to the front, ordered the several companies to go to the rear and reform their ranks, while he, accompanied by Lieut. Wm. Moore, Robert Edmiston, John Morrison and John Findlay, kept the Indians at bay. Gilmore, in his ''.Rear Guard of the Revolution," makes the state-, ment that Edmiston, in a hand-to-hand fight, slew three or four Indians, Morrison as many more, and that Moore became engaged in a desperate struggle with a herculean Indian chieftain, and, as if by general consent, the Indians paused to await its issue. This delay, no doubt, saved much loss of life among the one hundred and seventy. It lasted for some minutes, but ended by Moore sinking his tomahawk into the brain of the Indian. The whites, in the meantime, had formed their line of battle about a quarter of a mile long and began to pour a destructive fire into the Cherokees from cover whenever possible. The Indians, having witnessed the end of the conflict between Moore and their chieftain, made a rapid 22G Southwest Virginia, 17J^6-1786. advance upon Shelby and his companions, who, about this time, began to fall back to their line. Whereupon the Indians made a furious asssault upon Robert Edmiston, wlio held a position in the centre of the line, during which assault it was afterwards charged that Edmiston used profane language, upon which charge he was tried by the Ebbing Spring Presb3i;erian congregation. The en- gagement lasted from one-half to three-quarters of an hour, when the Indians disappeared as if by magic, leaving the wliite men masters of the situation. Thirteen dead Indians were found on the ground, and many more might have been found if search had been made for them, for many trails of blood were seen where the dead had been carried off or the wounded escaped. It is wonderful to record the fact that no white man was killed in this battle and only four slightly wounded. The names of the white men wounded in this battle are, so far as I can ascertain, Joshua Jones and John Findlay. We here give a report of this engagement made by the captains in command to Col. William Preston, the county lieutenant of Fin- castle county: "On the 19th our scouts returned and informed us that they had discovered where a great number of Indians were making into the settlements, upon which alarm the few men stationed at Eaton's completed a breast-work sufficiently strong, with the assistance of what men were there, to have repelled a considerable number ; sent expresses to the different stations and collected all the forces in one body, and the moTning after about one hundred aaid seventy turned out in search of the enemy. We marched in two divisions, with flankers on each side and scouts before. Our scouts discov- ered upwards of twenty meeting us, and fired on them. They re- turned the fire, but our men rushed on them with such violence that they were obliged to make a precipitate retreat. We took ten bundles and a good deal of plunder, and had great reason to think some of them were wounded. This small skirmish happened on ground very disadvantageous for our men to pursue, though it was with the greatest difficulty our officers could restrain their men. A coun- cil was held, and it was thought advisable to return, as we imagined there was a large party not far off. We accordingly returned, and had not marched more than a mile when a number, not inferior to ours, attacked us in the rear. Our men sustained the attack with Southwest Virginia, 17 46-17 S6. 337 great bravery and intrepidity, immediately forming a line. The Indians endeavored to surround us, but were prevented by the un- common fortitude and vigilance of Capt. James Shelby, who took possession of an eminence that prevented their design. Our line of battle extended about a quarter of a mile. We killed about thir- teen on the spot, whom we found, and we have the greatest reason to believe that we could have found a great many more had we had time to search for them. There were streams of blood every way, and it was generally thought tJiere was never so much execution done in so short a time on the frontiers. Never did troops fight with greater calmness than ours did. The Indians attacked us with the greatest fury imaginable, and made the most vigorous efforts to sur- round us. Our spies really deserve the greatest applause. We took a great deal of plunder and many guns, and had only four men greatly wounded. The rest of the troops are in high spirits and eager for another engagement. We have the greatest reason to be- lieve they are pouring in great numbers on us, and beg the assistance of our friends. . "James Thompson, "John Campbell, "James Shelby, "William Cocke, "William Buchanan, "Thomas Madison." Several incidents are related as having taken place before and during this battle that we here give as they have l)een preserved, without vouching for the truth thereof. Benjamin Sharp, in a letter published in the American Pioneer, gives an incident as oc- curring during the battle. He says : "An Alexander Moore, a strong, athletic, active man, by some means, got into close contact with an Indian of nearly his own size and strength. My brother-in-law, Wil- liam King, seeing Moore's situation, ran up to his relief, but the Indian adroitly kept Moore in such a position that King could not shoot him without hurting Moore. The Indian had a large knife suspended at his belt, for the possession of which they both struggled, Ijut at length Moore succeeded and plunged it into the Indian's l)owels. He then broke his hold and sprang off of Moore, and King shot him through the head." Several historians make the statement that William Cocke, one of the captains upon this expedition, was charged with cowardice by a number of the militia immediately after a coimcil of the 238 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. officers, had decided to return to Fort Eaton instead of pursuing the twenty Indians first discovered, and that Captain Cocke, soon after the return march had begun for Eaton's Fort, halted the line and delivered a speech in defence of his reputation. We cannot imagine the reason why the charge should have been made, but from an ex- amination of the records of the Virginia Privy Council it appears that on December 9, 1776, the following order was entered: "It appearing from the deposition of Thomas Madison, Esq., tliat there are grounds to suspect Capt. William Cocke of cowardice in a late action with the Indians, it is therefore ordered that the said Captain Cocke be forthwith suspended; that the Governor be requested to write to the county lieutenant of Fincastle directing ]iim to hold a court of inquiry touching the conduct of said Captain Cocke, and to transmit to this board a copy of the same." I cannot ascertain what disposition was made of this charge against Captain Cocke, but I am compelled to believe that he was acquitted, for he was afterwards elected to the General Assembly of -^A'irginia from Washington county, and in a few years thereafter became one of the first United States senators from the State of Tennessee. The result of this victory was not only the destruction of a num- ber of the Indian warriors and the wounding of tlieir savage chief, Dragging Canoe, but it inspired the settlers with confidence in them- selves and a contempt of danger from the Indians. It is said that ever afterwards the inquiry among the white settlers when in search of the Indians was not "how many of them are there," but "where are they to be found ?" On the same day that the battle was fought at the Long Island Flats another body of Indians attacked Fort Lee at Watauga, in which fort were Capt. James Eobertson and forty others. But the Indians were repulsed with some loss by the fire from the fort, but for three weeks skulked around the fort, during which time a man and a boy, who had ventured to leave the fort, were assailed by the Indians and captured, and the man scalped on the spot. The boy, who was a brother of Lieut. Wm. Moore, was reserved for a worse fate, he being afterwards burned at the stake by the Indians. Mrs. Wm. Bean, who lived on Boone's creek, was captured by the Indians, but was subsequently released through the influence of Nancy Ward. ^ Colonel Eussell, who was located at Fort Patrick Henry, was Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 229 ordered to go, with five companies of militia, to the relief of Fort Lee, but he was so slow that Col. Evan Shelby raised a company of about one hundred men in the vicinity of Wolf Hills and proceeded to Watauga, where he found the inhabitants in their fort and the Indians gone. After the battle at Long Island Flats the Virginia militia re- turned to the fort and the men dispersed to their several homes to take care of their families and property. In the meantime all the frontier settlements were breaking up and the settlers fleeing from every quarter. The main road or trace was crowded with people moving with the greatest haste to escape the invading Indians. At the farm of Capt. Joseph Black, where Abingdon now stands, be- tween four and five hundred people collected together to build a fort. The erection of Black^s Fort was begun on the 30th day of July, 1776, the same day that the battle of Long Island Flats was fought, and the news of the victory of the settlers in that battle was received the next day.. Upon the receipt of this news all business was sus- pended, while the Eev. Charles Cummings offered up a prayer of thanksgiving, in which all the people heartily joined. The defeat of the Indians, at the Long Island did not end the trouble of the settlers on the Holston. About the time that the battle was fought a party of Indians came up the Clinch river burning all the prop- erty and killing and scalping all the settlers that they could find. Dividing themselves into small bodies, they invaded the settlements from the lower end of what is now the present county of Sullivan, in Tennessee, to the Seven Mile Ford, in Virginia. About the 24th of July, 1776, Capt. James Montgomery, who had settled on the south fork of Holston river, about eight miles from Black's Fort, came to the fort, he and two other families having decided to defend their own homes. He came in quest of intelligence, and was earnestly besought by the people of the fort to bring in the families, to which he agreed, and men and horses were sent to assist him. This company soon returned toi the fort with the families and some of their property, and went back to bring in the rest of the prop- erty when, to their surprise, they found the houses plundered and in flames. The company thereupon hastily retreated to the fort, and spies were sent out to locate the Indians if possible, but no dis- coveries were made for some days, when at length the spies came in 330 Southiuest Virginia, 1746-1786. one night and reported that they had discovered a fire on the bank of the river above Montgomery's which they supposed to be the Indian camp.* Upon receipt of this informaiion an express was sent to Bryan's Fort requesting their men to meet the men from Black's Fort at a certain place that night. The two companies met according to agreement, and the spies conducted them to the spot where they had seen the fire, when the Indians were surrounded from the river below to the river above them, with strict injunctions to ,the men to preserve a profound silence till the report of the captain's gun should give the signal for a general discharge; and in this position they waited for daylight. At the dawn of day, when tlie Indians arose and began to stir about the camp, the crack of the captain's rifle was followed by a well-directed fire from every quarter. The Indians fled across the river, exposed all the way to the fire of the whites. Eleven Indians lay dead at and around the camp, and the number that fell and sank in the river is not known. The men crossed the river and found numerous trails of blood, one of which they followed to where an Indian had crept into a hollow log, wliom they drew out by his feet, and, according to his request, shot him in the head. As a result of this slaughter of Indians the settlers at Black's Fort were greatly rejoiced, and the eleven Indian scalps were attached to a long pole and fixed as a trophy over the fort gates, f Several days thereafter tliree companies prepared to go out from the fort to visit their plantations and on other missions. The first company to leave the fort was composed of John Sharp, his t\vr, sons, and two sons-in-law. They went early and were tmmolested. The second company to leave the fort on that day was composed oP Arthur Blackburn, William Casey and his sister Nancy, who was about sixteen years of age, Eobert Harold and several others, and about the same time a third company left the fort to' visit the hoii.-e of Rev. Charles Cummings to bring his books and some of his prop- erty into the fort. Both of these parties were attacked by the Indians at the same time within hearing of the fort, where an inde- scribable scene of disorder took place, the women and children screaming, wives clinging to their husbands, mothers to their sons *This oamp was on the Mahaffey farm. fBenj. Sharp letter, published in American Pioneer. He was an occupant of the fort at the time. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 231 and sisters to their brothers, to prevent them from going ont of the fort. However, a number of them left the fort and ran to the rescue of the companies as fast as possible, but before they arrived upon the scene the Indians had done their work and gone. Of the second company to leave the fort Arthur Blackburn was shot, tomahawked, and scalped, but was found alive, broaight in, and recovered from his wounds. Along with this same company was William Casey and his sister Nancy, a beautiful little girl about sixteen years of age. As Casey was running for his life to the fort he discovered the Indians in hot pursuit of his sister, and seeing Eobert Harold, another young man, close by, he called to him to come and help him save Nancy. Harold obeyed, and, although there were from four to seven Indians in pursuit, these young men rushed between them and the girl, and by dexterously managing to fire alternately, still keeping one gun loaded when tlie other was discharged, they kept the Indians at bay till they gave up the pursuit and the girl was brought in safe. The author of this account says, "Such acts of gen- erous bravery ought at all times be held as examples to our youth." The third company was composed of the Rev. Charles Cum- mings, his servant Job, William Creswell, the driver, James Piper and one other; and when they had reached a point called Piper's Hill, they were attacked by a band of Indians, and at the first fire William Creswell, who had taken part in the battle of Long Island Flats, was killed and two of the other men were wounded, James Piper having his finger shot off, but the Rev. Charles Cummings, with the remaining man, and his servant Job, held the Indians at bay until he obtained help from Black's Fort, when he brought off the wounded men in safety. William Creswell was buried near the Presbyterian church, now Sinking Spring Cemetery, where his grave may be seen at this day marked by a rude tombstone. An exact reproduction of the inscription thereon is here given : William Creswell entered this place July, 1776. It has been stated that this is the oldest known grave in this sec- tion, but such is not the fact. Poston's graveyard is situated on a high knob in close proximity to the falls of the north fork of Holston 232 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. river, in this county, and in the graveyard is found a grave marked by a iimestone rock upon which is inscribed, "Mary Boyd, died Feby. 17, 1773, aged 3 years. Alexander Boyd's child." Tradition says that this death occurred by the capsizing of Boyd's boat in passing over the falls, Boyd at the time emigrating to the extreme frontiers. From the period that Mr. Cummings commenced preaching in the Holston settlements up to the time of this attack the men never went to church without being armed and taking their families with them. On Sabbath morning during most of this period it was the custom of Mr. Cummings to dress himself neatly, put on his shot pouch, shoulder his rifle, mount his horse and ride off to church, where he met his gallant and intelligent congregation, each man with his rifle in his hand. The minister would then enter the church, walk gravely through the crowd, ascend the pulpit, deposit his rifle in a corner of it, lay off his shot pouch, and commence the solemn services of the day.* The Eev. Charles Cummings was what would be termed in our day " a fighting parson." Immediately after the occurrence* above stated Mr. Cummings and about one hundred of his parishion- ers, under the command of Evan Shelby, hurried to the relief of the Watauga settlers who were besieged by the Indians in Fort Lee, and he accompanied Col. William Christian on his expedition against the Cherokee Indians in the fall of this year, preaching at different points in East Tennessee to settlers and soldiers whenever the oppor- tunity offered itself, he being the first minister of the gospel to de- liver the message of peace in the boundaries of the present State of Tennessee. In the year 1776 the ground now occupied by Martha Washington College and Stonewall Jackson Institute was a dense chinquapin thicket, and the lands between the thicket and Black's Fort were cultivated in flax. During the summer of the year 1776 two men and three women were pulling flax near the fort with Frederick Mongle stationed as sentinel to give the alarm should the Indians make their appearance. The Indians, who had hidden themselves in the bushes above referred to, quietly ap- proached and wounded and scalped Mr. Mongle, but the other persons reached the fort in safety by dodging from tree to tree. The men from the fort came at once to the rescue, and, attacking Governor David Campbell's MSS. Southwest Virginia, 174-6-1786. 333 the Indians, drove . them off. Mr. Mongle soon died from his wounds, and his relatives claim that his grave, and not William Creswell's, was the first made in Sinking Spring Cemetery. But this contention cannot be correct, for Mongle was not killed until several weeks after the death of William Creswell. During the summer several murders were committed by the Indians. Two men, who had gone out to bring up their horses, were killed almost in sight of a neighboring fort, and of the two men who went with an express from Fort Black one was killed and the other made his escape. As a result of the trouble with the Indians Col. Wm. Chris- tian, Capt. Wm. Campbell, and Capt. Wm. Eussell returned to their homes from the regular continental army to assist in the defence of their homes from the combined attacks of the British and Indians. The Governor of Virginia at this time directed Col. AVm. Fleming, of Botetourt county, to dispatch a body of the militia of that county to the frontiers of Fincastle county for the protection of the inhabitants, and pursuant to this order Capt. Thomas Eowland was dispatched with his^company to the fron- tiers. The following is a complete list of Captain Eowland's com- pany: Capt. Thomas Eowland, William Kyles, Henry Cartmill, Martin McFattin, Martin Baker, James Esprey, John Wood, Samuel McFarrin, Thomas Bowyer, George Eutledge, James Leatherdale, William Calbert, John Crawford, Edward Carbin, David WaUace, Samuel M'Eoberts, James Bryant, Thomas Peage, William Bryant, Stephen Holston, Eobert Feely, William Henry, Elijah Vinsant, George Givens, John Moor, James Cloyd, Thomas Eagnew, Isaac Lawrence, Isaac Eichardson, William Wills, James Nicholas, James McQuown, William Crawford, James Eobinson, 234 Sbuthtvest Virginia, 1746-1786. James Alcorn, William Kichey, George Tlutchinson Joseph Kyles, (B-otetourt parish), Samuel McChire, Rev. Adam Smyth, pastor, Patrick Lockliait, William Astin, John Mills, W^illiam Leatherdale, Henry Smith, Eobert Woods, James Gaunt, Edward Guilford, Joseph Carrol, Joseph Bryant, John Jones, William McFarrin, Henry Walker, Jacob Kimberland, John Burks, Robert Birdswell, Thomas Arbuekle, Thomas Howell, David Lawrence, \ Samuel Blair, Patrick Lawrence, David Harbinson, John Frager, Jonathan Wood, William Ross. Joseph Titus, This expedition accomplished nothing of value. This muster roll is given as a matter of information to the many descendants of these men who are now living in this county. In the year 1776, at the time of the battle of Long Island Flats, a man by the name of Lewis, with his wife and seven children, lived in the bounds of the present county of Scott. He was informed by Captain John Redd, that the Indians had declared war and were on the warpath, and was advised to move into the settle- ments, but he swore that he was in no danger, the Indians would never find him, but, soon thereafter, the Indians visited his home and killed and scalped Lewis, his wife and seven children. Among the extreme settlers who left their homes and returned to the set- tlements, was a man by the name of Ambrose Fletcher, whose fam- ily consisted of himself, his wife and two children. Fletcher had settled at Martin's Fort in Powell's Valley, and fled from that point to Blackmore's Foxt, on Cove creek, now in Scott county, ? Virginia. He and his family remained in Blackmore's Fort for a few days, wben, the fort becoming very much crowded, Fletcher built a small cabin, about thirty or forty yards back of the fort, and moved into it. Sliortly afterwards, Fletcher left his home to go to a canebrake to get his horse, and, on returning, he found his wife and two children tomahawked and scalped. Southwest Virginia, 17Ji6-1786. 235 At this time the following forts were to be found on the waters of the Holston and Clinch, so far as I can ascertain : Thompson's Fort, located on the farm now owned by Huff Bros. Edmiston's Fort, located on Snodgrass's farm at Lodi, Va. Bryan's Fort, located at Kendrick's Mill. Black's Fort, located at Abingdon, Virginia. Cocke's Fort, located on Clyce Farm on Spring creek. Bledsoe's Fort, located . Shelby's Fort, located Bristol. Eaton's Fort, located seven miles east of Long Island. Fort Patrick Henry, located at Long Island. Fort Lee, located, at Watauga. Gillespie's Fort, located . Womack's Fort, located, near Bluff City, Tennessee. Martin's Fort, located in Powell's Valley. Priest's Fort, located in Powell's Valley. Mumps' Fort, located in Powell's Valley. Rye Cove Fort, located . Blackmore's Fort, located Cove creek. Glade Hollow Fort, located in Russell county. Hamlin's Fort, located near Castle's Woods. Elk Garden Fort, located Russell county. Fort Bowen, located at Maiden Spring. Wynne's Fort, located Tazewell county, Wynne's branch. Crab Orchard Fort, located Tazewell county. At the same time that the Virginia settlements were suffering from the invasion of the Indians, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, were experiencing like invasions. These four fron- tier colonies decided to invade the Indian country and bring them to their senses, by destroying their towns and chastising their warriors. The Cherokee Indians occupied that vast country north of the upper settlements in Georgia and west of the settlements in North and South Carolina and Southwest Virginia. Their coun- try was divided into three sections, and the number -of the warriors in each was as follows: Middle Settlements and Valleys 878 In Lower Towns 356 In Over-Hill Towns 757 Total 1,991 236 Southwest Virginia, nJf6-n86. The Georgia militia, under tlie command of Colonel McBury and Major Jack, invaded the Indian settlements on the Tugalo river, routed the Indians and destroj^ed all their towns. The militia: of South Carolina, being about 1150 men, under the command of General Williamson, in the early days of August, marched into the Indian settlements and met and defeated, at Oconoree, Alex- ander Cameron, who was in command of a large body of Indians and white men. They burned a number of Indian towns and returned to their homes. The militia of the State of North Caro- lina, numbering about 2,000 men, under the command of General Eutherford, marched into the middle settlements and valleys, about the same time. Upon the approach of this army, the Indians fled. Their towns were burned, to the number of thirty or forty, and these troops returned to North Carolina. While the troops of the States of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were invading the middle settlements and lower towns of the Cherokees, the Virginia authorities were making every preparation to invade the over-hill towns. On the 22d of July, 1776, the Virginia Council received a letter from President Eutledge, of South Carolina, informing them that hostilities had been commenced by the Cherokee Indians, and that Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina had agreed to set on foot an expedition against the lower towns and middle settle- ments at once, and requesting the cooperation of Virginia, asking that she carry war into the upper or over-hill t/owns. Thereupon, the council directed Colonel Charles Lewis to march immediately, with his battalion of minute men, to the frontiers. Upon the receipt of this order Colonel Lewis immediately marched his bat- talion of troops to the vicinity of New river in Fincastle county, where it was ascertained that a number of his men were unfit for an Indian expedition ; whereupon, he was directed to discharge all such and to recruit others in their stead. On the first day of August, 1776, the Virginia Council ordered that a commission issue appointing William Christian, Esq., colonel of the first battalion and commander-in-chief of all the forces raised for nse in the expedition against the Cherokee Indians. It was decided to send two battalions of troops upon this expedition, which were officered as follows: Commander-in-chief, William Christian. Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 287 Colonel, first battalion, William Christian. Major, first battalion, Evan Shelby. Surgeon, first battalion, Joseph Starke. Colonel, second l^attalion, Charles Lewis. Surgeon, second battalion, George Hart. Captain James Thompson and his company formed the life guard of Colonel Christian, the commander-in-chief, upon this expedition. The folloAving captains, with their companies, accampanied thia expedition against tlie (Jheiokee Indians, so far as 1 can ascertain: Captain John Campbell, Captain William Russell, Captain Eobert Boggs, Captain John Sevier, Captain James Thompson, Captain Isaac Bledsoe, Captain John Momtgomery, Captain Daniel Smith, Captain Aaron Lewis, Captain Jacob Womack, Captain William Cocke, Captain Benjamin Gray, Captain William Preston, Captain Thomas Madison. Captain Thomas Madison was appointed commissary and pay- master upon this expedition. But little is known of the participants in this expedition. I have, therefore, gathered the names of the privates who took part in. this expedition, as far as I can obtain them. Their names are as follows : llobert, Campbell, Thomas Hobbs, wounded. Thomas Berry, wounded. Christopher Watson, Matthew Allison, John Finley, Andrew Wallace, Humphrey Higgins, James Sawyers, William Crawford, James Buford, Joshua Eenfro, William Hogart, Ephraim Dunlap, Michael Ocheltree, Benjamin Thomas, John Wood, Eobert Finley, William WiUs, Jacob Gardner, Samuel Ewing, George Caldwell, Jacob Early, James Berry, Henley Moore, Jacob Anderson, John Adair, James Robinson, 238 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. William Hicks, David Getgood, Samuel Gay, Isaac Eiddle, David Smith, Edward Eoss, Gideon Farris, Jesse Womack, John Furnham, William Frogg, William Milnm, Lance Woodward, Francis Katherine, Daniel Henderson, Amos Eaton, David Ro'unceval, Samuel Douglas, wounded Duncan, killed; George Berry, wounded; John Reburn, Abraham Crabtree, David McKenzie, Christopher Irwin, John Cochran, James Young, William Meade, David Wallace, Stephen Holston, Patrick Murphy, Isbon Talbert, James Campbell, : Matthew Scott, Thomas Logwood, Robert Preston, Robert Campbell, Jacob Cogor, Daniel Kidd, John Goff, Cuthbert Jones, Samuel Campbell, William Markland, Joseph McCormick, James McCockle, Joseph Russell, Jonathan Martin, - Gideon Morris, William Ingram, Robert Stewart, James Berry, Daniel Smith, William Haynes, John McClanahan, John Phelps, Abraham McClanahan, James Arnold, Hanrist Carlock, Andrew Little, Thomas Berry, John Latham, William Ramsay, James Bradley, Lambert Lame, John Rice, Joab Springer, Onsbey Carney, John Crane, Benjamin Drake, Benjamin Rice, David Irwin, George Miller, Thomas Ramsay, Thomas Fowler, Thomas Smith, George Coon, William Rice, Isaac Rounceval, James M'Farland, William Ross, Southwest Virginia^ 1746-1786. 339 Philip Love, David English, James Tuttle, Meredy Eeins, Michael Gleaves, Christian Shiiltz, Samuel Ingram, James Newell, William Bennett, Tittleton Brooks, Michael Eowland, William Mitchell, William Eice, Philip Williams, James Harris, Arthur Onsbey, William Nettles, John Harris, Jr., William Lane, David Hunter, Michael Ohair, John Walker, Ebenezer Meads, Samuel Campbell, Francis Hamilton, ^ James Daugherty, Frederick Fraily, William Edmiston, David Carson, James M'Cain, James Steel, Eobert Gambell, Daniel M'Cormack, Jonathan Jennings, George Parker, William Peoples, Valentine Little, Samuel Fair, Alexander Butler, William Brown, Tjeonard Helm, James Greer, Samuel Ewin, Eichard Thomas, Eobert Stephenson, Eobert M'Elheney, Isaac Thomas, John Craig, Adam Brausteter, Michael Dougherty, James M'Carthy, William Henson, Charles Eice, Jesse Henson, Jonathan Mulhey, Moses Winters, John Harris, Sr., James Beets, John M'Farland, Nicholas Edwards, James Kelley, James Eichardson, James Hamilton, George Newland, James Williams, Henry Whitner, Henry Eichardson, John Muldrough, Michael Francisco, James Mason, Solomon Kendrick, William White, Charles Cocke, John Craig, Eobert McNutt, Jacob Steams, John Simpson, Thomas Price, 240 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. Peter Haff, Henry Rice, William Lane, Philip Mulhey, Sr., I^ewis Crane, Isaac Lindsay,- Samuel Martin, James M'Clern, James Smith, Lewis Whitner, William Calvert, Samuel Eason, James M'Donald, Samuel Montgomery, William Carr, John Gibson, James Walker, Philip Mulhey, Jr., > Andrew Cowan, John Adair, James Cameron, George Scott, • Joseph Perrin Nicholas Edwards, John Hounshel, Adam Brausteter, James Doran, George Caldwell, Jeremiah Rush, Robert Hardwicke, Joseph M'Reynolds, Benjamin Logan, Robert Cowden, Andrew Irwin, John Gordon, Thomas Goldsby, Peter Tnrney, Anthony Bledsoe, John Walker, Evan Williams, Edward Piggett, Jacob Vance. On the 26th day of July, 1776, the Honorable Cornelius Har- nett, president of the Council of Safety of North Carolina, informed the Virginia Council that the Cherokees entertained the design of cutting off the persons employed at the Lead Mines, whereupon, the Council ordered William Preston, the county lieutenant of Fincastlo county, to raise, at once, a stockade fort for the defence of said mines and to garrison the same with a force of twenty-five men. On the first day of August, 1776, the Virginia Council gave the following instructions to William Christian, commander-in-chief, and Colonel Charles Lewis, in command of the second battalion, of the forces in the expedition against the Cherokees. "When your battalion and the battalion under Colonel Charles Lewis are completed, you are to march with them and the forces under the command of Colonel Russell, and such others as may join you from Carolina, into the Cherokee country, if these forces shall be judged sufficient for the purpose of severely chastising that cruel and perfidious nation, which you are to do in a manner most likely to put a stop to' future insults and ravages and that may redound Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 241 most to the honor of American arms. If the Indians should be reduced to the necessity of suing for peace, you must take care to demand of them a sufficient number of their chiefs and warriors as hostages, for the performance of the conditions you may require of them. You must insist on their delivering up all prisoners who may choose to leave them and on their giving up to justice all per- sons amongst them who have been concerned in bringing on the present war, particularly Stuart, Cameron and Gist, and all others whO' have committed murder or robberies on our frontiers. You may require any other terms which the situation of affairs may point out and you may judge necessary for the safety and honor of the Commonwealth. You must endeavor to communicate with the commanding officer of the Carolina forces and cooperate with him, making the attack as near the time of his as may be. You are from time to time to write His Excellency the Governor, giving him a full account of your operations, and requiring his further instructions. Instructions to Colonel Charles Lewis of the second battalion of minute men: You are to order the captains under your command to march their companies to their respective counties, then to discharge such of their men as are not properly qualified to serve on an expedition against the Indians, and to raise with all possible dispatch in their stead the best recruits that can be found for the service, and, having so completed their companies, to repair to the Big Island on Holston river in Fincastle county, the place of general rendezvous." And, on the 6th day of August, 1776, the Virginia Council directed tlie keeper of the magazine to forward to Colonel William Christian 1,000 poimds of powder, two flints to be used on this expedition. It required some time to organize and equip the forces intended to proceed against the Cherokee Indians, which work was carried on with the greatest possible expedition, until the first week in Sep- tember. FINCASTLE COUNTY OEGANIZED UNDER THE STATE CONSTITUTION. The first county court of Fincastle county, under the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, assembled at the Lead Mines, (now in Wythe county), on September 3, 1776, at which time the 242 Southwest Virginia, 174G-1786. following members of the county court and officers of Fincastle county qualified by taking the oatli prescribed by an ordinance of the Virginia Convention, which oath was administered by James McGavock and Arthur Campbell. MEMBEES OF TPIE COUNTY COUET: William Preston, Arthur Campbell, James McGavock, John Montgomery, James McCorkle. Sheriff, William Preston, appointed by the court. Deputy Sheriff, William Sayers, Deputy Clerk, Stephen Trigg, County-Lieutenant, William Preston. Attorney-at-Law, Harry Innes. But little business of importance was transacted at this term of the court, so far as the records that have been preserved show. Thus began the first organized government under the Constitu- tion of Virginia, in Fincastle county. In the month of September, 1776, that portion of the troops under the command of Colonel William Eussell began their march to the Great Island of the Holston, at which time Anthony Bledsoe entered two wagons in the public service, to convey the baggage and pro- vision of the troops. This circumstance is mentioned, for the rea- son that this was the first time, as far as can be ascertained, that a wagon was taken by tlie white man, as low down as the Long Island in Holston. When Colonel Eussell reached the Long Island, he thought it necessary to erect a fort in a field on the land of John Latham, on Long Island, which fort was speedily erected and every preparation made for the coming of the troops under command of Colonel Chris- tian. A company of militia was enrolled at Black's Fort (now Abingdon), and taken into the pay of the government, to guard the new fort, called Fort Patrick Henry, at Long Island, and to guard the provision and baggage wagons going to and returning from that fort. By the first day of October, Colonel Christian, with his entire army of 2,000 men, including about 400 men from North Carolina under command of Colonel Joseph Williams, Colonel Love and Major Winston, arrived at Long Island. When the army had proceeded about six miles beyond Long Island, Colonel Christian Southwest Virginia, 174G-1780. 243 halted his unny and offered a reward of one hundred pounds to an}' pei'son or persons who woukl proceed to the Cherokee towns and bring liini a prisoner, in order to obtain intelligence of the motions of the enemy; whereupon, 8amnel Ewing, John Blankenship and James jMcCall undertook the business, and in a few days entered the town of To(pio, after crossing the Tennessee river, where they met an Indian man on horseback, whom they permitted to escape, lest it might occasion a discovery. They next visited the house of a Iving's man by the name of LowTy, where they were refused admit- tance. They then proceeded to the house of one Davis^ from whom tliey ol)tained intelligence of the designs of the enemy, when they I'eturned to the army and gave a true account of the situation of affairs in the Indian country, according to their information, and they were paid by the General Assembly of Virginia the one hun- dred pounds, pursuant to the agreement of Colonel Christian. Upon the receipt of this information. Colonel Christian and his army proceeded, in a very cautious manner, on their march to the Tennessee, always encamping, at night, behind brea.stworks, to pre- vent a surprise. Colonel John Sevier commanded, upon this expedition, a com- ])any of horse, the rest of tlie army being infantry. Sixteen spies were sent in advance of the army to the crossing of the French Broad ri^er, a point where the Indians said the white men should never cro^ss. After being several days out, Alexander Harlin came into camp and told Colonel Christian that 3,000 Indian warriors were awaiting his arrival at the crossing of the French Broad. Col- onel Christian permitted him to go through the camp and to observe the strengtli of his army, when he was dismissed by Colonel Chris- tian, with direction tO' inform the Indians of his determination to cross, not only the French Broad, but the Tennessee river, before he returned. The army continued its march through the wilderness, under direction of Isaac Thomas, the noted Indian trader and friend of Nancy Ward, as pilot. When they approached the crossing of the French Broad river, a king's man by the name of Fallin approached the camp with a flag of truce, to which Colonel Christian paid no attention, permitting Fallin to pass through the camp unmo- lested, that he might observe the strength of Christian's army. It is said that the Indians had gathered on the opposite side of this cross- ing determined to defend its passage to the last extremity, when a 244 Southiuest Virginia, 17J,6-178G. white man by the name of Starr, in the absence of Fallin, persuaded the Indians that it was folly to resist the invasion of the whites. In an earnest harangue, he told them it was folly to contend with the white man. That the Great Spirit intended he should over- run and occupy all the low lands which should be cultivated. To the red man he had given the hills and forests, where he might sub- sist on game without tilling the soil, which was work fit only for woiuen. To struggle with the white man was, therefore, to fight with destiny. The only safety for the Indians lay in a speedy retreat to their mountain fastnesses."* From some cause the Indians disbanded and dispersed without offering any resistance to the white men. Colonel Christian and his army crossed tJie river and pressed rapidly forward to the Chero- kee towns along the Little Tennessee and Telico, every one of whicli was destroyed, except Chota, the home of Nancy Ward, the beloved woman of the Indian tribe and the friend of the white man; and Colonel Christian destroyed all grain, cattle and other provisions found in the nation. When Colonel Christian had destroyed the towns and property of the Indians and had chastised them as far as it was possible to do so, he sent out a number of men with flags of truce, and requested a talk with the Chiefs. A number of them came in immediately and proposed peace. Colonel Christian told them he was willing to grant them peace, but not until the tribe was fully represented, and, thereupon. Colonel Christian fixed a day for the concluding of peace in' the following May, at Long Island in Holston river, and, in the meantime, hostilities were to cease except as to two to\\Tis on the Tennessee river, where young Moore, who had been captured at Watauga, had been burned at the stake ; which proposition was accepted. Colonel John Sevier, thereupon, visited the towns in question and left the same in ashes. Colonel Christian finding nothing further to engage his attention, returned with his army to the liOng Island in Holston river. This campaign lasted three months, and but a single white man was killed. This w^as a man whose name was Duncan, a soldier under Captain Jacob Womack. He was killed in an engagement with the Indians. This man left a wife (she was a cripple), and five small children, to whom the General Assembly of Virginia, on June Ifi, 1777, allowed the sum of twenty pounds for their present relief and *Rear Guard of the Revolution, p. 126. Southivest Virginia, 17^6-1786. 245 the further sum of five pounds per annum, for the period of five years, with directions to Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke, to lay out and expend the same for the support and maintenance of Eliza- beth Duncan and her children. Several white men were slightly wounded by the Indians and by accident, upon this expedition, among the number being Samuel Douglas, Thomas Berry and George Berry, Jr. Upon the return of the army to the Long Island of the Holston, Colonel Christian reorganized the same, and, for the protection of the frontiers, left six hundred men at the island under the command of Colonel Evan Shelby and Major Anthony Bledsoe. The General Assembly of Virginia directed the Governor and Council to take such measures for the preservation and disposition of the horses and provision belonging to the government and in use upon this expedition as should appear to be most proper and con- ducive to the interest of the country. And, by the same act, the Governor and Council were directed to give instructions to the com- manding officer of the army destined against the Cherokees, to take such steps, at the end of the campaign, as were thonght neces- sary for the future safety and protection of the southwestern fron- tier of this State. Whereupon the Governor and Council of Virginia directed Captain Thomas Madison tO' take the necessary steps to col- lect all the cattle and horses on hand upon the return of the army from this expedition, and to take care of them, whereupon Captain Madison employed: William Carmack, John Delaney, Stephen Eichards, TMatthew Dean, John Fulkerson, Cornelius Carmack, Andrew Greer, Joseph Greer, John Nash, Samuel Looney, Peter Looney, William McBroom, John Cox, John Carmack, Jonathan Drake, Ezekiel Smith, Henry Hickey, Isaac Drake, Hugh Blair, Benjamin Drake, to herd and take care of the country cattle, from the 13th day of November, 1776, to the 11th day of June, 1777. And Colonel Christian, pursuant to the directions of the Governor and Council, stationed the six hundred men as above detailed at Long Island, 246 Southwest Virginia, 1740-1786. and directed Captaioi Joseph Martin tO' proceed to the Eye Gove Fort, about fifty miles from North Fork of the Clinch river, with eighty men. The rest of the army were mnstered out of service. Captain Martin immiHliately l)egan the march to the Rye Cove. Upon this march he had to pass through a very dangerous gap, called Little IMocca^in, where the trail went through a very nar- row and deep gorge of the mountain and where the Indians had killed a great many white people. When Captain Martin began the march through the gap, he had his men in fine order and strung out in smgle file. Just as the head of the column emerged from the narrow defile, the whole column was fired upon by Indians from the top of the ridge, where they were strung out in a line as long as Captain Martin's. As soon as the Indians fired, they ran off, having failed to kill any of Martin's men But one man, James Bunch, a member of Martin's company, had five balls shot through his flesh, whereby he was rendered incapable of getting a livelihood hy labor, and was allowed by the General Assembly of Virginia thirty pounds for his pres- ent relief and half pay as a soldier for three years. The Indians liaving all fled, Captain Martin proceeded to Eye Cove, where he remained until the first of May, 1777, when he was ordered back to the Long Island, where he remained until the treaty of peace was concluded between the Indians and the whites on July the first. In December of the year 1776, the commanding officer at Fort Patrick Henry dispatched Samuel Newell and another per- son tO' the Cherokee town for the Indian chief, the Eaven of Chote. Upon their return trip they were accompanied by the Indian chief. A short time thereafter, in the month pf January, 1777, Samuel Newell was again ordered to tlie Indian town, Chote, Avith letters in regard to a family that liad been murdered near Fort Patrick Henry. AVhile on, his way to the town of Toquo, he was tomahawked l)y the Indians and scalped, and soon there- after died in the town of Chote. His horse, gun, saddle and bridle, saddle-bags and clotlies were carried off by the Indians, who murdered him. A number of the citizens of Fincastle county potitioned the General Assembly of Virginia for compensation for pasturage Southwest Virginia, 1746-178G. 347 taken and the provisions nsed by Colonel Oliristian upon this expedition, among the number so petitioning being Amos Eaton, John Latham, James Kincannon Evan Shelby, David Getgood, ±\hel Eichardson, John Beatie, James McGavock, AVilliam Sayers, James Aylett, Ephraim Dunlop, Robert Barnett, William Cocke, The General Assembly of Virginia at its fall sassion in 1776, allowed Isaac Thomas, the faithful friend of the white settlers, one hundred pounds as a reward for the services he had rendered the settlers by giving them information of the intended incur- sions of the Indians, and paid him for the stock and property lost at the time of the outbreak ol the Indian war. The Governor and Council of Virginia directed that for the purpose of concluding a treaty of peace between the Indians and the Commonwealth of Virginia a convention should be held at tlie Long Island of Holston, in the month of May, 1777, and appointed Colonel William Christian, Colonel William' Preston and Major Evan Shelby to act as the Virginia commissioners at said convention. The Governor and Council of ISTorth Carolina appointed Waightstill x\very, Joseph Winston and Eobert Lanier, commissioners upon the part of North Carolina at said convention. The commissioners of the two States met the Indian chiefs, who had been assembled through the efforts of Nathaniel Gist, at the Long Island in May, 1777, and drafted a treaty, which treaty was submitted to the Goivernor and Oouncil of Virginia on May 28, 1777, at which time the Council entered the following orders : "Having referred to the Governor of this board to direct a treaty l>egun with the Cherokee Indians in such manner as they think best, "Eesolved, That the Governor be desired to confer with the C*herokee chiefs and warriors, from time to time during their said meeting, on the subject of all disputes now subsisting between them and this State, and in regard to the treaty of peace now under consideration, and if he receive any proposals to 248 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. make a good and proper answer to them, preparatory to com- pletion, the conference to be held at the Great Island on twO' days next month, and this board will attend at such conference as may be appointed, and that Dr. Walker and Colonel Christian 1)0 desired to provide from the public store, or, in their place, proper presents to be made to the Indians now here and consider what is necessary to provide for the Indians at the next meeting at the Great Island. "Adjourned at 10 o'clock. - ''Jolm Page, Tho. Walker, "Dudley Diggs, Nathaniel Harrison, "John Blair, David Jamison, "Bartho Dandridge. "Colonel William Christian, one of the commissioners ap- pointed on behalf of this State to form a treaty of peace with the Cherokee Indians, having attended this board with the pro- ceedings of himself and the other commissioners at a treaty held at the Great Island, in consequence of their former instructions, upon considering the same the board entirely appro^ved thereof, and think it necessary that the same should be laid before the General Assembly, which the Governor is desired to do, and Col- onel William Christian having also iniormed the board that several of the chiefs and warrioTS of said nation of Indians will accompany him to Williamsburg, resolved that they be received and treated in the most friendly manner and furnished with all necessaries until the General Assembly shall give further direc- tions in the matter." This treaty was not concluded until the first day of July, 1777. By this treaty a new boundary line was established between the settlers and the Indians. The boundaries as fixed by this treaty extended as far down as the mouth of Cloud's creek. This treaty was signed by all the Indian chiefs except Dragging Canoe, who was woimded at the battle of Long Island Flats. He said "that he would hold fast to the talks of Cameron the British agent and continue the war as before." While the treaty was being nego- tiated two men were murdered on the Clinch river by Dragging Canoe and some of his men, and conduct of this character was continued for many years on the part of Dragging Canoe and the Chickamauga Indians. Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-1786. 249 While this treaty was being negotiated a great many Indians, with their squaws and children, had collected and were quartered in the island, surrounded by a guard to prevent improper inter- course with the whites, but, notwithstanding this precaut^ion, some abandoned fellow shot across the river and killed an Indian. This produced great confusion; the Indians thought they were betrayed and prepared to fly, and it was with much exertion that the officers and commissioners pacified and convinced them that such was not the fact. Afterwards, when the Council met, the Raven opened the conference on the part of his people by a speech in which he reverted to the case of the murdered Indian. He said, "lest that unhappy affair should disturb the harmony and sincerity that ought to exist at that time between the white and red brethren, each party ought to view it as having happened so long ago, that if, when the Indian was buried, an acorn had been thrown into his grave, it would have sprouted and grown and become a lofty spreading oak, sufficiently large for them to sit under its shade and hold their talk. This speech was thought by many to be equal to anything in the celebrated speech of Logan. From the fall of 1775 to the close of the Eevolutionary war, the settlers in this part of Virginia were compelled to occupy their forts from early spring until late in the fall, as their settle- ments were constantly visited by bands of Cherokee and Shaw- nese Indians sent upon them by the British agents, but the settle- ments enjoyed perfect freedom from the Indians from the first appearance of winter until the return of spring. During this interval of time the Indians were deterred from making raids into the settlements, by the great danger of detection in conse- quence of the nakedness of the trees, by the danger of being traced by their tracks in the snow, and by the suffering pro- duced by exposure to cold while traveling and lying in wait. The settlers took advantage of this immunity from attacks by the Indians, cleared their lands, built their houses and made everv possible preparation for their crops during the coming season. During the summer of 1776, elections were held throughout the Commonwealth for members of the House of Delegates and the Senate under the new Constitution. At this election the fol- lowing persons were elected members of the House of Delegates 850 So'ulliwcfit Virginia, ] 746-] 786. From Fincat^tle county : Arthur Campbell and William Eussell. And the member of the Senate from Botetourt and Fincastle, I hat being the Tenth Senatorial District, was Colonel William Christian. By an ordinance of the convention of 1775, adopted July 15, 1775, the Western District ^9.f Virginia, of which Fincastle county 'vas a part, was required^ to furnish sixty-eight expert .riflemen for the regidar service. And by an Act of the Asseml^ly of Virginia adopted in Octo- l)er, 1776, a requisitioii of seventy-four men was made upon tlie :uithorities of Fincastle county to be officered by a captain a})- [)ointed by the Governor. A First Lieutenant, A Second Lieutenant, and an Ensign. The officers of the company organized in Fincastle county for the continental service in the year 177{) cannot be ascertained, save in one instance. « John Buchanan was lieutenant of this company at its organ- ization, and was a lieutenant in the Seventh Eegiment in the fall of the same year, and remained in the service until killed in the year 1777. At a meeting of the General Asseml)ly of Virginia, in the fall of the year 1770, a petition from the inhal)itants of the western parts of Fincastle county was presented to the House and read ; setting forth that they 1)ecame adventurers in that ])art of the county in the year 1774, and were obliged by the incursions of the Indians to abandon their settlements, after having discovered and explored the coiintry ; that others afterwards became adven- turers and claimed the lands liy warrants from Lord Dunmore, under the royal proclamation of 17(53, and a company of men from ISToTth Carolina purchased, or pretended to purchase, from tlie Cherokee Indians, all the lands from the soaithernmost waters of Cum'berland river to the banks of the Louisa river, including the lands in Powell's Valley, by virtue of which purchase they styled themselves the absolute proprietoi-s of the new independent Trans3dvania ; that officers, both civil and military, are appointed, writs of election issued, assemblies convened, a land office opened, and lands sold at an exorl)itant price, and a system of policy Southtvest Virginia, 17J^6-17S6. 251 introduced, not agreeing with that lately adopted b}' the late United Colonies, and that they have the greatest reason tO' ques- tion the validity of the purchase aforesaid; that they consider themselves and the said lands to be in the State of Virginia, whose legislature they acknowledge, and to which State they con- ceive they justly belong; that having assembled together after due notice, they elected two members to represent them in this House, and hope they may be received as their delegates; that they are ready and willing, to the utmost of their abilities, to assist in the support of the present laudable cause, by contri])ut- ing their quota of men and moneys, and that in order to pre- serve goO'd order, tliey had, as was done in West Augusta, elected a committee consisting of twenty-one members, and cheerfully submitted the case to the House. This petition of the inhabi- tants of that part of Fincastle county, now included within the State of Kentucky, was accompanied by petitions from nearly all the settlers on the Holston and Clinch rivers, and was pre- sented to the General Assembly on the eighth day of October, 1776, and the General Assembly on Friday, October 11, 1776, adopted the folloMdng resolutions : "Eesolved, That the inhabitants of the western part of Fincas- tle county not being allowed by the law a distinct representation in the General Assembly, the delegates chosen to represent them in this House cannot be admitted. At the same time the com- mittee are of opinion, that the said inha])itants ought to be formed into a distinct county, in order to entitle them to sucli representation and other l)enefits ot government." The petition for the division of Fincastle county was referred / to a committee of which Carter Braxton was chairman, whicli ' committee, through its chairman, on Tuesday, October 15, 1776, presented a bill foT the division of the county of Fincastle into two distinct counties, which bill was read the first time and ordered to be read the second time. On Wednesday, October 16, 1776, this bill was read a second time and was committed to Thomas Jefferson and the members from Augusta and Botetourt counties, and on October 17, 1776, Mr. Jefferson, from the com- mittee to whom the bill for dividing the county of Fincastle into two distinct counties was committed, reported that the com- mittee had gone through the bill and made several amendments 252 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. thereto, which he read in his place, and afterwards delivered in at the clerk's table, where the same was again twice read and agreed to and ordered to be engrossed and read a third time. And, on Wednesday, October 30, 177G, this bill was ordered to be committed to Mr. Jefferson, Mr. SimnLS, Mr. Bullitt and the members from Fincastle, Augusta and Botetourt counties, and on November 19, 177G, Mr. Mason and the members from Frederick, Hampshire and Bedford counties were added to the committee, to whom the bill for dividing the county of Fincastle into two distinct counties was committed. And on Monday, November 26, 1776, the bill for dividing the county of Fincastle into three distinct counties was read a third time, and it was: "Eesolved, That the said bill do pass, and that the title be, an Act for dividing the county of Fincastle into two distinct coun- ties, and the parish of Botetourt intO' four distinct parishes, and Mr. Arthur Campbell was appointed to carry the same to the Senate for their concurrence. In the Senate, several amendments were proposed to the bill passed by the House, which amendments, being communicated to the House, were disagreed to', whereupon, the Senate com- municated with the House, through Mr. Ellzey, as follows : "Mr. Speaker : "The Senate do insist on the amendments by them proposed to the bill entitled. An Act for Dividing the County of Fincastle into three distinct coamties, and the parish of Botetourt into four distinct parishes. And upon the amendments being again read, it was, by the House of Delegates, "Resolved, That this House do recede from their disagree- ment to the said amendments proposed by the Senate, which action of the House having been communicated to the Senate, the Senate insisted on the amendments proposed to the bill by them, whereupon, the Virginia House of Delegates, on December 6, 1776, "Resolved, That this House do insist on the disagreement to said amendments, and that Mr. Campbell do acquaint the Sen- ate therewith." Which resolution being communicated to the Senate, the Act i for the dividing of the county of Fincastle into three distinct counties, and the parish of Botetourt into four distinct parishes, Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. 353 was adopted, the Senate having receded from the amendments proposed by them. This act provided that from and after the 31st day of Decem- ber, 1776, the connty of Pincastle shall be divided into three distinct counties, to be known by the names of Montgomery, Washington and Kentucky. Thus ends tJie history of Fincastle county, in so far as the history of that county forms a part of the history of Washing- ton county. 254 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. CHAPTEE VII. WASHINGTOX COUNTY, 1 777-1 78G. The Act of the General Assembl}^ of A^irginia dividing the county of Fincastle into three distinct counties, to-wit: Mont- gomer}', Washington, and Kentucky, was adopted by the General Assembly of Virginia on the 6th day of December, 1770, and pro- vided that from and after the last day of December, 177G, the said county of Fincastle should be divided into three counties. And this Act defines the bounds of Washington county as follows, viz. : "That all that part of said county of Fincastle included in the lines beginning at the Cumberland mountains where the line of Kentucky county intersects the North Carolina (now Tennes- see) line; thence east along the said Carolina line to the top of Iron mountain; tJience along the same easterly to the source or the South Fork of the Holston river; thence northwardly alone the highest part of the highlands, ridges and mountains that di- vide the waters of the Tennessee from those of the Great Ka- nawha to the most easterly source of Clinch river; thence west- wardly along the top of the mountain that divides the waters of the Clinch river from those of the Great Kanawha and Sandy Creek to the line of Kentucky county, and thence along the same to the beginning, shall be one other distinct county and called and known by the name of Washington.* "The eastern boundary of Washington county as thus defined was altered by Act of the General Assembly of Virginia at its session in the month of IMay, 1777, as follows: Beginning at a ford on Holston river, next above Captain John Campbell's, at the Eoyal Oak, and rimning from thence a due south course to the dividing line between the States of Virginia and North Carolina ; and from the ford aforesaid to the westerly end of Morris' Knob, about three miles above Maiden Spring on Clinch, and from thence, by a line to be drawn due north, until it shall intersect the waters of the Great Sandy river." The Act estal)lishing the county of Washington directed tlmt the *Hening statutes, 1776. Washington County, 1777-1870. 255 justices named in the commissions of the peace for the said county shouki meet at Black's Fort, in said county, on the last Tuesday in January, 1777, which day in each month was desig- nated l)v said Act as County Court day, and a majority of the justices .-_;o commissioned were authorized to designate tJie place for holding said court and to elect a clerk for said court. The power to appoint the first sheriff of the county was vested in the (loA'ernor. The territory included within the county of Washington as thus established is now embraced in the following counties : Washington, Tazewell, Russell, Lee, Scott, Buchanan, Smyth, Dickenson, Wise, a territory sufficient in extent and wealth to constitute a great State. Governor Patrick Henry, on the 21st day of December, 1776, is- sued a commission of the peace and dedimus for Washington county appointing the following persons as justices of the peace for said county : Arthur Campbell, William Edmiston, Evan Shelby, Joseph Martin, James Dysart, John Campbell, John Anderson, Alexander Buchanan, John Coulter, John Kinkead, William Campbell, James Montgomery, Daniel Smith, John Snoddy, George Blackburn and Thomas Mastin, and on the same day he issued his commission appointing the fol- lowing officers f-or the said county : Sheriff — James Dysart, County Lieutenant — Arthur Campbell, Colonel — Evan Shelby, Lieutenant-Colonel — William Campbell, IMajor — Daniel Smith. The first court of said county assembled at Black's Fort (now Abingdon) on the last Tuesday in January, 1777, being the 28th 256 Southwest Yirgima, 1746-1786. (lay of that month, pursuant to the Act of the Assembly establish- ing the county, on which day William Campbell and Joseph Mar- tin, two of the justices commissioned by the Governor, adminis- tered the oath of a justice of the peace and of a justice of tlie County Court in Chancery to Arthur Campbell, the first justice named in said commission, and he afterwards administered the aforesaid oaths to : William Campbell, William Edmiston, John Campbell, Joseph Martin, John Kinkead, John Anderson,^ James Montgomery, John Snoddy, and George Blackburn. The court thus assembled, constituting a majority of the jus- tices commissioned by the Governor, proceeded to the election o' a clerk, when David Campbell was elected clerk. At the time Washington county was established by law Colo- nel Arthur Campbell and Colonel William Eussell represented Fincastle county in the House of Delegates, and Colonel William Christian represented the district in the Senate of Virgiinia. Colonel Campbell andj Colonel Eussell resided in that portion of Fincastle county afterwards included in the bounds of W^ashington county. Colonel Russell and Colonel Christian had served with General Washington in the Continental Armyf while Colonel Arthur Campbell had been a member of the Convention that adopted the Constitution establishing the Co^mmonwealth of A^ir- ginia, which Convention elected General George Washington a member of the Continental Congress which assembled in Philadcl- \)hm in 1776. It is not definitely known who suggested the name of Washington for the new county; and while the question is 'n doubt, still it is reasonable to suppose that Colonel Arthur Camp- bell was the author of the idea, as it appears from the proceedings* of the House of Delegates that he was designated by the House to convey the information to the Senate of Virginia that the House had passed the Act establishing the county. But without regard to who suggested the name for the new county it is a fact that this is the first locality in the United States that was honored with the name of the "Father of Our Country." The Act establishing the new county was agreed to by the general Washington County, 1777-1S70. 257 Assembly of Virginia on December 6, 1776, and the county gov- . ernment was organized on January 28, 1777. Tennessee and N^orth Carolina historians insist that Washington county, Tennessee, was the first locality in the Union to receive the name of Washington, but, by an examination of the North Carolina records, it will be ascertained that Wasliington district?, North Carolina (now Tennessee), was not mentioned until April, 1777, and the county of Washington, North. Carolina (now Ten- nessee), was not established by the G-eneral Assembly of Nortli Carolina until November, 1777. Black's Fort, the locality of the meeting of the first court of Washington county, was erected in the year 1776 on the lands of Captain Joseph Black, on the west bank or near the west banl: of what was then known as Eighteen Miles Creek, alias Castle's Creek, by the settlers living in the vicinity, and about five hun- dred other settlers who hg,d fled from their homes west of Abing- don iipon the outbreak of the Indian War in 1776. It was one of those rude structures which the pioneers were accustomed to make for defence against the Indians, consisting of a few log cabins surrounded by a stockade. The locality of this fort was about twenty-five yards south of the Norfolk and Western rail- road, in the Knob road, and near the brick cottage, the property of Charles F. Palmer. In the fall of the year 1879, Captain Frank S. Findlay, while excavating for a place for a turbine wheel near this place, discov- ered a portion of an old wall constructed of rock and logs some five or six feet below the surface, and in the wall was found an arrow made from the heart of a white oak, with a sharp iron spike af- fixed. This wall was a part, of the old fort, and it is not improb- able that this arrow was sped there by an Indian. In the year 1796 a mill dam was erected about fifty yards south of this old wall.* The first court of Washington county was in session two days, January 28th-29th. The first day of the term was occupied in qualifying the members of the court, the election of a clerk, the qualifications of militia officers, as above given, and the granting of letters of administration in several cases. Upon the second day of the term the first matter of importance that received the atten- tion of the court was the appointment of William Campbell, Wil- *Black's Mill Dam. 258 Southwest Vinjinia, 17Jff>-17SG. liain Edmiston, John Anderson and George Blaekhnrn as com- missioners to hire wagons to luring up the county salt allowed by the Governor and Council, and to receive and distribute the same agreeably to said order of Council. Some ]x^o])k', in speaking of this order of the County Court, have expressed surprise that such an order should have been en- tered by the court of a county in which was located great beds of salt, and, further, tliat the Governor and Council thus allotted salt to this county. At the time this order was entered salt was a rare article and exceedingly valualile, and was not known to exist in this country. So difficult was it to supply the demands for salt that in the year 177G the General Assembly of A^irginia enacted the following law : "Resolved that the Governor, with the advice of the Privy Coun- cil, be empowered tO' purchase, on account of the public and at a generous price, all the salt that may be imported into this coun- try in the course of the next six months, and that he be authorized to issue his warrant on the treasurer to pay for the same: that such salt when purchased be immediately stored in some convenient and secure parts of the country, and distributed by order of the Governor, with the advice of the Council, amongst the inhabi- tants of the different counties, im such proportion as their exi- gencies and the quantity procured may admit, regard being prin- cipally had to such counties as are farthest removed from salt water; and that the receivers of the salt do pay into the hands of such persons as may be appointed for that purpose, at the time of the delivery, so much per Inishel, as the Governor, with the advice of the Council, may judge reasonable ; the money when received ^o be paid with all convenient dispatch into the treasur}^ for reim- bursing the publick." It was pursuant to the order of the Governor and Council, acting upon the authority of this act, that the commissioners were appointed. On the second day the court proceeded to appoint a number of officers to take a list of tithables and of the quantity of taxable lands in the county. The following commissioners were appointed by tlie court to do this work in the localities mentioned, to-wit: Joseph Martin, on north side Clinch mountain, high as Glade Hollow. John Kinkead, Glade Hollow to head of Clinch. John Washington County, 1777-1870. 25D Campbell, head of Holston to Stalnaker's direct across. William Edmiston, Stalnaker's to Black's Fort, direct across. James Mont- gomery, Black's Fort to Major Bledsoe's. John Anderson, from Major Bledsoe's as low as there are settlers. At the same time the court appointed the following constables : Rawley Duncan, from Castle's Woods to lowest settlement. James Wharton, Castle's Woods to Glade Hollow. James Laughlin, Glade Hollow, to upper settlement Elk Garden. William Lean, head of Holston to Seven- Mile Ford. Robert Brown, Seven-Mile Ford to Eleven-Mile Creek. Christopher Acklin, Eleven-Mile Creek to Ford of Beaver Creek. John Fain, Eleven-Mile Creek to Sinking Creek. James Steel, Ford Beaver Creek to Amos Eaton's. At the same time the fol- lowing surveyors of roads were appointed : Alexander Wylie, from county line to Charles Hayes. John Hays, from Charles Hays' to Mill Creek. Jacob Anderson,^ from Mill Creek to Seven-Mile Ford. Aaron Lewis, Seven-Mile Ford to Big Spring. Andrew Kincan- non from Big Spring to James Kincannon's. James Bryan, from James Kincannon's to Joseph Black's. Andrew Colvill, from Joseph Black's to Ford Beaver Creek. Benjamin Gray, Ford Bea- ver Creek to Steel's Creek. David Steel, from Steel's Creek to the meeting house. Amos Eaton, from meeting house to Fort Patrick Henry. Thomas Berry, Watauga Road, James Bryan's to James Montgomery's. William Young, Captain Montgomery's to Isaac Riddle's. John Cox, Isaac Riddle's to Ford of Holston. The names as above given and the localities assigned to each are important in this, that they definitely indicate the established roads in the county at the beginning of our local government, and define, with reasonable certainty, the extent of the settlements at that time. Many readers will be surprised to know that the Vir- ginia authorities appointed officials and exercised jurisdiction over the country (now Tennessee), as low down as Fort Patrick Henry, thirty miles below Bristol. The explanation is that our people supposed the Holston river to be the dividing line between the two States, Virginia and North Carolina. At this time and for several years thereafter, Virginia exercised jurisdiction, collected taxes and gave protection to the settlers as low down as Carter's Valley in Tennessee. On the second day of the court, Isaac Shelby, Robert Craig, John Dunkin and John Adair, were recommended to the Governor as 260 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. proper persons to be added to the Commission of the Peace for the connty, and they were commissioned accordingly. On the same day the court recommended to Edmnnd Eandolph, Attorney for the Commonwealth, Ephraim Dunlop, as a proper person to act as Deputy Attorney for the Commonwealth in this connty, and he was commissioned accordingly, and became the first practising attorney for the Commonwealth in this connty. On the same day the conrt ordered that the house adjoining that whicli tlie court is held in, be a prison, and that the sheriff be empowered to employ some person to put it in the best repair he can." The statement has been made by a very worthy citizen of Wash- ington county of former days,* "that the first court of this connty assembled in a grove on the hillside south of Greenway's store, but in view of the above order of the court, this statement is inaccu- rate, as the court was held within the stockade of Black's Fort, and the house designated as a prison was within the same stockade. At the time in question, the courts of the country undertook to regulate the private affairs of the citizens to a much greater extent than at the present time, which can be accoimted for by the fact that our people had just shaken off the heavy hand of monarchy and established, for the first time, constitutional government. As an example of the extent to which the private concerns of the people were then regulated by government, the court of this county, on the second day of its term, fixed the price of liquors as follows : Eum, 16s. per gallon ; Eye whiskey, 8s. ; corn whiskey, 4s. ; a bowl of rum toddy, with loaf sugar, 2s., with brown sugar Is. And at the March term, 1779, it fixed the price of a warm din- ner at 15s.; cold dinner, 9s.; for a good breakfast, 12s.; oats or corn at 4s. per gallon; good lodging with clean sheets, 2s. Stab- blidge, with hay or fodder, 2s., and good pasturage the same. After the transaction of considerable business, on the afternoon of the 29th day of January, 1777, the first court of the county adjourned, to court in course, which was the last Tuesday in Feb- ruary, being the 25th day of that month, on which day the court assembled at Black's Fort, with several members present. The first business of importance transacted was the qualification of Luke Bowyer to practice as an attorney in this court, and, thereupon. *Charle3 B.. Coale. Washington County, 1777-1870. 261 the court proceeded to the examination of Edward Bond, on suspi- cion of his having murdered Thomas Jones. The court heard the evidence and acquitted the prisoner. On the following day the court proceeded to the examination of the same Edward Bond, upon suspicion of his having stolen a small bay mare of the value of fifteen pounds, and upon a hearing of the evidence against him, he was held for trial at the General Court, at the capitol in the city of Williamsburg." The student of our early history must be impressed with thi^5 fact, that our forefathers would give to the prisoner charged with murder the benefit of every reasonable doubt, while, on the other band, they would give the prisoner charged with horse-stealing, the maximum punishment prescribed by law, if there existed against him a strong suspicion. On the 26th day of February, 1777, the court proceeded to recom- mend to the Governor of Virginia the militia officers for Wash- ington county, which officers were duly commissioned and were as follows: Captains : William Edmiston, John Campbell, Royal Oak; Joseph Martin, John Shelby, Sr. ; James Montgomery, Eobert Buchanan, Sr,, Aaron Lewis, John Duncan, Gilbert Christian, James Shelby, James Dysart, Thomas Mastin, John Campbell, John Kinkead, V John Anderson, William Bowen, George Adams, Eobert Craig, Andrew Colvill, James Eobertson, Watauga. Ijieutenants of Militia : David Beattie, James Maxwell, Samuel Hays, John Snoddy, David Ward, John Coulter, Thomas Price, Eoger Topp, George Freeland, John Anderson, James Fulkerson, George Maxwell, John Berry, William Blackburn, Charles Campbell, Andrew Kincannon, 262 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. Lieutenants of Militia — Con. John Frazier, C!harles Allison, Alexander Wylie, Joseph Black. Ensigns of Militia: Thomas Whitten, Eees Bowen, Solomon Litton, Henry Dickenson, Abraham McClelland, William Eosebrough, John Loony, Josiah Eamsey, James Elliott, William Young, John Davis, William Casey, John Wilson, John Lowry, James Shaw, William ISTeal, James Crabtree, Arthur Bowen, Eobert Davis, Alexander Barnett. Colonel Arthur Campbell, immediately upon his qualification as county lieutenant of Washington coointy, proceeded to organize the militia of the county, and place the same upon such footing as they would be able to repel any attack that might be made upon the set- tlers on the frontiers, the most exposed part of which was in Car- ter's Valley and the Watauga settlement in the vicinity of Eliza- bethton, Tennessee. On the 31st day of March, 1777, he requested James Eobertson, a captain in the militia of this county, residing at Watauga to fur- nish him with a list of the settlers at Watauga, that he might loiow their strength and give such orders as were necessary for their pro- tection. Captain Eobertson furnished the list, whereupon Colonel Campbell, in view of the danger in which the settlements stood, directed Eobertson to assemble the settlers in one or two places, and he recommended Eice's and Patterson's Mills as the most pro- per ones. "Let yoair company be at Eice's," said he, "and Captain Gilbert Christian may come to Patterson's Mill." There was to have been a complete suspension of hostilities between the Cherokee Indians and the white settlers, from the return of Colonel Christian, in the fall of 1776, until the month of May, 1777, the time set for the negotiation of a treaty at Long Island. Notwithstanding the fact that the Indians had agreed to a suspension of hostilities, and that there were four hundred soldiers stationed at Long Island, under the command of Colonel Washington County, 1777-1870. 263 Evan Shelby and Major Anthony Bledsoe, numerous hostilities were committed by the Indians. Several murders were committed on the frontiers, and on the 10th of April, 1777, James Calvatt was shot and scali3ed. The Indians who killed Calvatt were pursued by Captain James Eobertson and nine men, who killed one Indian and retook ten horses, but, upon his return from the pursuit of the Indians, he and his men were attacked by a party of Creeks and Cherokees, who wounded two of his men and forced him to retreat. At the same time two men were killed on Clinch river, and it developed that the Indians had numerous parties out murdering and plundering whenever possible. The Indians put the blame of this trouble upon Dragging Canoe, the Indian chief, who, upon receiving a wound at the battle of Long Island Flats, on July 20, 1776, had retired to the Chickamauga country and refused to talk of peace. In the spring of the year 1777, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of the Commonwealtli of Virginia, an election was held for members of the G-eneral Assembly from Washington county, at which election Arthur Campbell and William Edmiston were opposed by Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke. The qualification of electors voting at said election was as fol- lows: "Every free white man, who, at the time of the election, shall have been for one year preceding, in possession of twenty- five acres of land with a house and plantation thereon, or one hun- dred acres of land without a house and plantation thereon, and having right for an estate for life, at least, in the said land, in his O'Wn right or in the right of his wife, was entitled to a vote." This election was hotly contested and resulted in favor of Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke, two gentlemen who after- wards became distinguished in the history of Tennessee, William Cocke being one of the two United States Senatoi-s elected to repre- sent the State of Tennessee, at the date of its formation, in the Senate of the United States. Colonel Arthur Campbell and Captain William Edmiston, on the 20th day of May, 1777, filed a petition with the House of Dele- gates of Virginia, setting forth that the petitioners, with Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke, were candidates at the last election of delegates for the county of Washington; that on the close of the poll it appeared that the greatest number of votes taken were in 264 Southwest Virginia, 174G-17SG. favor of Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke, owing, as they con- ceive, to many votes being given in by persons who reside in North Carolina and by others not entitled to vote ; that they apprehend the said Bledsoe is incapable of sitting as a member of the legislature, he having a military command which excluded him by the consti- tution; tliat the said Cocke is not possessed of such landed prop- erty in the county as is required by law, not to mention some instances of bribery and corruption practised contrary to the spirit of the present government; that these matters give dissatisfaction to what they believe to be a majority of the legal electors in the said county; and submitting themselves to such determination as shall be thought reasonable and just. Thus our county was hon- ored by a contested election in the dawn of its history, which must have excited a good deal of feeling among the pioneers of the Hols- ton and the Clinch. During the same session of the General Assembly, Mr. Banister, chairman of the Committee on Privileges and Elections, reported toi the legislature that the committee had agreed upon a report and had comie to several resolutions thereupon, which they had directed him to report to the House. Having read the report in his place, he afterwards delivered it in at the clerk's table, where the same was read and was as foHoweth — viz. : "As to the first charge contained in the said petition against the sitting members, as not having a greater number of legal votes than the petitioners, it appears to your committee, from a certificate of tlie sheriff of the county of Washington, that upon the close of the poll, the number of the voters stood as follows — to-wit: For Mr. Anthony Bledsoe 297 For Mr. William Cocke ?: 294 For Mr. Arthur Campbell 211 For Mr. William Edmiston 144 It also appears to your committee by a line run by Colonel John Donaldson between this State and North Carolina, as far as the Holston river, that should it be continued in the same latitude to where it would intersect the north fork of Holston river, a consider- able number of those who voted for the sitting members would be left in North Carolina, and if allowed the right of suffrage in the said county of Washington, would give them the greatest num- ber of legal votes. Washington County, 1777-1870. 265 It farther appears to your committee, from the information of Thomas Walker, Esq., that from the most accurate observations he has been able to make, the Great Island on the Holston river lies in this State, and that, shonld a direct line rnn from where the said Donaldson's terminated to the said island, the greater number of voters living in the bend of Holston river would be taken into the county of Washington, and that such' line would in many places intersect the river. It appears to your committee from the information of Colonel William Christian that he brought a writ of ejectment in the County Court of Fincastle for a tract of land lying near the Hol- ston river, between the Great Island and the termination of Don- aldson's line ; that the person who was in possession of the land and defended the suit, pleaded to the jurisdiction of the court, which was overruled and he obtained a judgment. It farther appears to your committee, from the testimony of James Thompson, that he acted as sheriff in the county formerly Fincastle in the years 1774 and 1775, during which time he col- lected levies and taxes from those people who reside on the north side of the Holston river as low down as within about six miles of the great island, which was esteemed the reputed bounds of Vir- ginia. As to the second article of charge contained in the petition touching Mr. Bledsoe's holding a military command, it appears to 3'-our committee that Mr. Bledsoe holds no other commission than that of a major in the militia. As to the article of charge against Mr. Cocke, as not being a land- holder and resident in the said county of Washington, it appears to your committee, from the testimony of James Thompson and John Montgomer3^ that Mr. Cocke was possessed, under a survey, of more than one hundred acres of land for one year preceding the election, hath resided in the county formerly Fincastle, with a family, several years, until some time in February last, when Mr. Cocke moved part of his family out of the country for fear of an Indian war, but continues there himself the greater part of his time. That the said John Montgomery was present when the poll was closed and heard the sheriff proclaim the sitting members duly elected. As to the last article of charge respecting the bribery and cor- 266 Southwest Virginia, 171,6-1786. ruption, it appears to your committee to be groundless. Whereupon your committee came to the following resolutions : Resolved, as the opinion of this committee, That the said Anthony Bledsoe and William Cocke were duly elected to serve as delegates in this present General Assembly for the county of Wash- ington. The said resolutions being severally read a second time, were, upon the question severally put thereupon, agreed tO' by the House."* While the people of Washington county, Virginia, may feel some pride in knowing that our people explored East Tennessee and furnished the rule of action by which her early settlers were gov- erned, on the other hand East Tennesseeans will find pride in the fact that they furnished Washington county, Virginia, her first representatives in the Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This election was held at Black's Port, the county seat of Wash- ington county, and every elector in the county was required to attend and cast his vote in person, under a penalty, and we may well imagine what a busy appearance the neighborhood of Black's Fort presented that day, 946 men from Powell's Valley, Clinch Valley, Holston, Carter's Valley and Watauga, Tennessee. On the 29th day of April, 1777, the ancestor of a great many people whose names have been honorably associated with the his- tory of Washington county ^appeared in court. He was not a stranger to this section, nor was he a stranger to the members of that court. He had long been a deputy surveyor, under William Preston, surveyor of Fincastle county, and had previously thereto surveyed for the citizens of Holston large and numerous tracts of land. His name was Eobert Preston, and on that day he pre- sented to the court a commission from the masters of William and Mary College, appointing him surveyor of Washington county. The position of county surveyor was at that time, the most lucra- tive position to be found in any of the counties and was much sought after. William Preston, of Smithfield, as well as Robert Preston, had long been actively engaged by Colonel James Patton and the Tjoyal Tiand Company, in surveying and locating their grants of one hundred and twenty thousand and eight hundred thousand acres of land in Southwest Virginia. For this reason they had incurred the displeasure of many of the people of South- *Joxirnal House of Delegates, 1777. Washington County, 1777-1870. 267 western Virginia, and particulaiiy that of Colonel Arthur Camp- bell and his family, men who were ambitious and who felt it their right to rule. Whether this was the reason for the action of the court, or whether the reason is correctly stated in the order of the court cannot be stated. The court entered the following order: "Eobert Preston, Gent., produced a commission from the Mas- ters of William and Mary College appointing him a surveyor of Washington, and it is the opinion of the court that the same should not be received, as it is issued by virtue of a prerogative from the Crown of England." If the order of this coiirt correctly stated the motive of the court, there can be no question that the court detested the Crown of England and everything emanating therefrom. Eobert Preston appealed from this order of the County Court of Washington county, to the General Court at Williamsburg, which appeal was pending for some time, during which time, Eobert Preston produced a surveyor's commission from the Masters of William and Mary College, dated January 23, 1777, to the County Court, ol this county, and desired to be qualified by the said court, but his application was refused by the court, as there was an appeal pending in the General Court for a refusal of the same character. AVhile the appeal of Eobert Preston was pending in the General Court, numerously signed petitions were presented to the General Assembly of Virginia, praying that lx)dy to confer the power ol selecting coamty surveyors upon the Coimty Courts of the several counties, but Eobert Preston seemed to have the ear of government, and all petitions were rejected. I cannot say what disposition was made of the appeal of Eobert Preston, but from an inspection of the records of the County Court of this county, the following information is gathered : "Eobert Preston, Gent., produced a commission from Thos. Jefferson, Gov. of the Commonwealth of Virginia, being dated the 22nd day of December, 1779, appointing him Surveyor of the County of Wash- ington, and gave bond with James Dysart and Aaron Lewis, his securities, in the sum of 20,000 pounds for the faithful discharge of his oflfico and took the oath of office." This office he filled until the year 1831, a little more than fifty- one years. The bad feeling between thePreston and Campbell fam- ilies continued for many years, during which time there was a 268 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. resort to arms. A duel was fought and a member of the Campbell family wounded, but I am happy to say this feeling has long since died out, and the two families for many years have been intimately connected, socially and otherwise. The settlers on the Plolston and Clinch, during the years 1776- 1777, had been greatly harassed by the invasion of the Indians, and thereby prevented from making anything like a crop from their lands. They had also been required to furnish supplies to Colonel Christian and his army of two thousand men, upon their invasion of the Cherokee country, and the country was thereby greatly impoverished before the crops in the year 1777 were harvested. The good citizens, the relatives and friends of the settlers, living in Augusta county, contributed through Mr. Alexander St. Clair considerable sums of money, and provisions, for the relief of the settlers on the frontiers, and the County Court of this county, besides entering the following order, directed Captain William Campbell to have Mr. St. Clair to lay out the money in his hands for wheat. "Ordered that Joseph Martin, John Kinkead, John Coulter, Gil- bert Christian, William Campbell and Thomas Mastin, who are hereby appointed as commissioners to distribute the flour con- tributed in Augusta county or elsewhere for the distressed inhabi- tants of this county, and to hire wagons to bring the same to this county." This is the only instance save one, in the history of this county, that outsiders have been called upon to contribute to the support of the people of Washington county. On the same day, the court entered an order appointing Eobert Young, constable, from Amos Eaton's to Patterson's Mill, Castle- ton Brooks, from Patterson's Mill to lowest settlements down the river. These appointments were made to keep in touch with the advancing settlements. At a meeting of the court on the 30th day of April, 1777, it was ''ordered that the court be held as soon as the courthouse can be built, at the place formerly laid off for a town, upon the land given to the county by the honorable Thomas Walker, Joseph Black and Samuel Briggs.^' / At the time of the organization of the'^ county. Dr. Thomas Walker, Joseph Black and Samuel Briggs agreed to give one hun- Washington County, 1777-1870. 269 dred and twenty acres of land in the coimty of Washington agree- ably to a survey thereof made by Robert Doach for the purpose of establishing a town thereon, and for raising a sum of money towards defraying the expenses of building a courthouse and prison. This offer was made by the gentlemen mentioned to the County Court as an inducement to have them establish the coimty seat near Black's Fort and adjoining their other lands. Tradition says that the co^urt hesitated for sojn« time m making a selection between Wolf Hills, (now Abiiigdon), and Shugarts- ville, (now Green Spring). From a perusal of the orders of the County Court, it appears that a number of logs and other timber had been gathered at Mr. Black's for the purpose of building a magazine when, on the 27th day of August, 1777, the County Court ordered the sheriff to employ some person or persons, upon the best terms he could, to remove the logs and other timber at Mr. Black's for the purpose of building a magazine, to some convenient place where the town is to stand and there to be built for a courthouse." "And likewise to build a prison fourteen feet square, with square timber, twelve inches each way, and a good shingle roof," with directions to line the side wall and under floor with two-inch plank, and put nine iron spikes in each plank, six inches long in lieu of a stone wall." Pursuant to this order, the sheriff of the county let the contract for the building of the county courthouse to Samuel Evans; to Abraham Goodpasture, the building of a prison; to G. Martin, the contract for making irons for criminals, and to Hugh Berry the contract for making the nails to be used in the building of the courthouse The courthouse was built of logs and stood upon the lot occupied by the present residence of Mrs. James W. Preston. The jail oi prison (a fair description of which has been previously given), stood on the lower end of the present courthouse lot, a short distance from the street and north of the present courthouse. On the 30th day of April, 1777, the County Court "ordered that Arthur Campbell, William Campbell, Daniel Smith, Joseph Mar- tin, William Edmiston, John Coulter and Eobert Craig, gents, be appointed trustees to dispose of the land given to the county by the Honorable Thomas Walker, Samuel Briggs^ and Joseph 270 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. Black, and formerly laid off by Captain Robert Doach, and that they or any four of them shall sell the same and apply the money arising therefrom toward defraying the expenses of the publick buildings in tJiis county." Pursuant to this order of the court, the trustees therein named employed John Coulter to lay off a part of the streets and alleys of the proposed town, which service he performed and reported to the court and received his pay therefor. The time when the new courthouse was first occupied cannot be definitely fixed, but must have been in the year 1778, and the new prison was not used or occupied until the year 1779. On the same day the court directed David Campbell, clerk, to furnish blank books for keeping the public records, and ordered the sheriff to summons twenty-four of the most capable freeholders to serve as a grand jury, which grand jury met on the 27th day of May, 1777, at Black's Fort, and made the following indictments — to- wit : Margaret Drummon for having a bastard child, and James Bryan for not having the road in good repair he was surveyor of. On the same day the court entered the following order : "Ordered that it be certified that it is the opinion of the court, that the field officers for Washington county be recommended to His Excellency the Governor, to be continued and be in the office they have been commissioned to by his Excellency, which appoint- ments are approved of by the court of this county. Major Anthony Bledsoe, upon his election as a member of the Legislature of Virginia, resigned his position as major of the forces stationed at Long Island and left for Richmond, and was suc- ceeded by Captain William Russell. Major Bledsoe and Captain Cocke expected, upon the assembling of the legislature at Richmond, to have the pleasure of displacing the militia officers of Washington county and filling their positions with their friends and partizans, and Colonel Campbell, as a means to disappoint Cocke and Bledsoe in the accomplishment of their purpose, had the preceding order entered by the court of this county, which action had the desired effect, and as a result of it Cocke and Bledsoe preferred charges against Colonel Campbell, which charges were heard and dismissed by the Governor and Coun- cil, in the same year. Washington County, 1777-1870. 371 The County Court during this year, upon motion of James Dysart, sheriff of the county, permitted Joseph Black, James Eob- erts and John King, to qualify as deputy sheriffs for this county, and during the same year, permitted Eobert Campbell and John Campbell to qualify as deputy clerks for said county. During the early part of the year 1777, the court ordered the fol- lowing roads opened and established : "A road from James Kin- cannon's to William Kennedy's Mill. A road from Samuel Henry's up the South Pork of Holston, the way viewed by Eobert Buchanan, Alexander McISTutt and Eobert Edmiston, pursuant to the order of the Fincastle court." And, "on motion, John Anderson, Gilbert Christian, James Elliott, James Fulkerson and William Eoberts, were appointed com- missioners to view a road from George Blackburn's by James Ful- kerson's to the forks of the path leading to Kentucky and the mouth of Eeedy creek." In the fall of this year, the following orders relating to the roads of the county, were entered : "Benjamin Gray and William Blackburn were appointed commis- sioners to view and locate a road from the courthouse to Shoate's Ford on Holston river on the 27th day of August, 1777, and the report of the viewers establishing this road was confirmed by the court on the 30th day of September, 1777. Josiah Gamble, Thomas Berry and Adam Keer were appointed commissioners to locate a road from the courthouse to Philip's Mill, on the Watauga road, on the 27th of August, 1777 ; their report was confirmed and the road established on the 30th day of September, 1777. William Bowen, David Ward, Eees Bowen and James Fowler were appointed commissioners to locate a road from the Eichlands by Maiden's Spring to the gap of the Laurel Fork of the north branch of Holston on the 30th day of September, 1777, and on the same day, John Finley, John Fowler and Abraham Crabtree were appointed commissioners to locate a road from said gap down the valley to the head of Fifteen-Mile creek and on to the court- house. On the same day, Albert McClure, Thomas McCulloch and Joseph Martin were appointed commissioners to view a road from the foot of Clinch mountain where James Logan lived to the gap 273 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. O'f the moimtain opposite the head of Fifteen-Mile creek. Their report was received and confirmed on the 18th day of March, 177S. John Kinkead, Daniel Smith, Thomas Price and William Gil- mer were appointed commissioners to locate a road from the north side of Clinch mountain, over Clinch mountain, to Eobert and James Logan's and Halbert McClure. Thomas McCulloch and Joseph Martin were appointed commissioners to locate a road from the foot of Clinch moimtain at James Logan's to the courthouse. William Casey, Eobert Harrold and Samuel Staples were appointed commissioners on the 36th day of November, 1777, to locate a road from the mouth of Harrold's creek to the courthouse, and on the same day, Francis Cooper, John Dunkin and James Davis were appointed commissioners to locate a road from the ISTorth Fork of Holston to the Castle's Woods road through Little Moccasin Gap ; this last road was established by order of the court on the 18th day of March, 1778. We give this information in regard to the roads established in the year 1777, as it is always of interest to the citizens to laiow the time and circumstances attending the opening of our public roads. The State authorities in the month of October, 1777, made a requisition upon the authorities of Washington county for thirty- three men for the continental service, which requisition was promptly complied with. During the summer of this year, all the western settlements were visited, by numbers of Tories from the eastern portion of the State and from the disaffected portions of North Carolina, and were greatly troubled by their presence in this, that they usually joined themselves in bands and traveled about through the settlements, stealing horses and robbing the Whig sympathizers ; and O'ftentimes, in accomplishing their purposes, committed the (>ffence_of murder, and, from all appearances, in the fall of this ^ear it looked as if they would be able to give the settlers a great deal of trouble, unless in some manner restrained. The people living on Holston undertook to restrain these Tory sympathizers by a resort to the courts and by inflicting the punish- ment prescribed by law, and, in so doing, Isaac Lebo, Jeremiah Slaughter and William Houston were indicted, tried and convicted for conduct and conversation evidencing a disposition inimical to Washington County, 1777-1870. 273 the cause of America. Their goods were confis^ted_and they were fined and imprisoned. The British government had spies scattered throughout the country, carrying messages between its officials ^nd the Indians living to the south and west of the Holston settlements, and the situation was fast becoming exceedingly precarious. One of these spies was captured and punished by ColonerWilliam Campbell and some of his friends, in this yeiir, when Colonel Campbell was return- ing to his liome from preaching, in company with his wife and two or three gentlemen. The circumstances were as follows: "When Colonel Campbell had gotten within a few miles of home, he dis- covered a man walking, with a little bundle on a stick thrown over his shoulder. Wlien the man got within some hundred and fifty yards of Campbell, he turned obliquely off from the road. As soon as Campbell discovered this, he turned from the road in a direction to intercept him. When the man discovered that he was about to be intercepted by Campliell and his companions, he broke and ran with all his might towards the river. The pursuers galloped after liim and as there was no ford there they jumped off of their horses and ran across the river and overtook their game in an ivy cleft. Tliey carried him back to the road. When they got back several other men fell in company with them. The spy, as I will now call the m.an, was dressed very shabbily. Colonel Campbell asked him why he turned from the road. The spy appeared very silly and offered some flimsy excuse. Campbell propounded a great many other questions to him. The fellow pretended to have very little sense and said that he was a very poor man and was going tO' the back settlements where there was plenty of land. From the many questions Campbell proposed^ to the spy he became per- fectly satisfied that he was a man of fine sense and under the dis- guise of a fool. Campbell informed him that he believed him to be a man engaged in some vile service and he must be searched, to which the spy had no objection. His bundle was searched, in which was found nothing but some old clothes. Campbell informed him he must pull off all the clothes he had on and put on the suit he had in his bundle. In his pocket they found a pass and some other old papers, all badly written. Every part of his clothing was examined very minutely, but nothing could be found. Campbell remarked to the spy that he had a very good pair of shoes on and 374 SouihwesL Virginia, 17J^6-178G. he believed he would examine them. He took out his pocket knife and ripped off the bottom soles of the shoes, and under each of them he found a letter written by the British commander, addressed to V ' the King of the Cherokee Indians. The letters were written on very fine paper and were enveloped in bladder so as to render them water-proof. The Indians were informed that the whites had rebelled against their king, that a large army had been sent against them, which would in a short time subdue them. The Indians were exhorted to send their warriors in every direction and harass the whites as much as possible. They were reminded of the injuries they had received from the whites and were told that as soon as the rebels were subdued, they would be amply remunerated for all the land that had been taken from them and for whatever other losses they had sustained from them. The letter wound up by recom- mending the bearer to the king as a man of sense and honesty and as one in whose counsels they should place implicit confidence. After the letters were read, a council was held and it was unanimously agreed that the spy should be hanged. Colonel Campbell informed the spy that he had but a short time to live and he had as well make a full and candid confession of everything connected with his trip. The spy said that he had been promised by the British commander a large sum of money to carry these letters to the Indians and to incite them to do all the mischief they could possibly accomplish. Soon after this confession the spy was taken by Campbell and his companions and swung to a limb."* At the August term of the County Court of 1777, th^ situation had become so alarming that the court thought proper to require all the citizens of the county to take the oath of allegiance to the Com- monwealth and directed tliat George Blackb urn tender the oath of allegiance to all free male inliabitants living in the bounds of Captain James Shelby's, Eobert Craig's and Andrew Colvill's com- panies. James Montgomery to tender the oath to those living in liis own and Captain John Shelby's companies. Arthur Campbell to tender the oath of allegiance to all in Cap- tain Edmiston's and Captain Dysart's companies. William Campbell to tender the oath of allegiance to those living in Captain Aaron Lewis's company. . *Capt. John Redd's MSS. Washington County, 1777-1870. 275 John Snoddy, to those in his own and Captain Adam's compan3^ John Camphell, to those in his own and Captain John Camp- bell's companies at Eoyal Oak. John Kinkead in his own and Captain Dunkin's company. Daniel Smith, to those living from the npper part of Captain Dunkin's company to the county line, and to John Coulter was assigiied the duty of tendering the oath of allegiance to all free male inhabitants in the bounds of Captain Gilbert Christian's company and Captain James Eobertson's company at Watauga. The members of the County Court of Washington county were zealous Whigs and were so aggressive in the enforcement of their views, that it was with difficulty that a Tory could make his home anywhere within the bounds of this county without being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. A majority of these men did not recognize any distinction between an Indian who would scalp his wife and children and a man with a white skin who would lend his influence to a government that would offer every inducement to the Indian to murder and plunder the wliite settlers. Colonel William Campbell was particularly aggressive in his pro- secution of the Tories tO' be found within the county, and, by reason thereof, was the object of special hatred on their part. At this time there lived in Washington county two men by the names of Frands Hopkins and William Hopkins. Francis Hop- kins was a counterfeiter and, at the May term of the County Conrt in the year 1778, he was tried by the court on suspicion of his hav- ing counterfeited, erased and altered sundry treasury notes ; the currency of this Commonwealth, knowing the same to be bad. He was foimd guilty, fined fifty dollars lawful money of Virginia, sen- tenced to six months in prison, and was ordered to be confined within the walls of the Fort at William Cocke's (now C. L. Clyce's), on Eenfro's creek, alias Spring creek, until the county gaol was completed. He was conveyed to Cocke's Fort, but, within a short time thereafter, made his escape and began a series of very bold and daring depredations upon the Whig settlers of the county. He organized a band of Tories, whose occupation was to steal the horses of the settlers and intimidate the citizens whenever possible. He went so far as to. post notices at and near the home of Colonel Wil- liam Campbell, warning him that if he did not desist from his pro- 276 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. secution of the loyal adherents of George III, a terrible calamity would befall him, either in the loss of his property or his life. "On a quiet and beautiful Sabbath in the spring time of the year 1780, General Campbell accompanied by Ms wife (who was ^ a sister of Patrick Henry), and several of their neighbors, attended a religious service at a Presbyterian house of worship known as Ebbing Spring Church in the upper end of this county. As they were returning to their homes they happened to be conversing about the audacity of the Tory who had been so bold and defiant in his declarations and was suspected of having posted these notices above referred to. Just as they arrived at the top of a hill, a short dis- tance west of the present residence of Colonel Hiram A. Greever, they observed a man on horseback on the opposite hill, coming towards them. General Campbell was riding beside his wife, with an infant on before him. One of them remarked that the individual meeting them was the Tory of whom they had been speaking, prob- ably now on a horse-stealing expedition, as he was observed to be carrying a rope halter in his hand. Hearing this, Colonel Campbell, without halting, handed the infant over to its mother and dashed O'ut in front. Seeing the movement and recognizing the man whom he so much feared and hated, the Tory wheeled his horse and started back at quite a rapid gait, pursued at full speed by Colonel Camp- bell and one of the gentlemen of the compan}'-, whose name was Thompson. Never, it may be presumed, either before or since, has such a dashing and exciting race been witnessed upon that long level between the residences of Colonels Greever and Beattie. As they reached the branch at the base of the hill a little west of Colonel Beattie's, Colonel Campbell dashed up alongside the fleeing Tory, who, seeing that he would be caught, turned short to the right down the bank and plunged into the river. As he struck the water. Colonel Campbell, who had left his companion in the rear, leaped in beside him, grasped the Tory's holsters and threw them into the stream, and then dragged him from his horse into the water. At this moment Mr. Thompson rode up. They took their prisoner out on the bank and held what may be termed a drum-head court. The Tory, who, bad as he was, had the virtue of being a brave, can- did man, at once acknowledged the truth of the charge preferred against him and boldly declared his defiance and determination to take horses wherever he could find them. But he was mistaken in his man, for in less tlian ten minutes he was dangling from the Washington County, 1777-1870. 277 limb of a large sycamore that stood upon the bank of the river, the stump of which was to be seen a few years ago, and may be there yet for aught the writer knows.* After the sudden taking off of Fran^i^ Hopkins, as above detailed, William Hopkins continued his depredations upon the Whig settlers and resorted to arms, for which offence he also was arrested in the year 1779 and committed to the gaol of this county for trial, but escaped therefrom, whereupon, the court entered the following order on the 16th day of June, 1779 : "Washington county ss. On motion of Ephraim Dunlop, Deputy Attorney for the Commonwealth, that the estate of William Hop- kins, who had been taken and committed to the gaol of this county for treasonable practices against the United States of America, in taking up arms under the British Standard and who had broken the gaol and escaped, be sold and the money deposited in the treasury, it appearing to the court that the said Hopkins has no family, and that he has no stated place of abode, ^'Ordered that the sheriff seize and sell all the estate of the said Hopkins which shall be found in his bailiwick and that he keep the money accruing from such sale in his hands until the General Assembly shall determine how the said money is to be expended." Ordered that the clerk of the court transmit this order to the Speaker of the House of Delegates at the next session of the Assembly. The good citizens of the county organized themselves into bands called "Eegulators," and patroled the county and meted out pun- ishment to the offenders according to the enormity of their conduct. The citizens, following the example of their leaders, adopted, in dealing with Tory sympathizers, measures of such a character that this county was comparatively free from Tory influences during the entire war, and numbered among her citizens only such persons as were willing and ready to offer their lives and property as a sacri- fice on the altar of their country. And so strong and healthy was the Whig settlement in this county, in the 5^ears 1778-1779, that numbers of our citizens were called upon to assist in suppressing an uprising of the Tory sympathizers in the county of Montgomery. The mode of procedure adopted by our Eevolutionary fathers, in dealing with tliis matter, may not meet with the approval of some ?Charles B. Coale.^ 278 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. at this day, but it is evident to the student of our history, that the methods used were the most effective in dealing with the unprin- cipled men who had chosen, with the assistance of the Indians, tO' commit all manner of depredations and outrages upon the frontier settlements. In the county of Montgomery, persuasion and good treatment were used on this character of citizens and resulted in what might be termed an insurrection, a deplorable state of affairs that could not be remedied without the assistance of the patriots of Washing- ton county and the application of their methods in the premises. In Washington county stern justice was meted out speedily and effectively, to all violators of the law, Avhich policy was approved by the body politic and had the desired effect. In the month of July, 1777, the Government of Virginia decided to appoint a superintendent or Indian Agent for the Cherokee Indians, which position was conferred upon Captain Joseph Mar- tin, and the agency was located at the Long Island in Holston river. Captain Martin, upon his appointment as Indian Agent, proceeded to build a large store house on the island, for the purpose of depositing such goods as the government might send out for the Indians and for the accommodation of the Indians when at Long Island on business with the Indian Agent. Daniel Boone, in March, 1775, undertook to mark out for a num- ber of North Carolina gentlemen a road from Watauga, Tennessee, through the wilderness to Kentucky, which he did. The road marked out by Boone, at this time, was from the Watauga settle- ment near Elizabethton (Tennessee), to the Cumberland Gap, and, from the Gap, it followed the Indian trace known as "the War- rior's Path," about fifty miles, where it left the "Warrior's Path," bearing to the west to the "Hazel Patch" and to Pock Castle river. From Eock Castle river the road passed through the present county of Madison (Kentucky) and on to the Kentucky river, at the moutli of Otter creek. About one mile below the moutli of this creek, Boone established headquarters and erected a fort, and called it Boonesborough. Boone was followed by a large company in charge of Eichard Henderson, who claimed to own all the lands between the Ohio and the Cumberland rivers, l)y purchase from the Chero- kee Indians, to which country he had given the name of Transyl- vania. Benjamin Logan with a company of men from the Wolf Hills, Washington County, 1777-1870. 279 (now Abingdon), joined Colonel Henderson in Powell's Valley, and the two companies traveled together as far as Eockcastle river in Kentucky, where Logan, not approving of Colonel Henderson's pre- tensions or plans, left Henderson and traveled westwardly in the direction of the Crab Orchard, and when he had reached the level land he halted and built a fort which he called "Logan's Port." In this year, a large number of emigrants began to travel into Kentucky, seeking homes, and, by the month of July, a considerable body of people had gathered at Boone's Port and Logan's Port. On the 4th day of July, 1777, one hundred Indians appeared before Logan's Port and laid siege to it, which siege continued until the month of September. When the siege had lasted foT some time. Captain Benjamin Logan, with a number of friends, slipped out of the fort by night and began an exceedingly hard and dangerous trip to the settlements on Holston, to procure supplies for the foTt and reinforcements against the Indians. They traveled by night and lay by during the day ; but, finally reaching the Holston at Wolf Hills, they secured powder and the assistance of forty rifle- men, and returned to the fort within ten days. The riflemen from the Holston settlenuents were under the command of Colonel John Bowman. Many of the men who went to the rescue of their relatives and fellow-citizens in Kentucky at this time subsequently made their homes in Kentucky, and Ben- jamin Logan became a great man in the new State. The road thus marked by Daniel Boone and Benjamin Logan continued to be the passageway of many hundreds of settlers and emigrants on their way to Kentucky until the year 1781, although it was nothing more than a mere path or trace. By the 3^ear 1779 great numbers of people were emigrating to and settling to the westward of the Cumberland mountains. In this year the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act for mark- ing and opening a road over the Cumberland mountains into the county of Kentucky. The act in question appointed Evan Shelby and Eichard Calloway commissioners to explore the country adja- cent to and on both sides of the Cumberland mountains, and to trace and mark the most convenient road from the settlements on the east side of the mountains over the same into the open coun- try into the county of Kentucky, and to cause such road, with all convenient dispatch to be opened and cleared in such manner as 380 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. to give par^sage to travelers with pack-horses for the present;, and to report to the next session of the Assembly the distance, the prac- ticability and the cost of completing and making the same a good wagon road. The act further j^rovided that should the said Evan Shelby or Eichard Calloway refuse or be unable to act, then the County Court of their residence should appoint his or their succes- sor. It provided also that a guard of not more than fifty men from the county most convenient should attend said commissioners while locating this road. Colonel Evan Shelby declined to act as commissioner, pursuant to the act of the Assembly above mentioned, and the County Court of Washington county, in which he lived, on June 20, 1780, en- tered the following order : "Ordered that Captain John Kinkead be appointed in the room of Colonel Evan Shelby, who has refused to act agreeably to the Act of Assembly for marking and opening a road over the Cum- berland mountains into the county of Kentucke." This appointment Captain Kinlcead accepted, and, along with Captain Calloway, effected the opening of a road through the Cumberland mountains to Kentucky, and on the first day of De- cember, 1781, a petition of John Kinkead was presented to the General Assembly of Virginia "setting forth that agreeably to ap- pointment of the County Court of Washington he, in conjunction with the other commissioner, proceeded to and effected the open- ing of a road through the Cumberland mountains to Kentucky, and praying to be paid for the service." The road thus located by Captains Kinkead and Calloway, be- came what was known as the "Wilderness Eoad," and for twenty years subsequent thereto was the principal highway traveled by an immense train of emigrants to the West. This road passed through Abingdon, and that the present generation may be able to locate this road, I give the stopping points, with the distances between, along the road from Inglis' Ferry at New river to Cum- berland Gap : Washington County, 1777-1870. ^ 281 Miles. Miles. *From Hand's Meadow to To Moccasin Gap 5 Inglis' Ferry at New Eiver 12 To Clinch Eiver 11 To Fort Chiswell 30 To Ford Stock Creek 2 To Atkins' Ordinary 19 To Little Flat Lick 5 To Mid. Fork Holston. . . — To North Fork Clinch 1 To Cross White's, Mont- To Powell's Mountain 1 gomery 3 To Wallen's Eidge 5 To Col. Arthur Campbell's 3 To Valley Station 5 To 7-mile Ford of Holston 6 To Powell's Eiver 2 To Major Dysart's Mill.. 12 To Glade Spring 4 To Washington Courthouse 10 To Martin's Station 19 To Head Eeedy Creek, Sul- To Big Spring 12 livan county, N. C 20 To Cumberland Mountain To Block House 13 Gap 8 To North Fork of Holston 2 Thomas Speed traveled this same route in the year 1790, and gives the names of the stopping points with the distances between : Miles. IngHs' Ferry 20 To Carter's 13 To Fort Chiswell 12 To the Stone Mill 11 To Adkins' 16 To Eussell Place 16 To Greenway's 14 To Washington Co. House 6 To the Block House 35 Miles. To Farriss's 5 To Clinch Eiver 12 To Scott's Station 12 To Cox's at Powell's Eiver 10 To Martin's Station 2 To To Cumberland Mountain 3 To Cumberland Eiver. ... 15 At this time five ferries were maintained across New river in Southwest Virginia by land owners, toi-wit: William Inglis, Samuel Pepper, Cornelius Brown, Thomas Herbert and Austin & Co., for the accommodation of travelers and emigrants, and the General Assembly fixed the toll at four cents for each man and four cents for each horse ferried. Cliief-Justice Eobertson, of Kentucky, in speaking of the land law enacted for Kentucky by the General Assembly of Virginia *Win. Brovra's MSS. Washington County, 1777-1870. 283 in the year 1779, and of the emigration which took place in that year, used the following language : "This heneficent enactment hrought to the country during the fall and winter of that year an unexampled tide of emigrants, who, exchanging all the comforts of their native society and homes for settlements for themselves and children liere, came, like pilgrims, to a wilderness to be made secure by their arms and habitable by the toil of their lives. Through privations incredible and ^perils thick, thousands of men, women and children came in successive caravans, forming continuous streams of human beings, horses, cattle and other domestic animals, all moving onward along a lonely and houseless path to a wild and cheerless land. Cast your eyes back on that long procession of missionaries in the cause of civilization ; behold the men on foot with their trusty guns on their shol^lde^s, driving stock and leading pack-horses; and the women, some walking with pails on their heads, others riding with chil- dren in their laps, and other children hung in baskets on horses, fastened to the tails of others going before; see them encamped at night expecting to be massacred by Indians ; behold them in tlie month of December, in that ever memorable season of unpre- cedented cold called the "hard winter," traveling two or three miles a day, frequently in danger of being frozen or killed by the falling of horses on the icy and almost impassable trace, and sub- sisting on stinted allowances of stale bread and meat ; but now, lastly, look at them at the destined fort, perhaps on the eve of Merry Christmas, when met by the hearty welcome of friends who had come before, and, cheered by the fresh Iniffalo meat and parched corn, they rejoice at their deliverance and resolve to be contented with their lot." It was by this route and in this manner that many of our citi- zens traveled to their new homes in Kentucky and throughout the West, and it was for the protection of travelers on this route that the county officials of Washington county, Virginia, expended a great deal of effort and money, the Indians, for many years sub- sequent to 1775, waylaying this route, murdering the emigrants and stealing their horses and plunder. The ministers of the Gospel, being Presbyterian in belief, kept step with the advance of the settlers upon the frontiers. The set- tlements had scarcely reached the vicinity of Jonesboro, Tennes- 284 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. see, when Rev. Samuel Doak, a Presbyterian minister, who had been educated at Princeton, with great energy and with a deter- mination to make his home on the frontiers, appeared upon the scene, after having walked through Maryland and Virginia, driv- ing before him a horse loaded with books. He was greatly appre- ciated by the people among whom he had cast his lot, and he, in turn, exercised a "wonderful influence upon tlie early settlers of East Tennessee. In this year, 1777, through the influence of this preacher, a Presbyterian log church was erected near Jonesboro, Tennessee, to which was given the name of "Salem Church." Near this church soon thereafter he erected a school-house which afterwards became Washington College, this church and school being the first erected in the State of Tennessee. On the 26th day of November, 1777, the county court of this county proceeded to make a statement of the county levy for the year 1777, which statement was as follows: "To Abraham Goodpasture, for building the prison, £450 To Samuel Evans, for building a house to hold court in. To John Coulter for laying off the lots of the town. To Clerk for ex officio services, Tobacco, 1,000 lbs. To Clerk, for public services, Tobacco, 1,300 lbs. To a blank record book and alphabet, £5 To carriage for do. from Williamsburg, 7s. 6d. To Wm. Young, for old Wolf Head, To the Sheriff, for ex officio services. To Sheriff, for whole of his public services,. . . .Tobacco, 12,000 lbs. To building of pillory and stocks. By 890 tithables, at 8s., £356 To Hugh Berry, for making 1,760 nails for cO'Urthouse roof, £5 To G. Martin, for making irons for criminals. From an inspection of this county levy, it will be seen that our first county government was very frugal and economical. Many readers will not understand how it was that a part of the county Washington County, 1777-1870. 285 expenses was paid in tobacco. The explanation is that^ in those early days, money was exceedingly scarce, and the House of Bur- gesses of Virginia, as early as the year 1772, enacted a law per- mitting the inhabitants of this section of Virginia to discharge all secretaries', clerks' and other officers' fees in tobacco at the rate of eight shillings and four pence for every hundredweight of gross tobacco. And this law remained in force for a decade thereafter. The Governor of Virginia, on the 23d day of July, 1777, issued a new commission of the peace and dedimus for this county, directed to \ Arthur Campbell, Evan Shelby, ^ William Campbell, Daniel Smith, \7illiam Edmiston, John Campbell, Joseph Martin, Alexander BuchaDan, James Dysart, Jolm Kinkead, John Anderson, James Montgomery, John Coulter, John Snoddy, George Blackburn, Thomas Mastin, Isaac Shelby, Robert Craig, John Dunkin, John Adair, Gilbert Christian, Thomas Caldwell, and, on the 25th day of November, 1777, this commission was "produced and read, and, thereupon, pursuant to the said dedimus, the said Arthur Campbell took the oath of a justice of the peace and a justice of the County Court in chancery, all of which oaths were administered to him by John Kinkead. Thereupon, the said Arthur Campbell administered the same oaths to: John Kinkead, James Montgomery, John Coidter, Robert Craig, John Dunkin, and thus was constituted the second County Court for Washington county. In the fall of this year. General George Rogers Clark traveled from Kentucky over the "Wilderness Road," on his way to Rich- mond, in company with a young lawyer by the name of John Gabriel Jones, and reached Mump's Fort in Powell's Valley about ten days subsequent to the killing, by the Indians, of a settler by the 286 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. name of Parks. In traveling through tJiis portion of Virginia, he usually stopped at the nearest house when dark overtook him, for which he usually paid, at the small cabins, a shilling and six- pence for breakfast, bed and feed for horse. On his way he became acquainted with Captain William Campbell, whom he found a very agreeable companion. The object of this journey to Richmond on the part of General Clark was to secure the approval of the Governor of a plan that he then conceived to be feasible and that would be of gi-eat value to the American Colonies. He sought the consent and assistance of the Governor in equipping and carrying on an expedition against the British posts at Vincennes and Kaskaskia in the Illinois county ; and there can be but little doubt that he discussed this question with Captain Campbell, at the time of his visit to Holston. He succeeded in obtaining the consent and authority of the Governor to enlist three hundred and fifty men from the counties west of the Alleghany mountains, to be used upon this expedition, of which number four companies were to be raised in the Holston and Clinch settlements, and Major W. B. Smith was dispatched, in the year 1778, to recruit men for that service in this section. There seems to be a conflict among historians as to the number of men raised in this section by Major Smith for this service, one giving the number as amounting to four companies; another, as^ one company. The men recruited for this service were not informed of the pur- pose for wliich they were intended, until they had reached the falls of the Ohio (now Louisville). The company of recruits from the Holston settlements did not suppose, when they entered the service, that they were to be taken upon such a long and dangerous expedition, and when they were informed of the purpose for which they were to be used, they objected to proceeding any further and left the camp of General Clark and returned to their homes. This is the one disagreeable circumstance connected with the history of our people. These men were recruited from a country where the people were brave and adventurous, and it is hard to account for their conduct upon this occasion. We are sorry to state that, by their conduct, they deprived this portion of Virginia of the honor of sharing in the wonderful expedition and conquests of General Clark. Washington County, 1777-1870. 387 While the company, as a whole, refused to go upon this expedi- tion, a few of the men joined other companies and took part in the expedition; and their names, so far as I have been able to gather them, are as follows : Low Brown, John Lasly, Solomon Stratton, Xealy McGuire, William Peery. Supplies for this expedition were purchased upon the Holston, as is evidenced by an order of the court entered on the 17th day of Maj'ch, 1779, which order is as follows: ?'Whereas twenty-six forty dollar bills were found in the pos- session of Captain Thomas Quirk, and, on the examination of the court of Washington county, were supposed to be counterfeit, the said Captain Quirk delivered the said bills to the sheriff in the presence of the court, and it appears by the oath of the said Thomas Quirk and Andrew Colvill that the said Thomas Quirk receiver] these bills of James Buchanan, commissary for the Illi- nois service, tO' purchase bacon. Whereupon', it is ordered that the sheriff take or send the said bills to the Board of Auditors for further proceedings, according to law. A list of the bills is given, which bills are signed by D. Summers and G. Brown and dated April 11, 1778." At the election held for Washington county in the spring of the 3'ear 1778, Arthur Campbell and Anthony Bledsoe were elected members of the House of Delegates, and William Fleming, of Botetourt, a member of the Senate, in the General Assembly of Virginia. In the spring of this year. Captain James Dysart and Lieutenant Samuel Newell were placed in command of two companies of mili- tia to range, during the summer, along the frontiers in Powell's and Clinch A^alleys, as a protection against the Indians. Early in the month of May, before the departure of these ranging parties, a man by the name of Whitesides, a large, active man, left his home near Elk Garden Fort for Glade Hollow Fort, where he had a horse running on the range. While hunting for his horse about two miles from Glade Hollow Fort, he was captured by nine Indians, who pinioned his arms back, loaded him with their extra phmder and some meat cut from the carcass of a dead horse, and 288 Southwest Virginia, nJ^6-1786. in this marmer skulked about for several days, watching for an opportunity to attack Glade Hollow Fort, which was in a wretched state of defence, seven men only being in the fort.* These men were engaged daily in bringing salt-petre dust from a cave at some distance from the fort, to make salt-petre, upon the discovery of which, the Indians resolved to take the fort the next time the men went out. They tied Whitesides' feet and left an Indian to guard him, while the others sought a more convenient place to attack the fort when occasion offered. In the meantime the Indian who had charge of Whitesides, thinking they were too much exposed to view, untied his feet and made him creep further into the brush and, laying down his gun, sat down before Whitesides to tie his feet again. At that moment, Whitesides seized the gun, and, although his arms were pinioned, gave the Indian such a blow over the head as broke the gun to pieces and felled the Indian to the ground and, perhaps, killed him. Whitesides then sprang to his feet and gave the alarm to the men near the fort, who ran back to the fort with all speed, but Whitesides ran past the fort towards the Elk Garden fort, carrying all the Indian's plunder on his back. The eight Indians who were waylaying the fort, hearing the alarm, ran back, and finding their companion, perhaps lifeless, pur- sued Whitesides; and while doing so, met about forty men in plain view of the fort, on their way to act as rangers; on whom the Indians fired and killed two. The rest fled ingloriously, each one in his way, spreading the alarm that the fort was taken. Upon receipt of this news at Black's Fort, Captain Samuel Newell, with eighteen men set off for Glade Hollow Fort. They ran about twelve miles that evening and waded the North Fork of Holston just before night, but were forced to stop when night set in, as they had no trace they could follow in the night, and, in many places the weeds and grass were waist high. They arrived in view of the fort next morning between eight and nine o'clock, and upon reconnoitering, found the fort had not been taken. When the occupants of the fort saw them, they ran out to meet them. The next day, Captain James Dysart, with eighteen men, arrived at the fort. *Beiijainin Sharp Letter, American Pioneer. Workington County, 1777-1870. 389 During the same year, in the lower end of this county, a young man by the name of Fulkerson was killed when driving up his horses from the range, and Thomas Sharp was fired at and badly wounded, but, being on horseback, he made his escape and recovered from his wounds. Jacob Fulkerson and a young man by the name of Callahan were both killed this year, while hunting their cattle in the range. On the 23d day of April, 1778, the court entered the following order : "Ordered that Colonel William Campbell be appointed to dis- tribute the county salt to the most necessitous of the frontier inhabitants of Clinch and the lower settlements of Washington county below the mouth of the ISTorth Fork, such a quantity reserving as he shall judge sufScient for the militia on duty, also selling at such rate as will be suflficient to discharge the first cost and expenses." "Ordered that Isaac Lebo be permitted to go towards the Mora- vian Town for salt, and that he return within the term of three weeks." Isaac Lebo is one of the same men that had, previously to tliis time, been arrested, tried and convicted of treasonable practices against the Commonwealth, and this, no doubt, was an excuse offered by him for an opportunity to communicate with his Tory friends in the South. On the 21st day of May, 1778, Samuel Newell qualified as Deputy Sheriff for the county and gave and filed a bond for the due col- lection and accounting for the taxes of the county of Washington, and entered upon his duties as first tax collector for the county, under the law of Virginia. It was the duty of the County Court to recommend to the Governor the names of the three magistrates named first in the Commission of Peace, from which list the Gov- ernor commissioned a sheriff for the county, and on the 20th day of April, 1778, the court recommended Arthur Campbell, William Campbell and Daniel Smith as fit and proper persons to execute the office of sheriff for the county of Washington. From this list the Governor commissioned Arthur Campbell as sheriff of the county, and he qualified as such on the 16th day of February, 1779, with Evan Shelby, Andrew Willoughby and Andrew Kincannon as his securities. During this and the succeeding year, the follow- 290 Southivest Virginia, 1746-1786. ing gentlemen qualified as deputy sheriffs of the count}'; Samuel Newell, Christopher Acklin and Alexander Donaldson. At the March court 1779, Harry Innes and Eowland Madison qualified to practice law in the courts of the county. Harry Innes afterwards moved to the county of Kentucky, where he became distinguished in the annals of that State. At the same term of the court, Daniel Smith, Robert Craig and John Campbell were appointed commissioners of the tax, the land owners having failed to attend and elect commissioners. At this term of the court, David Campbell resigned his position as Clerk of the Court, and John Campbell was appointed to succeed him, which position he occupied until the year 1824, during which time he faithfully discharged his duties and retained the respect and confidence of the people of this county. David Campbell, who resigned his position as Clerk of the Court on the 15th day of August, 1780, obtained a commis- sion from His Excellency, Thomas Jefferson, appointing him attor- ney-at-law, and qualified as such in the court of this county, but, soon thereafter, he removed to Campbell's Station, Tennessee, in Avhich State he won distinction in his profession and became the first Chief Justice of that State. From the orders of the court at this term, it appears that Samuel Evans had not completed the courthouse, pursuant to contract, and Joseph Black was directed to agree with Evans as to the amount he should receive for the work that he had done upon the court- house; and the sheriff was directed to agree with some person to finish the courthouse. At the April term ol this court, a statement of the county levy was made for the year 1779, which is as follows: "Ephraim Dunlop, for services as State's Attorney for the year 1777 and for the year 1778, £200.00 Abraham Goodpasture, for building prison, 500.00 Samuel Evans, for building courthouse, 100.00 Abraham Goodpasture, finishing courthouse, 100.00 Arthur Campbell, for three blank books for the Clerk,. . 15.00 To do. for the body of the law for use of the Court, 5. ' To do. for cash paid Hugh Berry, nails courthouse, 5. To do. for 60 lbs. iron furnished for nails courthouse, .... 5. To window glass for courthouse, 12 lights @ 9s., . 5.8 To do. for ex officio services for 1777-1778, 15.0 Washington County, 1777-1870. 291 Allowed for pillory and stocks, 75.0 By 1464 tithables @ 15s. per titliable, 1,098.9 At this same court the following order was entered : "Ordered that the main road be cut according to report of Joseph Black, Andrew Colvill and James Piper, viewers from the courthouse to the Twenty-llile creek, and that Andrew Colvill be surveyor from the courthouse to the west side of Spring creek, and that the tithables formerly ordered work upon the same." The Pillory — Used in this Section in the Earl_y Days. The road was opened pursuant to this order, the location of which was about the same as tliat of the present road from Abing- don to Papersville, Tennessee. At the May term of court, 1779, tlu^ Attorney for the Common- wealth filed an information against John Yancy, a citizen and hotel keeper, living ia the town of Abingdon, charging him with the offence of enclosing his sheep in the courthouse, upon which inform- ation divers witnesses were sworn and examined, and the defendant heard in his defence, whereu})on, the court fined the defendant twenty shillings and the costs. At the same court, the prison erected by Abraham Goodpasture was, by order of the court, used, but not received. On the same day the court entered the following order : "Ordered that David Carson and Joseph. Black lay off the prison 293 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. bounds, exceeding five acres and not more than ten, and take in the water, and David Carson was paid six pounds for his services." On the 19th day of August the court entered the following order : "Ordered that Arthur Campbell, Anthony Bledsoe, Daniel Smith, Joseph Black and John Blackamore be appointed examiners of the bills of credit of this State and the other United States, agreeably to the act of the Assembly entitled "An Act for more effectually guarding against counterfeiting of the Bills of Credit, Treasury Notes and Loan OflSce certificates." In the early summer of this year, the Tories living near the head of the Yadkin river, North Carolina, and on New river and Walk- er's creek in Montgomery county, Virginia, began to form into a body, with the intention of destroying the Lead Mines on New river, robbing the well affected citizens of that county, and then forcing their way to the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis, who was at that time in the Carolinas. There was every prospect that an insurrection would take place, and, notwithstanding the untiring efforts of Colonel William Preston, the county-lieutenant of that county, he was unable to quiet the disaffected, or to protect the well- disposed citizens. As a last resort Colonel Preston called upon the officials of Washington county for assistance, when Captain William Campbell, with about one hundred and fifty militia from this county, all well mounted, turned out and proceeded to suppress this, a new kind of enemy to the people of Washington county. The name of Captain Campbell was such as to strike consternation into the ranlc of the Tories, who dispersed upon his approach and offered no open resistance. The militia from this county were then dispatched in small detachments and had active business for several weeks pursuing, taking and imprisoning Tories. The militia sub- sisted themselves and their horses upon the grain and stock of the Tories, and compelled all Tory sympathizers who were old and unfit for service to give security for their good behavior, or to go to jail. The young, effective men were pardoned on condition of their serving as faithful soldiers in the armies of the United States during the war, as an atonement for their crime. Colonel Camp- bell and his men saw hard and active duty during this time, but lost no lives nor had any of their men wounded. Captain Campbell and his militia from this county were ably seconded in their efforts to suppress the Tory sentiment then exist- Washington County, 1777-1870. 393 ing in Montgomery, by Colonel Walter Crockett, Captain Charles Lynch, Captain Robert Sayers and Captain Isaac Campbell. Cap- tains Sayers and Campbell each commanded a company of men numbering twenty-eight and thirty-five respectively, at this time, and were not satisfied with a suppression of the Tories in Mont- gomery county, but thereafter proceeded to perform the same service in parts of Surrey and Wilkes counties. North Carolina. Captain Campbell and his men, in dealing with the Tories of Montgomery county, applied the same methods used so effectively in Washington county, of which we give one instance, that the reader may understand the methods used. "There is a beautiful little valley known by the name of "Black Lick," nestling among the mountains of Wythe county, which, being remote from highways and environed by uninhabited forests, afforded shelter for a number of Tories, who made frequent forays upon the neighboring settlements and then concealed themselves in this remote and quiet retreat. Their hiding place becoming dis- covered, General Campbell's men surrounded it, captured about a dozen and hung them upon two white oaks which; spared by the woodman's ax for the righteous oflfice they had performed, were still standing a few years ago, and were long loiown by the name of the "Tory Trees."* At the time in question. Captain Charles Lynch, of Bedford county, was manager for the Commonwealth at the Lead Mines on New river, and, as a result of the visit of Captain Campbell to Montgomery county in this year, he thereafter adopted Campbell's method of dealing with Tories and wrong-doers; and, ever after, during the war, when any of the inhabitants were suspected of wrong doing or treasonable conduct, they were dealt with accord- ing to what was termed "Captain Lynch's Law," and from this man and this occasion originated the term "Lynch Law," as it is prac- tised throughout the nation, under peculiar circumstances, at this day. Upon the return of Captain Campbell and his men from Mont- gomery county, considerable complaint was made by the Tory inhab- itants of that section of Virginia, and efforts were made to prose- cute Cam.pbell and his associates, but the Legislature of Virginia, recognizing the valuable services of these patriots, in October of *Chas. B. Coale. 294 Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. that year passed an Act exempting them from all pains and pen- alties by reason of their acts, which Act of the Assembly is as follows : "Whereas divers evil-disposed persons on the frontiers of this Commonwealth had broken out into an open insurrection and con- spiracy and actually levied war against the Commonwealth, and it is represented to the present General Assembly that William Camp- bell, Walter Crockett and other liege subjects of the Common- wealth, aided by detachments of the militia and volunteers from the county of Washington and other parties of the frontiers did by their timely -and effectual exertion suppress and defeat such conspiracy ; and whereas the necessary measures taken for that purpose may not be strictly warranted by law, although justifiable from the imme- diate urgency and imminences of the danger; be it therefore declared and enacted, That the said William Campbell, Walter Crockett and all other persons whatsoever concerned in suppressing the said conspiracy and insurrection, or in advising, issuing or executing any orders or measures taken for that purpose stand indemnified and clearly exonerated of and from all pains, penalties, prosecutions, actions, suits and damages on account thereof; and that if any indictment, prosecution, action or suit shall be laid or brought against them, or any of them, for any act or thing done therein, the defendant or defendants may plead in bar, or the general issue, and give this act in evidence."* In the summer of this year, at the instigation of British agents. Dragging Canoe and his band of Indians, living at Chickamauga, were induced to undertake a campaign against the Virginia and Carolina frontiers. While making preparations for the campaign, James Eobertson, ^\\\o was then at Chote, received information of their intended invasion and immediately informed the leaders on the Ilolston. Upon the receipt of this information it was decided that the militia of the twO' governments should unite, and carry on an active expedition against tlicse Indians. Colonel Evan Shelby, of Sapling Grove (now Bristol), was selected to command the expedition. The forces from the two States assembled at the mouth of Big Creek on the Clinch river (near Rogersville, Ten- nessee), on April 10, 1779, Captain Isaac Shelby being in command of the forces from Washington county, Virginia. At this point the *10 Hening Statutes, page 195. Washington County, 1777-1870. 295 entire army, consisting of several liundred men, volunteers from the settlements, and a regiment of twelve-months' men, under the com- mand of Captain John Montgomery, intended as a reinforcement to General Clark in tlie Illinois, temporarily diverted from that object for use in this campaign, embarked in canoes and boats, and descended the Tennessee river to the home of the Chickamoggas. The Indians were completely taken by surprise and fled in all directions to the hills and mountains, not offering any resistance. Forty Indians, at least, were killed, and their towns were destroyed, their horses and cattle driven away, and their corn and provisions, as well as twenty thousand pounds in value of stores and goods, carried off. Thereupon, the troops destroyed their boats and canoes and returned to their homes on foot. Thus it was that one of the cherished hopes of the British ministry was foiled and the prospects of the Colonies exceedingly enhanced. Colonel Shelby, while making preparations to conduct this expe- dition against the Indians at Chickamogga, dispatched Jolui Do'Ug- lass to the settlements on Clinch river, pursuant to the orders of Colonel Russell, but Douglas was waylaid and killed by the Indians and his horse ridden off. When the expedition against the Chickamogga Indians was decided upon, Colonel Evan Shelby dispatched John Hutson to the Indian town with letters to Colonel Joseph Martin, advising him to remove from the Indian country to the Great Island, agreeably to the Governor's instructions, but, unfortimately, Hutson was drowned in the execution of that business, and his widow, Eleanor Hutson was allowed by the General Assembly at its fall session in the year 1779, the sum of twenty-four pounds for the present relief of herself and cliildren, and twelve pounds per annum during her widowhood. "In the summer of 1779, the Indians visited the home of Jesse Evans, who lived near the head waters of the Clinch river, and destroyed his family. On the morning of the day in question, Jesse Evans left his honse, with five or six hired men, for the purpose of executing some work at a distance from home. As they carried with them various farming implements, their guns were left at the house, where Mrs. Evans was engaged in weaving a piece of cloth. Her oldest daughter was filling quills for her wliile the four remain- 296 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. ing children were either at play in the garden or gathering vege- tables. The garden was about sixty yards from, the house, and, as no saw- mills were in existence at that day in this country, slab-boards were put up in a manner called "wattling" for palings. These were some six feet long and made what is called a close fence. Eight or ten Indians, who lay concealed in a thicket near the garden, silently left their hiding places and made their way, unobserved, to the back of the garden. There, removing a few boards, they bounded through and commenced the horrid work of killing and scalping the chil- dren. The first warning Mrs. Evans had was their screams and cries. She ran to the door and beheld the sickening scene, with such feelings as only a mother can experience. Mrs. Evans was a stout, athletic woman, and, being inured to the hardships of the times, with her to will was to do. She saw plainly that on her exertions alone could one spark of hope be entertained for the life of her "first born." An unnatural strength seemed to nerve her arm and she resolved to defend her surviving child to the last extremity. Eushing into the house she closed the door, which being too small, left a crevice, through which in a few moments an Indian extended his gun, aiming to pry open the door and finish the bloody work which had been so fearfully begun. Mrs. Evans had thrown herself against the door to prevent the entrance of the savages, but no sooner did she see the gun barrel than she seized it and drew it in so far as to make it an available lever in prying to the door. The Indians threw themselves against the door to force it open, but their efi'orts were unavailing. The heroic woman stood to her post, well knowing that her life depended upon her own exertions. The Indians now endeavored to wrest the gun from her; in this they likewise failed. Hitherto she had worked in silence, but as she saw no prospect of the Indians relinquishing their object, she began to call loudly for her husband, as if he were really near. It had the desired effect; they let go the gun and hastily left the house, while Mrs. Evans sat quietly down to await a second attack, but the Indians, who had perhaps seen Mr. Evans and his workmen leave the house, feared he might be near, and made off with all speed. While Mrs. Evans was thus sitting and brooding over the melan- choly death of her children, anxious to go to those in the garden, but Washington County, 1777-1870. 297 fearing to leave her surviving one in the house, exposed to a second attack, a man named Goldsby stepped up to the door. Never did manna fall to the hungered Jew more opportunely, yet no sooner did he hear her woful tale than he turned his back upon her and fled as if every tree and bush had been an Indian taking deadly aim at him. Such were his exertions to get to a place of greater safety that he brought on hemorrhage of the lungs, from which he with much difficulty recovered. Seeing herself thus left to the mercy of the savages, Mrs. Evans took up the gun she had taken from them and started with her remaining daughter to Major John Taylor^s, about two miles dis- tant, where, tired and frenzied with grief, she arrived in safety. She had not been gone a great while, when Mr. Evans returned and, not suspecting anything wrong, took down a book, and was engaged in its perusal for some time, till finally he became impatient and started to the garden, where he supposed Mrs. Evans was gathering vegetables. What must have been his feelings when he reached the garden to see four of his children murdered and scalped. Seeing nothing of his wife and eldest daughter, he supposed they had been taken prisoners; he therefore returned quickly to the house, seized his gun and started for Major Taylor's to get assistance and a com- pany to follow on and try, if possible, to overtake them. Frantic with grief he rushed into the house to tell his tale of woe, when he was caught in the arms of his brave wife. His joy at finding them was so great that he could scarcely contain himself; he wept, then laughed, then thanked God it was no worse. As is common in such cases in a new country, the neighbors flocked in to know the worst, and to offer such aid as lay in their power. They S5mipathized as only frontiersmen can sympathize, with the bereaved parents ; but the thought of having to bury four children the next morning was so shocking and so dreadful to reflect on, that but little peace was to be expected for them. Slowly the reluctant hours of night passed away, and a faint gleam of light became visible in the east- ern sky. The joyous warblers were gayly flitting from branch to branch and carrolling their sweetest lays, while the sun rose above the mountain summit, shooting his bright beams on the sparkling dewdrops which hung like so many diamonds from the green boughs of the mountain shrubbery, giving, altogether, an air of gorgeous beauty which seemed to deny the truth ol the evening's tale. The 298 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-17S6. light clouds swimming in the eastern atmosphere, brilliantly tinted with the rising sun, And the gentle murmur of the morning breeze, Singing nature's anthem to the forest trees, seemed to say sneh horrid work could not be done by beings wear- ing human form. But alas! while nature teaches naught but love, men teach themselves lessons which call forth her sternest frowns. A hasty breakfast was prepared and the men set otf to IMr. Evans's house tO' bury the murdered children. With a heart too full for ?utterance, the father led the way, as if afraid to look at those little forms for whose happiness he had toiled, and braved the dangers of a frontier life. But a day ago he had dandled them on his knees, and listened to their innocent prattle ; they were now monuments of Indian barbarity. Turning a hill the fatal garden was instantly ]iainted on the retina of the fond parent's eye, to be quickly (M-ased l)y the silent tears wdiich overflowed their fountain and came trickling down his weather beaten face. The party came up to the l)ack of th(> house at the front of which stood the milk-house, over a spring of clear water, when, lo ! they beheld coming up, as it were from the very depth of the grave, Mary, a little child only four years old, who had recovered from the stun- ning blow of the tomahawk and had been in (|uest of water at the familiar old spring around which, but a day before, she had sported in childish glee. The scalp that had been torn from the skull was hanging hideously over her ])ale face,which was much besmeared with blood. Rhe stretclied out her little arms to meet her father, who rushed to her with all the wild joy of one whose heart beats warm with parental emotions ! She had wandered about in the dark from the time she had recovered and, it may be, had more than once tried to wake her little sisters on whose heads the tomahawks had fallen with greater force. This poor, half-nnirdered little child lived, married and raised a largo family."* In the spring of the year 1779, at the election held for members of the General Assembly of Virginia, Isaac Shelby and David Campbell were elected and served the people of Washington county for this year. During this year General E. Clarke, of Georgia, was compelled to take refuge in the settlements on Watauga and Hol^ *Bickley's History of Tazewell. Washington County, 1777-1S70. 299 ton, and, while in the settlements, repeated to the hardy frontiers- men many of the dastardly deeds committed by the British forces in their invasion and subjugation of South Carolina and Georgia. As a result, many of the citizens of these settlements returned with him to his home in Georgia to assist in avenging the wrongs of their fellow countrymen and, in addition thereto, creating through- out Southwestern Virginia and the Holston settlements a lively interest in the affairs to the south of the settlements. The officials of Washington county, Virginia, from the first organ- ization of the county until this time, had, without question, exer- cised their authority as low down as Carter's Valley, upon the sup- position that all that portion of the country was in Virginia, but, on the 30th day of September in this year, an occurrence took place in Carter's Valley, lietween William Cocke, lately a represen- tative from Washington county in the I^egislature of Virginia, and Alexander Donaldson, a deputy for Arthur Campbell, that resulted in greatly curtailing the territory included within this county. The circumstances connected with this transaction are best stated by the order of the County Court of Washington county, Virginia, entered on the 20th of October, 1779, which is as follows: "The complaint of the sheriff against William Cocke for insulting and obstructing Alexander Donaldson, deputy sheriff, when col- lecting the public tax about the thirteenth day of September last, and being examined saith ; that, being at a point on the north side of Holston river in Carter's Valley, collecting the public tax, the said William Cocke, as he came to the door of the house in which said sheriff was doing business, said that there was the sheriff of Virginia collecting the tax, and asked him what right he had to collect taxes there, as it was in Carolina and never was in Virginia ; that he said the people were fools if they did pay him public dues, and that he dared him to serve any process whatever ; that he, said Cocke, undertook for the people, upon which sundry people refused to pay their tax and some, that had paid, wanted their money back again." "Ordered that the conduct of William Cocke respecting the obstructing, insulting and threatening the sheriff in the execution of his office be represented to the Executive of Virginia. "Ordered that if William Cocke be found in this county that he be taken into custody and caused to appear before the justices at the 300 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. next court to answer for his conduct for obstructing the sheriff in execution of his oflBce." As a result of this difficulty, the General Assembly of Virginia and North Carolina at their sessions, in the year 1779, appointed Dr. Thomas Walker and Daniel Smith, on the part of Virginia, and Richard Henderson and William B. Smith, on the part of North Carolina, commissioners, to run the line between the two States, beginning where Fry and Jefferson and Weldon and Churton ended their work, near Steep Eock creek, if found to be truly in latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes North, and to run thence due west to the Tennessee or the Ohio river. The commissioners ran the line with- out trouble for about forty miles, when they disagreed, the North Carolina commissioners claiming the true line to be about two miles north of the place at which the commissioners were then stationed. The Virginia commissioners proceeded to run the line to the Mis- sissippi river and made their report. Nothing further will be said upon this subject at this point, but it will be separately treated in another part of this book. Suffice it to say that the line, as ascer- tained by the Virginia commissioners, deprived Washington county of from one-third to one-half of the territory supposed to lie within Washington county; and the North Carolina Legislature, at their fall session in this year, established Sullivan county, North Caro- lina, afterwards Tennessee, and the government of that county was organized at the house of Moses Loony in the month of February, 1780. Isaac Shelby, one of Washington county's representatives in the Legislature of Virginia, qualified as county lieutenant and Ephraim Dunlop, Washington county's deputy attorney, was appointed State's attorney for the new county. The act of the General Assembly of North Carolina erecting the county of Sullivan recites that the then late extension of the north- ern boundary line of the State from Holston river, that lies directly west from a place well known by the name of Steep Eock, makes it evident that all the lands west of said place, lying on the west and northwest side of said river Holston have, by mistake of the settlers, been held and deemed to be in the State of Virginia; owing to which mistake they have not entered said lands in the proper offices. It recites also, that by a line lately run, it appears that a number of such settlers have fallen into the State of North Carolina, and it Washington County, 1777-1870. 301 makes provision for the security of their lands and improvements. These were the first lands taken from the county as originally formed. In the fall of this year Andrew Colvill^ a citizen of Wolf Hills, was commissioned as escheator for Washington county, and Evan Baker was appointed deputy commissary on the western side of the Blue Eidge, agreeably to the order of the Governor and Council. On the 22d day of March, 1780, the County Court of this county entered several important orders, among the number being one fixing the county levy for the year 1779, at twenty dollars for each tithable, and appointing John Campbell, David Carson and Alex- ander Montgomery commissioners of the tax for that year, and James Dysart, Eobert Craig and John Kinkead commissioners to collect that portion of the tax that was payable in commutable articles. Eobert Craig and Aaron Lewis were recommended to the Gov- ernor as fit and proper persons for coroners of Washington county and were commissioned as such, and Benjamin Estill, David Watson, Alexander Montgomery, Aaron Lewis, Thomas Montgomery, James Fulkerson, John Latham, David Ward, Joseph Black, Eobert Campbell, and Alexander Barnett, were recommended to the Governor as fit and proper persons to be added to tlie commission of the peace for Washington county, and were commissioned as such. These recommendations were made in view of the fact that quite a number of the members of the court of this county had been lost to the county when the State line was run and Sullivan county, North Carolina, was formed. By far the most important order entered by the court on this day was the following : "Ordered that it be recommended to the county lieutenant of this county not to call a general muster the ensuing month, on account of the apparent danger from the enemy and other dis- tressing circumstances of the county." The army of Cornwallis was fast approaching the southern bor- 302 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. (ler of North Carolina, and every friend of the British government was stimulated into life and became a source of uneasiness and trouble to the back settlements. At this time General Rutherford, of North Carolina, made a reqviisition ujjon Sullivan and Washing- ton counties in North Carolina for tJie aid of their militia in the defence of the State. Cornwallis was meeting with but little obstruction in his march and contemplated nothing less than the overrunning of North Carolina and the invasion of Virginia. It was this state of affairs that produced the alarm among the set- tlers in Washington county. At the April court, 1780, William Campbell was recommended by the court and commissioned by the Goivernor, as colonel of the county militia, in the place of Evan Shelby, who had become a citizen of the State of North Carolina. Daniel Smith was com- missioned lieutenant-colonel, and William Edmiston major. At the same time the following militia officers were recommended and commissioned : Captains of Militia: James Crabtree, William Edmiston, Jr., William Edmiston, Alexander Barnett, David Beatie, Jr., David Beatie, Charles Cocke, and previously to this time and during the years 1778 and 1779, the following captains of militia were commissioned : George Maxwell, William Neil, Thomas Caldwell, James Fulkerson, Lieutenants of Militia: Robert Edmiston, Jr., Humberson Lyon, William Bartlett, William Davison,' William Edmiston, Joshua Buckner, Joseph Scott, <i - and in the year 1778-1779, the following: William Blackburn, John Davis, Levi Bishop, Moses Loony, Hugh Crawford, James Leeper, Solomon Litton, Roger Topp, William Rosebrough, Samuel Newell, William Pitman, John Lowry, George Finley. Washington County, 1777-1870. 303 Ensigns of Militia: Kobert Campbell, John McFerrin, James Houston, Nathaniel Dryden, Andrew Goff, Daniel Davison, Hugh Campbell, William Blackmore, and in 1778-1779: John Sawyers, Thomas Sharp, Eees Bowen, George Teeter, Patrick Campbell, Samuel Vanhook, John Steele, William Crockett. I give the names of the officers of the county militia from the formation of the county to this time with considerable particularity, as we know that every officer at the Battle of King's Mountain, from Washington count}^, was made up from this list. And it is more than probable that all the officers whose names (with very few exceptions) have been given were present on that occasion. At the county court held on the last Tuesday in April of this year John Yancy and Christopher Acklin were licensed by the court to keep ordinaries in the town of Abingdon, being among the first ordinary keepers in the town of Abingdon. At the June term of this court there seemed to have been a little trouljle among the gentry, which is evidenced by the following orders entered by the court on that day : "Ordered that James Kerr be fined two hundred pounds for in- sulting Joseph Scott in open court. "Ordered that William Robinson be fined two hundred pounds for insulting Joseph Scott. "Ordered that Joseph Scott be fined two hundred pounds for flashing a pistol at James Kerr in the court yard. "Ordered that James Kerr be fined twenty pounds for insulting James Montgomery." At the same term of the court Rol^ert Irvin qualified as deputy for Arthur Campbell, sheriff of Washington county. The following order entered by the court on August 17th is given, because it designates the first settler at the head of Little Moccasin creek. "Ordered that John Snoddy, gent, give Alexander Barnett a list of tithables to work on the road from the mouth of Harrold's creek 304 Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. to Alexander Montgomery's old cabin, at the head of Little Mocca- sin/' During the summer of this year the militia of this county was kept on the move in consequence of the threatened invasion of the British forces from the South. In the months of August and Sep- tember one hundred and fifty men from Washington county saw- active service on New river, about the Lead Mines, and over the jnountains in North Carolina, under Colonel William Campbell, to prevent and suppress any attempted insurrection among the Tories in those quarters. The Cherokee Indians, in September of this year, began to give evidence of an unfriendly disposition, and every indication pointed to an Indian war, when the Governor of Virginia directed Colonel AYilliam Campbell to take command of an expedition against the Cherokee Indians, and it was left to his choice whether to take the troops do-wii the Tennessee by water or on horseback. If the men went on horseback they were to be paid for such pack horses as might be lost without fault of the owner. BATTLE OF KING's MOUNTAIN. While preparations were being made for this expedition and men were being mustered into service Colonel William Campbell was directed by the Governor to take command of the militia ordered to suppress the Tories who were at that time rising in arms, and to apply to that purpose the same means and powers that he was in- vested with for carrying on the Cherokee expedition, and, while mak- ing every preparation to^ execute the orders of the Governor, let- ters were received by him from Colonels Isaac Shelby and John Sevier requesting his assistance in a contemplated expedition against Colonel Ferguson, the British officer who was then stationed at Gilberttown, North Carolina. Acting under the orders of the Go'vernor previously given, Colonel William Campbell joined in this expedition, and marched a number of mounted militia from this county to King's mountain, South Carolina. Many writers, in speaking of the campaign against Ferguson and of the battle at King's mountain, make the statement that tliis expedition was without authority of government, but Colonel Wil- liam Campbell seemed to think differently, as is evidenced by a cer- tificate made by him in his own handwriting in the year 1781 and recently discovered among some old papers in the auditor's office Washington County, 1777-1870. 305 at Eichmond. This certificate, with endorsements thereon, is here given in full : "I hereby certify that when I was ordered by the Executive last summer to take command of an expedition against the Cherokee Indians, it was left to my own choice whether to take the troops down the Tennessee by water, or on horseback, they were to be paid for such pack horses as might be lost without default of the owners. That expedition not being carried on, I was directed by His Ex- cellency the Governor to take command of the militia ordered to suppress the Tories who were at that time rising in arms, and to apply to that purpose the same means and powers which I was in- vested with for carrying on the Cherokee expedition, under which direction I marched a number of mounted militia to King's moun- tain, S. C. Wm. Campbell (Col.)" June 16, 1781. Endorsed on back. 1780 certificate of Colonel William Campbell respecting King's mountain expedition. The situation to the south of Virginia at this time was truly alarming. The British had captured Charleston, with General Lincoln and his entire army, early in this year, and the war was transferred to the Carolinas and Georgia. General Gates, who had captured the British army at Saratoga and was in command of the Southern army during this year, was disastrously defeated at Camden, and Colonel Sumpter and his body of patriots had been cut to pieces by Colonel Tarleton at Pishing creek. Detach- ments from the British army were scattered throughout South Carolina and Georgia. Colonel Buford and his Virginia forces had been defeated and cut to pieces by Tarleton's cavalry at the Waxhaw's, and every preparation was being made by Lord Corn- wallis to overrun with his victorious army the States of North Carolina and Virginia in the order named. Lord Cornwallis had placed the command of the western borders of North Carolina and South Carolina under Colonel Patrick Ferguson, one of the ablest British commanders at that time in the field, and he had overrun and destroyed the Whig forces in his territory to such an extent that the officers and men of the Whig forces were driven across the mountains to the Holston settlements. A portion of the mili- I tia of Sullivan and Washington comities. North Carolina, under 306 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. the comanand of Colonel Isaac Shelby, had been in the service of the State and had exhibited a great deal of ability and prowess at the battles of Miisgi-ove's Mill and Cane Creek, after which they retired to their homes without suffering any inconvenience from Ferguson or his forces. Colonel Ferguson was greatly embittered toward the forces from the Holston or back waters (as it was then termed), and when he arrived at Gilberttown, he paroled a Whig prisoner by the name of Samuel Phillips, a relative of Colonel Isaac Shelby, and sent him to deliver a message to the officers of militia on the waters of the Holston, Watauga and Nolichucky, which message was as follows : "If they did not desist from their opposition to the British arms he would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword." There can be no question that Colonel FergusO'n was well informed of the situa- tion of the western settlers and the route by which he could reach their country, for at that time there were in his army a number of Tories from Ihe back waters. A crisis had been reached in the struggle for liberty, and now at the darkest hour in the struggle of tlie patriots, the opportunity and the men have met, when a band of western frontiersmen were to strike a telling blow for the cause of liberty and all America. Phillips immediately crossed the mountains and delivered the mes- sage to Colonel Shelby as directed, and gave him such infornuition, in addition thereto', as he had in regard to the strengtli and posi- tion of Ferguson and his men. Colonel Shelby immediately ad- dressed a letter to Colonel Williaui Campbell, of Washington county, Virginia, and sent it by express by liis brother, Moses Shelby, while Colonel Shelby went to the home of Colonel Jolm Sevier and informed him of Ferguson's threats, and suggested means by which they might embody a force sufficient to surprise and attack Ferguson in his camp and prevent the imjx^nding stroke. To the propositions of Colonel Slielby, Colonel Sevier readily agreed. On tlie 18th day of September, 1780, Cplonel Charles Mc- Dowell, of "Quaker Meadows," North Carolina, and Colonel An- drew Hampton, of South Carolina, patriot leaders, with about one hundred and sixty men, arrived at Colonel John Carter's in Carter's Valley, fleeing from Ferguson and his forces. These men were consulted by Colonel Shelby, and a time and place appointed for Washington County, 1777-1870. 307 the assembling of all the forces that could be enlisted for this expe- dition, at the Sj^cainore shoals or flats, on the Watauga river, about three miles below the present town of Elizabethton, Tennes- see. It is stated by many writers on the subject that Colonel Wil- liam Campbell refused to join Shelby in this expedition when first approached upon the subject, and that he consented only upon the receipt of a second and more urgent request, but I do not know upon what authority this statement is made, for on the 6th day of September of this year Colonel Campbell was at Bethabara, Surry county, jSTorth Carolina, with the Washington county mili- tia, suppressing and preventing insurrection among the Tories in that section, and it is evident to any one acquainted with the coun- try that he must have marched his men immediately from that point to Washington courthouse, and from there to the Sycamore Shoals, to have reached that point on the 35th of September. I do not think there can be any doubt that Colonel Campbell joined in this expedition very heartily, upon the receipt of information from Shelby, and that he, with the Washington county forces, en- tered u])on this expedition with the greatest of enthusiasm, as is evidenced by the large numbers of volunteers collected and the rapidity of their movements. It is reasonable to suppose that Colonel Arthur Campbell was busy enlisting the militia of this county and equipping them for this expedition while Colonel William Campbell and his men were returning from TsTorth Carolina. Colonel Arthur Campbell, in speaking of the situation of the Southern Colonies, said : "The tale of McDowell's men was a doleful one, and tended to excite the resentment of the people, who, of late, had become inured to danger by fighting the Indian, and who had an utter detestation of the tyranny of the British Government. Upon the arrival of Colonel William Campbell, in Abingdon, on the 22d day of September, 1780, it was decided that two hundred of the militia of this county should accompany him upon this expe- dition. The men seemed animated with a spirit of patriotism and asseml)led at Wolf creek, near the Bradley farm west of Abingdon, from which point they marched immediately for the Sycamore Shoals, arriving at that point on the 25th day of September, accord- ing to appointment. Colonel William Campbell did not accompany the men to Sycamore shoals, he going by Colonel Shelby's at Sap- 308 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. ling grove (n()^y Bristol), while his men followed tJie Watauga road. Colonel Artlmr Campbell, who had been left at Abingdon with a portion of the militia to defend the inhabitants of the county against any Indian invasion, at the earnest solicitation of tlic militia under his command, and wisliing to give all possible strength to the expedition against Colonel Ferguson, on the 24th day of September left Abingdon with an additional two hundred men for the Sycamore shoals, and arrived on the 2Gth, just as the little army of mountaineers were preparing to march for the Carolinas. The approach of Colonel Arthur Campbell with the reinforcements and the effect that it had upon the army are best described in the words of a North Carolina historian: "When nearly ready to begin the marcli, the sound of approach- ing voices was heard once more. The camp was astir; unexpected visitors were discovered in the distance ; nearer they came, and recog- nition was announced by a wild shout of joy, and Colonel Arthur Campbell led two hundred men into the camp. One thousand and fifty voices now made the welkin ring with their glad acclaim. Col- onel Campbell, fearing that there might not be men enough to secure certain victory, determined, after Colonel William Campbell had left, to reinforce his strength. This being now done, he bade Ills men 'Godspeed' and a hearty 'goodbye,' and returned to his liome again."* Thus it will be seen that the militia of Washington county were not only willing to go when required to do so, but were anxious to strike a blow for their altars and their homes, and it is reasonable to suppose that, if the country had been free from the fear of an Indian war, twice four hundred men would have voluntarily accom- panied Colonel Campbell upon this expedition. Let us take a look at the little army of patriots assembled at the Sycamore shoals. This army was made up and commanded as follows : Colonel William Campbell, 400 men Colonel Isaac Shelby, 240 men Colonel John Sevier, 240 men Colonel Charles McDowell and Andrew Hampton, .... 160 men The money to equip the North Carolina militia was obtained by *« Schenk, N. C, 1780-1781. Workington County, 1777-1870. ' 309 Colonels Sevier and Shelby from John Adair, the North Carolina entrytaker, in Washington county, N'orth Carolina; but the Vir- ginia militia under Campbell were equipped by the Washington county authorities and paid by the State of Virginia. Every mem- ber of this little army, with but few exceptions, was dressed in the woolen clothes manufactured by his wife and daughters, and wore a fur-skin cap. A distinguished historian describes in such an interesting way the appearance of these mountaineers as they began their march, that I give his statements in regard thereto : "Their fringed and tasseled hunting-shirts were girded in by bead-worked belts, and the trappings of their horses were stained red and yellow. On their heads they wore caps of coon-skin or minJc-skin, with the tails hanging down, or else felt hats, in each of which was thrust a buck's tail or a sprig of evergreen. Every man carried a small bore rifle, a tomahawk and a scalping knife. A very few of the officers had swords, and there was not a bayonet nor a tent in the army."* It would seem from the descriptions given by historians in speak- ing of this expedition, that the men were very poorly equipped, but, from an inspection of the records of this county, it will be found that the estates of the men killed at the battle of King's Mountain were valued very high, and that no part of their property was more valuable than their equipments at the time they were killed, a sam- ple of which is as follows; appraised value :f "One blue broadcloth and linen jacket, £150 "One pair of leather breeches, 75 "One great coat, 150 "One horse, 600 "Every member of this little army was equipped with a Deckard rifle, and they were not only splendid horsemen but excellent marksmen ; and by the warfare that they had been carrying on with the Indians they were accustomed to every kind of danger and hardship. They had oftentimes heard of the wrongs of their Whig kinsmen to the South; not only from Colonels McDowell and Hampton and their men, but from General Clarke, of Georgia, and his men, and they were determined, if possible, to prevent the *Winniiig of the West. fCaptain Wm. Edmiston estate. 310 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. advance of Colonel Ferguson to this side of the mountain, and to ' rescue their brethren to the South from their sad plight. "On the 26th day of the month when they were ready to march, the men assembled in a grove, and there the Eev. Samuel Doak, a Presbyterian preacher, the pioneer clergyman of the frontiers, made a few remarks befitting the occasion, closing the same with the Bible quotation: 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.' And while these stern hardy men bowed their heads in reverence, this good man invoked on the expedition the blessings of the Lord. He recounted the dangers that surrounded his congregation from the savages in their rear and the British in their front; and reciting the promises of mercy contained in the word of their Grod, he earnestly prayed for protection to their families and success to those who were marching to defend their homes and liberty; and so effective were his prayers that tears, stole down the cheeks of many of the rough and hardy mountaineers. After this the army mounted their horses and commenced their march for South Caro- lina. The route pursued by these men upon this march is a matter of considerable interest to their descendants, and I give the route as described by Draper in his history of the 'Battle of King's Moun- tain.' "Leaving the S3'camore shoals, they probably ate their dinner at Clark's mill on Gap creek, three miles from the shoals ; they thence passed up Gap creek to its head, where they bore to the left, cross- ing Little Doe river, passing on to the 'resting place' at the Shelv- ing Eock, about a mile beyond Crab Orchard and about twenty miles from the shoals, where they encam])ed for the night. At this place a number of their horses were shod by a man by the nauje of Miller. "The next morning they were delayed for some time in butchering several of their cattle, after which they passed on about four miles. Beaching the base of the Yellow and Boan ]\rountains, they ascended the mountain, following Bright's trace, through a gap between Yellow mountain on the north and Boan niiountain on the soutli. When they had reached the table-land on top of the moim- tain, they found it covered with snow shoe-mouth deep, on the sum- mit of which there were about one hundred acres of beautiful table- land and a fine spring that ran over into the Watauga. In tliis field the soldiers were paraded under their respective! officers and were Washington County, 1777-1870. 3li ordered to discharge their rifles, and such was the rareness of the atniospliere that there was little or no report. This body of table- land is known as the 'Bald Place/ or 'the Bald of the Yellow.' "At this point two men from Colonel John Sevier's company deserted. Their names were James Crawford and Samuel Cham- bers. It was suspected that they would make their way to Colonel Ferguson and inform him of the coming of the backwoodsmen, and this suspicion was correct. Upon the discovery of this fact, it was decided by the commanders that they would not pursue the route previously proposed, but would pass by a more northerly route, so as to confuse Ferguson, should he send spies to make discoveries. After they had refreshments they passed on down the mountain a few miles into Elk Hollow, a low place between the Yellow and Eoan mountains, where, at a fine spring, they encamped for the night. On the 28th they descended Eoaring creek to the North Toe river, and thence down the Toe to a noted spring on the Daven- port place, since Tate's, and now known as Child's Place, where they probably rested, and thence down to the mouth of Grassy creek, where they encamped and rested for the night. On the 29th they passed up Grassy creek to its head, and over Blue Eidge at Gilles- pie's gap to Cathey's mill, where they camped. The country that they had passed through to this point cannot be excelled in roman- tic grandeur anywhere on earth. It was excellently watered, broken by high moamtains and interspersed with beautiful valleys. A ISTorth Carolina historian, in speaking of this country, says: "If we were to meet an army with music and banners we would hardly notice it. Man and all his works and all his devices are sinking into insignificance. We feel that we are approaching nearer and nearer to the Almighty Architect. We feel in all things about us the presence of the great Creator. A sense of awe and reverence comes over us, and we expect to find in this stupendous temple we are approaching none but men of pure hearts and benignant minds. But, by degrees, as we clamber up the winding hill, the sensation of awe gives way, new scenes of beauty and grandeur open upon our ravished visions, and a multitude of emotions swell within our hearts. We are dazzled, bewildered and excited, we know not how nor why ; our souls expand and swim through the immensity before and around us, and our beings seem merged into the infinite and glorious works of God. This is the country of the fairies; and here 312 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. they liave their shaded dells^ their mock mountains and their green valleys, thrown into ten thousand shapes of beauty. But higher up are the Titian hills ; and when w© get among them we will find the difference between abodes of the giants and their elfin neigh- bors," At Cathey's mill the troops were divided, Campbell, with his men, following a trail six miles south to Wofi'ord Fort, the others going to Honey Cut creek, at which point Colonel Charles McDow- ell, who had left the Sycamore shoals in advance of the troops to notify the Carolina Whigs of the coming of the mountain men, rejoined the army. And, on Saturday morning, the 30th day of September, the mountain men passed over Silver and Linville mountains in an easterly course, and down Paddle's creek to "Quaker Meadows," where the fatted calf was killed and the moun- tain men regaled themselves in the beautiful valley. Soon thereafter. Colonel Benjamin Cleveland and Major Winston joined the moun- tain men with three hundred and fifty North Carolinians from the counties of Surry and Wilkes. It may be interesting to our readers to know that Surry county. North Carolina, joined Virginia on the south, and embraced that portion of North Carolina now included in the present counties of Ashe, Alleghany, Watauga and Mitchell, our nearest neighbors to the south. On Sunday morning, October 1st, the Wliigs left "Quaker Meadows" with light hearts and eager footsteps, believing that they would soon be upon Ferguson and his corps. They rapidly advanced, passing Pilot moimtain, and in the evening encamped in a gap of the South mountain, near where the heads of Cane and Silver creeks interlock each other, and on Monday they remained in camp for the day because of the rain that was constantly falling. On this day it was decided that it was necessary to have a military head to their organization, and Colonel McDowell was dispatched to General Gates, requesting him to send forward a general officer to take the command. The letter addressed by the officers to General Gates and forwarded by Colonel McDowell was as follows : Rutherford County, Camp near Gilberttown, October 1st, 1780. Sir : — We have now collected at this place about 1,500 good men, diawn from the counties of Surry, Wilkes, Burke, Washington and Washington County, 1777-1870. 313 Sallivan comities in this State, and Washington county in Virginia, and expect to be joined in a few days by Colonel Clarke, of Georgia, and Colonel Williams, of South Carolina, with about 1.000 Tuore. As w« have at this time called out our inintia withoiit any orders from the Executives of our different States, and with tbo view of expelling the enemy out of this part of the country, we think such a body 0^ men worthy of your attention, and would request you to send a general officer immediately to take the command of such troops as may embody in this quarter. Our troops being all militia and but little acquainted with discipline, we would wish him to be a gentleman of address and able to keep up a proper discipline \^'ith- out disgiTsting the soldiery. Every assistance in our power shall be given the officer you may thinlc proper to take the command of us. It is the wish of such of us as are acquainted with G-eneral David- son and Colonel Morgan (if in service) that one of these gentlemen may be appointed to the command. We are in great want of ammunition, and hope you will endeavor to have us properly furnished with that article. Colonel McDowell will wait upon you with this, who can inform you of the present situation of the enemy, and such other particulars respecting our troops as you may think necessary. *We are, sir, your most obedient and very humble ser'ts. (Signed) BENJ. CLEVELAND, ISAAC SHELBY-, JOHN LOED, AND'W HAMPTON, WM. CAMPBELL, JO. WINSTON. Isaac Shelby, in his old age, made the statement that Colonel McDowell was dispatched upon this mission for the purpose ol dis- posing of his services, as he, by reason of his age, was too slow and too inactive for the command of such an enterprise as they were then engaged in, and this statement has been repeated by most his- torians. While it may be true, there can be no good reason for believing the statement, for, at this time. Colonel McDowell was only thirty-seven years of age, was an active and very intelligent *( From original of "Gates papers" in'possession of the New York Historical society. ) 314 Southwest Virginia, 17Ji6-1786. man and had seen a great deal of service, before that time, in his campaigns against the invaders. It is much more reasonable to believe that Colonel McDowell, being the commanding officer in the coimty where the army was tlien stationed and knowing the country well, of his own accord jiroposed to deliver tliis message to General Gates. IT^^on the depart- ure of Colonel JMcDowell the other colonels assemliled and elected Colonel AVilliam Campbell, of Washington coimty, to command the whole, upon the suggestion of Isaac Shelby, who had, previously to this timie, always from his earliest manhood taken orders from Colonel Canipl^ell, who had served as an officer in the Continental army. On the morning of the 5th of October, the mountain nien made preparations to march from their camp to the gap at South moun- tain, expecting to find Colonel Ferguson at Gilberttown and attack liini. Before beginning the march, Colonel Cleveland requested the troops to form a circle, promising to tell them the news. After which, he came within the circle, accompanied by the other officei*s, and taking off his hat, addressed the troops as follows : "Now, my brave fellows, I have come to toll you the news. The enemy is at hand and we must up and at them. Now is the time for every man of you to do his country a priceless service, such as shall lead your children to exult in the fact that their fathers were the conquerors of Ferguson. When the pincli comes I sliall l)e with you. But if any of you shrink from sliaring in the battle and the glory, you can now have the opportunity of l)acking out and leaving; and you shall have a few minutes for considering the uiatter." After which Major McDowell and Colonel Shelby uiade a few remarks and requested all those who liesitated about going further to step back three paces to the rear when the word was given. When the word was given not one member of that army accepted the priv- ilege, but a shout went up from the assemlbled hosts when it was ascertained that there was not a coward or a slink in that little army. After this the army marched down Cane creek a few mile'^ and encamped for the night. On the following day they reached a point near Gilberttomi and ascertained that Ferguson, hearing of their coming, had retreated. Colonel Ferguson, upon hearing of the approach of the mountain men, dispatched two messengers to Comwallis, requesting assist- Washington County, 1777-1S70. 315 anee at once, and issued the following proclamation to the country : "Gentlemen: — Unless yon wish to be eat up by an inundation of barbarians, who have begun by murdering an unarmed son before an aged father, and afterwards lopped off his arms, and who, by thoir shocking cruelties and irregularities, give the best proof of their cowardice and want of discipline; I say, that if you wish to be pinioned, robbed and murdered, and vSee your wives and daugh- ters in four days abused by the dregs of mankind; in short, if you wish to deserve to live and bear the name of men, grasp your arms in a moment and run to camp. The 'Back Water' men have crossed the mountains; McDowell, Hampton, Shelby and Cleve- land are at their head, so that you know what you have to depend ii})on. If you choose to be degraded forever and ever by a. set of mongrels, say sO' at once, and let your women turn their backs upon yoii and look out for real men to protect them. PAT. FEEGUSON, Major 71st Eegiment." He then retreated to Green river, where he gave out that he was retreating to Fort Ninety-six, South Carolina. He then proceeded to Dennard's Fort, on Broad river, from which point he marched about four miles on the 2d day of October and lay on his arms all that night expecting an attack, and on the 3d day of October he marched to Tate's place, where he sent the following message to Cornwallis : "My Lord : — I am on my march to' you by a road leading from C*herokee Ford, nortli of King's mountain. Three or four hundred good soldiers could finish this business. Something must be done soon. This is their last push in this quarter. "PATEICK FEEGUSON"." The position occupied by Ferguson at this time was sixteen miles northeast of King's mountain and thirty-five miles west of Char- lotte, the headquarters of Cornwallis. It seems that it was the intention of Ferguson, when he began his retreat from Gilberttown to join Cornwallis at Charlotte, with all possible speed, but, for some strange reason, he was impelled to march to the southwest, where he was to meet his destiny and lose his life. He reached King's mountain on the evening of the 6th of October, where he pitched his camp and made all necessary pre- parations to defend his position, and gave utterance to the follow- 316 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. ing sacrilegious boast: "That he was on King's mountain, that he was king of that mountain, and God Almighty could not drive him from it." The position occupied by Comwallis and where the battle was fought, is in York county. South Carolina, about one and a half miles south of the State line. That portion of the mountain upon which the battle was fought was nothing more than an oblong hill or stony ridge, some six hundred yards long and about two hun- dred and fifty yards across from one base to the other, and from sixty to one hundred and twenty yards on the top, tapering to the south. "So narrow," says Mill's Statistics, "that a man, standing on it, may be shot from either side." The top of the ridge is about sixty feet above the level of the surrounding country. Many of the participants in the battle of King's mountain thought that they could see a resemblance to^ that battleground in the ridge south of and near to Abingdon, and to this they gave th^^ name of King's mountain, which name it bears at the present time. The principal elevation on this range of mountains in South Carolina was about six miles from the battleground. We left the mountain men near Gilberttown, where they were informed that Ferguson had retreated some fifty or sixty miles in the direction of Fort ISTinety-Six ; which information greatly depressed them, but they determined to pursue, which they did immediately, as far as Dennard's Ford, where they lost the trail for awhile, but they proceeded to Alexander's Ford of Green river, where the officers determined to select their best men, best hoi'scs and best rifles, and to pursue Ferguson unremittingly and overtake him before he could receive reinforcements or reach any fort that would give him protection. The mountain men were for some time perplexed by the movements of Ferguson, and were unable to tell by what route he had fled, but soon ascertained from a Whig sympa- thizer, that Ferguson, on the evening of the 5th, had written a loi- ter to Lord Cornwallis and had taken a position on the following day at King's moimtain. The number of men selected on the night of the 5th of October, to make the forced march to overtake Ferguson, was about seven hundred, thus leaving behind abo'ut six hundred and ninety men. The Carolina troops thus left behind, were in charge of Major Joseph Herndon, of Cleveland's regiment, and that portion of Washington County, 1777-1870. 317 CampbeU's regiment left behind were in charge of Captain William Neil. The men selected were all well mounted, while those left behind were not. But Colonel Campbell placed the Washington county troops in charge of an officer of much energy of character, to whom he gave directions to do ever3d;hing in his power to expe- dite the march of the troops placed in his charge, by pushing them forward as fast as possible. Campbell, with the mounted men, started in pursuit of Ferguson on the morning of the 6th of October, passing in a southerly direc- tion to the Sandy Plains, thence southeasterly to the Cowpens, about twenty-one miles, which point they reached shortly after sun- set, where they found Colonels Hill, Lacy, Williamis and Graham, with their forces. On this day, they passed in the immediate vicin- ity of several large bodies of Tories, one of which numbered six hundred. "The riflemen from the mountains had turned out to catch Ferguson, and this was their rallying cry from the day they left the Sycamore shoals on the Watauga.^'* 4 They did not intend to be diverted from their object, and there- fore did not waste any time on the small parties along their way. Ensign Kobert Campbell, of the Virginia troops, in his diary says : "That he was dispatched with a party of eighty men to break up the party of six hundred Tories stationed near the Cowpens, but that they had moved before the mountaineers reached the Cowpens and could not be overtaken that night." Captain Colvill undertook to surprise this same company the following night, but met with no better success. While the troops were stationed at the Cowpens, a Whig spy, who was a crippled man, reported to the Whig chiefs, that he had visited the camp of Ferguson, and ascertained his plans, and that his forces did not exceed 1,500 men, which information encouraged the moun- tain men very much, but, as a matter of precaution, Enoch Gil- more, another spy, was sent out to gain tlie latest intelligence in regard to the movements of the enemy, which he did, and returned to the camp of the mountain men on the evening of the 6th, When the march was begun from the Cowpens on the evening of the 6th, the whole number of mounted men was 900, besides a squad of footmen numbering about fifty. The march from the Cowpens to King's mountain was made by *Draper's King's Mountain. 318 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. night and there was a drizzle of rain failing during most of the time. Campbell's men lost their way, and, on the morning of the 7th, it was ascertained that they were not more than five miles from the Cowpens, but they soon joined the main force and pushed rapidly forward in an easterly direction, passing the Cherokee Ford and on to Beason's where they halted for a short while and learned that Ferguson was only nine miles off and in camp. As Colonel Campbell rode off froui this point, a girl followed, and, calling to him, asked: "How many of you are there?" "Enough to wliip Ferguson if we can find him," was the reply, whereupon the girl, pointing her finger in a direct line to King's mountain, said : "He is on that mountain." Several persons were captured between this point and Ferguson's camp, one of the number being a man by the name of John Pon- der, upon whose person was found a message from Ferguson to Comwallis imploring assistance. Another was Henry Watkins, a Whig, whom Ferguson had just released, and who gave the moun- tain men accurate information of Ferguson and his situation. At this point the mountain men were drawn up in two lines, two men deep. Colonel Campbell leading the right and Colonel Cleve- land the left, and proceeded on their march. When they came near to the mountain, they moved up a branch between two rocky knobs, beyond which the enemy's camp was in full view, 550 yards in front of them. This was at about 3 o'clock in the evening. Orders were given for the men to dismount and tie their horses, and to tie their blankets and coats to the saddles, and a few men were detailed to guard them. This was on the east side of King's creek, after which the order was given to the men, "Fresh prime your guns, and every man go into battle firmly resolved to fight till he dies." The army of Ferguson numbered about 1,100 men, the two armies being about equal in number, but there was a considerable difference in the motives which prompted them to fight. The Tories were fighting for the honor of their king. That was one and various other motives might be mentioned; while, on the other hand, the Whigs fought for the liberty and independence of the American Colonies, for the right to exercise their religious views without restraint and to protect their homes and families from unprincipled Tories and savage Indians. Washington County^ 1777-1870. 319 Dr. Draper, in speaking of tlie Virginia troops who participated in tliis battle, says: "Those men from the Holston under Campbell were a pecidiar people, somewhat of the character of Cromwell's people. They were, almost to a man, Presb}i;erians. In their homes in the Holston Valley they were settled in pretty compact congregations, quite tena- cious of their religious and civil liberties, as handed down from father to son from their Scotch-Irish ancestors. Their preacher, Eev. Charles Cummings, was well fitted for the times; a man of piety and sterling patriotism, who constantly exerted himself to encourage his people to make every needed sacrifice, and put forth every possible exertion in defence of the liberties of their country. They were a remarkable body of men, botli physically and mentally. Inured to frontier life, raised mostly in Augusta and Eockbridge counties, Virginia, a frontier region in the French and Indian war, they early settled on the Holston, and were accustomed from their childhood to border life and hardships ; ever ready at the tap of the drum to turn out on military service; in the busiest crop season, their wives, sisters and daughters could, in tlieir absence, plant and sow and harvest. They were better educated than most of the frontier settlers and had a moTc thorough understanding of the questions at issue between the Colonies and their mother country. These men went forth to strike their country's foes, as did the patriarchs of old, feel- ing assured that the God of battles was with them and that he would surely crown their efforts with success. They had no doubts noT fears. They trusted in God and kept their powder dry. Such a thing as a coward was not known among them. How fitting it was that to such a band of men should have been assigned, by Camp- bell's own good judgment, the attack on Ferguson's choicest troops, his Provincial Eangers. It was a happy omen of success, literally the forlorn hope, the right men in the right place." The two armies now confronted each other, the decisive moment was at hand, and the mountain men were eager to pounce upon their prey. Colonel Campbell arranged his forces in two divisions, making each division as nearly equal as possible, the two divisions to sur- roi-nd the mountain. Campbell was to lead the Virginians across the southern end of the ridge and southeast side, then Sevier's regi- 320 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. ment and McDowell's and Winston's battalions were to form a column on the right wing, northeast of Campl)ell and in the order named, under the command of Colonel John Sevier. Shelby's regi- ment was to take a position on the left of the mountain, opposite to Campbell, and form the left center, Camphell's left and Shelby's right coming together, beyond Shelby was placed Williams's com- mand, including Brandon, Hammond and Candler, then the South Carolinians under Lacy, Hathorn and Steen, with the remainder of the Wilkes and Surry men under Cleveland, together with the Lincoln troops under Chronicle and Hambright. The regiments or companies in the order named surrounded the mountain; Campbell on the southeast, then Sevier, McDowell, Winston, Hambright, Cleveland, Lacy, Williams and Shelby. Campbell was tx3 swing to the north the left of his column and Shelby to the south with his right wing, so that the two columns should cross the mountain at its southwestern extremity ; and when all the companies were in position to form a complete cordon around the mountain, which was to be drawn closer to the center as the battle progressed. Colonel Campbell, when everything was in readiness, visited in person every command in the little army, and said to the men : "That if any of them, men or officers, were afraid, to quit the ranks and go home; that he wished no man to engage in the action who could not fight. That as for himself he was determined to fight the enemy a week, if need be, to gain the victory."* He gave the necessary orders to his subordinate officers and placed himself at the head of his own regiment. Many of the men threw aside their hats, tying handkerchiefs around their heads so as to be less likely toi be retarded by limbs and bushes when dashing up the mountain. The march began for the battleground, and when the mountain men were discovered by Colonel Ferguson, the shrill whistle used by him was distinctly heard, summoning his followers to arms ; the battle drums were beaten and every preparation was made in the British camp for battle. A party of Colonel Shelby's men captured some of the enemy's pickets without firing a gun. In ordering the battle Colonel Campbell had directed each com- pany of his army to listen for the Indian "war whoop" from the *Draper's King's Moiantains. Washington County, 1777-1870. 321 center colmnn when everything was ready for the attack. When heard, the army was to rush forward upon the enemy, doing all pos- sible damage and repeating the same "war-whoop." The first firing occurred in the vicinity of Shelby's men, and before they had taken their position for the battle, but, they were not permitted to return the fire, until they had gained their desig- nated position. Colonel Shelby directed his men to press on to their places and then their fire would not be lost. Colonel Campbell, about the timie this firing began, taking his position in front of his men, tlirew off his coat and shouted at the top of his voice. "Here they are, my brave boys ; shout like h — 1 and fight like devils !" The woods immediately resounded with shouts of the line, in which they were heartily joined, first by Shelby's corps, and then the shouting was instantly caught up by the others along the two wings."* At the same time, Captain Andrew Colvill, of the Virginia troops, and Major Micajah Lewis and Captain Joel Lewis, with their troops were directed by Colonel Campbell to charge the British main guard, about one half way up the spur of the mountain, which they did, and at this point, the first heavy fighting between the two armies t'.ok place. The charge was made by the mountaineers with such A\']for that the British guard was forced to retreat, leaving some of their men killed and wounded, and the Virginia troops lost Lieu- tenant Eobert Edmiston and John Beattie of Colvill's company, killed, and Lieutenant Samuel Newell of this same company was wounded, but Newell secured a horse, which he mounted and returned to the conflict. At this time an incident occurred which is preserved, and is here given. One of the mountaineers came within rifle shot of a British sen- tinel before the latter perceived him. On discovering the Ameri- can, he discharged his musket and ran with all speed toward the camp on the hill. This 'adventurous Whig, who had pressed for- ward considerably in advance of his fellows, quickly dismounted, leveled his rifle, firing at the retreating Briton, the ball striking him in the back of the head, when he fell and expired."* The position assigned to Colonel Campbell's men was the most difficult of ascent of any part on the ridge, being very rocky and steep, but they were not to be deterred by such obstacles, pressing up the mountain little by little until they had reached near the ^Draper's King's Mountains. 322 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. top O'f tlie hill, firing all the time. When they had reached this point Colonel Ferguson ordered his Eangers tO' charge the Virginia troops with fixed bayonets, which they did. The Virginia troops stood their ground for some time, but were forced to retreat down the mountain. Colonel Campbell and Major Edmiston, with the assistance of Lieutenant Newell, rallied the Virginia troops. Colo- nel Campbell led his men again to the conflict, and by constant and well-directed fire the Virginians drove the enemy back and reached the summit of the mountain, when the m^imitain was cov- ered Avith flame and smoke and seemed to thunder."* Colonel Shelby, in speaking of tlie conduct of the Virginians at this time, says : "Campbell, with his division, ascended the hill, killing all that came in his way, till, coming near enough to the main l>ody of the enemy who were posted upon the summit, he poured in upon them a most deadly flre. The enemy, with flxed bayonets, advanced upon his troops, who gave way and went down the hill, where they rallied and formed again and advanced."! During this last attack Lieutenant Robert Edmiston, Jr., was wO'Unded in the arm and sought shelter behind a tree, where John Craig bandaged his arm, when Edmiston exclaimed : "Let us at it again," and returned to the front as if he had not been wounded. A noted historian, in speaking of this incident, has said : "Of such grit was Campbell's Holston soldiers coui]>osed ; and as long as there was any fighting to be done for their country and they could stand upon their feet, they never failed to share largely in it." While Campbell's men were engaged with the British Rangers, Colo- nel Shelby was pressing the «iemy from the southwestern end of the mountain to such an extent that Ferguson was forced to with- draw his Rangers from that quarter and to charge Shelby's column, which, in turn, were forced to retreat before tlie Britishi Rangers, but they were rallied at the foot of the hill, wlien Shelby addressed his men as follows: "Now, boys, quickly reload your rifles, and let's advance upon them and give them another h — 1 of fire !"* Campbell's and Shelby's men were engaged for fully ten minutes before the other forces reached their position, after which time Ferguson and his forces were assailed from all quarters by the rifle- *Draper's King's Mountains. tCol. Shelby's letter to Col. Arthur Campbell, October, 1780. Washington County, 1777-1870. 333 men, who, pressing np the ridge, protected themselves behind the trees, constantly firing on the British forces. Sliortly after the opening of the battle it was discovered that a portion of Ferguson's forces had concealed themselves behind a chain of rocks at a very dangerous point, from which they success- fully assailed the mountain men. Colonel Shelby directed Ensign Eobert Campbell, with a com- pany of Virginia troops, to move to the right and to dislodge the men from their position, wliich Campbell did, and led his men within forty steps of them, when he discovered that the Virginia troops had been driven down the hill. Then he gave orders to his men to post themselves opposite to the rocks and near to the enemy, \\'hile he assisted in rallying Colonel Campbell's men, which orders were oljeyed, Ensign Campbell's men keeping up such a deadly fire on the British, that Colonel Ferguson was compelled to order a strong force to assist the men placed among the rocks, but they were compelled to retire to another position on the mountain be- fore the close of the action. The batttle was now raging all around tlie mountain: the report of hundreds of rifles and muskets, the loud commands of the officers, the Indian "war-whoops" constantjy given by the mountaineers, and the shrill noise made by Fergu- son's whistle, conspired to make a tumult never to be forgotten and seldom experienced by men. Colonel Lacy, with the South Carolinians ; ]\f ajor Chronicle, with his North Carolina forces; Colonels Shelby and Sevier, with the Holston forces; Colonel Cleveland, with his boys from Surry, and the other officers in this little army, magnificently vindicated in this conflict their claim to the title of patriots. When the British forces would attack any one command they would in turn be assailed by the mountain men in their rear and be forced to turn upon their pursuers, but every charge and counter-charge saw Ferguson's ranks grow thinner and thinner, and the coil was drawn closer and closer around the top of the mountain. Ferguson and his forces were surrounded by the mountain men, whose fire was so constant and deadly that it Avas with difficulty that the British officers could rally their men. The British troops began to give way on the southeastern side of the mountain, where they Avere hard pressed by Campbell and Shelby, and assailed in the rear by Cleveland, and on their flanks by McDowell and Winston. At 324 SoiifJnrr.^f Viir/inin. 17 1,0-1 ISG. tllis lime two white \\;\\S> W^'V I'Jiiscd on the lii'ilisli line, but Ferii'iisoii iiimicilijitcly cut tliciii down, swearing;- tliat lie would novor sin-Tcii(l('i" to such hiimJil li. Sccini;-. however, tliat lie was Avhi])]X'cl. with a tew ri'ieiids he made an attempt to break through the lines of the mountain men on the southeastern side of the mountain and make his escape. l)ut in making the effort he was shot through with six or eight bullets. When Ferguson attempted to make his escape a mountaineei' hy the name of Gilliland, who had been several times -wounded, seeing his advance, attempted to fire his gun at him, l)ut it snapped, when he called upon Eol)ert Young, a member of his company, saying to h.im: "There is Fer- guson; shoot him," to which Young rei)lied: "111 try and see wdiat Sweet Li])S can do." wdiereupon he discharged his rifle and Ferguson fell from his horse dead, and his friends were driven back within the lines. Among the wounds received by Colonel Ferguson w-as one through the head. He received the fatal shot near Colonel John Sevier's company, and not far from the position occupied by Ensign Eohert Cam])bell, who had been directed by Colonel Shelby to dislodge the British stationed behind a ledge of rocks as before detailed. The last conflict between Colonel Cam])beirs men. assisted by Colonel Shell)y"s men. and the British, lasted fully tAventy minutes, the contestants being not more than forty yards apart. This is said to have been the most hotly-contested part of the action. Colonel Cam])l)ell at this time was some distance in front of his company urging them on to victory, and while in this position he called to his men: "T3oys, remember your lil)erty! Come on, come on! niy brave fellows; another gun, another gun will do it! D — n them ; we must have them out of this."* While the British made a noble stand, they were driven to the top of the mountain to their wagons, from which ])osition they were driven immediately into a low place in the mountain, where they surrendered. Colonels Camjibell and Shelby were ably assisted by the bravery of the men under Cleveland, Lacy and Williams, who kept up a vigorous attack from their position. Ca])tain DePeyster, the next in command, upon the death of Colonel Ferguson, imme- diately hois=;ted the white flag and called for quarter, wddch flag was soon taken from his hand bv one of his officers on horseback and held *Draper's King's Mountains. Washiiujton Countij, 1777-1S70. 325 so high that it could be seen all along the American line. This white flag was not the only one hoisted in the British army. At another point a Piritisli soldier was mounted on a horse and directed to hold up a wJiite handkerchief, wliicli ho did, and was immediately shot down by C'hnrles Bow en, a second soldier suffering the same fate; l)ut ujion a tliird atteinj)t Major Evan Shell)y received the flag and prochiimed the surrender, Imt tlie mountain men who had l)een scattered in the battle were ccmtinually coming u]) and continued to lire witliout comprehending in the heat of the moment what had happeiu'd,'"* and many others were ignorant of the meaning of a white riag under sucli circumstances, while others were angered at tlie loss of rehitivcs iind friends at and before thi^ battle. In the summer of this year Colonel 1)11 ford, in command of a body of Virginia troops, had been siir]u-ised and his command cut to pieces by Colonel Tarleton at the ^Vaxhaws in Xorth Carolina ; Buford's men, Avhen surrounded by Tarleton's forces, begged for quarter, which Tarleton declined to give, and they were cut to pieces without mercy. The circumstances attending this slaughter were well known to all the mountain men engaged in the battle of King's Mountain, and the word "lUiford"' had been adopted as the pass-word by the mountain men before engaging in this action, and when the British were driven into the low ground hereto- fore described, and were offering to surrender, numbers of the mountain men were heard to cry out: "Give them Buford's play!" and after the surrender the Americans continued to slaughter the British for some time, notwithstanding the efforts of the Whig offi- cers to prevent the slaughter. About this time Colonel Campbell came running up, and, see- ing Andrew Evans, a mendjer of his command, about to fire on the British, knocked his gun up, exclaiming: "Evans, for God's sake, don't shoot! It is nuirder to kill them now, for they have raised the flag." Cani])bell, as he rushed along, repeated the order: "Cease firing! Eor God's sake, cease firing!" Campbell there- upon ordered Captain DePeyster, the British officer, to dismount, calling out to the British forces: "Officers, rank by yourselves. Pri- soners, take off vour hats and sit down." The mountaineers were. ^Drapf'r's King's Mountains. 32G Southwest Virginia, 1746-17S6. directed to surround the prisoners in one eontinuoiis circle four deep. Colonel Campbell then proposed to his troops "three huzzas for liherty." At this time a small squad of Tories, who had been sent by Colonel Ferguson on a foraging expedition, returned to the mountain, and, not knowing of the surrender, fired upon the mountain men, killing Colonel Williams, of South Carolina. Colonel Campbell, acting upon his belief that Colonel Tarleton had arrived with his detachment, ordered the men of Colonels Williams' and Brandon's commands to fire upon the enemy, which they did, killing about one hundred of them, when the mistake was discovered, and the firing ceased. Colonel DePeyster delivered his sword to Colonel Campbell, while Captain Eyerson delivered his sword to Lieutenant Andrew Kincannnn, of the A'irginia forces. Colonel Campbell at this time was in his shirt sleeves, Avith his collar open, and when some of the Americans pointed him out as their commander the British officers at first, from his unmilitary plight, seemed to doubt it, but a number of officers now surrendered their swords to him, and he had several in his hands and under his arms. The battle Avas now ended after fifty minutes of hard fighting. Colonel Ferguson, the British commander, was killed, and the losses in his army were as follows : British Rangers. Killed, 30 Wounded, 28 Prisoners, 57 Tories. Killed, 127 Wounded, 125 Prisoners, 649 The killed and wounded in the army of the mountain men were thirty killed and sixty wounded. Colonel Campbell's regiment of Virginians from Washington county met with greater losses than anj other regiment engaged in this battle, the killed being : William Edmiston, captain. Rees Bowen, lieutenant. William Blackburn, lieutenant. Eobert Edmiston, Sr., lieutenant. Washington County, 1777-1870. 3)^7 Andrew Edmiston, ensign, llumberson Lyon, ensign. James Laird, ensign. William Flower, private. John Beattie, ensign. James Corry, ensign. Nathaniel Dryden, ensign. Nathaniel Gist, ensign. James Phillips, ensign. Thomas McCulloch, ensign. Elisha Pepper, private. Henry Henniger, private. And the woimded were as follows : James Dysart, captain. Samnel Newell, lieutenant. Pobert Edmiston, Jr., lientenant. Frederick Fisher, private. John Scaggs, private. Benoni Btoning, private. Charles Kilgore, private. William Bnllen, private. Leonard Hyce, private. Israel Hayter, private, and W^illiam Moore, private.* It is a fact worth remembering that in this contest thirteen offi- cers and three privates of the Virginia forces were killed, being more than one-half of all the killed in this battle, and that three officers and eighteen privates were wounded, a little more than one- third of the men wounded in this battle ; they were members of the Virginia companies. Another remarkable fact connected with this battle is that of the eight members of Colonel Campbell's regiment by the name of Edmiston three were killed and one wounded. Among the rocks where the Tories had posted themselves dur- ing this battle the bodies of eighteen Tories were found, all of whom had been shot directly through the head. All the prisoners were placed under strong guard. The Whigs encamped for the night on the battleground with the dead and *The names of ten privates wounded in this battle cannot be ascertained. 328 Soiitlnrcsf Vinilvia. JlJid-TTSC). . woundvil. and |)ass('(l i]\o iiii;hl aiiiid tlic ui-oaii^ ami laiiicntatinii-; of tlio wounded Tories. A great quantity of powdt'i'. lead, sl-.ot and ])i-ovisions were eapiiircd and aiipropioiated as a result of this battle, and Fer- guson's effects were divided among the oflfieers, his sword being given to Colonel Se\ior. Captain Joseph ^leDowell secured six of his china diniu'i- ])lates and a small coffee cup and saucer; Colo- nel Shelby secured his lai'ge sih'cr whistle, whWv a smaller whistle was obtained Ijy Elias Powell, one of his soldici's; Colonel Sevier, his silken sash and lieutenant-coloners commission and DePey- ster's sword; Colonel C'leveland, his riding horse; Colonel Camp- bell, a ]>ortion of his correspondence; Samuel Talbot, of this countv. removed his dead body from the place where it lay, and secured his pistol, which had dro])ped from his pocket. Dr. Draper has preserved several incidents relating to the sol- diers from this county and their conduct in this battle, which are here copied in full : "During the battle Captain William Edmiston, of Campbell's regiment, remarked to John McCrosky, one of his men, that he was not satisfied with his ])osition, and dashed forward into the hot- test part of the battle, and there received the charge of DePeys- ter's Eangers, discharged his gun, then clubbed it, and knocked the rifle out of the grasp of one of the P)ritons. Seizing him by the neck, he made him his prisoner and brought him to the foot of the hill. Peturning again up the mountain, he bravely fell fighting in front of his company near his beloved colonel. His faithful soldier, ]\IcCroskey, when the contest was ended, went in search of his cai)tain, found him and related the great victorv gained, wlien the dying man nodded his satisfaction at the result. The stern (V)lonel Campbell was seen to l)r\ish away a tear, when he saw his good friend and heroic captain stretched u])on the ground under a ti'ee with one hand clutching his side as if to re- sfi'ain his life-blood from ebl)ing away until the battle was over. He heard the shout of victory as his commander and friend grasped his other hand. Me was past speaking; but he kissed his colonel's hand, smiled, loosed his feeble hold on life, and the Christian pa- triot went to his reward. "Lieutenarit Pees Bowen, A\ho commanded out' of the com|).:inies of the Virginia reainuMit. was ol)served while marching forwai'd Washington County, 1777-1870. 339 to attack the enemy, to make a hazardous and unnecessary expos- ure of his person. Some friend kindly remonstrated with him : 'Wh}'^, Bowen, do you not take a tree? why rashly present your- self to the deliberate aim of the Provincial and Tory riflemen concealed behind every rock and busli before you? Death will in- evitably result if you persist. Take to a tree.' He indignantly replied : 'A''o ! Xever shall it be said that I sought safety by hiding my person or dodging from a Briton or a Tor}' who opposed me in the field.' Well had it been for liim and his country had he been more prudent, and, as his superiors had advised, taken shelter whenever it could be fovmd, for he had scarcely concluded his brave utterance when a rifle ball struck him in the breast. He fell and expired. "An incident of an exciting character occurred near the close of the contest which very nearly cost the heroic Colonel Cleve- Umd his life. Charles Bowen, of Captain William. Edmiston's company, of Campbell's regiment, vaguely heard that his brother Eees Bowen had been killed, and was much distressed and exas- perated in consequence*. On the spur of tlie moment and without due consideration of the danger he incurred he commenced a wild and hurried search for his brother, hoping he might yet find him in a wounded condition only. He soon came across his own fallen Captain p]dmiston shot in the head and dying, and, hurrying from one jioint to another, he at length found liimself within fifteen or twenty paces of the enemy and near to Colonel Cleveland, when he slipped behind a tree. "At this time the enemy began to waver and show signs of sur- rendering. Bowen promptly shot down the first man among them who hoisted a flag, and immediately, as the custom was, turned his back to the tree to reload, when Cleveland advanced on foot, sus- pecting from the wildness of his actions that he was a Tory, and demanded the countersign, which Bowen, in his half-bewildered state of mind had, for the time being, forgotten. Cleveland, now confirmed in his conjectures, immediately leveled his rifle at Bow- en's breast and attempted to shoot. l)ut, fortunately, it missed fire. Bowen, enraged and perhajis hardly aware of his own act, jumped at and seized Cleveland by the collar, snatched his tomahawk from his belt, and would in another moment have Iniried it in tlie colo- nel's l)i-ains had not his ai-ui been arrested bv a soldier named 330 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. Buchanan, who knew both parties. Bowen, now coming to himself, recollected the countersign and gave it "Buford," when Cleveland dropped his gun and clasped Bowen in his arms for joy that each had so narrowly and unwittingly been restrained from sacrificing the other. This same author, in speaking of Campbell's regiment, says: "No regiment had their .endurance and courage more severely tested than Campbell's. They were the first in the onset, the first to be charged down the declivity by Ferguson's Eangers, the first to rally and return to the contest. Everything depended upon suc- cessively rallying the men when first driven down the mountain. Had they become demoralized, as did the troops at Gates' defeat near Camden, and as did some of Greene's militia at Guilford, they would have brought disgrace and disaster upon the Whig cause. When repulsed at the point of the bayonet the well-known voice of tlieir heroic commander bade them ^'halt !" Eeturn, my brave fel- lows, and you will drive the enemy immediately !" He was promptly obeyed, for Campbell and his officers had the full con- fidence and control of their mountaineers: They bravely faced about and drove the enemy in turn up the mountain. In these desperate attacks many a hand-to-hand fight and many an act of heroism occurred, the wonder and admiration of all beholders; but there were so many heroic incidents where all were heroes, that only the particulars of here and there one have been handed down to us. Ensign Eobert Campbell, at the head of a charging party, -with singular boldness and address, killed Lieutenant Mc- Ginnis, a brave officer of Ferguson's Eangers."* There is a tradition in the Bowen family that Lieutenant Eees Bowen, when he received orders to march to King's mountain, took with him John Bowen, his son, a mere boy, who participated in the battle and brought home to his mother his father's bloody shoes. A similar tradition in the Breckenridge family is to the effect that Alexander Breckenridge, a prosperous farmer living in the vicinity of Abingdon, was accompanied to this battle by his son, George Breckenridge, who was under fifteen years of age, and that he (George Breckenridge) took an active part in the battle. On the morning of October 8th, being Sunday, Colonel Camp- bell's army drew the British baggage wagons, numbering seventeen. *Draper's King's Mountain. Washington County, 1777-1870. 331 across their camiD-fires, where they were burned, and, with all the provision that they could possibly carry, they began their return march for the mountains with all expedition possible, fearing the arrival of Colonel Tarleton, encumbered as they were with so many prisoners and such a quantity of captured stores. The prisoners Avere required to carry their own arms, as the Whigs had no other means of conveyance. The report was current in the camp, upon the morning the army started on its return, that Colonel Tarleton would attempt a rescue of the prisoners, numbering more than six hundred, and it is stated by a distinguished Englishman, who was at that time a prisoner, that before the troops moved Colonel Campbell gave orders to his men that should they be attacked on the march they should fire on and destroy the prisoners; but it is exceedingly doubtful whether such orders were ever given. Colonel Campbell, with a party of men, remained behind to bury their dead countrymen, and he directed the British prison- ers to bury their dead. The British dead were interred in two pits — one a very large one, in which the Tories Avere laid side by side; the other a smaller one, in which doubtless the men of Fer- guson's corps were buried."* The army marched that day twelve miles and encamped on the eastern bank of Broad river. The next day they marched up Broad river and encamped on the northern bank of Boran's river, and on the succeeding Friday Colonel Campbell issued an order di- recting that all the wounded soldiers who were not able to march should be placed by the companies to Avhich they belonged at the most suitable place they could find, Avhich was done. The army thereafter moved much more rapidly, encamping the evening of that day at Bickerstaff's Old Fields, where on the 14th Colonel Campbell issued a general order deploring the many desertions from the army and the felonies committed, by those who had deserted, on the poverty-stricken people of the country, and appealed to the officers under his command to suppress the bad practice. While in camp at this point the officers from jSTorth and South Carolina made complaints to Colonel Campbell that there were among the prisoners a number of men who were robbers and assassins; whereupon. Colonel Campbell ordered the convening of *Draper's King's Mountains. 333 SouiJitrcst Virginia, 17J/0-17SG. a court-martial to examine into the conq^laints. A copy of the law of Xorth Carolina was obtained, which authorized a trial of persons charged with such offences by a jury summoned by two jiia^iistrates, and directed their execution if found onilty. The c(uirt-iuai'tial composed of the field officers and captains, assembled and conducted their meeting in an orderly manner. Witnesses were examined in every case, and, during the day, thirty-six men Mere tried and found guilty of murder, rohbery and other offences, and sentenced to be hanged, and on the evening of the same day, an oak tree which stood near the camp l)y the road side was selected as a proper })lace to execute the orders of the court. The prisoners were brought out, surrounded by the Whig troops four deep, after which, the lianging l)egan. Three were hanged at a time, until nine of the condemned men had been executed. Then a young man by the name of Baldwin, a brother of one of the criminals, approached, and, placing his arms aroamd his brother, who was about to be hanged, wept as if his heart would l)reak, and, while doing so, cut the cords tliat bound his brother, who darted through the body of men and escaped, every man being so much affected In' the actions of young Baldwin that not one man attempted to' recapture or take his brother. At this point Colonel Shelby interposed and proposed that the executions should cease, and the rest of the thirty-six condemned criminals escaped hang- ing, being pardoned by Campbell, the commanding officer. The Toi-y leaders who were lianged at Bickerstaff were left SAvinging to the oak tree on which they were executed, l)ut, on tli';' following day, after the departure of Campl)eirs forces, an elderly lady living in the community, with the assistance of one man, cut tlie bodies down and had them l)uried. The march of the mountaineers began on the 15th of OctolxM-, and, after a hard day's march, through a constant down]iour of rain, they reached "Quaker IMeadows," the borne of IVIajor IMcDow- ell, having traveled thirty-two miles: where the troops Avere tol- erably Avell provided for. At this point on the following day, it Avas agreed that Colonel Lacy Avith his men should ret\irn to South C^arolina, Avhile tlie regiments of Colonels Sevier and Shelley, Avitli that ])ortion of Colonel Campbell's regiment that Avere on foot, were directed to take the mountain trail and return to their homes. The greater ijortiou of Cami)beirs regiment, with Clevehiiid, Winston Washing Ion Counfi/, 1777-1S70. 333 iind McDowell and tlioir Xnrth Carolina troops, decided to remain in the service and act as a guard to the prisoners. From "Quaker Meadows," Canipheirs troo])s with their ])risoners. marched several days in the direction of Hillshorough, arriving at Haygood's plan- tation on Briar creek, where Colonel C^amphell discharged a portion of his nwn; from wliich point, on the 20th, lie addressed a letter to his hrother-in-law. Colonel Arthur Camphell, giving him an account of the l)att]e. which letter is as follows: Wilkes county. Cam]) on Briar Creek, October 20, 1780. Deal- Sir: — Ferguson and his party are no more in circumstances to injure the citizens of America. We came uj) with him in Craven connty. South Carolina, posted on a height called King's mountain, about twelve miles north of the CheroktH^ ford of Broad riAcr, al)out two o'clock in the evening of the 7th instant, we having marched the whole night before. Colonel Shelby's regiment and mine began the attack, and sus- tained the whole fire of the enemy for about ten minutes while the other troops were forming around the height upon which the enemy were posted. The firing then became general and as hea\y as yon can conceive for the number of men. The advantageous sitnation of the enemy — being on top of a steep ridge — oldiged us to expose ourselves exceedingly, and the dislodging of them was equal to driving them from strong breast-works; though, in the end, we gained the point of the ridge, where my regiment fought, and drove tliem along the summit, nearly to the other end, Avhere Colonel Cleveland with his country men were. There they were drove into a huddle, and the greatest confusion. The flag for a surrender was immediately hoisted ; and as soon as the troops could be noticed of it, the firing ceased, and the survivors surrendered themselves ])risoners at discretion. The victory was complete to a wish. ^ly regiment has suffered moi-e than any other in the action. I must proceed with the pri- soners until 1 can some way dispose of them. Probably I may go to Richmond in Virginia. I am, &c., WU. CV\MPBELL, Col. Com. From Briar creek the army proceeded by slow marches, by Salem to Bethabara, a Moravian village, a large majority of the inhab- itants of which were Tories. While stationed at this point. Col- 334 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. onels Campbell, Cleveland and Shelby made their official report of the battle of King's mountain, which report is as follows : "A statement of the proceedings of the western army, from the 25th day of September, 1780, to the reduction of Major Ferguson and the army under his command. On receiving intelligence that Major Ferguson had advanced up as high as Gilberttown, in Ruth- erford county, and threatened tO' cross the mountains to the west- ern waters, Colonel . Campbell, with 400 men from Washington county, Virginia, Colonel Isaac Shelby with 340 men from Sul- liran county, jSTorth Carolina, and • Lieutenant-Colonel John Sevier with 240 men from Washington county. North Caro- lina, assembled at Watauga on the 25th day of September, where they were joined by Colonel Charles McDowell, with 160 men from the counties of Burke and Rutherford, who had fled before the enemy to the western waters. We be- gan our march on the 26th, and on the 30th we were joined by Colonel Cleveland on the Catawba river, with 350 men from the counties of Wilkes and Surry. Ko one officer having properly a right to command in chief, on the first day of October we dispatched an express to ]\Iajor General Gates, informing him of our situation, and requested him to send a general officer to take command of the whole. In the meantime Colonel Campbell was chosen to act as commandant till such general officer should arrive. We marched to the Cowpens, on Broad river in South Carolina, where we were joined by Colonel James Williams, with 400 men, on the evening of the 6th of October, who informed us that the enemy lay encamped somewhere near the Cherokee ford of Broad river, about thirty miles distant from us. By a council ol the principal officers, it was then thought advisable to pursue the enemy that night with 900 of the best horsemen, and leave the weak horse and footmen to follow as fast as possible. We 43egan our march with 900 of the best horsemen about eight o'clock the same evening, and marching all night came up with the enemy about three o'clock, P. M., of the 7th, who lay encamped on the top of King's mountain, twelve miles north of the Cherokee ford, in the confidence tliat they would not be forced from so advantageous a post. Previous to the attack, on the march, the following disposition was made : Colonel Shelby's regiment formed a column in the center on the left; Colonel Camp- bell's regiment another on the right; part of Colonel Cleveland's Washington County, 1111-1810. 335 regiment, headed in front by Major Winston, and Colonel Sevier's regiment formed a large column on the right wing; the other part of Colonel Cleveland's regiment, headed by Colonel Cleveland him- self, and Colonel Williams' regiment, composed the left wing. In this order wo advanced, and got within a quarter of a mile of the enemy before we were discovered. Colonel Shelby's and Colonel Campbell's r(}giments began the attack, and kept up a fire while the right and left wings were advancing to surround them, which was done in about five minutes; the greatest part of which time a heavy and incessant fire was kept up on both sides ; our men in some parts, where the regulars fought, were obliged to give way a small dis- tance, two or three times, but rallied and returned with additional ardor to the attack. The troops upon the right having gained the summit of the eminence, obliged the enemy to retreat along the top of the ridge to where Colonel Cleveland commanded, and were tliere stopped by his brave men. A flag was immediately hoisted by (Japtain DePeyster, their commanding officer (Major Ferguson liaving been killed a little before), for a surrender, our fire imme- diately ceased, and the enemy laid down their arms, the greatest part of them charged, and surrendered themselves to us prisoners at discretion. It appeared from their own provision returns for that day, found in their camp, that their whole force consisted of 1,125 men, out (tf which they sustained the following loss: Of the regulars, one major, one captain, two sergeants, and fifteen privates killed; thirty-five privates wounded, left on the ground not able to march. I'wo captains, four lieutenants, three ensigns, one surgeon, five sergeants, three corporals, one drummer, and forty-nine privates tjiken prisoners. Loss of the Tories : two colonels, three captains and 201 privates killed; one major and 127 privates wounded, and left on th(; ground, not able to march; one colonel, twelve cap- tains, eleven lieutenants, two ensigns, one quartermaster, one adju- tant, two commissaries, eighteen sergeants and 600 privates taken prisoners. Total loss of the enemy, 1,105 men, at King's mountain. Given under our hands at camp. (Signed) WM. CAMPBELL, ISAAC SHELBY, ! BENJ. CLEVELAND. o n r' Soulhirest Vinjinia, 17J/0-17S'J. *The nunibor of men c()iu|)()sin(i- tlic ai-niy of tlic mountain ukmi on this expedition was as follows: From \\'asliinL':toii county. \'a., under Colonel Win. C'amplicll. 400 From Sulli\aii county. X . ('.. undci' ( 'olone] Isaat; Shelby "J 10 From Washiniitoii county, \. ('., undei- (Vilonel John Seviei-,. . 2-iO Frojn Ihirke and IJuthcrford. X. ('.. under Colonel Charles McDowell 1 CO From Wilkt'S ajid Surry. X". C.. under Colonc^I Cleveland and Majol' John Winston ooO 1.350 The official rejxjrt of the killed and wounded in the ai'iny of the raountain men. as ])uldishe(l at the time and now on lilc w ith tlie Gates' papers in the X^ew X'ork Tlistoi'ical Society, gives the killed and wonnded as follows : liETUKN OF Killed and Wounded. KILLED. WOUNDED RKOIMENTS. oi o o o I a S a a S 3 _5) a s 6 > o o o 5 c S 1 'x a c ?1 6 > H ! a Campbell's . . ' 12 4 ... 4 12 4 1 3 17 4 8 10 21 4 8 13 •^8 McDowell's . Thomas' . . . S 1 8 Cleveland's .... H s 1 2 '>^ Shelbv's 2 2 1 10 3 3 10 3 3 i'> Hayes' Brannon's. ..'... I 4 ..J.. 1. R Tol. Williams' 1 ' 1 1 28 1 19 1 3 3 ;5 62 Total 1 1 1 1 2 4 90 Tt will he seen that this report is imperfect in this, that it does not i-e])ort the killed and wonnded in Colonel Shelby's reo-iment, and, in addition thereto, it is known to imperfectly state the killed and wounded in Colonel Campbell's reoiment. On the "itith day of October, Colonel Cam])hi'll issned an order apjK)intin,a- Cdlonel Cleveland to the command of the troops then encamped at Uethabara. aftei- which. Colonels Cam])bell and Sldby *Foote's Bketches, N. C, page. 206 Washington County, 1777-1S70. 337 j-i'|)ai]\'(l to (iciK'i-al Gati's's caiii]) at Hillsljorough, Colonel Shelby to offer the services of a iiuiiil)er of mountain men under Major McDowell, to serve under General ^lorgan. The ohject of Colonel Campbell's visit is hest stated in a letter written l)y him to Gov- ernor Jefferson from Hillsborough, which letter is as follows: "Hillsborough. Octo])er 31, 1780. "Sir, — I came to this place last night tO' receive General Gates' directions liow to dispose of the prisoners taken at King's moun- tain, in the State of South Cai'olina, upon the 7tli instant. He has ordered them to l)e talcen over to Montgomery county, where they are to be secured under proper guards. General Gates transmits to your Excellency a state of the proceedings of our little party to the westward. I flatter myself we have much relieved that part of the country from its late distress. "I am, your Excellency's most ohedient and very humble servant, "WILLIAM CAMPBELL." General Gates directed Colonel William Preston to prepare a proper place for the reception and care of the prisoners, but Colonel Preston immediately answered General Gates, informing him that the Lead Mines would be an unsafe place for the prisoners, as a large portion of the inhabitants of Montgomery county were dis- affected, and advised General Gates to send the prisoners to Bote- tourt county. General Gates, ujwn receipt of Colonel Preston's letter, was in doubt as to the proper disposition of the prisoners, and Colonel Campbell advised him to send the prisoners north to Washington's army, which idea General Gates partially approved, and directed Colonel Campbell to proceed to Eichmond with dis- patches to Governor Jefferson on the subject, which matter was re- ferred to the Congress of the United States by Governor Jefferson, and that body, on the 20th of !N"oveniber, expressed it as their opinion that the governors of the several States wdiose citizens were numbered among the prisoners should make such orders respecting the prisoners as the public security and the laws of the respective States may require. Acting under this recommendation of Con- gress, that portion of the prisoners that had not previously thereto escaped were either paroled or enlisted in the militia of the States of North and South Carolina. Governor Jefferson, upon receipt of General Gates' report of the 338 Southwest Virgitiia, 17J,6-17S6. battle of King's mountain, transmitted the same to the Congress of the United Colonies, which body, on the 15th of November, adopted the following resolution: "Nov. 13, 1780. "A letter of the Tth from Governor Jeflerson was read, inclosing a letter of the first from Major-General Gates with a particular account of the victory ol)tained by the militia over the enemy at King's mountain, on the 7th of October, last, whereupon Eesolved : — "That Congress entertain a high sense of the spirited and mili- tary conduct of Colonel Campbell and the officers and privates of the militia under his command, displayed in the action of October, 7tli, in which a complete victory was obtained over superior num- bers of the enemy advantageously posted on King's mountain, in the State of S. Carolina, and that this resolution be published by the commanding officer of the southern army, in general orders." On tlie 15th of tlie same month the Senate of Virginia passed the following resolutions : "Eesolved, neminc contradicente, that the thanks of this House ai-e justl}' due to Colonel William Campbell, of Wasliington count_v, and the brave officers and soldiers under his command, who, with an ardor truly patriotic in the month of September last, without waiting for the call of Go\'ernment, voluntarily marched out to oppose the common enemy, at the time making depredations on the frontiers of North Carolina, and on the seventh day of October, by a Avell-timed, judicious and spirited attack, with a force inferior to that of ]\rajor Ferguson's, then advantageously posted on King's mountain, with upwards of eleven hundred men, and by a perse- verance and gallantry rarely to be met with, even among veteran troops, totally defeated the whole party, whereby, a formidable and dangerous scheme of the enemy was effectually frustrated." On the lOtli day of November the Legislature of Virginia adopted the folloMang resolutions: "Eesolved that the thanks of this House be given to Colonel William Campbell, of the county of Washington, and the officers and soldiers under his command, who spontaneously equipped tliemselves, and went forth to the aid of a sister State; suffering distress under the invasion and ravage of the common enemy, and wlio, combined with some detachments from the neighboring Slates, judiciously concerted and bravely executed an attack on Washington County, 1777-1870. 339 a party of the enemy commanded by Major Ferguson, consisting of about 1,105 men, British and Tories, strongly posted on King's mountain, whereby, after a severe and bloody conflict of upwards of an hour, the survivors of the enemy were compelled to surren- der themselves prisoners of war; and that Colonel Campbell be re- quested to communicate the contents of this resolution to the gal- lant officers and soUliers who composed his party." Joseph Jones, Iiichard Henry Lee and Colonel William Fleming wo]-e appointed a couimittee to communicate the foregoing vote of thanlcs to Colonel Campbell, which they did, to which Colonel Cauipljell was pleased to return the following answer : ''Gentlemen, — I am infinitely happy in receiving this public tes- timony of the approbation of uiy country for my late services in South Carolina. It is a reward far above my expectations, and I esteem it the noblest a soldier can receive from a virtuous people. Through you, gentlemen, I wish to communicate the high sense I have of it to the House of Delegates. I owe, under Providence, much to the brave officers and soldiers who' served with me; and I shall take the earliest opportunity of transmitting the resolve of your House to them, who, I am persuaded will experience all the honest, heartfelt satisfaction, I feel myself on this occasion." Upon the receipt of Colonel Campbell's answer, the General As- sembly of Virginia adopted the following resolution : "Ordered that a good horse, with elegant furniture, and a sword, be purchased at the public expense and presented to Gen- eral Campbell, as a fartber testimony of the high sense the Gen- eral Assembly entertain of his late important services to his coim- try." This resolution was not carried into execution in the lifetime of Colonel Campbell, but the horse and sword were afterwards pre- sented to William C. Preston, a grandson of Colonel Campbell's, and United States Senator for many years from South Carolina. The gratitude of the people of Virginia to Colonel Campbell and his brave men for the great service they had rendered their country was unbounded, and the General Assembly of Virginia exhausted every resource in their power to make evident the gratification of the people. On the 14th of Jime, 1781, the General Assembly of Virginia adopted the following resolution : 340 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. ".Resolved, that AY in. Campbell, Esq., be appointed a Brigadier- General in the militia of this Commonwealth, and the Governor elect do commission him accordingly." And on the 22d of November, 1783, after the death of General Campbell, the General Assembly adopted the following resolution: "Eesolved, That after the lands given by law as bounties to the officers and soldiers shall be surveyed and laid off, five thousand acres of the surplus be granted to Charles Campbell, in considera- tion of the meritorious services of his late father, General Camp- bell." And on the 9th day of December, 1780, the General Assembly adopted the following resolution : "Eesolved, That the Governor be directed to forward to Wash- ington county, thirty bushels of salt and six hundred pounds cash, toi be by the court of that county distributed among the widows and orphans of the slain and wounded officers and soldiers of the corps that fought at King's mountain, in such proportion as by the said court may be judged proper." It is doubtful whether there is another county in this Union, whose citizens, either voluntarily or by command of the govern- ment, rendered such valuable services to their country in a time of imminent danger, as did the citizens of Washington county upon this occasion, and you may search history in vain for another instance in which the government of this Union or of any State has shown such gratitude to the actors. Thomas Jefferson, in speaking of this expedition in after years, said: "I well remember the deep and grateful impression made on the mind of every one by that memorable victory. It was the joy- ful annunciation of that turn in the tide of success which term- inated the Eevolutionary war with the seal of our independence." And America's greatest historian, in speaking of this expedition and its effect upon the public mind, said : "The victory at King's mountain, which, in the spirit of the American soldiers was like the rising at Concord, in its effect like the success at Bennington, changed the aspects of the war. The loyalist no longer dared to rise. It fired the patriots of the two Carolinas with fresh zeal. It encouraged the fragments of the defeated and scattered American army to seek each other and organize themselves anew. It quickened the Legislature of North Washington County, 1777-1870. 341 Carolina to earnest efforts. It encouraged Virginia to devote her resources to the country south of her border." The appearance on the frontiers of a numerous enemy from settlements hej^ond the mountains, whose very names had been unkno-wTi to the British, took CoTnwallis by surprise, and their suc- cess was fatal to his intended expedition. He had hoped to step with ease from one Carolina to the other and from those to the con- quest of Virginia, and he had now no other choice but to retreat."* Before closing this account, it is but proper that there should be given an incident connected with one of Washington county's brave soldiers, who lost a leg and who was badly wounded in his arm in this battle. "Among the wounded left by General Campbell at Bicker- staff was William Moore. Fpon the rotTirn of the Virginia troops to their homes, information was imparted to Moore's wife of the wounding of her hiisband, the brave part he had taken in the action and the disposition made of him at Bickerstaff, whereupon, she immediately mounted her hoi*se and, alone, traveled in the month of N"ovember the long and dangerous road from her home in the upper end of this county to Bickerstaff in North Carolina, where she found her husband, nursed him l)ack to health and strength, and brought him back to his homo, where he lived an honored life until the year 182G. Tradition says that he was an elder in the Ebbing Spring Pres- byterian church, and that for many years before his death he con- stantly attended his cliurch; and, at every meeting, immediately upon the conclusion of the services, he would take his position, upon his crutch, at the entrance to the church, and receive the contribii- tions of the people. Many of the descendants of William Moore and his wife, who was equally as brave as he, at the present time live in the upper end of this county and are numbered among our best citizens. At the time Colonel Campbell decided to join the expedition against Colonel Ferguson, he was making the necessary prepara- tions for an expedition against the Cherokee Indians, under orders from Governor Jefferson, which orders were as follows : ^^ *Bancroft. 342 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. In Council, June 22, 1780. Sir: — Orders have been sent to the county lieutenants of Mont- gomery and AVashington, to furnish 250 of their militia to proceed in conjunction with the Carolinians against the Chickamoggas. You are hereby autliorized to take command of said men. Should the Carolinians not have at present such an expedition in contem- plation, if you can engage them to concur as volimteers, either at their own expense or that of their State, it is recommended to you to do it. Take great care to distinguish the friendly from the hos- tile part of the Cherokee nation, and to protect the former while you severely punish the latter. The commissary and quartermaster in the Southern department is hereby required to furnish you all the aid of his department. Should the men, for the purpose of dis- patch, furnish horses for themselves to ride, let them be previously .'ippraised, as in cases of impress, and for such as shall be killed, die or be lost in the service without any default of the owner, payment shall be made by tlie public. An order was lodged with Colonel Preston for 1,000 poimds of powder from the lead mines for this expedition; and you receive herewith an order for 500 pounds of j)owder from Colonel Fleming for the same purpose, of the expendi- ture of which you will render account. I am, sir, your very humble servant, THOMAS JEFFEESON.* Colonel Campbell, in his certificate heretofore given, states this to have been his authority for taking his men upon the expedition against Ferguson. Upon the return of Colonel William Campbell and his forces from King's mountain, Colonel Arthur Campbell, the county lieu- tenant of Washington county, immediately proceeded to organize and carry on the expedition against the Cherokees, as directed by Governor Jefferson. Upon his return from this expedition, on the 15th of January, 1781, he made a report to the Governor of Vir- ginia, which is so full and complete, that I here give it in the words of Colonel Arthur Campbell: "Sir: — The militia of this and the two western North Carolina counties have been fortunate enough to frustrate the designs of the Cherokees. On my reaching the frontiers I found the Indians *Gibb's Doc. His. of the American Revolution, Vol. 2. Washington County, 1777-1S70. 343 meant to annoy us by small parties, and carry off horses. To resist them effectually, the apparently best measure was to transfer the war, without delay, to their own borders. To raise a force suffi- cient and provide them with provisions and other necessaries seemed to be a work of time that would be accompanied with uncommon difficulties, especially in the winter season; our situation was cri- tical, and nothing but an extraordinary effort could save us and disappoint the views of the enemy; all the miseries of 1776 came fresh into remembrance, and, to avoid a like scene, men flew to their arms and went to the field. The Wattago men, under Lieutenant Sevier, first marched to the amount of about three hundred. The militia of this with that of Sullivan county made 400 more. The place of rendezvous was to be on this side of the French river. Colonel Sevier, with his men, got on the path before the others, and by means of some discoveries made by his scouts he was in- duced to cross the river in pursuit of a party of Indians tliat had been coming towards our settlements. On the IGtli of December he fell in with a party, since found to consist of seventy Indians, mostly from the town of Ohote, of which were killed thirteen, and he took all their baggage, etc., in which were some of Clinton's Proclamations and other documents expressive of their hostile de- signs against us. "After this action the Wattago corps tho't it proper to retreat into an island of the river. The 22d I crossed the French river, and found the Wattago men in great want of provisions. We gave them a supply from our small stock: and the next day made a forced march towards the Tenasee. The success of the enterprise seemed to rest on our safely reaching the further bank of that river: as we had information the Indians had obstructed the com- mon fording places, and had a force ready there to oppose our crossing. The meaning of the 24th I made a feint towards the Island Town, and, with the main body, passed the river without re- sistance at Timotlee. "We were now discO'vered, such of the Indians as we saw seemed to be flying in consternation. Here I divided my force, sending a part to attack the town below, and with the other I proceeded towards their principal town Chote. Just as I passed a defile above Toque, I observed the Indians in force, stretching along the hills below Chote, with an apparent design to attack our van there with- 344 Southivest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. out our view; but the main bcHly too soon came iu sight for me to decoy them from ofO the hills. So they quietly let us pass in order, without firing a gun, except a few scattering shot at our rear; at a great distance from the Cleft, we soon were in possession of their beloved Town, in Avhieh we found a welcome supply of pro- visions. ^'The 35th, Major Martin went with a detachment to discover the route the enemy were flying oif by. He surprised a party of Indians, took one scalp and seventeen horses loaded with clothing, skins and house furniture. He discovered that most of the fugi- tives were making towards Telico and the TTi^\'asee. The same day, Captain Crabtree, of the Virginia Eeg't was detached with sixty men to burn the town of Chilhowee. He succeeded in setting fire to that part of it situated on the south side of the river, altho" in the time, he was attacked by a superior force. He made his re- treat good. "The 36th, IMajor Tipton, of the Carolina Corps, was detached with 150 mounted infantry, with orders to cross the river, dislodge the enemy on that side and destroy the town of Tilassee. At the same time Major Gilbert Christian, with 150 foot, was to patrol the hills on the south side of Chilhowee and burn the remaining part of that town. This party did their duty, killed three Indians and took nine prisoners. The officer of the Horse, by unmilitary behavior, failed in crossing the river. This trip took two days. "In this time, the famous Indian woman, Nancy Ward, came to camp; she gave us various intelligence and made an overture in behalf of some of the Chiefs for peace, to which I avoided giving an explicit answer, as I wished first to visit the vindictive part of the nation, mostly settled at Hiwassee and Chistowee, and to dis- tress the whole as much as possible, by destroying their habitations and provisions. "The 2<Sth, we set fire to Chote, Scitigo and Little Tuskeego, and moved oiir whole force to a town on Telico Eiver, Kai-a-tee, where I intended a post, for to secure a retreat and tO' lay up pro- visions in. This evening, Major Martin, on returning from a pa- trol, attacked a party of Indians, killed two, and drove several into the river. The same evening in a skirmish w^e lost Captain James I]lliott, a gallant young officer, being the first and only man the Washington Countij, 1777-1S70. 345 enemy had power to hurt, on the Expedition. The Indians lost three men on the occasion. "Tlie ?9th, I set out for Hiwassec, distant about forty miles, leav- ing at Kai-a- tee, under Major Christian, a garrison of one hundred and fifty men. "The 80ih, we arrived at Hiwassee and found the towi\ of the same name abandoned. In patrolling the environs we took a sensible young warrior, who informed us that a body of Indians, with McDonald, the British agent and some Tories, were at Chistowee, twelve miies distant, waiting to receive us. I had reason tO' believe the cnou.y had viewed us from the hills above Hiwassee; for which reason I ordered our camp to be laid off, fires kindled, and other shews made, as if we intended to stay all night. At dark we set out with about three hundred men (the Wattage men refusing to go further), crossing tlie river at an unexpected ford, and that night got near the town. Early in the morning of the 31st, we found that the ene.uy had lied in haste the evening before, leaving behind them as they had done at the other towns, almost all their corn and other provision3, togetlier v,ith many of their utensils for agriculture and all their lieavy household furniture, with part of their stock of horses, cattle and hogs. Tliese towns, I expected, would have been contended for v/ith obstinacy, as most of the Chickamogga people had remov(!d hence after their visitation in 1779. Our troops becom.ing impatient and no other object of importance being in view, it 'Aa^ resolved to retiu-n homeward. Major Martin, with a detachment, was ordered to Sattago, and the other towns on the Telico river. In his route he took four prisoners, from whom he learnt that .-evL'rnl of the chiefs had met a few days before in order to consult on means to propose a treaty for peace. As I found the enemy n-erc limnblod and to gain time, I took the liberty to send the chiefs a message, which was as follows : "( 'liiefs and Warriors : — We came into your country to fight your young men. We have killed not a few of them and destroyed your to^^'•ns. You know }ou began the war, by listening to the bad coun- cils of iiie Iving of England and the falsehoods told you by his agents. We are now satisfied with what is done, as it may convince your nation that we can distress them much at any time they are so foolish as to engage in a war against us. If you desire peace, as we understand you do, we, out of pity to your women and chil- 346 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. dren, are disposed to treat Avith you on that subject and take you into our friend.^hip once more. We therefore send this by one of your young men, who is our prisoner, to tell you if you are also disposed to make j^eace, for six of your head men to come to our agent, ]\h;jor ]\Ia]-tin, at the Great Island within two moons. They will have a safe ]^as«port, if they will notify us of their approach by a runner witli a flag, so as to give him time to meet them with a guard on. IT ol stein river, at the boundary line. The wives and chil- dren of these men of your nation that protested against the war, if they are willing to lake refuge at the Great Island until peace is restored, we will give them a supply of provisions to keep them alive. '?'Warriors lislen ettentively. "If we receive no answer to this message until the time alreiidy mentioned expires, we shall conclude you intend to continue to be our enemies, v.hich will compel us to send another strong force into yoi^r country who will come prepared to stay a long time, and take posppi^sion thereof, as conquered by us, without making any restitu- tion to you for yonr lands. "Signed at Kai-a-tee the 4th day of January, one thousand seven hiindied and eig'lity-one, by ^ "AETHUE CAMPBELL, Col. "JOHN SEVIEE, Lieutenant-Col. "JOSEPH MAETIN, Agent & Major of Militia." "The fulfillment of this message will require your Excellency's further instructions, and in which I expect North Carolina will assist, or that Congress will take upon themselves the whole. I believe advantageous promises of peace may be easily obtained with a siiri'pnder of snch an extent of country, that will defray the expenses of war. But such terms will be best insured b}' placing a garrison of two hundred men under an active officer on the banks of the Tenasee. "'('5iir v.hole loss on this expedition was one man killed by the Indians and two wounded by accident. It would have been very pleasing to the troops to have met the whole force of the nation at once on equal ground, but so great was the panic that seized them, after seeing us in order over tlie Tenasee, that they never ven- turned themselves in sight of the army, luit on rocky clefts and other ground inaccessible to our mounted infantry. By the returns Washington County, 1777-1870. 347 of the officers of the different detachments, we killed twenty-nine ]nen and took seventeen prisoners, mostly women and children. The number of wounded is uncertain. Besides these, we brought in the family cf ISTancy Ward, whom for their good offices, we considered in anotliei light. '^'The wliole are in Major Martin's care at the Great Island until the sense of government is kno-wn as to how they are to be dis- posed of. ''Jlie towns of Chote, Scitigo, , Chilhowee, Toque ]\[ie]iqua, Kai-a-tee, Sattooga, Telico, Hiwassee and Chistowee, all principal towns, besides some small ones and several scattering set- tlements, in which were upwards of a thousand houses and not less than fifty thousand bushels of corn and large quantities of other kinds of provisions, were committed to the flames or otherwise destroyed, after taking sufficient subsistence for the army whilst in the country and on its return. No place in the over-hill country ]"enialned unvisited, except the small town of Telasee, a scattering sottlejnent in the neighborhood of Chickamogga, and the town of Caloogac, sitnated on the sources of the Mobile. We found in Oconostato's baggage, which he left behind in his fright, various manuscripts, copies of treaties, commissions, letters and other archives of the nation, some of which shew the double game tJiat people have been carrying on during the present war. There seemed to be not a man of honor among the chiefs, except him of Kai-a-tee, whom I would willingly have excepted had it been in my power. Never did a people so happily situated act more fool- i?]dy in losing their livings and their country, at a time an advan- tageous neiitrality was held out to them, but such is the consequence of British seductions. ''The enemy in my absence did some mischief in Powell's Valley ard on the Kentucky path, near Cumberland Gap, besides three small children that they scalped on Holstein, one of the perpetrators of which, we knocked up on our return, and retook a number of horses. The Botetourt and Montgomery militia were too slow in their movements to do any service. The Virginia militia that served with me on the expedition, expect to be paid in the same manner with those that served last year in Carolina. "What provisions were needed on our setting out were purchased on short credit, which will, I trust, be punctually paid on the first 348 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. apj)lication. Yo;ir Excellency will please to excuse the length of this narration. T thought it my duty to give a circumstantial detail of the facts, as tlie undei-taking had something singular in it and may lead to important consequences. "I am, sir, your most Ob't and very humble Serv't &c., "AETHUR CAMPBELL." On the 1st day of January, 1781, the army of Campbell, Sevier and Martin divided into small detachments and returned to their homes by different I'outes, after having laid waste all the country occupied by the over-hill Cherokees. In answer to the talk sent to the Indians, a number of chiefs met Colonel Martin at Chote, but nothing was accomplished at this time. Upon the return of Colonel Arthur Campbell to his home, he immediately communicated with G-eneral Greene, the Commander of the Southern Department, when General Greene appointed Arihur Campl)cll, William Preston, William Christian, Joseph Mar- tin, on behalf of Virginia, and Robert Lanier, Evan Shelby, Joseph Williams and John Sevier, on the part of North Carolina, commis- sioners, to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee Indians, at the Long Island of Ilolston river, on the 24th of IMarch, 1781 : on which day. Colonels Campbell, Martin, Shelby and Sevier met at the Long Island and sent off one of the Indian prisoners to the Indian nation proposing peace and fixing the 10th day of June as the time; which time of meeting was afterwards postponed until the 20th day of July, 1781, on which day the negotiations were completed. But at the instigation of British agents, the Indians continued their depiedations u|)on the white settlers. On the 13th of January, 1781, a settler in PoAvell's Valley was killed and fourteen horses that belonged to a party -of men coming from Kentucky were carried off. In the latter part of January, a considerable number of Indians attacked Fort Blackmore* in this county, and, about tlie middle of February, three men were killed in PowelFs Valley and a consid- ei'able number of horses carried off. A company of militia was organized by Colonel Campbell and ordered to patrol Powell's Valley, under the command of Colonel J()seph Martin and Major Aaron Lewis. As this company of troops *Now Scott county. Washington County, 1777-1870. 349 proceeded on their outward trip, they discovered a large body of Jiidians in Powell's Valley. The Indians discovering the presence of Major Lewis, made their escape, but several traces of smaller parties, all making towards the mouth of Powell's river, were dis- covered, and the one that appeared the freshest was followed by Colonel Martin and his men, for about thirty miles below Cum- berland Gap, where the Indians were surprised and surrounded, but the cane was so thick they could not easily be detected or pur- si;ed on liorseback. Thirty guns at least were fired upon them, and, while it was thought that some of them were Avounded, there were none killed or left upon the ground. Martin's militia captured a number of shot pouches and blankets, upon one of which was found the name, John Brown, written in full, the said John Brown having been previously killed in Cumberland Gap. Colonel Mar- tin and his men pursued the Indians for about seventy miles. In tiie latter part of March, a party of northward Indians came up on the Sandy river and penetrated as far as tlie settlement on Hols- tou, where they carried off a son of Captain Bledsoe's, and the f]-oj]tiers were invaded at numerous other points by the Indians. Tlie settlements were threatened by an invasion from the united forces of the Cherokee and Creek Indians, assisted by the British agents and Tories. Colonel Arthur Campbell recommended to the Governor of Vir- ginia the building of a fort at the junction of the Tennessee and Ilf'lston rivers, and was actively engaged in building the fort at Cumberland Cap as previously ordered by the Governor. The Continental Congress and the officers of the Continental army having ascertained the value of the mountain militia, a pressing application from General Greene for men was received by Colonel Arthur Campbell, the county lieutenant of this county. Colonel Campbell immediately ordered out the militia of this county, not- withstanding their circumstances were ill-suited to such an expedi- tion, as matters with the Cherokees were still unsettled and the Indians from the northward were constantly invading the settle- ments. On the 25th day of February, 1781, one hundred men under Colc.nel William Campbell set out to join the militia of Botetourt and Montgomery coiinties, on their march to General Greene's army. Colonel Arthur Campl)ell, in a letter to the Governor on the 28th day of this month, said : "A large number would have gone, were 350 Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-17S6. it not for the daily appro! lonsion of attacks from the northward and southern Indians." Colonel William Campbell and his men marched to a point at or near the Lead i\Iines, where they were joined by the Montgomery militia. In the month of March, 1781, Colonel Arthur Campbell, county- lieutenant of Washington county, made a return of the militia of this county, from Mdiich it appears that there were, at this time, in this county, 2 battalions, 6 field officers, 55 commissioned officers, 4^ non-commissioned officers, 953 rank and file. In addition, there were about one hundred men residing between Walker's and Plender- scn's lines, who did duty at times as their inclination led them." Colonel Canipl)ell, with his com.pany of one hundred men pro- ceeded from Abingdon by the Lead Mines and on into North Carolina, where, on March 2d, he joined General Greene with four hundred volunteers. Colonel Campbell was now to oppose Lord Cornwallis, who had imbibed a personal resentment towards him as the commander at King's mountain, and wlw had threatened that, should Colonel Campbell fall into his hands, he would have him instantly put tO' death, for his rigor against the Tories, evidently d(\:igning to hold him personally responsible for the execution of the Toi} leaders at BickerstafP. This, instead of intimidating Colonel Cnmpbell, had the contrary effect, and Campbell, in turn, resolved tliat. if the fortunes of war should place CornAvallis in his power, he should meet the fate of Ferguson. It was not long until Campbell and his men were called into action. The Virginia militia, other than Colonels Preston's and Camp- bell's commands, w^hile on the march to join General Greene, were threatened with an attack from Colonel Tarleton's cavalry, with foui hundred infantry and two pieces of artillery sent out by Cotu- wallis to intercept them. General Greene had dispatched Colonel Otho Williams to protect the advancing reinforcements from his camp at Speedwell's Iron Works, on the upper waters of Trouble- some creek. The Virginia militia were marching on a highway, rimning west from a point below Hillsborough, to General Greene's headquarters. Cornwallis was in camp on the Alamance creek, about thirty miles west from Hillsborough. The command of Colonel Wil- liams was between the camp of Cornwallis and the advancing mili- tia. The roads leading from Cornwallis's camp and Williams's camp Washington County, 1777-1870. 351 to the position occupied by the militia, intersected each other at Whitsill's Mill, which was the nearest point at which Cornwallis could attack the advancing militia. It was the design of Cornwallis to attack and scatter this militia force and to destroy the three thousand arms they were bringing to General Greene's camp. General Greene moved his camp to Boyd's Mill, within fifteen miles of Cornwallis, and Colonels Williams and Pickens were on the fiank of the enemy. General Greene anxiously awaited results at his camp, seven miles above Whitsill's Mill. Thus matters stood on the fith of March, when Cornwallis made a sudden dash north, expecting to reach Whitsill's Mill in advance of Williams, and, passing north ten miles further, to intercept the militia reinforce- ments at High Eock Ford on Haw river, but Cornwallis had hardly left his camp before Colonel Williams received the news, and the ]'ace for Whitsill's Mill began. They were traveling on parallel roads, Williams with his light troops flying to the rescue oi his friends, Cornwallis with his heavy wagon train, dashing through ever} olistruction with reckless speed, hoping to intercept and desti'oy General Greene's reinforcements. "As the patrols and scouts passed from one column to the other, apprising each of the advance of his competitor, the race grew more animated, the com- petitors more earnest and resolute. The goal was now getting nearer and the excitement greater, when Williams, putting forth his whole energy, urged his men to a triumphant speed and dashed down the hill and across the Eeedy Fork, as the enemy appeared upon the crest in their rear, entering from the other road."* Colonel Williams drew up his forces on the north bank of the stream, where he attacked the British and checked them in their onward march. Colonel Williams' command was composed of some ISTorth Caro- lina troops and the Virginia militia under the command of Colonels Campbell and 7h"eston, who, as previously stated, had joined General Greene on March 2d, and the cavalry corps of Washington and Lee. The position occupied by Colonel Williams' forces was in front of the ford and some two hundred yavds below the mill. As the British forces approached, their riflemen formed the front rank' and fired at a distance, continuing to advance toward the creek *Schenck's North Carolina, 1780-1781. 352 Sovihwest Virginia, 17.k6-n86. uiiiil tlicv wrie within eighty yards of the American line, wlicn ('niii|ilM'll"s and Preston's riflemen tired upon them with deadly efiecl. One of the British officers, when shot, bounding up several feet fell dead. The enemy continued to advance, and when within forty-five yards of the American line, they were again fired upon jiy the riflemen. The enemy used their small arms and field pieces, l)ut, in every instance, tlieir firing was too high, and took effect only among the limbs of the trees. The enemy's forces were on flic hill, and their view was greatly ?obstructed by the smoke from the discharge of the guns of the Americans, who were below them. One of the principal objects ^^'hicb Colonel Williams had in view was the protection of Whit- siH's l\[i]l for a time sufficient to enable the provision wagons belonging to General Greene's army to load with provisioii, which Mas effected, and to prevent Cornwallis from surprising the rein- forcements on their way to General Greene. The Americans, ^^n\- ing accomplished their object, retired over the ford, which was about fjircc feet deep, with a rapid current, a slippery, rocky bottom and a precipitous brushy bank on the northern side. While crossing the ford. Major Joseph Cloyd observed G!)l'>ncl William Preston, his commaiider, on foot, Preston having lost his horse in the skirmish, whereupon Cloyd dismounted and assisted Colonel Preston into his saddle, when both escaped. The principal part of the fighting in this skirmish was done by Campbell's and Preston's riflemen and Lee's Legion. Colonel Campbell, in speaking of this engagement, said : "John Craig, one of his riflemen, acted witli his usual courage," and Gen- eral Greene, in speaking of the battle, said : "The enemy wer.e hand- somely opposed and suffered considerably." Cornwallis immediately withdrew his forces from the Alamance to p position on Leep river, not far from JamestOiwn, iSTorth Caro- lina, and the militia reinforcements proceeded on their way and reached General Greene's camp at High Eock Ford, on Sunday, March 11, 1781, four days before the battle of Guilford Courthouse. All preparations were made by General Greene to give Cornwallis ])attle at the first opportunity, and while Colonel Campbell took fewer men upon this expedition than any other commander, he was assigned one of the conspicuous parts in the subsequent campaign. Washington County, 1111-1810. 353 and all of the forces under his command have been since spoken of as "Campbell's Corps." The aggregate number of the Virginia militia, outside of the regular army, that participated in the battle of Guilford Court- house, was as follows : Colonel William Preston's command, 300 Colonel William Campbell's command, 60 Colonel Charles I^ynch's command, 150 Watkins's dragoons, 50 Virginia militia, 1,693 Total 2,353 It is ef.timated that the number of forces commanded by General Greene at the battle of Guilford Courthouse was not less than 4,500 men. General Greene, having collected an army of not less than 4,500 men at the High Eock Ford of Haw river, began his march from that place, on Monday, the 13th day of March, determined, to give battle to the e>nemy upon the first opportunity, and reached Guilford Courthouse on the evening of the 14th. He encamped about a mile above the town that night, while Corwallis was stationed about eight miles above the Courthouse. Guilford Courthouse, at the time in question, was the capital of Guilford county, North Carolina, and contained a population of about two hundred people. Its principal buildings were the court- house, jail and a large coppersmith shop. In recent years, it is noth- ing more than an open field, the county seat having been moved to Greensboro. General Greene had inspected the battlefield at Guilford court- house on the 10th of February, and pronounced it very desirable for his army. "It afforded a forest where the militia could fight from tree to tree, for shelter, and be protected from the charge of cavalry, and for the same reason, a solid column of bayonets could not be kept together, among the undergrowth of the trees. The roads that concentrated from the north, northeast and east, all afforded safe lines of retreat for his army to his supplies and reinforcements."* General Greene, in forming his line of battle, placed Campbell's *Scheiick's North Carolina, 1780-1781. 354 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. cor])s, eonsisting of about five liimdred and forty men, under the command of Colonel William Campbell, of Virginia, on the left of Butler's lino and ol.diqnel^y to it in the woods, and in the rear of the angle formed 1)y those two lines was placed Ijee's Legion, and in the rear of this line, on the gentle slope of the hill and about three hundred 3'ards distant to the east, were posted the Virginia militia. On tbe evening of the 14th of March, Colonels Campbell and Lynch, each in command of a corps of riflemen, and Lieutenant- Colonels Lee and Washington, in command of the Light Dragoons, Mcre advanced about a mile in front of the army and within seven ndles of Cornwallis's camp. The next morning early, it was ascer- tained that the enemy was in motion and advancing toward Guilford Courthouse, whereupon Colonel Lee, with his Legion and about thirty of Campbell's riflemen from Washington county under com- mand of Captain William Tate, of Augusta county, advanced to mxcet the enemy, while the rest of the riflemen, with Colonel Wash- ington's Horse, formed at their place of encampment on the pre- ceding night, to support Lee and Tate upon their retreat. Lee and Tate with their men met the enemy within two miles of their encampment and began to skirmish with them, and continued fight- ing and retreating for about half an hour, which disconcerted and delayed the enemy very much. In the skirmish between the forces of Lee and Tate and the forces of Colonel Tarleton, a loss of about fifty men was inflicted upon the British forces, while the light infantry of the guard, after losing abont one hundred of their num- ber at the hands of the riflemen, were relieved by a portion of Tarle- ton's cavalry, wdiich were ordered to their assistance. While this skirmish was in progress, the main body of Greene's army was formed about three-quarters of a mile in the rear of the position occupied by Campbell and Washington; and, upon the arrival of Lee and Tate, the advance guard was ordered back and directed to take the position assigned them in the line of battle by General Greene. Lee's Legion and Campbell's riflemen formed the corps of observation on the left flank, while the riflemen occupied a woodland position. About this time the enemy began a cannon- ade in the center, which lasted about twenty minutes, during whicli time they formed their line of battle by filing off to the right and loft, and then immediately advanced upon the American troops. The battle lasted abont two and one half hours. Washington County, 1777-1870. 355 While the militia on the left of the American line had been driven frO'm their position. Colonel Campbell, with his riflemen, made such a spirited attack on the British regiment on the right wing, that it was driven back, and the fire became so deadly tliat Colonel JSTorton, in command of the first battalion of British guards, was directed to join the British line on the right and oppose the advance of Campbell's Corps; and at this point the struggle became des- perate, "As the Hessian regiment passed the line of militia, it wheeled to tiic right, and, in line with Norton, faced Campbell. Campbell was reinforced by many of Butler's brigade, who retreated in that direction, and Ijy all of Forbes' men, who formed on Campbell's right. Lee's Legion was on that flanlv. The Seventy-first Eegiment of Highlanders continued on its course up the road and soon engaged Stevens' brigade of Virginians. "It had been the intention of Campbell to fall back and put his corps in line on the left of Stevens, but the Hessians passed so rapidly in the front as to cut him off. He was also delayed by his conflict with Norton on the left. The riflemen, retiring deeper into the forest, took to the trees, and made it so hot for the guards tliat they were compelled to retreat in great disorder. Cornwallis came in person tO' their rescue, and by riding in their front and e:--posing himself to imminent danger, succeeded in rallying them. The Hessians, being now joined again by the guards, made a com- bined charge and drove Campbell to the south, and entirely sep- arated his command from the American army, so that, in fact, two distinct battles were raging at the same time. "About one-qnarter of a mile on the southeast of Campbell's first position Cornwallis, who was following up Norton and the Hes- sians, had a large iron gray horse shot under him. The spot is now marked by a persimmon tree, a century old, whose identity is well authenticated by tradition. "Ca^npbell would retreat and fire, then the British would fall back, and, using the bayonet, push the riflemen back again; so it raged and alternated between them until Campbell was driven to a high range of hills, or a little moimtain range as it is sometimes called, about one mile from Campbell's first position. Here the riflemen began to gain a decided advantage and to drive the Hes- 356 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. sian.-^ I)('foi-o tluMii, wlieii T.ee, iinexpeetod]}', left CampbeH's flank and Tarlcton appeared on the scene."* Lee suddenly left Canipbell without warnins:, and was now an idle spectator of this scene from the courthouse hill, across Hunting creek, without notifying Greene of his presence or offering to cover the flanks. Colonel Tai'loton had l)oen sent by Cornwallis to rescue Colo- nel Norton- wlio was engaged by Campl^ell. and Tarleton. finding Canipbeirs rear unprotected, ordered the Hessians to fire, and rushed his cavalry on the riflemen under cover of smoke and cut them to pieces. "Colonel Camp-bell, with his Virginia and North Carolina rifle- men, was the last to fire a gun on this bloo^dy field, and was still firing when Greene sounded the retreat. They became scattered after Tarleton's charge upon them, and made theii- way as best they could to the camp of Greene next day."* Colonel Campbell was very much, angered at Colonel Lee, and freely expressed his opinion of his conduct, charging that Colonel Lee, witb his cavalry, rode off just as Tarleton began his charge upon the flanks of the riflenx-en. It is the opinion of many that, had Colonel Tjee acted Avell his part in this battle, Cornwallis would have been defeated and possibly captured, instead of the -Vmerican arm.y being forced to retreat. General Greene, with his army, retreated in good order to Speed- well's Furnace, about ten miles below the battlefield, not being pursued by the enemy further than the heights above Guilford Courthouse. Cornwallis, with his army, remained on the battleground from Thursday until Sunday, and on the evening of that day began a re- treat to the south. The loss of General Greene in this battle was 320 men killed and wounded, while the British killed and wounded exceeded 600. General Greene, on tlie 19th day of March, addressed the fol- lowing letter to Colonel Camp})ell : "Headquarters, March 19, 1781. "Sir, — Your faithful services and the exertions which you made to second the efforts of the Southern army, on the 15th inst., *Schenck's North Carolina, 1780-1781 Washington County, 1777-1870. 357 cJaim m}^ warmest thanlis. It would be ungenerous not to ac- knowledge my entire approbation of your conduct, and the spirited and manly behavior of the officers and soldiers under you. Sensi- ble of your merit, I feel a pleasure in doing justice to it. Most of the riflemen having gone home, and not having it in my power to make up another command, you have my permission to return home to your friends, and should the emergency of the southern operations require your further exertions, I Avill advertise you. "I am, sir, with great esteem, your most humble servant, "NATH'L GEEENB. "CoToyrEL Campbell." And Colonel Henry Lee, the oi^cer who had so ingloriously de- serted Colonel Campbell during the battle, had the audacity to ad- dress tlie following letter to Colonel Campbell: "March 17, 1781. "T am very happy in informing you that the bravery of your bat- talion, displayed in the action of the loth, is particularly noticed by the General. It is much to be lamented that a failure took place in the line which lost the day, separated us from the main body and exposed our retreat. I hope your men are safe and that the scattered will collect again. Be pleased to favor me Avith a return of your loss, and prepare your men for a second battle. '^T am, most respectfully, your obedient servant, "HE^RY LEE, Jun. "Colonel Campbell.'"'' But, notwithstanding the kind words spoken and many urgent requests made. General Campbell, on the 20th of the month, re- .-^i^emcd bis commission and returned to his home, declaring he coidd not longer serve his counti'y in the army with honor; and ho would not serve in the army longer where Colonel Lee held a com- mission. Cornwallis, while he succeeded in forcing General Greene to re- treat, was realh^ the loser in this battle, and on the Sunday fol- lowing, for the preservation of himself and army, he began an in- glorious retreat that terminated at Yorktown, where he was com- pelled, on the 19th day of October, 1781, to surrender his sword and army to the American forces. Colonel William Campbell, immediately upon his return to his 358 SonfJiwcst Virginia, 1746-1786. liniiio. announced liimsolf a candidate for the House of Delegates, to whieli position he was elected in the spring of the year 1781. The General Assembly met in Eichmond in May of that year, but were forced to adjourn tlieir proceedings first to Charlottesville and afterwards to Staunton to prevent capture by Colonel Tarleton. On the 1-lth day of June the House of Delegates appointed Colo- U(^l (*nn)p1)(>ll a l)rigadior-goncrnl of militia, to serve under Mi\r- quis de Lafayette, \\lio was tlien in command of the C*ontinental forces in Virginia. General Campbell immediately ol)tained a leave o-f absence and repaii-ed to the army, where General Lafayette assigned him to the conimand of the Light Infantry and Riflemen. General Campbell became a great favorite with Lafayette, who l^loced a great deal of confidence in his judgment and ability. Gen- eral Cauipbell was in command of a bi'igade marching in the di- rection of Yorktown through Cumberland county, Virginia. *One night he encam])ed liis men near the residence of an old English parson by the name of McEea, who had been drawing his 10,000 pounds of tobacco for many years, and was quite wealthy. When the regiment ])itched their tents General Campbell went a few miles to spend the night Avith a friend. The next morning M'hen he returned, his officers informed him that old McEae had been down, and said all he could to discourage the soldiers. He had told them that they had not the most distant idea of the dangers they were al)out to encounter ; that Cornwallis had a very large army, composed of the finest troops that had ever left England, and it was pei'fect folly to think of encountering them. He wound up by saying that they were going to a slaughter-pen, and his Lord Corn- wallis would slaughter them like a parcel of beeves. As soon as Campbell heard this ho sent three of his soldiers up to the house of McEea, with directions to tell him that he wished to see him, and if he refused to come they m-ust bring him by force. McEea soon arrived at the camp. Campbell informed him that he had during his absence said all that could have been said to discourage his men, that lie deserved coriioral punishmf^nt, but on account of his old age he would not inflict that on him, but when his men started he would show him how his men and the rest of the patriots would serve his Lord Cornwallis. When the regiment was ready to start *Col. John Redd MSS. Washington County, 1777-1870. 359 Campbell commanded McEea to lie down and stretch himself out full length across the road. As soon as the jiarson was stretched out full length every man stepped over him. Campbell informed him tliat was tbe way be intended to serve his Lord Cornwallis. Tbu parson left our gallant general in such an ill humor that I am afraid his prayers did not accompany the gallant commander of the regi- ment."* ^^'hi]e Lord Cornwallis was encamped at Williamsburg and La- fayette was six miles distant towards Eichmond, Greneral Camp- 1)'>11, who was in command of a brigade of light troops connected A\ith Lafayette's army, posted a picket guard at the Three Burnt ClrinmeyS' about midway between the hostile camps. Upon several occasions the enemy sent out a superior body of horsemen and drove in the American pickets. Colonel Campbell saw in this an oppor- tunity to strike the enemy a severe blow, and on the following morning he posted a large body of mounted riflemen with himself at their head in a grove by the roadside, a short distance in the rear of the Burnt Chimneys, and, as usual, the pickets were posted at the Chimneys, with instructions to retire on the approach of the Jh'itish cavalry. As usual, a large force of British cavalry was sent to dri\c in the pickets, and in doing so they pursued them under v,]iip and spur, but when they reached the grove they met with an unexpected reception. Campbell's riflemen welcomed them with a volley of rifle balls, which killed more than twenty of their cavalry and forty of their horses. It is useless to say that the American pickets were not again disturbed. Soon thereafter General Campbell was aftlicted with a pain in his breast, which disabled him, when he was conveyed to the residence of Colonel John Syme at Eocky Mills, Hanover county, where, after a few days' illness, he expired on August 22, 1781, in his thirty-sixth year. When General Lafayette received the intelligence of the death of General Campbell he issued the following order : "The general has no douljt that the army will unite with him in regretting General Campbell's death, an officer whose services must have endeared him to every citizen, and in particular to every American soldier. The glory whicTi General Campbell acquired in the affairs of King's mountain and Guilford Courthouse does his *John Redd MSS. 3G0 Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-1786. memory everlasting honor and insures him a high rank among the defenders of liberty in the American cause. "The general wishes it had been possible for himself and the officers of the army to ])ay I'iin those lioiiors to whicli his rank, bnt particularly his merit, so highly entitled him, but his great distance from the army and our jiresent situation render it impossible. "The lieutenant of tlie county will assemble a corps to pay mili- tary honors to the deceased general. General Stephens is re- (juested to name a deputation of four field officers, and will im- mediately repair to Eocky Mills, aud. in the name of the army, pay (rcneral ('ampl)ell their last I'espects." General Campbell was buried in Hanover county, but his body was afterwards removed to Aspinvale, his home, near Seven-Mile Ford. The settlements on the Holston were now being constantly as- sailed by the Indians. Captain Moses Loony was captured and car- ried into captivity, where he remained with the Indians until Au- gust of this year, when he was sent by them to inform the autlioi-i- ties that they had collected all the prisoners tliey had taken, about fifty in number, at Chote, and were ready to deliver them to Colo- nel Martin; also that the Indian chiefs were ready to attend any- where, and the whole nation was ready to make peace. In March of this year Colonels John Sevier and Isaac Shelby undertook an expedition against ttie Chickamogga Indians, and in assist in this undertaking 200 of the militia of Washingion county joined Colonel Isaac Shelby and marched to the Big Island in the Frencli Broad river, where the troo|)s wei-e rendezvoused, from which ]>oint they marched for the sources of the Mobile river, and after the third day they crossed the Tennessee river at Scitico, at which point they held a council with the friendly Indians. On the (>th day they encamped on the Hiwassee river, and on the 7th day tlii'y crossed the river and passed into the territory of the hostile Indians, ("olouel Sevier, with his forces, marched immediately against V'ann's Towns, which he reduced tO' ashes, and thence to Bull Town, at the head of Chickamogga creek. After the destruc- tion of this town they marched to the Coosa river, where they killed a white man by the name of Clements, upon whose person was found papers fi'om which it was ascertained that he was a ser- geant in the British army, and it was believed that he instigated. WasJiington Comity, 1777-1S70. 361 the Indians in their depreciations against the frontiers. The army then proceeded to Spring Frog Town, thence up the Coosa river to Estanola, an Indian town, which they destroyed. After thus de- stroying the Indian towns and killing all the Indian warriors they could find, the troops returned to Chote, where a council was held with the friendly Indians, at the conclusion of which the troops were disbanded and returned to their homes. This may be said to be the last expedition against the Indians in which the militia of Washington county in any numbers parti- cipated. Washington county was not much longer to be considered a portion of the frontiers, and her citizens soldier}^ was soon to be deprived of an occupation which they always followed with avidity — that of waging war against the Indians and Tories. In April of this year a party of Xorthward Indians came into the settlement on Clinch and killed and scalped two daughters of Cap- tain John Maxwell's and took nine prisoners. On the same occa- sion they visited the home of Captain Eobert Moffett near the Clinch river. Two sons of Captain Moffett's being at a sugar camp near their home, were killed and scalped by the Indians. Thomas Inglis, who was reared at Draper's Meadows, had, with his family, some time previous to this time, settled in Burk's Gar- den on a piece of land that had been patented by his father, William Inglis, about thirty years previously. His nearest and only neigh- bor at this time was Joseph Hix, who lived about two miles from his home. A large party of Indians under the command of "Black Wolf," a noted Indian warrior, in April of this year visited Burk's Garden, and while Inglis was out on his farm surrounded his house and took his wife and three children and a negro man and woman prisoners, and, after loading the negroes with as much property as they could carry, they burned the house. Inglis, observing the size of the party, decided to make his way to the nearest settle- ment and obtain help. He, with a colored man, crossed the moun- tains to the settlement in the Eich Valley (now Smyth county), and arrived at that point at a very opportune time, the day being the muster day for the inilitia of the community. As soon as Inglis gave information of Avhat had occurred, about twenty men volunteered to go. in pursuit of the Indians, and immediately be- gan the march for Inglis' home, which they reached tlie next morn- ins about daybreak, to find nothing but a heap of ashes where In- 363 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. g]is' house had formerly stood. Joseph Hix, Inglis' neighbor, dis- covering the presence of tJie Indians in the coranmnity, immedi- ately made his way to a small settlement, about six miles away, where he obtained about six volunteers and returned to Burk's Garden and joined tlie forces from Eich Valley. Tl\p company thus composed immediately began the pursuit of the Indians. Captain James Maxwell, who had during the same month lost two of his daughters at the hands of the Indians, was placed in command of the pursuers, and, after five days' cautious marching, the Indians were discovered in camp in a gap of Tug mountain. The pursuers were at once divided into two companies. Captain Maxwell, with about one-half the number, undertook to get in front of the In- dians, while Thomas Inglis, with anotlier party, was to attack them in the rear. Captain Maxwell failed to get in a position to attack the Indians by daylight, and Inglis and his party attacked them alono. As soon as a shot was fired the Indians began to tomahawk the prisoners. Thomas Inglis rushed into the Indian camp and reached the side of his wife. At that moment she received a terri- ble blow on the head with a tomahawk from an Indian, and in fall- ing she protected the infant she held in her arms by covering it. In addition to Mrs. Inglis' injuries, Mary Inglis and William Inglis, children of Thomas Inglis, were scalped. The Indians, in making their escape, passed near Captain IMaxwell and his men, upon whom they fired, one ball striking Captain Maxwell and killing him in- stantly. He wore a white hunting shirt, and was a good target for the Indian fire. The pursuers encamped upon the ground for the night, and proceeded to bury Captain Maxwell and William Inglis, the 3'^oung boy who died from his wounds. The number of Indians killed at this time is not known. Maxwell's Gap, in the Tug Eidge, is the locality of this occur- rence. Mary Inglis, the little girl, died a few days after the skir- inisl), but Mrs. Inglis entirely recovered from her injuries. In the same month the Indians killed a man on Bluestone and a woman at Culberson's Bottom, on 'New river. It is a remarkable fact that of the five houses visited by the Indians in this month four l)elonged to militia officers, and some of them were a con- siderable distance within the frontier settlements; from which fact it is reasonable to suppose that the Indians were prompted and led by Tory sympathizers in their assaults upon the frontiers. Washington County, 1777-1870. 363 Major John Taylor, who was in command of the militia on the upper waters of the Clinch, pursued the different parties of invading Indians, but did not succeed in overtaking them, and Colonel Pres- ton was compelled, for the protection of the settlements, to direct Colonel Joseph Cloyd to call out the militia and to station them at "David Doak's Mill" to protect the settlements. The consternation produced along the frontiers from Powell's Valley to the head of the Clinch was so great that the Governor directed Colonel William Preston to assemble the field oflBcers of Montgomery and Wash- ington counties at the Lead Mines at once to devise ways and means to protect the frontiers. This meeting of the field officers took place on July 6, 1782, on which day the following proceedings were had: At a meeting of the field officers of the militia of Montgomery and Washington counties, in conformity to instructions received from Ilis Excellency, the Governor, etc., to concert and settle some proper plan for the defence of both counties. Present : Field Officers for Montgomery County. William Preston, Daniel Trigg, Walter Crockett, John Taylor> Joseph Cloyd, Abraham Trigg. Field Officers for Washington County. Arthur Campbell, Aaron Lewis, William Edmiston, James Dysart, and Major Patrick Lockhart, District Commissioner. It is the unanimous opinion of the Board of Officers that the 200 men permitted to be drawn out by His Excellency, the Governor, for the defence of the frontiers be disposed of into the following districts, namely, on New river, in the neighborhood of Captain Pearis, 30 men; Sugar Eun, 20; Captain Moore's, head of Blue- stone, 25 ; head of Clinch, 25 men. In Washington, at Eichland, 20 ; Castle's Woods, 30 ; Eye Cove, 20; Powell's Valley, 30 men. The extent of the difi;erent districts, from Captain Pearis's to Sugar Eun, 10 miles ; to Captain Moore's head of Bluestone, 30; to Captain Maxwell's, head of Clinch, 16 miles, which is nearest the Washington line; to Eichland's, 24; to Castle's Woods, 30 ; to Eye Cove, 28 ; to Powell's Valley Fort. 56 miles, in all 164 miles. 364 Southwest Virginia, 171,6-1186. AVe find the greatest difficulty in making any provision for the support of these men while on duty, as there is no specific tax brought into the place appointed for that purpose in either of the counties ; the olTicers have therefore recommended Major Lockhart, tlie District Commissioners, to purchase 200 bushels of corn in ]\Iont- goinery county, at the most convenient places where the militia are to do duty, at three shillings a bushel, being the current price, and an equal quantity in the county of Washington, for the use of the troops, etc., which we are convinced will be a great saving to the State, as the transporting from Botetourt, where there is some belonging to the public on hand, to the several districts where the militia are to do duty, will be attended with very great expense, the distance being from GO to 100 miles, &c. As objections have been made to that part of the Governor's instructions ordering the direction of the militia of both counties while on duty, under that of the county-lieutenant of Montgomery, who lives upward of one hundred and eighty miles from Powell's Valley and not less than ninety miles from Eichland District, in Washington, which renders it impossible and useless for him to havn these men under his directions, for which reason he declined that part of tlie coinmand : Let it therefore be humbly recommended to His Excellency the Governor, to alter that part of his orders, by giving the superintendence of the troops in each county to the com- manding off.cer of the same, as it will save the expense of a field officer being on duty, which otherwise would be necessary, and the defense of the frontier will in all probability be better conducted. The Board of Officers are unanimously of opinion that the coun- ties of IMontgomery and Washington will provide the number of men ordered for tlieir defense, without calling on any of the neig1iI)oring counties for assistance, unless there is a real reason for doing so in some emergency or on the approach of a large body of the enemy. They also beg leave to suggest that the usual manner the Indians conduct their attacks on our settlements makes it necessary that a proper number of scouts be employed in each district to discover their approaches, for which reason it had induced the officers to direct that two be employed in each district for the iuimediate safety of the inhabitants. Pursuant to the recommendation thus made by tlie field officers of the two counties, the number of militia recommended were sta- Washinglon County, ]777-1870. 365 tioned at the places designated, and all placed under the command of Colonel Arthur Campbell, of Washington count}'. About this time the frontier settlement in Powell's Valley was much harassed b}' small parties of Cherokee Indians from the Chickamogga towns, who, in the spring of this year, killed two men, and had almost ruined the inhabitants by destroying or car- rying off their stock. Captain Samuel Newell, who was in com- mand of the militia in that locality, pursued the Indians on several occasions, and at one time had the good luck to overtake two of their parties, one about forty-five miles above the Cuttawa or Cum- berland Gap, and firing upon them in camp, wounded some and retook everything. The other party was overtaken when asleep; when one was killed and another wounded, and the rest of the party were forced to make their way home naked. About this time, as two friendly Indians were coming up tlie Hols- ton river, with a canoe loaded with skins for Colonel Joseph Mar- tin at Long Island, they were killed by two of the settlers, who, in attempting to dispose of their skins, were detected, but the inhabitants in the community of Long Island would not permit tlio criminals to be brought to justice, alleging against the Indians in general the late depreciations on the frontiers. In the year 1781, a company of eleven Indians visited the home of a Mr. Hamblin, on Clinch river, near Castle's Woods. Mrs. Ham- blin, who was at home, barred the doors to her house and defended it against the attack of the Indians with an old musket-gun that would not fire. But in the spring of the year 1782, the Indians returned to her home, at which time they succeeded in killing and scalping Mrs. Hamblin and all her children except one, a little boy, whom they carried a prisoner into Canada. In July of this year, Oconostato, who was the principal chief of the Cherokee Indians, resigned his authority to his son, an Indian chief by the name of Tuckasee, and the frontier settlements had great hope of peace. On the 26th day of July, Ellis Harland, a noted Indian trader, returned from the Chickamogga Indians with the information that they desired peace, and that they were to set out for Chote with all their prisoners, the day he left them ; and, in a few days thereafter, Springstone, an Indian trader, brought to the settlements two prisoners, one a woman taken from Green river in Kentucky, her name being Stanley, the other a boy about ten 3G6 Southwest Virginia, 17JfG-1786. years old, a son of Thomas Steward, wlio was killed going down the river with Colonel Donaldson, when on his way to Cumberland. But, notwithstanding these professions of peace, a party of north- ward Indians penetrated this county in the month of August and killed two men: and on the 11th day of September, 1782, a party of northward Indians came as far as the settlement on the head of the Moccasin creek, within twelve miles of Abingdon, and attacked a family of fourteen persons, killing the husband on the spot, cap- turing the wife and six little children, three of whom were shortly afterward inhumanly murdered. One of the three, a young woman, survived the blows received from the Indians long enough to tell the tragic tale. Two, the wife and one child, made their escape the first day and night. A considerable booty in horses was carried off by the Indians. When news of this invasion reached the settlement, the militia on duty, wath perseverance in pursuing through a most rugged and difficult way, overtook the Indians and wounded several of them, on McClure, in Buchanan county, Virginia, and recovered unhurt the wife and child, with the Indian baggage and all the plunder they had taken. In September of this year, the Chickamogga Indians met Colonel Joseph Martin, at che Indian town, Chote, and delivered to him all tlie white prisoners in their possession? except three, whom they coidd not possibly get to the Indian town by the time appointed ; and Colonel ]\lartin, in addressing Colonel Campbell in regard to this subject, said: "1 believe that never people were more desirous of peace than the Cherokees." Notwithstanding the disposition of the Cherokees, and their efforts to bring about peace, their warriors were being constantly persuaded by the Tories, residing in their nations, to commit depredations upon the frontier settlements, and, during this year, in Kentucky county alone, eighty-five people were killed and scalped by the Indians. Colonel Campbell in the fall of this year, in a letter addressed to a Virginia official, said: "What if it should be the policy of the British ministry to drive from the other side of the Appalachian mountains all the settlers, before the signing of the pre- liminaries of peace?" and, in the same letter, he advised a strong expedition against the northward Indians, and declared that the Washington County, 1777-1870. 367 state of our western affairs calls for the united wisdom and most serious attention of the Executive.' While the Continental army, with the assistance of the regular quota of troops from the Tranalleghany settlements, were repelling the attacks of the British and winning the liberty of our country, the frontiersmen of Western Viriginia and North Carolina were winning the great West and were repelling the assaults of the Brit- ish and their Indian allies. On Christmas day, 1782, a party of Indians attacked the house of John Inglis, on Clinch river> and scalped and otherwise grievously wounded a young man by the name of Cox, whom they overtook in a field, and two days thereafter, near the head of Sandy river, this same company of Indians overtook three himters, two of whom they killed. Early in the year 1783, about twelve years after the first settle- ment at Castle's Woods, a party of northward Indians invaded the settlement and attacked the fort at Hamblin's IMill. This fort was erected by Henry Hamblin, one of the first set- tlers in that section, in the year 1776, with the assistance of Henry Dickinson, Charles Bickley, William Robertson, William Russell, Patrick Porter, Henry Neece, William Wharton, Humphrey Dick- inson, Frederick Fryley, James Bush, Archelas Dickinson, Samuel Ritchie, Jerry Harrold, Richard and William Long and William Bowlin, the first settlers in that section. The home of Henry Hamblin had, previously to this time, been twice invaded by the Indians, and in the spring of the year 1782, liis entire family, with the exception of a little boy, who was carried into captivity, were killed and scalped, and now this fort was again assailed by a company of Indians numbering seventeen. The Indians first ajipoared in the community at the house of ...-Joseph Ray, whom they killed and scalped along with several of his family and a neighlwr by the name of Samuel Hughes, who hap- pened to be at Ray's house at the time; besides killing these per- sons they made several others ]irisoners before they reached the fort. As they approached the fort they met a young woman by the name of Ann Neeee, whom they tomahawked and scalped and left for dead. "They then approached the fort and were discovered by Simon Oscher, Henry Dickenson and Charles Bickley, whO' hap- pened to be working at a mill near by. The Indians observing them 368 Southwest Virginia, 171^6-1786. about the same time and the white men being unarmed, their sit- uation was a fearful one. It was now to be a struggle which party should get to the fort first. Charles Bickley remarked, "Boys, follow me," and they all started for the fort at full speed, the Indians halt- ing to fire upon them. They got safely into the fort through a shower of balls, without receiving a scratch, thus literally running the gauntlet. There were but two gims in the fort, and with these Ocsher and Dickenson, each, killed an Indian. The balance of the savages knowing nothing of the strength of the fort, and their guns being empty, hastily picked up their fallen companions and fled into the woods. Meeting with a colored man who was hunting sheep, and who belonged to Henry Dickenson, they captured him and he was never heard of afterwards. Some hours after their departure, and while there were still appre- hensions of their return by the few persons in the fort, Ann Neeeo was seen slowly approaching, as bloody as if she had been dipped in a pool of gore, with streams jetting from her head apparently as numerous as had been the hairs of her head before she was scalped, each jet about the size of a hair. She recovered, married and raised a family, and some of her descendants are still living in Eussell county."* Colonel Daniel Smith, upon hearing of this invasion, gathered a number of men and marched to Hamblin's Mill, expecting to pur- sue the Indians, but when he arrived upon the scene, he ascertained that a party of fifteen men had some time prior to that time pursued the enemy. On the 21st day of March of the same year, notwithstanding every precaution had been taken by the militia officers to protect the peo- ple, a party of Indians had gotten in, undiscovered by the inhab- itants of Clinch and Blue Lick, to Walker's creek, where they killed one man and took his wife and two children and two children of a widow prisoners. Two days thereafter a man was killed on Blue- stone by the Indians. The Indians who made this raid were imme- diately pursued by experienced woodsmen, but were not overtaken. The locality of this Indian raid on Walker's creek is in Bland county, and the family whose head was killed and whose wife and children were carried into captivity, was named White. The fol- lowing incident connected with the subsequent history of one of the *Charles B. Coale. WasUngion County, 1777-1870. 369 children captured by the Indians that day and carried into cap- tivity, is preserved : "A number of years after, during one of the expeditions by Gren- eral Clarke to quell the Indians in Kentuckj^, he had encamped on the banks of tlie Ohio, awaiting the return of the scouts who had been sent out to reconnoitre. One of his men by the name of White, from Wahvoi'^s creek, and l)r()t]ier of the boy that had been stolen, was out a short distance from camp in search of game, when he saw a solitary Indian sitting on a log mending his moccasins. His first impulse was to shoot him, as all tlie Indians in that region were hostile, but fearing the report of his gun might start up a score of red skins in the vicinity, and as the back of the savage was towards liim. he concluded to approach stealthily, and capture him alive. He did so and took him into camp. From his hair and other indica- tions, they su])])osed him to be a white man, and after com- pelling hinf to scrub the paint off, their suspicions were confirmed. They subsequently learned through an interpreter, as the capti-ve had forgotten his native language, that his name was White, and that he had been stolen by the Indians from his home in Virginia, when a child. He eventually proved to be the brother of the man who captured him and came so near taking his life. "The brothers lived many years, settled in Kentucky, and he wlio had been so many years among the Indians was a delegate in the Legislature in the early organization of the State"* During the summer of 1780, Colonel William Campbell was recommended by the county court and commissioned by the Gover- nor as Sheriff of Washington county, which office he declined, where- upon Daniel Smith was recommended and commissioned as Sheriff, which office he accepted, and named John Yancey and Matthew Willoughby, as deputy sheriffs of the county. In the spring of the year 1781, the militia of Washington county was reorganized and divided into two battalions, which battalions were officered as follows : First battalion. Colonel, Walliam Camp- bell; Lieutenant- Colon el, William Edmiston; Major, Aaron Lewis. Second battalion. Colonel, Daniel Smith ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Joseph Martin; Major, Thomas Mastin. The first battalion was composed of the militia south of the Clinch mountain, and the second battalion of officers and men north *Charles B. Coale. 370 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. of Clinch mountain; which arrangements continued without inter- ference until the spring of 1782, some time after the death of Gen- eral William Campbell, when the officers of the first battalion were us follows: Colonel, William Edmiston; Lieutenant-Colonel, Aaron Lewis; Major, James Dysart, and this arrangement continued until the end of the Revolutionary war. In the spring of the year 1781, a number of gentlemen qualified as deputies to Robert Preston, surveyor of Washington county, tlieir names being: David Carson, Walter Preston, Andrew Lewis, Charles Campbell and Benjamin Sharp. Previously to the year 1781, it seems that the ministers of the dis- senting churches were not authorized by law to perform the rite of matrimony between any of the citizens of the Commonwealth, and, if they did so, considerable doubt was expressed as to the legality of the marriage. It was necessary that the marriage ceremony, to be legal, should be performed by a minister of the Church of England, and that minister, in this portion of Virginia, was the Rev. Adam Smyth, who lived in Botetourt county, Virginia. I cannot -ascertain whether our early settlers were united in mar- riage according to the prescribed method, or whether they were united by the dissenting ministers, but it is certain that the situ- ation was such that the General Assembly of Virginia, at its Octo- ber session, 1780, enacted a law declaring what should be consid- ered a lawful marriage. The preamble to this act declares its object to be to encourage marriages and for removing doubts concerning the validity of marriages celebrated by ministers, other than those of the Church of England. By the act in question it was declared that it should be lawful for any minister of any congregation to celebrate the rite of matrimony according to the usage of the con- gregation to which the parties to be married respectively belonged, and declared such marriage, as well as those theretofore celebrated, to be good and valid in law. But the act provided that no person should be married without lawful license first had or thrice pub- lication of bans in the respective congregations in which the parties to be married severally resided, and the fee of the minister was fixed at twenty-five pounds of tobacco, and no more. The minister was required to make a certificate of the fact of marriage and return it to the court, there to be recorded by the clerk. This same act provided that the courts of the different coun- WasUtigton County, 1777-1870. 371 ties shall, and are hereby authorized, on recommendation of the eld- ers of the several religious sects, to grant license to dissenting min- isters of the gospel, not exceeding the number of four of each sect in an}^ one county, to join together in holy matrimony, any persons within their counties only, which license shall be signed by the judge, or elder magistrate imder his hand and seal. Pursuant to this act, the following ministers of dissenting con- gregations were granted license in tliis county: Eev, Charles Cummings, Presbyterian, Eev. Thomas Woolsey' Baptist, Eev. Simon Cockrell, Baptist, Eev. Joseph Ehea, Presbyterian, Eev. Ebenezer Brooks, Eev. Timothy Burgess, Baptist, Eev. Thomas Brown Craighead, Presbyterian, Eev. John Frost, Baptist, Eev. Jacob Snyder, Eeg. Eeformed. At the June term of the county court of this county, the follow- ing orders were entered : "Ordered that Francis Beattie and Jonas Smith view the way for a road from near the junction of a path that now goes by the Ebbing Spring Meeting-House, and mark the said road, with blazes, and that Francis Beattie be the overseer of said road." "On motion of Ann Meek, leave is granted her to keep an ordi- nary at her own house- she giving bond and security according to law." "Ordered that Adam Hope have leave to build a mill on his own land." And at the August term, 1781, tJie folowing order was entered: "Ordered that John Yancy have a bar, clerk's seat, sheriff's box, the upper floor laid, one pair of stairs, three windows and shutters, for the courthouse, and prepare the prison and finish the stocks." And at the March term, 1782, the following orders were entered: "Ordered that two sixpence be levied on each tithable for the purpose of purchasing a wagon for the use of the United States." At this time there existed a controversy between the citizens of Washington and Montgomery counties, as to the true location of the dividing line between the counties, and at the May term, 1783, the county court of this county, agreed with the court of Montgomery 373 Suuthiccst Virginia, 1746-1786. eouiitv to the ii])|)oi]iliiu'iit of Iliigli Fulton to run the line divid- ino- the two counties, Avhieli he did and made his report on the Gth day of May- ITSo. The following is a copy of the courses, dis- tances and houndaries betAveen the counties of Washington and Montgomery, as fixed by this report: "Beginning at a white walnut and buckeye at the ford of Hol- ston next above the Royal Oak, and runneth thence — N. 31 W. over Brushy mountain, one creek. Walker's mountain north fork of Hol- ston, Locust cove, Little mountain, Poor Valley creek. Clinch moun- tain, and the south fork of Clinch to a double and. single sugar trees and two buckeye saplings on Bare grass hill, the west end of Mor- ris' knob,, fifteen miles and three quarters. Thence from said Imob north crossing the spurs of the vsame, and Paint Lick mountain the north fork of Clinch by John Hines' plantation, and over the river ridge by James Poark's in the Baptist Valley, to a sugar tree and two white oaks on the head of Sandy five miles, one quarter — twenty poles. "The beginning at said walnut and buckeye above the Royal Oak, and running south, crossing the middle fork of Holston, Campbell's mill creek, three mountains, the south fork of Holston above Jones* mill, his mill creek, four mountains, Fox creek to six white pines on the top of Iron mountain by a laurel thicket, eleven miles, three quarters and sixty poles. "The distance of said line from the head of Sandy to the top of the Iron mountain is thirty-three miles. "Executed and returned. May th.e 6th, 1783. "HUGH FULTOT^." In the spring of the year 1783 there was a requisition upon the county lieutenant of Washington county for a troop of horse, which troop Avas raised, and by order of the county court entered at the March term, 1783. Robert Campbell, William Dryden and Robert Kennedy were appointed officers of said company. In the early days of our history, when any one of our citizens was sued for debt, he was arrested by the sheriff and required to give good security or go to jail, and it must be very interesting to the reader of the present day to understand the obligation that a secu- rity assumed at that day, and we give the following order for the information of the reader. Washington County, 1777-1870. 373 In the suit of William Houston vs. Thomas Smith, for a debt the following order was entered on the 19th day of September, 1782: "Abraham Fulkerson of this county came into court, and under- takes for the defendant, that in case he shall be cast in this suit, he shall satisfy and pay the condemnation of the court or render his body to prison in execution for the same, or that he, the said Abraham Fulkerson, will do it for him." The General Assembly of Virginia, by an Act passed in the year 17S1, permitted certain citizens of the Commonwealth to pay their taxes in such stock and provisions as could be used by the Conti- nental army, and in April of the year 1783 John Campbell was appointed a commissioner to receive these commutable articles at the to-\vn of Abingdon. At the same term of the court a gentle- man qualified to practice law, who afterwards became distinguished in the history of Kentucky, the Honorable John Brown. Tn the early days of the history of this county, it was customary for the overseers of the poor to apprentice the poor orphan children of the county, aud the order of the court authorizing such, is clearly shown by an order entered at the May term, 1783, in the county court of this county, which is as follows : "Ordered that James Stuart, an orphan child of Elizabeth Baker, be boiuid to John Creenway for the term of seven years to learn the art and mystery of blacksmith and cutler, during which time he is to learn him, the said Stuart, to read and write and the five com- mon rules of arithmetic, and at the expiration of his apprenticeship he is to give him a good suit of clothes, and to get part of his learn- ing in the three last years of his time." The members of our county court in those early days detested the law-breaker and never failed to impose upon the guilty the punishment prescribed by law, and their orders indicate that they insisted upon a speedy execution of their judgments. The following order was entered by the court on the 15th day of July, 1783, upon the trial of a citizen of the coimty: "This day came as M'ell the attorney for the Commonwealth as the ra^'d defemdantl, whereupon, Mary Henderson wavs sworn and examined, and the defendant heard in his own defence, on consid- eration whereof, it is ordered that the said defendant pay ten pounds in half an hour, or receive twenty lashes on his bare back well laid on, at the common whipping post, &c." The Continental Congress of the United Colonies received from 374 Southwest Virginia, 17J/0-17S6. the British govoi-nnicnt, early in the fall of 1783, a proposal for peace, and provisional articles were signed at Paris on the 13th day of November, 1783. A proclamation declaring a cessation of hos- tilities ^A'as published by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia on the 7th day of April, 1783, and by the Governor of Virginia on the 31st day of April, 1783; and a permanent treaty of peace AVhipping Post. was conchided on the 19th of April thereafter, by which treaty the independence of the colonies was recognized. Onr people had demonstrated to the world that they were patriots and worthy of their independence. They were now to demonstrate to the world that they were capable of forming a national character and that they were worthy of the lilessings of liberty. The Continental Congress of the United Colonies, by a proclama- tion at a meeting on the 18th day of October, 1783, recommended to all the people of the colonies the celebration of the 3d day of Washington County, 1711-1810. 375 December, 1783, as a clay of public tbanksgiving, in token of their gratitude to Almighty God for their deliverance and independence, and pursuant thereto, the people of the colonies celebrated the day in an appropriate manner. For some cause that I cannot now explain, William Edmiston, who was commissioned sheriff of Washington county, in the year 1782, refused to give security for the collection of the tax as directed by law, but he seemed to have been permitted to execute the duties of the office during the year and until the 16tli of March, 1781, on which day, James Dysart produced the Governor's commission bear- ing date the 8th day of December, 1783, :ap])ointing him sheriff of Washington county, and took the oath of office, naming Alexander Donaldson, James Craig, Christopher Acklin and Joseph Snodgrass, deputy sheriffs, all of whom took the oath of office. At the same time the court required the sheriff to give security for the collection of the public tax for the year 1783, which security he refused to give, whereupon the court directed that the clerk certify this fact to the Governor, along with the names of the two next oldest magis- trates in the commission of peace and who had not yet been com- missioned sheriff', whereupon, the clerk, complying with the order of the court, certified to the Governor, the names of John Kinkead and James Montgomery, whereupon James Dysart excepted to the action of the court, by his counsel, John BroAra, and gave the following reasons for his non-compliance, to-wit : "That he did not receive his' commission until some time in Feb- ruary, and no court being held imtil the present date it was utterly out of his power to comply with the law in making the collection for the yea? 1783; that he is ready and will exert himself, if con- tinued in office, to make the collection for the present year in which he received his commission, and would willingly undertake to col- lect arrears, if sufficient time would be given by amendment of the revenue law at the next meeting of the Assembly; that he humbly conceives that neither the letter nor the spirit of the law can operate so against him as to deprive him of his right secured by the constitu- tion, the authority of which he trusts will always be deemed para- mount to any particular act." The order of the court recommending John Kinkead and James Montgomery for the position of sheriff for the county is as follows : "Ordered that John Kinkead and James Montgomery be recom- :i76 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. mended to His Excellency the Governor as fit and cajiable persons for sheriff of Washington county, also, that Joseph Martin stands first in the commission of the peace, but he being a senator for Sul- livan county in the State of North Carolina, we leave it to the Executive to judge right." Notwithstanding the protest of Captain Uysart, he lost his posi- tion, and the Governor, on the 5th day of June, 1784, commis- sioned John Kinkead, but he, in turn, failed and refused to give tlie liond required by law, whereupon, the county court of this county recommended James Montgomery and Thouias Mastin, as fit and capable persons for sheriffof the county, and James Montgomery was commissioned as such, and gave the bond required by law, on the 18th day of January, 1785. When Montgomery assumed the duties of this position, the peo- ple of Washington county had not paid their taxes for three years. While the reason is not known, it is fair to suppose from other facts that are known, that Colonel Arthur Campbell induced Edmiston, Dysart and Kinkead to refuse to give the security for the collec- tion of the taxes, and that he prompted the people in their refusal to pay their taxes. Archibald Scott was one of the pioneers of that quiet and beau- tiful little valley that nestles between Powell's mountain and Wallen's ridge in Lee county, along which Wallen's creek winds its noisy and meandering way, and which is now the home of so many happpy and prosperous families. This little valley was sejected by the first settlers for its fertility, its water facilities, its superior range, romantic surroimdings and remoteness from the usual route of predatory bands of Indians, who, at that day, occa- sionally left their toAvns beyond the Ohio to prey upon the scattered settlers on the Holston. Mr. Scott had married Miss Fannie Dicken- son, of Eussell county, many of whose relatives are still living there. Being the daughter of one of the brave and hardy pioneers of Castle's Woods, she had been reared among the dangers and excitements of frontier life, and hence was a companion upon whose coolness and fortitude her fearless and enterprising husband coidd depend in their new home on the verge of civilization. They removed to it in 1783 just five years after Daniel Boone had passed along the same trace with his family on their way to the wilderness beyond the Cumber- land, and twelve years before the Indian raid on the Livingston WasJiington County, 1777-1870. 377 family on Holston. He located a corn right to all that valuable tract of one thousand acres subsequently owned by Mr. Eobert Duff, and still in the possession of Mr. Duff's descendants. Mr. Scott erected his cabin on the head waters of Wallen's creek, near the spot now occupied by the residence of ]\[r. Thomas D. Duff. Here, with his wife and little ones, he was living on the rewards of honest toil, and doubtless looking forward with prophetic vision to the day, not far in the future, when that rich and romantic valley- reposing so quietly among the mountains, would teem with wealth and a happy population. He bared his brawny arm and cleared the forest, and for three years his cabin was the home of contentment, plenty and domestic joys. On June 20, 1785, the family, after a day of toil and after partaking of their frugal meal, had retired to rest, without a thought perhaps of impending danger, and dreaming per- cliance of the luxuriant harvest so soon to be reaped and garnered. That pleasant summer day, as Mr. Scott was toiling amid the grow- ing corn, he was seen and watched by a band of about twenty Shaw- nese Indians, who, by some means, had been diverted from their usual route, and, having observed the smoke rising from the cabin, were attracted towards it, and lay in ambush on the mountain side till night spread her curtain over the valley. When all was quiet they approached and entered, and the first notice that the hus- band and father had of their presence was the gleam of the toma- hawk that killed him in his bed. The leader of the band was the notorious and cruel half-breed Benge, who was killed six years there- after, not many miles from the same place, as he was making his way to Big Stone Gap, with the Livingston captives. After scalping Mr. Scott they murdered and scalped his five children, plundered and burned the cabin, took Mrs. Scott prisoner, and started back on their long journey to their towns beyond the Ohio. Her suffering during this journey over steep mountains and through deep and rapid streams was indescribable. When faint and weary and foot- sore, she failed to travel as rapidly as her captors desired, they would slap her in the face with the bloody scalps of her husband and children. Being a woman of great strength, activity and nerve, she bore up wonderfully, and even surprised the savages by her endu- rance. After traveling about two hundred miles and reaching one of their fa^'orite hunting grounds in Kentucky, not far from the Ohio, they 378 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. stopped a few days to rest and Inmt. It was decided among them, that one of the Indians, when they reached their town on the Miami, should have their captive for a wife, and hence he was designated to guard her while the rest were engaged in the hunt. Some hours after they left, the Indian on guard fell into a profound sleep. See- ing which and making a noise that did not seem to disturb his slum- bers, she determined to kill him with his own tomahawk which lay by his side, and then try to escape. She took the weapon and raised it above his head' but, being weak and nervous from fatigue and distress of mind, she feared she might not be able to strike a fatal blow and concluded to make an effort to escape. She made her way to a spring a short distance from the camp, waded along the branch to conceal her trail, and was soon safe from the pursuit of her guard in a thick cane-brake. Hearing those who were hunting not a great way off, she wait'^d until their whooping died in the dis- tance, when she started out on the long and perilous journey towards the Cumberland mountain, the dim outlines of which she had seen as she crossed an elevation. For weeks she wandered through the unbroken forest without food and almost destitute of raiment, sub- sisting on berries, barks and roots, and many days wandering so much out of her way as to make but a mile ot two. Finally coming to a river (supposed to be the Kentucky), she foimd a path on the bank which she followed. One morning while following the path up the stream, she heard a hunting party meeting her, and seeing a large sycamore near the path, she stepped behind it and fortu- nately found it hollow where she concealed herself, imtil the Indians had passed. A day or two after this and before she had reached the head waters of the stream, she heard the Indians on her trail with dogs. She crawled into a hollow log that lay across the path, over which some of them jumped their ponies, and others passed around the end without discovering her. After the Indians had disappeared, she followed on very cautiously till she came to where the path forked. This perplexed her some- what, not knowing which to take. She finally took the left, which seemed to be the plainest, when a bird flew past, touched her shoulder and lighted in the other path. She kept on, however, but had pro- ceeded but a few steps when the bird repeated its singular action. This led her to stop and reflect, and, coming to the conclusion that the bird was the spirit of one of her murdered children come to Washington County, 1777-1870. 379 guide her throuo-h tlie wilderness, she took the other path, which proved to be the right one, and led her through what is now known as Pound Gap. She eventually made her wa}^ intO' Castle's Woods, where many of her relatives resided and still reside. ^ After some years, Mrs. Scott married Mr. Thomas Johnson, for whom the county of Johnson in Tennessee was called. She raised a family of children, all of Avhom married and became useful and respectable members of society. She lived to an advanced age, and her ashes now repose on a little hillock near the old blacksmith shop, not far from the l)ase of Clinch mountain at Hayter's Gap, in Eus- sell county, Virginia."* In addition to the facts contained in this account as preserved by ]\Ir. Coale, we are able to give from reliable documentary authority, the following : "Another house stood by the residence of Archibald Scott, in which was a little girl eleven or twelve years old, with her brother some years j^oimger than herself. "Into this house the Indians did not enter for some reason, but shot through the door and killed the boy, whereupon the girl sprang out at a window and hid in a nursery of young peach trees til] the Indians were gone. She then re-entered the house, laid out her dead brother, and sat by him all night, and till late the next day, when a pa-rty of men arrived to bury the dead." The history of Washington county from this time henceforth, will be uninteresting as compared with that portion of our history with which we have been dealing. In April of the year 1784, a number of depredations were com- mitted by the Indians in Powell's Valley and on the Kentucky road. A boy was killed and a girl taken prisoner in Powell's Valley, and a man and a woman and two children were killed in the winter of ] 784, on the Kentucky road by a party of Cherokees under a young Indian chief by the name of Rattlesnake, and within the same year three men were killed near Cimiberland Gap, by the Creeks, and a boy killed and scalped and an arrow left in his breast on Powell's river. In the year 1783, the Governor and Council of Virginia authorized the building of a fort at Cumberland Gap, on the Virginia side of the line, which fort was erected under the supervision of Colonel *Charles B. Coale. 380 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. Joseph Martin in the fall of 1783. This fort was intended to be the residence of Colonel Joseph Martin, the Virginia Commissioner to the Indians, who of necessity had to remove from Long Island, then ascertained to be in the State of jSTorth Carolina. Into this fort there gathered about one hundred persons, and upon the out- break of hostilities, it was with difficnlty that they could be prevented from breaking up. Captain James Shelby had been killed near this station on his way to Washingion county, and a man had been killed on the north fork of Holston river on the 5th of A])ril, and ten days afterward a man was wounded with arrows on the head waters of Clinch. In Septeml^er of the year 1784, a party of Shawnese Indians ascended the Sandy river and, passing over to the head of Clinch, divided into small parties to steal horses and annoy the settlers. One of these parties came to the present location of Tazewell courthouse, where they visited the home of Andrew Davidson. Davidson's fam- ily consisted of a wife and three children, two small girls and a boy and two orphan children by the name of Broomfield. Mr. Davidson was absent from his home at the time of which we are speaking. When the Indians appeared at the house they informed Mrs. David- son that she must go with them to their home in the West, and there being nothing else that she could do, she took up her youngest child, the Indians carrying the others, and began the journey. Mrs. Davidson received kinder treatment at the hands of the Indians than she expected, and proceeded on tbe way to their homes beyond the Ohio. But, when, the India,ns arrived at their homes they took Mrs. Davidson's two little girls, tied them to trees and shot them before her eyes. The boy was given to an old Indian squaw and was soon afterwards accidentally droAvned, Mrs. Davidson was sold to a Frenchman living in Canada, where she was found by her husband after several jeaTS and returned to her home. Another company of Indians at the same time killed William Whitley, who lived in Baptist Valley. They mutilated his body in a terrible manner ; his bowels were torn out and stretched upon the bushes ; his heart was in one place and his liver in another. Another company of this same band of Indians discovered Henry Ilarman and his two sons, George and Ma,thias, and George Draper hunting in a section of country through which the Indian trail led. Ilarman and his associates were not expecting Indians so late in the season, and early in the Washington County, 1777-1870. 381 morning the}' Iniilt their camp.. Harraan's two sons had gone out to see whether tliey could find game, when, to their surprise, tliey discovered an Indian camp but a short distance from their own, with ever} indication of the very recent presence of the Indians. They returned to camp and reported what they had found; where- upon tlie himters immediately proceeded to return to the settlements. They had not proceeded far before they were fired upon l^y the Indians from behind a log, whereu23on, the Indians immediately advanced on Henry Harman, Avho fell back to where his sons stood I'eady to meet the Indians. A right brisk figlit took place, a description of which is as follows : "The Indians immediately surrounded the Avhite men, who had formed a triangle, each man looking out, of what would have been Mith men enough, a hollow square. The old gentleman bade ]\Iathias to reserve his fire, while himself and George fired, wounding, as it would seem, two of the Indians. George was a lame man from hav- ing had white swelling in his childhood, and after firing a few rounds the Indians noticed his limjiing, and one who had fired at him, rushed upon him thinking hiui w^ounded. George saw the fatal tomahawk raised, and drawing back his gun prepared to meet it. When the Indian had got within striking distance, George let down upon his head with the gun, which brought him to the ground; he soon recovered and made at him again, half bent and head fore- most, intending, no doubt, to trip him up, but as he got near enough, George sprang up and jumped across him, which brought the Indian to his knees. Feeling for his own knife and not getting hold of it, he seized the Indian's and plunged it deep into his side. Mathias struck him on the head with a tomahawk, and finished the work with him. "TwOi Indians had attacked the old man with bows, and were manoeuvering around him, to get a clear fire at his left breast. The Harmans. to a man, wore their bullet pouches on the left side, and with this and his arm he sO' completely shielded his breast, that tlie Indians did not fire until they saw the old gentleman's gun nearly loaded again, when one fired on him and struck his elbow near the joint, cutting one of the principal arteries. In a second more the fearful string was heard to vibrate, and an arrow" entered Mr. Har- man's breast and lodged against a rib. He had by this time loaded a gun, and was raising it to his face to shoot one of the Indians, 382 Southwest Virginia, 17J^6-17S0. wlion tlic stream of blood from the wounded artery flew into the pan, and so soiled his gun that it was impossilile to make it fire. Eaising the gun, however, liad the effect to drive baok tlio Indians, who retreated to where the otliers stood with their guns ein])ty. "jMathias who had remained an almost inactive spectator, now asked permission to fire, which the old man granted. The Indian at whom he fired appeared to he the chief and was standing under a large beach tree. At the report of the rifle, the Indian fell, throw- ing his tomahawk high among the limbs of the tree under wliich he stood. "Seeing two of their number lying dead upon the ground, and two more badly wounded, they immediately made off, passing by Draper, who had left his horse, and concealed himself behind a log."* Draper, as soon as the Indians had passed him, fled to the set- tlements and reported that Harman and his sons were killed. A number of people set out the next morning to bury the dead, when to their surprise they met Harman and his sons returning to their homes. This same l>ody of Indians sent three of tlieir number into Abb's Valley, where resided Captain James Moore and John Poage. Near the home of Captain James Moore, they captured his son, James ^loore, Jr., a boy, fourteen years old. They took the young man to a field where his father's horses were running at large, and tried to capture the horses, failing in which they proceeded on their jour- ney to the Ohio. When they came near their towns in Ohio, the Indians painted themselves black, but did not paint the boy. The cliief sold young ]\Ioore to his half-sister, who afterwards sold him to a French trader at Detroit, where young ]\loore met a trader from Kentucky, who knew his father and whom he requested to write to his father and inform him of his situation. He remained in captivity until Octo1)er, 1789, and returned to his homo in Taze- well county three years after the murder and captivity of his father and family. Early in the year of 1786, another party of Indians visited the home of Captain James Moore in Abb's Valley, an account of which visit has been preserved, which I give in full : "In July, 1786, a party of forty-seven Indians, of the Shawnese tribe, again entered Abb's Valley. Captain James Moore usually Bickley's History of Tazewell. Washington County, 1777-1870. 383 kept five or six loaded guns in liis house, which was a strong log building, and hoped, b}' the assistance of his wife, who was very active in loading a gun, together with Simpson, a man who lived with them, to be able to repel the attacks of any small party of Indians. IJelying on his prowess, he had not sought refuge in a fort, as many of the settlers had ; a fact of which the Indians seemed to be aware, from their cutting out the tongues of his horses and cattle, and partially skinning them. It seems they were afraid to attack him openly, and sought rather to drive him to the fort, that they might sack his house. "On the morning of the attack. Captain Moore, who had pre- viously distinguished himself at Alamance, was at a lick bog a short distance from his house, salting his horses, of which he had many. William Clark and an Irishman were reaping wheat in front of the house. ]\Irs. j\toore and the family were engaged in the ordinary business of housework. A man named Simpson was sick upstairs. "The two men Avho were in the field at work saw the Indians coming at full speed down the hill toward Captain Moore, who had, ere this, discovered them and started in a run for the house. He was, however, shot through his body and died immediately. Tavo of his children, William and Eebecca, who were returning from the spring, were killed about the same time. The Indians had now approached near the house and were met by two fierce dogs, which fought manfully to protect the family of their master. After a severe contest the fiercest one was killed and the other subdued. "The two men wbo Avere reaping, hearing the alarm and seeing the house surrounded, fled and alarmed the settlement. At that time the nearest family was distant about six miles. As soon as the alarm was given Mrs. Moore and Martha Ivens (who was living in the family), barred the door, but this was of no avail. There was' no man in the house at this time except Jolm Simpson, the old Englishman already alluded to, and he was in the loft sick and' in bed. There were five or six guns in the house, but, having been shot off the evening before, they were then empty. They intended to load them after breakfast. Martha Ivens took two of the guns and went upstairs where Simpson was. and, handing them tc him, told him to shoot. He looked up, but had been shot in the head through a crack and was then near his end. The Indians then proceeded to cut down the door, which they soon effected. During 384 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. this time Martha Ivens went to the far end of the house, lifted up a loose plank, and went under the floor and requested Polly Moore (then eight years old), who had the youngest child, called Margaret, in her arms (which was crying), to^ set the child down and come under. Polly looked at the child, and clasped it to her breast, and determined to share its fate. The Indians, having broken into the house, took Mrs. Moore and her children — viz. ; John, Jane, Polly and Peggy, prisoners, and having taken everything that suited them, they set it and the other buildings on fire, and went away. Martha Ivens remained under the floor a short time and then came out and hid herself under a log that lay across a branch not far from the house. The Indians having tarried a short time with a view of catching horses, one walked across on this log, sat down on one end of it and began to fix his gunlock. Miss Ivens supposing that she was discovered and that he was preparing to shoot her, came out and gave herself up. At this he seemed much pleased. They then set out for their towns. Perceiving that John Moore was a boy, weak in body and mind and unable to travel, they killed him the first day. The babe they took two or three days, but, it being fret- ful on account of a wound it had received, they dashed its brains out against a tree. They then moved on with haste to their towns. FoT some time it was usual to tie very securely each of the prisoners at night, and for a warrior to lie beside each of them, with toma- hawk in hand, so that in case of pursuit, the jirisoner might be speedily dispatched. "Shortly after they reached the towns, IMrs. Moore and her daugli- ter Jane were put to death, being burned and tortured at the stake. This lasted some time, during which she manifested the utmost Christian fortitude and bore it without a murmur, at intervals con- versing with her daughter Polly and Martha Ivens, and exprassing great anxiety for the moment to arrive when her soul should wing its way to the bosom of its Saviour. At length an old squaw, more humane than the rest, dispatched her with a tomahawk. "Polly Moore and Martha Ivens eventually reached home, as described in the narrative of James ]\foore. "Several incidents in this narrative liave been left out. When the Indians set fire to the house and started, they took from the stable the fine black horse Yorick. He was a horse of such a vicious nature iliat no one but Simpson could manage him. The Indians had not Washingio7i County,- 11 71 -1870. 385 proceeded far when one- mounted liim^ but soon the horse had him on the ground and was pawing him to death with his feet; for this purpose a Iqw strokes were sufficient. Another mounted him and was served in like manner. Perfectly wild with rage, a vei'y large Indian mounted him, swearing to ride him or kill him. A few ])lungcs and the Indian was under the feet of the desperate horse- his teeth buried in his flesh, and uttering a scream as if he intended to avenge the death of his master, he had just dispatched the Indian when another, running up, stabl)ed him, and thus put an end to the conflict. 'Alas ! poor Yorick.' "It is said that ]\Irs. INIoore had her body stuck full of lightwood splinters which were fired, and she Avas thus tortured three days before she died. "When Martlia Ivens and Polly ]Moore Avere among the French they fared much worse than when among the Indians. The French had plenty, but were miserly, and seemed to care little for their wants. The Indians had little, but would divide that little to the particle."* lii April. 178n. ]\I;ithias Ilarman and Benjamin Thomas, tAvo scouts employed ])y the authorities of Eussell county, visited the house of a man by the name of Dials, now in Tazewell county. Dials kept liquor for sale, and Thomas and Harman were soon intox- icated. Mrs. Dials was making preparations for dinner, Avhen Dials and Thomas left tlie house to olitain wood. When they reached the mouth of a lane about two hundred yards from the house, they Avere ilred upon by a party ol six or seven Indians; seA^eral of the shot struck Dials, and one of the Avarriors j^ursued him, in the direction of his house. When they approached the house the Indian gave up the pursuit, as he Avas aware of Harman's presence at the house, and Dials reached the corner of the house, where he fell dead against the chimncA^ Thomas was fired at, but was not shot ; he was, how- ever, during the pursuit, knocked doAvn by the Indian, scalped and left for dead. Thomas died seven days thereafter. Harman, who was very much intoxicated at that time, ran out of the house, mounted his horse and pursued the Indians, challeng- ing them to stop and fight, which they declined. About this time some Cherokee Indians killed two men near the the end of Clinch mountain. The militia from the surrounding country combined *Bickley's History of Tazewell. 386 Southwest Virginia, 1746-17S6. and luan-lit'd within iii'tcon miles of their town, when they sent for Old Tassel, The Hanging Man and other Indian chiefs, to come to them, which they did, and informed the white people that this murder was done by two or three Indian fellows who lived in a town called Caw-a-tie, abont twenty miles below Chote, and that they had been hired to do so by an old fellow from Chickamogga, who had two sons killed by the white people last spring. The Indian chiefs informed the white people that their desire was for peace, but the white people answered that they would have their lands, to which the Indians replied that they had no right to give them their land, whereupon the whites immediately marched into their towns, which they destroyed, along with a part of their corn, and killed and shot several Indians. About this same time, William ]\Iartin, a son of Colonel Joseph Martin, was killed by the Creek Indians while on his way to Georgia, and a whole company of settlers, except a woman, were killed near Chickamogga; and a son of Tom Wallen was shot near his father's home, but made his escape. The settlers on the Blue Stone (now in Tazewell county, Va.), being the principal sufferers by the Indian invasions, in August of this year forwarded a petition to the Executive of Virginia, stating their position on the frontiers and asking for protection against the Indians, "from whose cruelties they had lately been great sutferers. The settlement had become much weaker on account of these attacks and was not able to protect itself longer without prompt aid from the government. Upon the approach of danger, the inhabitants are required to betake themselves and families to the forts, thus expos- ing their effects and property to the marauders, and, being few in number and scattered, they are unable to pursue and punish their enemies. Unless some suitable and regular method for the defence of the county be adopted at once, they should be obliged to abandon their homes, and thus expose to the savages the more interior parts of the country." In answer tO' this petition, the Governor of Virginia directed the county-lieutenant of Eussell county to call out forty men for the protection of the frontiers of the county and three sets of spies, one for the upper part of the county, one for the lower part of the county, and another at Castle's Woods. The frontiers of Eussell county, at Washmgto7i County, 1777-1870. 387 this time^, were 140 miles in length, extending from the Montgom- ery county line to Martin's Station in Powell's Valley. On the 17th day of J\Iarch, 1785, the Indians visited the house ot John Wallen, about fifteen miles from Martin's Station, and killed and scalped his wife, and a Mrs. Cox was shot at by three Indians. On the 24th day of March two families were captured by three Indians in New Garden, about twenty miles from Abingdon, the two families consisting of fifteen persons. In the fall of this year the smallpox broke out in the Indian nation, spreading rapidly and causing so much distress that the "Eaven of Chickamogga," the chief of the Chickamogga Indians, addressed a peace talk to the Virginia Commissioner, which was as follows : "Brother, — I am now going to speak to you about powder. I have in my towns six hundred good hunters, and we have very little pow- der. I hope you will speak to my elder brother of Virginia, to take pity on us, and send us as much as will make our fall's hunt. He will hear you. We are very poor, but don't love to beg, which our brother knows, as I have never asked him for anything else before. I thank him however for all his past favors to the old towns. I hope he will not refuse this favor I ask of him, I have taken Virginia by the hand, and I do not want to turn my face another way, to a strange people. The Spaniards have sent to me to come and speak to them. I am not going, but some of my people have gone to hear what they have to say. I am sitting still at home with my face towards my elder brother of Virginia, hoping to hear from him soon. I will not take of any strange people till I hear from him. Tell him that when I took hold of your hand, I looked on it as if he had been there. The hold is strong and lasting. I have with this talk sent you a long string of white beads as a confirmation of what I say. My friendship shall be as long as the beads remain white. "A STEING." Colonel Martin was disposed to listen to the professions of the Indians and was making preparations to furnish them with the pow- der which they requested, when a party of Indians appeared upon the Clinch and chased a son of Frederick Fryly and ran him until within sight of his father's house. Numerous signs ol Indians were discovered down Sandy river, and the whole of the frontiers was 388 Southwest Virginia, 11^6-1786. thrown into great disorder. In July of the year 1785, several mer- chants from Baltimore opened a very large store at North Fork, two miles below the Long Island of Holston, this being the first store opened in that section of the country. At the election held in the year 1785, for Washington county, Colonel William Kussell and Andrew Kincannon, were elected to represent Washington county, in the House of Delegates. One of the first measures proposed by Col- onel Eussell, upon the assembling of the General Assembly in the fall of that year, was a bill having for its purpose the division of Washington county, which bill was favorably reported and after- wards, on January 2, 1786, passed by the General Assembly of Vir- ginia and approved by the Governor. By this bill it was provided that, from and after the first day of May, 1786, the county of Wash- ington shall be divided into two distinct counties, that is to say : all that part of said county lying within a line to be run along Clinch mountain to the Carolina line, thence with that line to the Cumber- land mountain, and the extent of the country between the Cum- berland mountain, Clinch mountain and the line of Montgomery county, shall be one distinct county, and called and known by the name of Russell, and the residue shall retain the name of Washing- ton. The same bill directed the first court of said county to be held at the house of William Roberson in Castle's Woods, on the second Tuesday in May, 1786. Pursuant to this Act of the Assembly, the first court of Russell county assembled at the house of William Roberson, in Castle's Woods, on May 9th, which court was composed of the following gentlemen : Alexander Barnett, Henry Smith, David Ward, Andrew Cowan, Samuel Ritchie, Thomas Carter, Henry Dickenson, John Thompson, and, subsequently within the same year, the following gentlemen were commissioned and added to the court: Charles Bickley, James Wharton, Richard Price, John Frazer, William Martin, Charles Cocke, /Thristopher Cooper, John Tate, John Bowen. Washington County, 1777-1870. 389 At the same time the following officers qualified : Sherifi^^ David Ward. Deputy Sherifl:s, Eobert Craig, Charles Carter and John Carter. Clerk County Court, Henry Dickenson. Commissioners of the Revenue, Samuel Eitchie and Patrick Por- ter. County Surveyor, Henry Smith. County Lieutenant, Alexander Barnett. Colonel of Militia' Henry Smith. Lieutenant- Colonel of Militia, Andrew Cowan. Major, Charles Cocke. Captains of Militia. David Ward, William Thompson, William Dorton, Charles Bickley, Francis Browning, James Davidson. Samuel Eitchie, Josiah Fugate, William Martin. Lieutenants of -Militia. John Bowen, Charles Haj^s, John Tate, James Osbourne, Samuel Eoherson, l^lisha Farris, Thomias Carter, Moses Skeggs, John Van Bebber. Ensigns of Militia. Samuel Young, John Thompson, Eobert Tate, Henry Hamblin, Solomon Litton, William Byrd, Benjamin Nichalson, Joseph Johnston, William Ewing. Coroner, Francis Browning. The following lawyers qualified to practice in the court of Eussell in the year .1786 : Andrew Moore, Francis Preston, Ephraim Dunlop, James Blair, David Dunnan. The coimty court proceeded to select a permanent location for the courthouse, when Henry Dickenson, the clerk of the court, offered to give to the county a tract of land at what has since been known as Dickensonville, which offer the court accepted, and proceeded to 390 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. erect the necessary buildings thereon, and the court of Eussell county asvsembled at Dickensonville or Russell's old courthouse on the 20th day of September, 1787. By the organization of this new county a great extent of coun- try and many valuable citizens were lost to Washington county. Information in regard to the history of Washington county sub- sequent to the year 1786 is exceedingly hard to obtain, as the minute books of the county court from the year 1786 to the year 1819 and from the year 1821 until 1832 were destroyed along with the court- house by the Federal troops in December, 1864. Such history as I have been able to obtain for the period men- tioned has been derived fro^m the records at Richmond and from an examination of the files of the Holston Intelligencer and the Politi- cal Prospect, newspapers published in Abingdon and covering the period from 1810 to 1815. Washingto7i County, 1777-1870. 391 CHAPTEE VIII. EFFORT TO ESTABIJSH A NEW STATE. Tn tlie month of Jamian% 1781, the General Assembly of Vir- ginia passed a resolution expressing her willingness to cede her northwest territor}'' to the Congress of the colonies, for the benellt of the United Colonies, npon the follo-\ving condition, to-wit: that the territory so ceded shall be laid out and formed into States con- taining a suitable extent of territory, and shall not be less than one hundred nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square or as near thereto as circumstances will admit.' That the States so formed shall be distinct republican States and be admitted mem- bers of the Federal Union, having the same right of sovereignty, freedom and independence as the other States. Colonel Arthur Campbell, immediately upon his acquisition of this information, with a vision that was almost prophetic, set about to organize a new State and to include Washington county in the same. He immediately proposed a scheme for obtaining the sense of the inhabitants of tiie western country on the subject of the Vir- ginia resolution and the resolves of the Congress upon the same sub- ject, his scheme being as follows : "First. That Selectmen or Deputies be chosen for the five south- western counties of Virginia and the coimties of Washington and Sullivan in ISTorth Carolina, to meet at Abingdon the third Wed- nesday in April, 1782. "Second. That in ordei" that the representation be adequate, let the Deputies be in number in proportion to the number of farm- ers above eighteen years of age, allowing one Deputy for every hun- dred such farmers. "Third. That the election be held at the respective Court Houses, the third Tuesday in the month of March next, 1782, by the same officers and under the same regulations as elections for delegates are held. "Fourth. That the business and power of the deputies when con- vened be confined to the consideration of the late resolves of Con- gress respecting the Western Country, and that they adopt such measures as may be adjudged proper by a majority, for the interest and safety of their constituents as members of the American Union. 392 Southwest Virginia, 17Ji6-17S6. "Fifth. That the representation continue one year, in which time the Deputies may adjourn from time to time, and to such places witliin the ^^'estern Countries as may be found most convenient. "The day appointed for the election is the second Tuesday in March, 1783." I am unable to state that the election was held at the time pro- posed by Colonel Campbell, on the third Tuesday in March, 1782, or that the iVssembly proposed by him met at Abingdon on the third Wednesday in April, 1783, as therein proposed, but I can say that an election was held and that an Assembly met at Abingdon in this or tlie following year in the manner proposed by Colonel Campbell. I am of the opinion that this election was held in 1782, as proposed by Colonel Campbell, as four members of the Assembly that met at Abingdon were citizens of Sullivan county, North Caro- lina, and it is reasonable to suppose that liad the State of Frankland been proposed or organized at the time of this election the Sullivan county citizens would have united with that State. The Assembly that met at Abingdon in the year 1783 adopted a memorial, which they addressed to the Congress of the United States of America, and which was as follows : MEMORIAL. To the Honorable the Congress of the United States of America: The memorial of the Freemen inhabitating the Country Westward of the Alleghany or Appalachian mountain, and Southward of the Ouasioto* Humbly sheweth : That having been made acquainted with the several resolves and other Acts of Congress, respecting Western Territory, and having considered maturely the contents of the same, we are highly pleased with that equal respect for the Liberties of the people, which seems to influence the Councils of Congress. That nothing but a firm ad- herence to the principles of the Confederation, and a sacred regard to the rights of Mankind could produce the late Resolves for laying off new, Independent States, thereby pointing out such effectual measures, to prevent the encroachments of arbitrary power on the Asylums of Freedom. That we are happy to find so large a part of Territory already ceded to the United States for National purposes, and trust that *Tndian name for Cumberland mountain. Washington County, 1777-1870. 393 every obstacle will speedily be removed for the completion of that business by the individual States affected thereby. That we are too much elated at the prospect before us not to wish that we may speedily enjoy the advantages of such a Government as will be ex- ercised over a convenient territory, not too small for the support of authority, nor too large for the security of Freedom. That our situation is such, inhabiting valleys intermixed with and environed by vast wilds of barren and inaccessible mountains, that the same compensation of latitude allotted to the new States JTorthwest of the Ohio, might prevent us from ever being on an equal footing with our neighbors, blessed with so many natural ad- vantages, navigable waters, and a level, fertile country. That the state boimded by a meridian line that will touch the confluence of Little river, near Inglis' Ferry, thence down the Ka- nawha to the Eonceverte or Green Briar river, thence Southwest to latitude 37 Xorth, thence along the same to the meridian of the rapids of the Ohio, South along the Meridian until it reaches the Tenasee or Cherokee river, down the same, and eastwardly on that parallel to the top of the Appalachian mountains, and along the highest parts of the same, and the heights that divide the sources of the waters that fall into the Mississippi from those that empty into the Atlantic to the beginning. This, though not equal in quantity of habitable lands with the adjoining States, yet may be sufficient territory for a society that wishes to encourage industry and tem- perance as cardinal virtues. That in our present settlements we have maintained our ground during the late perilous war, and frequently gave effectual aid to our Brethren to the South and Westward; that we are first occu- pants and aborigines of this country. Freemen, claiming natural rights and the privileges of American citizens. Our prayer therefore is, that your Honorable Body, with a gen- erous regard to the Eights of ]\Iankind, would speedily erect the aforesaid described Territory into a free and independent State, subject to the Federal Bond, and likewise confirm and guarantee to its inhabitants all their equitable rights and privileges acquired under the laws of the States lately claiming this Territory; that the disposition of the vacant lands be under the power of the Leg- islature of the new State, in as full a manner as that exercised by such of the Eastern States having unappropriated lands, with this 39i Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. Eeservation, that the monies arising from the sale of vacant lands shall be faithfully paid to the order of Congress, towards the pay- ment of the National debt. And yonr Memorialists shall ever pray, &c. Approved and subscribed by us in behalf of ourselves and the Freemen of our Eespective Districts, whoni we represent. Charles Cummings, Chairman. • John Jameson, John Campbell, Alex'r "Wiley, Eobert Buchanan, George Finley, William Tate, Arthur Campbell, John Kinkead, John Campbell, S'n'r, E. 0. Tliomas Woolsey, John Davis, Eichard Brownlow, Gilbert Christian, ]\Tatthew Willoughby, David Looney, John Anderson, John Adair. At a subsequent meeting this Assembly addressed the Freemen of Washington county on the subject of their public affairs, which ad- dress is as follows : "To the Freemen of Washington County: "Your Deputies, after mature consideration, have agreed to ad- dress you on the subject of your Public Affairs, well knowing that there is only wanting an exact and candid examination into the facts to know Avhether you have I)een well served or abused by your Eepresentatives, whether Government has been wisely administered and whether your rights and Lil)erties are secure. As members of the Civil Society, you will acknowledge that there are duties of im- portance and lasting obligation which must take place before indi- vidual conveniences or private interest, but it must be granted that in free Communities the laws are only obligatory when made con- sonant witli the constitution or Original Compact; for it is the only means of the surrender then made, the power therein given and the right ariseth to^ Legislate at all. Hence it is evident that the power of Legislators is in the nature of trusts to form Eegulations for the good of the whole, agreeable to the powers delegated, and the de- posite put into the General stock, and the end proposed is to' obtain the greatest degree of happiness and safety, not for the few but for the many. To attain these ends and these only, men are in- duced to give up a portion of their natural Liberty and Property Washington County, 1777-1870. 395 when they enter into society. From, this it is plain that Eulers may exceed their trust, may invade the remaining portion of natural libert}^ and property, which would be a usurpation, a breach of solemn obligation and ultimately a conspiracy against the majesty of the people, the only trea.^on that can be committed in a common- wealth. A much admired writer on the side of Liberty begins his work with the following remarkable sentence, which we tran- scribe for your information, and entreat you to read and ponder well : "In every human Society there is an effort continually pending to confer on one part the height of power and happiness, and re- duce the other to extremes of weakness and misery. The intent of good laws is to oppose these Efforts, and to diffuse their influence universally and equally. But men generally abandon the care of tlieir most important concerns to the uncertain prudence and discre- tion of those whose interest it is to reject the best and wisest in- structions, and it is not until they have been led into a thousand mistakes in matters the most essential to their lives and Liberties, and are weary of suffering, that they can be induced to apply a remedy to the evils with which they are oppressed. It is then they begin to conceive and acknowledge the most palpable truths, which from their very simplicity commonly escape vulgar minds, in- capable of analyzing objects, accustomed to receive impressions with- out discretion, and to be determined rather by opinions of others, than by the result of their own examination." A few plain Questions 3'ou may honestly put to yourselves when in retirement, or ^dien your heads are reclined on 3'our pillows ; For what end hath the Almighty wrought out such a wonderful revo- lution in the affairs of men as that of the Independence of America ? What part ought I to act through the remaining part of my life, so as to be most pleasing to my Creator and the most useful to So- ciety? Whether are my head and heart so enlightened and in such a frame as to attend to and receive the truth, whether it comes from a person I dislike or not? Is not the duty we owe the succeeding generation equal to that we owe the present; Several Mediums of knowledge are open to all diligent inquirers. The productions of the Printing Press, Literary Schools, and the meetings of: the peo- ple to debate on public measures. The inhabitants of this county have, as hitherto, been peculiarly circumstanced. They became 396 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. possessors of a Wilderness at a perilous Era: The greatest part of their time since has been necessarily employed merely to provide subsistence, coarse clothing and cheap dwellings, to defend their families from the inclemency of the weather, no time or money to spare to build elegant or convenient houses, to erect suitable places for public worship, to found Seminaries for classical learning, to promote the education of youth, that most indispensable of all obli- gations to children. It is also a prior duty to any you owe the state to provide food and raiment for your families. Plain fare and coarse clothing you might be content with, if it was necessary to part with all the superfluities to answer the real exigencies of the State, and did you see your fellows in more favorable situation pur- suing the same course and also could you be persuaded that a judi- cious economy pervades all the disbursements of all the public money, then, and not till then, ought you to part with the produce of your Industry at the call of Eulers. It may be alleged by your enemies that you do not mean to contribute anything to alleviate the burthens of the Nation and support Government. This charge will vanish on a fair enquiry into the various schemes of finance and the present state of the Public Funds. The following estimate of Taxes, and what has operated as taxes in the Western Country, will prove that you have contributed some- thing, probably your full share. Treasury and pre-emption warrants, 16,000,000 pounds Taxes collected in the years 1778, '79, '80, '81, . 180,000 pounds Bills lost, sunk or funded, 5,000,000 pounds Paper money, 21,130,000 pounds Cash paid commissioners in hard money reduced, $10,000 Composition money sent in with the plots, 70,000 One-sixth of the surveyor's fees, 5,000 Eegisters' fees prior to 1784, 30,000 Eegisters' fees prior to 1784, 3,000 Eegisters' fees prior to 1785, 10,000 Additional tax of 5s. per hundred on land, 25,000 Duty on salt will cost the western consumption 6s. per bushel, 1.500 Duties on imports on foreign goods and enumerated articles 2,500 Loyal Company's claim on W. & M. counties, 8,000 Washington County, 1777-1870. 397 Taxes on &c., may produce annually, 2,000 Assessment subsequent to 1781, an enormous simi that it is impracticable, if not unjust, to collect, 172,000 Should the Legislature abolish assessment, and the above not be suiEcient, you miglit endure taxing a few luxurious articles and some vices, that woidd increase the sum, and make it equal to your just proportion of ex[)enditures. If your eastern nciglibois were generous, they would make some allowance for the great losses sustained by the depredations of the Indians, and for the many valuable lives lost to keep them safe. The appropriations of your public money ought also to be a subject of serious enquiry, for if at any tiine it should be applied to the purposes of venality and corruption, you would then be feeding your destroyers, and enable them to make further invasions on your remaining rights and liberties, until you would have left nothing worth contending for, and yon and your posterity would be obliged to stoop to an abject vassalage. "All is not lost yet, therefore beware in the future of the objec- tion of either weak or interested men who would persuade you to a passive conduct under all the Measures of Government. Your Eulers, as well as those of other nations, are only fallible men. When they act well, honor and applaud, when wickedly, impeach and punish them. Disregard their impotent threats and ridicu- lous fallacies, and let them know that th^ little selfish cry of an individual is not to be heard when the loud sounds of the peo- ples' are publishing their wrongs. '•'Signed by order, "CHAELES CUMMINGS, Ch'm." A copy. This document is thus endorsed by the Governor: "Memo. James Montgomery put this paper into my hands, and can prove its authenticity, and that Arthur Campbell personally explained, enforced and inculcated its contents on the people, par- ticularly the State of Taxes p'd by that conntry." Colonel Arthur Campbell and a large majority of the citizens of Washington county, from this time forward, made every possible effort to secure the approval of th© Congress of the United States of their views in regard to the formation of a new State, and their 398 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-1786. views seemed to permeate and meet with the approval of all the citizens, with but few exceptions, living on the western waters. In the month of June, 1784, the General Assembly of North Carolina passed an Act ceding to the Congress of the United States all her western lands, including the counties of Sullivan, Washing- ton, Greene and Davidson, now within the present limits of the State of Tennessee, and at the same session of the Xorth Carolina Assembly, the Western Land Office was closed. Immediately upon the adjournment of the jSTorth Carolina Assembly, the four delegates from the western counties returned to their homes and gave intelligence to the people of the proceed- ings of the General Assembly of North Carolina, whereupon, it was proposed that the people shoukl elect two representatives in each captain's company in the counties of Washington, Sullivan and Greene, as committeemen to deliberate upon tbe state of public affairs and to recommend a plan of action suited to the occasion. These committees met and recommended the election of delegates from the several counties, to meet in convention at Jonesboro, with j'Ower to adopt such measures as they thought necessary. The delegates were elected and assembled at Jonesboro on August 23, 1784, and elected the following officers: President, John Sevier; Secretary, Landon Carter. The convention immediately proceeded to appoint a committee to take into consideration the state of public affairs and the ces- sion to Congress b}^ North Carolina of her western territory. This committee, after a resolution had been offered by a member declaring the three western counties independent of North Caro- lina, unanimously adopted the following report, which was submit- ted to the convention: EEPORT. "Your committee are of opinion and judge it expedient, that the counties of Washington, Sullivan and Greene, which the Cession Bill particularly respects, form themselves into an association and combine themselves together, in order to support the present laws of North Carolina, which may not be incompatible with the modes and forms of laying off a new State. It is the opinion of your committee that we have a just and undeniable right to petition to Congress to a(;cept the cession made by North Carolina, and for that body to countenance us in forming O'Urselves into a separate Washington County, 1777-1870. 399 government, and either to frame a permanent or temporary con- stitution, agreeably to a resolve of Congress in such case made and provided, as nearly as circumstances will permit. We have a right to keep and hold a convention from time to time, by meeting and convening at such place or places as the said convention shall adjovirn to. When any contiguous part of Virginia shall make application to join this association, after they are legally permitted, either by the State of Virginia or other power having cognizance thereof, it is our opinion that they be received and enjoy the same privilege that we do, or shall enjoy. This convention has a right to adopt and prescribe such regulations as the particular exigencies of the times and the public good may require; that one or more persons ought to be sent to represent our situation in the Congress of the United States and this convention has just right and autho- rity to prescribe a regular mode for his support." This report was received by the convention and adopted, and the convention, by a vote of 28 to 15, declared in favor of forming a separate and distinct State at this time, and appointed Messrs. Hardin and Cocke to draw up articles of association, which they did and which articles were approved by the convention. Pursuant to tlie Articles of Association, the first members of the General Assembly of the State of Franklin were chosen, and assembled at Jonesboro in the month of March, 1785, at which time officers were elected and laws adopted for the government of the State of Frank- land. The officers elected were as follows: Governor, John Sevier. Secretary of State, Landon Carter. Treasurer, William Cage. Surveyor-General, Stockly Donaldson. Brigadier-Generals, Daniel Kennedy and William Cocke. Council of State, William Cocke, Landon Carter, Francis A. Ramsay, David Campbell, Daniel Kennedy and Colonel Taylor. Member of Congress, General William Cocke. The government as thus organized, proceeded in an orderly way to administer the affairs of the people. There can be but little question, that Colonel Arthur Campbell, the author of the idea of a new State, played a leading part in the organization of the State of Frankland. During the years 1783- 1784, he was constantly engaged in organizing this new govern- 400 Suuthivest Virginia, 17^6-1786. ment and enlisting the sympathies of the people ol Washington and Montgomery counties in behalf of the same. He drew i;p a Decla- ration of Eights and a Constitution for the new government, and while I am unable to obtain a copy of the Constitution that he proposed for the new State, still I am able to give the Declaration of Eights prepared by him, which is as follows : A DECLAEATION OF EIGHTS. 1st. That all political power is vested in and derived from the oeople only. 2nd. That the people of this State ought to have the sole and >xclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof. 3d. That no man, or set of men, are entitled to exclusive or separate emoluments or privileges from the community but in con- sideration of public services. 4th. That the legislative, executive and supreme judicial powers of government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other. 5th. That all powers of suspending laws, or the execution of laws, by any authority, without the consent of the representatives of the people, are injurious to their right and ought not to be exercised. ' 6th. That election of members to serve as representatives in General Assembly ought to be free. 7th. That in all criminal prosecutions, every man has a right to be informed of the accusation against him and to confront the accusers and witnesses with other testimony, and shall not be com- pelled to give evidence against himself. 8th. That no freeman shall be put to answer any criminal charge but by indictment or impeachment. 9th. That no freeman shall be convicted of any crime but by the unanimous verdict of a jury of good and lawful men in open court, ns heretofore used. 101 h. 'J'liat excessive bail should not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel nor unusual punishments inflicted. 11th. That general warrants, whereby an officer or a messenger may be commanded to search suspected places, without evidence of the fact committed, or to seize any person or persons not named, Washington County, 1777-1870. 401 whose offences are not particularly described and supported by evi- dence, are dangerous to liberty and ought not to be granted. 12th. That no freeman ought to be taken, imprisoned or dis- seized of his freehold, liberties or privileges, or outlawed or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of his life, liberty or prop- erty, but by the law of the land. 13th. That every freeman restrained of his liberty, is entitled to a remedy, to enquire into the lawfulness thereof, and to remove the same, if unlawful ; and that such remedy ought not to be denied or delayed. 14th. That in all controversies at law, respecting property, the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of the best securities of the rights of the people and ought to remain sacred and inviolable. 15th. That the freedom of the press is one of the great bul- warks of liberty, and therefore ought never to be restrained. 16th. That the people of this State ought not to be taxed, or made subject to payment of any impost or duty, without the con- sent of themselves or their representatives in General Assembly freely given. 17th. That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of the State ; and as standing armies in time of peace are dangermis to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. 18th. That the people have a right to assembly together, to consult for their common good, to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the Legislature for redress of grievances. 19th. That all men have a natural and unalienable right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own con- sciences. 20th. That for redress of grievances and for amending and strengthening the laws, elections ought to be often held. 21st. That a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty. 22d. That no hereditary emoluments, privileges or honors ought to be granted or conferred in this State. 23d. That perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free State and ought not to be allowed. 24th. That retrospective laws punishing acts committed before 402 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. the existence of such laws, and by them only declared criminal, are oppressive, imjiist and incoinpatible with liberty; therefore no ex post facto law ought to be made," James Montgomery, when he accepted the commission of the Governor as sheriff of Washington county and gave security for the collection of the taxes due for the three preceding years, incurred the displeasure of Colonel Campbell and the majority of the citi- zens of the county, and, in turn, he became the bitter enemy of Colonel Campbell. The people had been advised and expected that they would be released from the payment of their taxes for the preceding years, upon the organization of the new State, which they confidently believed would take place. Early in the year 1785, James Mont- gomery, William Edmiston, Arthur Bowen, James Kincannon, Samuel Edmiston and James Thompson addressed the following communication to the Governor of Virginia, preferring charges of majpractices and misconduct, in his office, as justice of the peace, against Arthur Camjabell. "Sir: — Viewing with concern the present situation of affairs in this country, through attempts of ambitious men, thereby intend- ing to' incense the good people thereof against the laws of the State and proceedings of government requisite thereto, finally tO' effect a new State in this quarter of the country, we cannot any longer remain tacit beholders of the evils already generating among us, without tlie most alarmed sensations, which we think the ties of humanity and obligations to our country lead us to disclose. Most secret plans have been laid to delude the people, holding out to them the idea of oppressive acts imposed by the General Assem- bly, intended to burthen them unjustly with a weight of taxes. Small committees were contrived and convened by Colonel Arthur Campl>ell, the leader of this disorder, as early as February and March last, under pretext of seeking redress of grievances in behalf of the county the present year, and decrying the laws in general of the last Assembly. !N"otwithstanding every opposition made to his measures, he continued to convene his committees, and, not long after, in one of his committees at Major Dysart's disclosed his plan of representation to Congress, thereby aiming to fix a boundary to include a part of Virginia in the Frankland State. It is also notoriously known that Colonel Campbell did, in a con- Washington County, 1777-1870. 403 vention of the North Carolina people, publicly propose to separate himself with the citizens of Washington and Montgomery in Vir- ginia, and joining them declare themselves immediately independ- ent of the States of Virginia and North Carolina, and moreover, stand in the front of the battle between these people and Virginia when necessary. His declaration to the people of this county at the March court, to elect no delegates to the Greneral x^ssembly this year, together with his late opposition, at the July court, to the proclamation issued by your Excellency in Council the 10th of June last, may be sufficient to satisfy your Excellency and Hon- orable Council that the mischievous spirit prevailing here in oppo- sition to the present collection and other proceedings of govern- ment, may have arisen from the licentious spirit of Colonel Camp- bell, conveyed to them through his artful insinuations daily since last court, exercised by public meetings in this county, intended to overset the designs of the Executive in the present arrangement of the militia; and there is reason to believe he is now aiming to effect associations to oppose the collection when attempted to be made. The charges herein contained can undoubtedly be supported by General Russell, Captain Andrew Kincannon, Captain Henry Smith and Captain William Cocke, of the Frankland settlement. We rest the charges herein contained for the discussion and ulti- mate decision of your Excellency and the Honorable Council, that if necessary he may be cited to answer the charges against him." When the attention of Governor Henry was called to the situation of affairs in this county, he removed the suspension of the opera- tion of the militia law adopted by the Assembly at its session in the year 1784, and removed from office Colonel Arthur Campbell, the county lieutenant of this county, and such of the field officers, in the militia of this county, as were active partizans of the new State. Colonel William Russell was commissioned a brigadier- general of militia with a full quota of officers who were opposed to the formation of the new State. By this act, the Governor remO'Ved from office many of the men who had served at King's mountain, and such was the dissatisfaction produced by this action, that a number of the leading citizens of the county who had not taken part in the previous disturbances, addressed the following petition to the Governor and Council of the State : 404 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. To His Excellency, Patrick Henry, Esquire, Governor of the Com- monwealth of Virginia, and the Honorable Council of State: The petition of simdiy freemen whose names are thereunto sul)- scribed humbly sheweth, that being pleased with the name and wishing to glory in the reality of being citizens of a Commonwealth, it is with infinite concern that we are constrained to address your Excellency on a subject tliat we apprehend will eventually endanger our liberties — we mean the adoption of the new militia law. That we believe the Constitution is imperfect in some particulars; but whilst we retain it as an acknowledged plan, springing from a higher source than the ordinary Legislature, we ought to consider it, until altered by the same authorities, as the basis of the laws and all legitimate government, and besides our allegiance points out to us as a duty, to maintain it inviolate, that former examples both ancient and modern, our own experience and the reason of things tell us that if an infraction is once made, and that by a delegated powder, then there will be no right, however sacred, that is possessed by the citizens, but may be usurped, and our government ere long terminate in anarchy or despotism, those mournful calamities that too soon befall the human race. To avert such direful events, to recur to first principles and to reinstate our liberties in their pristine vigor, we are encouraged to approach, with freedom and truth, a patriotic Chief Magistrate, and an enlightened Council, humbly praying that the powers with which your Honorable Board are invested may be now exercised by refusing to execute the aforesaid Act as being unconstitutional and oppressive; or, if need be, assemble the Legislature, at an earlier period than it stands adjourned to, that we may have an opportu- nity to seek redress from a legal tribunal. And your petitioners shall pray: Andrew Willoughby, Jr., James Logan, James , Eobert Montgomery, James Craig, Joseph Acklin, Charles Cummings, George Finley, Era. Allison, Eobert Campbell, Thomas Cummings, Samuel x\cklin, John Trousdale, Samuel Houston, James Dunlop. John Preston, John Campbell, James Cummings, Washington County, 1777-1870. 405 John Davis, David Kinkead, James Moore, Andrew Davison, Gilbert Watson, Thomas Osburn, John Christian, Eobert Johnston, Robert Craig, N"ath. Willoughby, Michael Higgins, David Watson, Samuel Davis, William Bradley, John Cummings, William Craig and others. The Governor being slow to act upon the charges preferred by James Montgomery and others against Colonel Arthur Campbell, in the sununer ol the year 1785, William Edmiston, James Kin- cannon, Samuel Edmiston, James Thompson and Arthur Bowen' addressed the following letter to the Governor of A^irginia, prefer- ring additional charges against Colonel Campbell: "Please Your Excellency and the Honorable Council : "Sir, — A complaint being exhibited during the course of last summer against Colonel Arthur Campbell for mal-conduct, con- trary to the most sacred ties of government, as Avell under his late county lieutenancy as judge of the court of Washington, in which he continues to act, we have consequently thereto, been honored by advice from our Ijieutenant-Governor, that the charges would be attended to by the Executive which we still hope will meet your patronage in due season and the offender in your wisdom cited before a proper trilmnal to answer the charges against him. Bely- ing that the Executive will not suffer such atrocious insidt to the Commonwealth of Virginia to pass unnoticed, we think it neces- sary to add fresh matter of complaint against Colonel Campbell that with the former now in your possession, his wicked and per- severing conduct may be more clearly explained to your Honorable Board. When the decision of the Executive made it necessary to arrange the militia of Washington county under the law of eighty- four, and the Governor's proclamation Avas issued for that purpose, which being accompanied witb the field officers' commissions were laid before Washington court, Colonel Campbell on the bench objected to the proclamation and power of the Executive, under the law, and quitting the bench addressed himself to the court, tell- ing them that the militia law was arbitrary, tyrannical and oppres- sive; and after condemning the last Assembly for enacting the law, said that the power of enforcing the law was in the court, not in 406 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. the Executive, and that the court should by no means suffer the field officers to qualify ; he also hoped that the court and people oi the county would pay no obedience to the law or proclamation. Colonel Campbell finding some opposition to his measures by the court, alleged that the Executive having suspended the operations of the law till January, 1786, he had not a right to take off that suspension, by M'hich time, he made no doubt, the law would be repealed; and after finding some of the court opposed to his pro- positions, plead, (notwithstanding the danger of the frontiers) that the court should not suffer the field officers to qualify at that time. His constant endeavors to prejudice the citizens of this county ever since against the law, will appear from a petition to the Assembly which he promoted." And at the same time James Montgomery, who was a member of the Legislature from Washington county, preferred the follow- ing charges against Colonel Campbell: "1st. That he advised persons chargeable with pulilic taxes to refuse payment thereof. 2d. That he advised freeholders against electing members to the General Assembly. 3d. That he attempted by various means, openly and secretly, to induce the inhabitants of Washington county to separate from this Commonwealth. 4th. That he left the bench on a day when the court was sitting and attempted to persuade the court that no regard ought to be paid to the militia law, or the Governor's proclamation for enforc- ing it." The Governor and Council, upon consideration of said charges, directed that tbe first Monday in April, 1786, be set apart for enquiring into, the charges aforesaid, at the Council chamber in the city of l^ichmond, and that the said Arthur Campbell have notice of such intended inquiry and be furnished with a copy of the charges exhibited against him on or before the first day of February next, and that the parties be at liberty from that period to the 15th day of March next, to take depositions of witnesses, respecting the charges aforesaid, giving ten days' previous notice of the time and place of taking the same, and that when taken they be transmitted to His Excellency the Governor, under the hand and seal of the Washington County, 1777-1870. 407 magistrate or magistrates who attended the taking of such deposi- tions. In answer to Governor Henry's proclamation enfoi'cing the mili- tia law, Colonel Arthur Campbell, who had been particularly named therein, addressed the following letter to the Governor : "Sir, — After having been honored lately with the receipt of sev- eral of your Excellency's letters, particularly that of the 17tli of May last, and the several communications made in consequence of them, particularly my letter of the 13th of June, the principal offi- cers and the Whig interest in this county seemed to rest satisfied that an amicable and enlightened administration would pave the way to the Legislature and to Congress for the efficient and per- manent redress of the principal, and in some cases the almost intolerable grievances of the western inliabitants. Birt. v^'fluile secure in this confidence, we have to lament that the voice of calumny and faction has reached the seat of supreme rule, and that, without a constitutional enquiry, without a fair hearing, it has been in some degree listened to, and had effect. It is hard to defend when it is not known what we are charged with, and at all times who can disarm private pique, or be able to withstand malice and envy without feeling some smart. But political fury, engendered by Tory principles, knows no bounds and is without a parallel. Bernard and Hutchison have exhibited to Governors and the wotM, examples that ought to teach wisdom to this and succeeding generations. We are told (but it is only from report) that we have offended government on account of our sentiments being favorable to a new State, and our looking forward for a sep- aration. If such a disposition is criminal, I confess there are not a few in this county to whom guilt may be imputed, and to many respectable characters in other counties on the western waters. If we wish for a separation it is on account of grievances that daily become more and more intolerable, it is from a hope that another mode of governing will make us more useful than we are now to the general confederacy, or ever can be whilst so connected. But why can blame fall on us, when our aim is to conduct measures in an orderly manner, and strictly consistent with the Constitution. Surely men who have bound themselves by every holy tie to sup- port republican principles, cannot on a dispassionate consideration blame us. Our want of experience and knowledge may be a plea 408 Southwest Virginia, 17J,6-1786. against ns. We deplore our situation and circumstances on that account,, but at the same tiiuo fii'inly believe that our advances to knowledge will still continue ^\o\\\ jicrhaps verge towards ignorance and barbarism, without the benefit of local independent institutions. But, sir, why may we not take courage and say we are right when adverting to onr omti constitution, to the ditTerent Acts of Con- gress, that of different legislatures, the opinion of the first states- men in America, among whom we can number an illustrious com- mander, a great lawyer and judge in this State, and a Governor of Virginia himself? All that I have to ask, and it is all that I may ever crave, is that your Excellency may not, from invidious information, form such rash measures, so urge matters, at an untimely day to extremi- ties, which only might gratify an angry individual, but would, by no means, promote the interest and peace of the Commonwealth, or its lionor and dignity. I am, sir, with res}>cct, your most obedient servant, AKTHUE CAMPBELL. The agitation continued until the meeting of the General Assem- bly of Virginia, on October, 1185, at which time, the Grovemor transmitted to the General Assembly a message in regard to the action taken l)y the people of this portion of Virginia, praying the establishment of an independent State. Accompanying the message was the memorial adopted by the Assembly that met at Abingdon, addressed to the Congress of the United States as heretofore given. The message of the Governor to the General Assembly was as follows : MESS AGE. OF GOVERNOR PATRICK HENRY. "I transmit herewith a letter from the Honorable Mr. Hardy, covering a memorial to Congress of sundry inhabitants of Washing- ton county, praying the establishment of an independent State, to be bounded as is therein expressed. The proposed limits include a vast extent of country, in whicli we have numerous and very I'espectable settlements, which in their growth will form an inval- uable barrier between this country and those, who, in the course of events, may oecujiy the vast places westward of the mountains, some of whom have views incompatible with our safety. Already the militia of that part of the State is the most respectable we have, and by their means it is that the neighboring Indians are awed Washington County, 1777-1870. 409 into professions of friendship. But a circumstance has lately hap- pened, which renders the possession of the territory at the present time indispensable to the peace and safety of Virginia; I mean the assumption of sovereign power by the western inhabitants of North Carolina. If the people who, without consulting their own safety or any other authority known in the American Constitution, have assumed government, and Avhile unallied to us and under no engagements to pursue the objects of the Federal government, shall be strengthened by the accession of so great a part of our country, consequences fatal to our repose will probably follow. It is to be observed that the settlements of this new society stretch into a great extent in contact with ours in Washington county, and there- by expose our citizens to the contagion of the example which bids fair to destroy the peace of North Carolina. In this state of things it is that variety of information has come to me stating that several persons, but especially Colonel Arthur Campbell, have used their utmost endeavors, and with some success, to persuade the citizens in that quarter to break O'ff from this Commonwealth, and attach themselves to the newly-assumed government, or to erect one dis- tinct from it. And to effect this purpose the equality and authority of the laws have been arraigned, the collection of the taxes impeded, and our national character impeached. If this most important part of our territory be lopped off, we loose that barrier for which our people have long and often fought; that nursery of soldiers, from which future armies may be levied, and through which it will be almost impossible for our enemies to penetrate. We shall aggran- dize the new State, whose connections, views and designs, we know not : shall cease to be formidable to our savage neighbors, or respect- able to our western settlements, at present or in the future. Whilst these and many other matters were contemplated by the Executive, it is natural to suppose, the attempt at separation was discouraged by every lawful means, the chief of which was dis- placing such of the field officers of the militia in Washington county as were active partizans for separation, in order to prevent the weight of office being put in the scale against Virginia. To this end a proclamation was issued, declaring the militia laws of the last session in force in that county," and appointments were made agreeable to it. I hope to be excused for expressing a wish that the Assembly, in 410 Southwest Virginia, 171,6-1186. deliberating on this affair, will prefer lenient measures in order to restrain our erring citizens. Their taxes have run into three years and thereby gro\m to an amount beyond the ability of many to discharge; while the system of our trade has been such, as to render their agriculture Tinproductive of money. And I cannot but suppose that if even the warmest supporters of separation had seen the mischievous consequences, they would have retraced and recon- sidered that intemperance in their OAvn proceedings, which oppo- sition in sentiment is too apt to produce. The limits proposed for the new government of Frankland, by Colonel Arthur Campbell and the people of Virginia who aimed at a separation from this State, were expressed in the form of a con- stitution which Colonel Campbell drew up for public examination, and were these : Beginning at a point on the top of the Alleghany or Appalachian mountains, so as that a line drawn due north from thence will touch the bank of .the New river, otherwise called Kenawha, at the confluence of Little river, which is about one mile above Inglis' ferry, doM^i the said river Kenawha to the mouth of the Eoncevcrt, or Greenbrier river, a direct line thence to the summit of Laurel mountain, and along the highest part of the 'sr.me to the same point where it is intersected by the parallel of 37° north latitude; Avest along that latitude to a point where it is met by a meridian line that passes through the lower part of the river Ohio ; south along the meridian to the Elk river, a branch of the Tennessee ; down said river to its mouth, and down the Ten- nessee to the most southwardly part or bend of said river; a direct line from thence to that branch of the Mobile, called Tombigbee; down said river Tombigbee to its junction with the Coosawattee river, to the mouth of that branch of it called the Hightower; thence south to the top of the x\ppalachian mountain, or the highest land that divided the sources of the eastern from the western wat- ers ; northwardly along the middle of said heights, and the top of the Appalachian mountain, to the beginning. It was stated that the inhabitants within these limits agree with each other to form themselves into a free, sovereign and independent body politic or State, by the name of the Commonwealth of Frankland. The laws of the Legislature were to be enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Frankland ; and all the laws and ordinances which had been before adopted, used and Washington County, 1777-1870. 411 approved in the different parts of this State, whilst under the juris- diction of Virginia and North Carolina shall still remain the rule of decision in all cases for the respective limits for which they were formerly adopted,, and shall continue in full force until altered- or repealed by the Legislature; such parts only excepted, as are repugnant to the rights and liberties contained in this Constitution, or those of the said respective States." As heretofore stated, early in the year 1785 the Governor removed Colonel Arthur Campbell, county lieutenant of Washing- ton county and all the militia ofhcers who advocated a new State, and commissioned General Eussell as brigadier-general of militia and a number of other gentlemen who Avere opposed to the forma- tion of a new State, as militia officers in Washington county; but when Colonel Eussell and the other gentlemen holding commis- sions under the Governor appeared before the court and offered to qualify as required by law. Colonel Campbell, who was the pre- siding officer of the court, demanded of Colonel Eussell and his friends to know by what authority they sought toi qualify, when the commissions were produced, and Colonel Campbell, having read the commissions, left the bench and declared that he would not tamely submit to the orders of the Governor, and immediately proceeded to address the court, declaring the militia law to be in the highest degree oppressive and tyrannical, and that the Gover- nor, having suspended the law until January, 1786, had no right to enforce it at this time. He pronounced the Governor's proclama- tion illegal, declaring the Governor and Coimcil had exceeded their power, and that they had no right to enforce the militia law at tliat time, nnd he assured the court that the power to enforce law was in them and not in the Executive; and, notwithstanding the earnest protest of Colonel Eussell, the court declined to permit the Governor's appointees to qualify. The General Assembly convened on the 3d day of October. 1785, and the first act passed by the Assembly was to amend the mil it in law enacted at the session in 1784, and to provide that the officers of the militia, who were displaced and removed from office by vir- tue of said act, are hereby reinstated and shall take precedency of rank agreeably to dates of the commissions they severally held prior to the passage of said Act. And this same Assembly passed several Acts having for their 412 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. object the removal of the grievances complained of by Colonel Campbell and his followers in Washington county. By the Act of the Assembly above given, Colonel Campbell, once again, prevailed against his enemies and continued to discharge the duties of county lieutenant of Washington county for many years. The measures adopted by the Legislature were exceedingly mod- erate and conciliatory, and, as a result, all active opposition to the authority of the Virginia government ceased. The idea of forming a new government out of the western terri- tory originated with Colonel Arthur Campbell and was adopted by the citizens of North Carolina at his suggestion. He was co^m- pelled to submit to the authority of the State of Virginia some time previous to the dissolution of the State of Frankland in North Carolina, because of the circumstances surrounding the two peoples. Colonel Campbell and his Virginia followei-s lived in that portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia which the State had never agreed to cede to the Continental Congress, and the sov- ereignty ol which the Commonwealth, at no time, was willing to surrender to any other power, while the situation in North Carolina was entirely different. The General Assembly of that State had ceded all that portion of her territory embraced in the State of Frankland to the Congress of the United States, and the citizens of North Carolina felt but little interest in the matter, and as a result of this condition the Virginia seceders were promptly suppressed, while those in North Carolina were for some time per- mitted to pursue the even tenor of their way. ""JMie prosecution of Colonel Campbell continued with unabated vigor, and numerous depositions were taken to sustain the charges made against him. The deposition of Colonel William TJussell, the chief prosecutor in the case, was as follows : "General William Eussell, deposeth and saith : On the 12th day of January, 17S5, at the house of William Colly in Wash- ington county, your deponent attended a meeting of a number of inhabitants of said county. The people assembled. Colonel Camp- bell addressed them, saying he had called them together to explain to them the enormous sum of money paid by the people of this county to the State of Virginia, which he said repeatedly amounted to nearly two million more than was due from this county to' the Washington County, 1777-1870. 413 government. He said he was exceedingly alarmed to find that taxes were to be demanded of the peoj^le of Washington that year, then reduced to absolute certainty, the sheriff having given security for the collection. Your deponent well remembers Colonel Campbell told the people that sum of money operated upon them as a tax, and that the people ought to pay no tax till that sum was accounted for by the government to the people here. Your deponent then told the people that Colonel Campbell's deductions were drawn from erroneous calculations by the lump, intended to mislead and incense them against government. Your deponent then urged the people to pay half the tax then called for, and furtlier told the people their compliance with that in future might perhaps favor them to pro- cure an abatement, if not a final remittance, of the arrears by our Af;sembly. Colonel Campbell immediately replied, truly the gen- tleman preaches up to you passive obedience and non-resistance. Yoiir deponent then informed the people the sheriff would take l3eof cattle for the collection, to make it easy for those who could not raise money to pay their tax. Colonel Campbell instantly replied, he liked such men who would take up arms rather than submit to so unjust a tax. Colonel Campbell then proposed that all for his measure should choose a committee, and with these retired aside. Your deponent attended a meeting at Major Dysart's on the 14th of the same instant, when Colonel Campbell addressed the people then present with the same explanation of statements he had offered on the 12th at William Colly's, urging that the people of this county had paid two millions money more than their just quota, and alleged it was unjust for us to pay tax till that was accounted for. Your deponent attended one other meeting at Sink- ing Spring Meeting House, on the 15th of the same instant, being Washington February court day, and yonr deponent supposetli nearly three hundred people were present at said meeting. Colonel Campbell addressed them as before in opposition to the collection of the taxes, and again alleged this county had paid nearly two mil- lions over and above what ought to be paid to government, and recommended the people ought to pay no tax until that was settled by the State. Colonel Campbell said he was surprised to find in what manner measures had been taken to precipitate the collection by the sheriff and his sureties. Colonel Campbell observed, we had but lately escaped from British tyranny and he feared it was likely 414 Southwest Virginia^ 174G-1786. to take place in our own State. He exclaimed generally against the laAvs passed by the General Assembly in 1784, as tyrannical and oppressive. Your deponent once more observed to the people that Colonel Campbell's inferences led them to secede from government; that his insinuations and refusal to pay taxes led to rebellion, in which predicament, if led by him, we must either subjugate Vir- ginia, or Virginia would reduce us. At July Washington court, 1T85, the Grovernor's proclamation being read near the courthouse door, by the sheriff intended to enforce the militia law of 1784, your deponent and field officers, as by a late appointment by the Governor, went before the court, and applied to be qualified to their commissions. Colonel Campbell, then on the bench and judge of the court, he enquired to know what co'mmission, of which your deponent informed him, and handed him the Governor's proclamation ; lie having read it, or part of it, took his hat, and lca^'^ng the bench, declared he would not tamely submit to it so. Colonel Cariipbell then addressed the court, and said tha{ i'lo Governor and Council had exceeded their power. He told the court the Governor's proclamation was not laAv. Your deponent observed to the court it was a power sufficient to enforce a law. Colonel Campbell then observed the militia law was in the highest degree oppressive and tyrannical, and the Executive having suspended the law till Januar}', 1786, had no right to enforce it at that time, and he assured the court the ])owcr to infoice that law or not, was in them, and not in the Executive. It appeared to your deponent, that Colonel Arthur Campbell, supposing that he Avould be overruled by the court in his proposi- tion, then proposed to the court to postpone the qualification of the officers till the August court. Your deponent then observed to the court the risk of the frontier woidd not admit of that delay, as depredations had been committed not long before on our fron- tiers by the savages. Colonel Campbell then replied that avus not of inucli consequence, and further your deponent saith not. Depositions pro and con were taken in tbis ease, at the town house, on March G, 178G, at the house of Captain Tliomas Price on Clinch, on the 10th day of March, and at Henry Herkleroads, on the 14th of said month. The following witnesses were examined Washington County, 1777-1870. 415 against Colonel Campbell : Joseph Cole, Andrew Kincannon, Thomas Berry, James Thompson, Charles Bowen, Arthur Bowen, William Crabtree, Andrew Cowan, George Clark, James Kincan- non and Eobert Preston. And the following witnesses were sworn in behalf of Colonel Campbell: John Latham, Benjamin Sharp, James Dysart, Elisha Dnngan, Greorge Finley, Alex. Breckinridge, James Snodgrass, John Kinkead, Joseph Black and Eobert Craig. These depositions were taken before David Ward, Andrew Cowan, John Latham, John Kinkead, John Lowry, James Fnlkerson and Joseph Black. The principal deposition given in behalf of Colonel Arthnr Camp- bell, and the one that l:)est illustrates his defence, was that of Cap- tain Eobert Craig, which is as follows : "And the deponent further saith; that at July court, 1785, he was sent for to come into court, and when he camo in saw Arthur Campbell standing on the floor, and after the said deponent, taking his seat on the bench. Colonel Eussell, produced to the bench a commission which he was desirous of swearing in. Colonel Camp- bell wished the bench to consider the matter niatiirely first. Col- onel Eussell told the court they could not get over swearing the officers into this commission, as there was the Governor's procla- mation enforcing the new militia law in this county. A member of the court was desirous of seeing the proclamation, upon which it was handed to the court, when Arthur Campbell raised some objections against it as it was an unusual manner in which it came ; but however. Colonel Eussell still insisted to swear into the commis- sions, urging that there was a necessity for swearing into them, as the frontier was in danger of being harassed by Indians. Arthur Campbell m.ade answer that every necessary measure had been taken for the defence of the frontier, and said that the officers which had acted would not neglect doing every duty for the fron- tiers in their power until the August court, which was the longest time he wanted. That the then officers which were to swear into their commissions should not be opposed, if nothing was done by the Executive favorable to the old officers, for he was certain, he said, that thei-e had been some misrepresentation sent to the Executive, or they never would have thrown out officers who had never been called to an account for any misconduct. He likewise further said that he would leave it to the choice of the people which 41G Southwest Virginia, 174G-1786. could be known against tlie August court, and if the new militia law was the choice of a majority of the people, he would be heartily agreed, and could shoulder his musket as well as any of them; and then the said Arthur Campbell retired out of the house, and he does not remember of his returning into the house that day. He con- sidered Arthur Campbell as acting as a private citizen merely in his course, and had never known ol his having been guilty of mis- conduct as a justice of the peace, &c., &c. "The deponent being interrogated, what information James Montgomer}^ gave, one of the days of the last court, respecting liis reasons and motives for accusing Arthur Campbell for malprac- tices in. his office as Justice of the Peace; Answers, on Wednesday the Snd day of the court in conversation with Jam.es Montgomery, said Montgomery often urged that he had been ill used by Ar- thur Campbell, and particularly for that judgment which was obtained against him for holding a false Election in 1785, and for not getting justice in recommendations. As a Militia Officer, the said Deponent observed, that no judgment was yet ol)tained against him in Court, but he still insisted there was, and he blamed no other man but Arthur (Campbell for it. And s'd Deponent asked said Montgomery Avhy he and Arthur (*am]il)ell had so many dis- putes, as they were once good friends, and why they might not cordially drop these disputes and commence good friends again ; said Montgomery answered that he had been willing to be good friends with him, Init it was too late now. and if it had not been purely out of ambition and revenge he would never have raised a charge against Colonel Campbell. "And lieing fiirtlier interrogated, if wliat he heard liim sny in his opinion, was in a dispute, depending before this Court or relative to tlie charges now pending before the Executive? The said Deponent answered that he understood it to be that which lay before the Fxeciitive. Ee'ing fuither 'initerrogaited, if he thought James Montgomery was in his ])roi>er senses, or if he thinks he was disguised with liipuu- nt the time tliey had this Con- versation ; the deponent answers that he drank a share of a quart bowl of whiskey grog, and seemed as if he had been drinking freely before, but tTie said deponent cannot say he was di-unk. nlthough he expressed himself very uoi^y. l)iit as scnsiltle as usual. "The first depositions taken in this case were suppressed by the Washington County, 1111-1810. 417 Governor and Council. The order of the Council suppressing these depositions was as follows : "Arthur Campbell, appearing in person and being attended by James Innes and Archibald Stuart, Esquires, his counsel, the Board resumed the consideration oi the charges exhibited against him as a Justice of the Peace for the county of Washington, and, the charges being read, the said Arthur Campbell by his Coun- sel, objected to the jurisdiction of the Board to proceed to the en- quiry, under the Act entitled 'An Act to extend the powers of the Governor and Council,' as being repugnant to the eighth article of the declaration of rights, and the principles of the Constitu- tion, which objection being overruled by the Board, the Counsel for the said Campbell proceeded to object to the nature and pro- priety of the testimony by Depositions, alleging the witnesses should personally appear and be examined 'viva voce,' and that the depositions were taken in a partial manner, declaring at the same time that tbeir client meant not to shrink from the charges being enquired into, if impartial persons should be appointed to take depositions respecting the charges, and transmit them to the Board. "Whereupon, the Board delivered their opinion, that as the certificate of the judges annexed to the depositions did not state the place as well as the time where the depositions were taken, in conformity to the notice given, they were not sufficient evidence. It was therefore ordered by the consent of the said Campbell and Alexander Montgomery, attending on the part of the accusers, that depositions respecting the charges aforesaid, as well on the part of the Commonwealth as the said Arthur Campbell be taken by either party at the Court House of said Washington County, between the first and last of next month, giving ten days' notice of the time and place of taking them, and that David Ward, Andrew Cowan, John Latham, John Kinkead, John Lowry, James Fulkerson and Joseph Black, Gentlemen, or any three of them being the commis- sioners chosen by the parties, attend the taking of the depositions of such witnesses as shall be produced, and that the commission- ers transmit the depositions so taken, lyider their hand and seal, to the Governor on or before the second Tuesday in June next, at which time the parties are to be heard in the Council Chamber touching the charges aforesaid." 418 Southwest Virginia, 1746-17S6. These depositions wore retaken puvsnant to tlie above order of tlie Couneil and returned to the Governor of Virginia, whereupon Colonel Campbell addressed the following memorial to the Gov- ernor and Council : To His Exccllcncii, the Governor of Virginia, and the Honorahle the Council of Slate: THE MEMOEIAL OF ARTHUE CAMPBELL. "Sheweth : that conscious of the pnritv of his intentions and the inoffensiveness of liis transactions in 1785, he, last April, waived his undoubted privilege of viva voce testimony being pro- duced against him before your Honorable Board. That he should not have waived such a benefit had it not been for the apparent sense of the Board in April last, and in confidence that the same rule for admitting evidence would be adopted before the commis- sioners appointed to take depositions, as are always adliered to in the Courts of Law, that such rules liave l)een disregarded and such persons admitted to swear, who are parties in the dispute, and others interested and not credible witnesses — That as all your Memorialist's conversation complained of happened at public places, where were a large number of the inhabitants generally as- sembled, several of whom must have heard what words were spoken, as well as Colonel Eussell, or. any of the avowed complainants. That he has no objection, and it was really his desire to have a number of the most credible, disinterested persons in the county to say on their oath what they knew of the charges l)rought against your memorialist. However, he believes there are a sufficient num- ber of such persons already qualified to make the truth appear to your Honorable Board, without being obliged to resort to the tes- timony indirectly obtained, and coming from such persons imder the influence of such passions as always vitiate testimony in the Courts of Law. Your Memorialist therefore prays, that none of the depositions taken before the C^ommissioners, in Washington County, dated the third, fourth, and fifth days of this instant, may be admitted against him, because, however secure he may now con- clude himself from the attack of malice, yet the precedent would be a dangerous one, and might one day return on the heads of Washington County, 1777-1870. 419 those w]iO' are now so passionately anxious for the destruction of one who has really done the public no wrong. "And your Memorialist will ever I'ray, &c., &c., "ABTHUE CAMPBELL." As far as I can ascertain, the Governor and Council sustained the charges against Colonel Campbell and removed him from the office of justice of the connty court in August, 1786, but he was almost immediately reinstated upon the request of the court of this county. While Colonel Campbell's conduct in this matter may have been indiscreet and imprudent, there can be no question that he voiced the sentiments of a great majority of the citizens living in Wash- ington county. At the next election for members of the House of Delegates from Washington county, held in the spring of the year 1787, he, along with Eobert Craig, was overwhelmingly elected froin this county, and Colonel Campbell for many years thereafter, retained the con- fidence of the people of this county and the State officials at Rich- mond. 420 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. CHAPTEK IX. WASHINGTON COUNTY^ 1787-1840. On tlie 8th day of March, 1787, a small party of Indians came to the settlement in Castle's Woods, where they killed a woman and two children, and made their escape in snch a manner that they conld not be pursued. A short while previous to this time the Indians had visited Lin- coln couuty, Kentucky, and stolen a number of horses, and com- mitted other depredations on the people, whereupon a company of militia, being about 100 in num1)er, set out from Lincoln county, under the command of Colonel John Logan, to attack and destroy a small town inhabited by the Chcrokees, on the north side of the Tennessee and l)elow the Cuml>erland mountain, who were blamed for the depredations on the Kentucky Path and in the Kentucky country. This company, after a few days, came on a fresh trace of In- dians, which they followed across Cumberland Gap, and they fell in with a company of Indians and killed seven, a chief and six warriors, and wounded several others, one of the Kentucky militia being killed and another wounded. This company of Indians proved to be from the friendly town of Chote. On the 9th day of ,Iuly, 1787, a party of Indians came to the house of John Carter, on the Clinch, and killed his wife and six children, and, after phmdering the house, placed the dead bodies in the same and burned the whole. About the same time a family of thirteen or fourteen were murdered by the Indians on the Clinch. During the spring of this year the Indians killed five persons on the head waters of the Clinch, two men and three women, and every indication pointed to war. The Spanish Government and the American people were, at this time, engaged in a controversy in regard to the navigation of the Mississippi river, and a gentleman writing from the Cherokee country to his friend in Virginia, on the 2d day of August, 1787, said: Washington County, 1777-1870. 421 "Through a cliannel that may be credited, I am informed that Alexander McGillivray is using his utmost exertions to engage the Creek Indians in a War, not only with Georgia, but with the west- ern parts of Virginia and No. Carolina. He has said to some of his friends that his object is to make the war as hot as possible at first, which will induce overtures for peace, and make the United States glad to grant advantageous terms, such as to acknowledge the independence and sovereignty of the Creek Nation, and admit them as members of the Federal Union. "A great number of Tories and other white desperadoes have taken refuge in the Creek country. IMcGillivray was a noted one, but has lately ingratiated liimself into^ the good graces of the Span- ish commandant at Mobile; is now agent for his Catholic Majesty in the Creek Nation, and a Colonel in the Spanish pay, and of late has usurped the regal authority over the Indians. McGillivray seems to be possessed of abilities, has an insatiable ambition for honor, and being aggrandized, and may not be much inferior to Hyder Ali had he the same opportunity. "Upon the whole there is reason to believe that the whole is a plan of the Court of Spain to curtail the United States in a part of their territory. If that be the case there cannot be too great care taken to disconcert them. If the Creek Nation was well humbled, and the nest of Tories that is settled among them routed and drove out of the country, I think we might have lasting peace; otherwise we may expect that, the longer it is delayed, our enemies will become more numerous and formidable." A large body of Creeks united and crossed the Hiwassee river, declaring their purpose to march for the Holston settlements. Colonel Arthur Campbell, who was in command of the defences of this and Eussell county at the time, directed Captain Samuel Newell, with a detachment of men, to keep a vigilant outlook for the Creek Indians on the frontiers, and. for the purpose of retain- ing the friendship of the Cherokee Indians, he sent their chief the following talk : "Brother : — It is Math great concern that we hear that a number of your Towns' people have lately been killed by some white men between Clinch river and Cumberland mountain, and that you blame the Virginians for it. As to who done it, I cannot cer- tainly say, but have heard that one hundred men from Kentucky 422 Southwest Virginia, 17Jf6-178G. had gone towards Chickaraogga Towns to take satisfaction for the murder that was done on the Kentucky path last October, and what made the people exceedingly angry, was that they heard their Captives, mostly women, were all burnt in the Chickamogga To\mis. ''Yon know when the Americans go to Avar, they kill no prison- ers and try to save alive all the women and children. Wai-riors will only seek to fight with men; cowards may go to war with Avomen. "Brother, listen attentively: ever since the year 1781, when yonr towns were all destroyed rnr joining the Phiglish, the Virginians buried the tomahawk deep, and ncAcr wish to raise it again against their brothers, the Cherokees, but are willing to live in friendship as long as the moon endures. It will l)e your fault if the friend- ship is broken. I venture to pi'omise further, that none of the Vir- ginians living on this side of the Cumberland mountains will mo- lest the Cherokees without first ol)taining orders from our Cover- nor, who is a good man, and will see that you liave justice done if you remain peaceable. He will also call the Kentuckians to ac- count, if they have been guilty of destroying any of the friendly Cherokees. "Brother, call a CVnineil of yoiir head men, give them this Talk, exhort them to live peaceable, and wait until the Governor of Virginia can hear all the truth, and if his people are to blame, he will give him satisfaction and put a stop to former wrongs ; but if you rashly go to war and kill innocent people, there may be a great deal of blood shed, for we can send a great army against you that may destroy you altogether. "Listen well. You must see that I have now given you good advice both for you and your nation. Send me in return an answer, a very long talk. Tell me all there is in your heart. If you are for keeping the chain of friendship bright, I will be your friend as here- tofore, and do you all the good I can. It will give me pleasure to use means to heal tlie wounds and dry up tb.e tears of those that have lost their friends, and be strong in endeavors to do justice to all the red peojile that kec]) the ])eace and love the Americans. "ARTHUR CAMPBELL. "To ye Great Warrior of the Cherokees." In the month of December, 1787, the Indians killed and scalped Stephen English, near Laurel river, on the Kentucky path, and Washington County, 1777-1870. 433 William English and a yoamg woman on Holston, and at tlie same time took a woman and four cliildren prisoners, and made an in- cursion into Powell's Valley. They killed also, several men, wo- men and cliildren, and, with a number of horses, fled in the direc- tion of the Cherokee country. During this year a large quantity of powder and lead was sent from the Holston to the Kentucky country, but it had to be guarded through the wilderness by fifty militia. In the fall of this year, Colonel Joseph Martin was discontinued from office as Indian agent for the State of Virginia, and was suc- ceeded by Dr. White. With the opening of the spring of 1788, the Indians began again to disturb the settlements, and on the 20th of April, came into the Kye Cove settlement and carried off three boys and a negro man, two of the boys being the sons of Thomas Carter, who then repre- sented Russell county in the General Assembly. Early in the month of March, a party of Cherokees visited the settlements on the lower Holston, wounded one man and carried off about one hundred liorses, and in the month of June, 1788, four men were killed in Russell county, and three men were killed and scalped on the Black mountain. One of the Elmires, three of the Breedings and Neal Roberts, from the New Garden settlements in Russell county, were found on Black mountain, killed and scalped. In the spring of this year the Governor requested the representa- tives from Montgomerv, Washington and Russell counties to recom- mend tbe number of militia and scouts necessary for the protection of their several counties, when the following recommendations were submitted : "1st. That only one troop of horse are necessary to each regiment, and in some counties that might be dispensed with, and that the appointment of officers may be deferred until recommendations come from the respective counties. "2d. We believe six scouts will be sufficient for Washington and Russell, four for Montgomery, and the like number for Greenbrier. "3d. We hope that at least one full company of Rangers under an experienced officer will be allowed to do duty towards the Ohio, and, if attacks are apprehended from the Southern Indians, another company may be necessary in Powell's Valley on Clinch. Or the last-mentioned company might be raised by occasional drafts from 424 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. the militia or detacliments from tJie light companies of Washington, Montgomery and Eussell. "We believe it would bo an improvement were the ranging com- panies of one-half musket men^ their guns and bayonets to be of a neat and light construction, something similar to those used by the British Highland regiments when in America. "The scouts ought to occasionally attend the ranging companies, and if Indians were to be pursued over the Ohio, horsemen, prop- erly armed, would be useful. These are cursory thoughts; perhaps a more perfect plan and more economical might be formed, should your Excellency judge it proper to leave the consideration of the subject to a council of the field oflBcers of the three Southwestern counties, to meet in February, except as to scouts, which we think ought to be ordered into service in February or early in March." In June of this year, a convention of delegates from the several counties of Virginia assembled in Richmond for the purpose of rejecting or ratifying the Constitution of tlie United States, as pro- posed by the Philadelphia Convention. The delegates from Washington county in this convention were Samuel Edmiston and James Montgomery. At this time such dis- tinguished Virginians as Patrick Henry opposed the ratification of the Constitution as submitted by the Philadelphia Convention, but the Virginia Convention ratified tlie Constitution by a vote of 89 to 79, the delegates froui Washington county voting against the rati- fication of the Constitution. Colonel Arthur Campbell and his followers were heartily in favor of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, and no doubt opposed the election of Edmiston and Montgomery. In the fall of the year 1788, Eichard Pemlierton, with his family, lived in Baptist Valley about five miles Avest of Tazewell courthouse. "On a Sabbath morning late in August, he started to his field, accompanied by his wife and two childrou, to soe that liis fences were not down and to repair any breach that might have been made. According to the custom of the times Mr. Pembertou had taken with him his gun, which was his constant com])anion. After satisfying himself that his crops were safe, the little party started back. They had gone but a few hundred yards, liowever, when two Indians armed witli ])o\vs and arrows, knives and tomahawks, came yelling toward them at full speed. In an instant the pioneer's gun was Washington County, 1777-1870. 425 leveled and the trigger pulled; it missed fire and in liis hurry to spring the lock again, he broke it and of course, could not fire. See- ing him raise his gun to shoot caused the Indians to halt and com- mence firing arrows at him. Keeping himself between his wife and children and the Indians he ordered them to get on as fast as pos- sible and try to reach a house at which a Mr. Johnson lived and where several men were living. This house was some half a mile distant, but4ie hoped to reach it and save those Avhom he held dear- est, his wife and children. The Indians made every possible attempt to separate him from his family, all of which proved vain. They would retreat to a respectful distance and then come bounding back like so many furies from the regions of indescribable woe. When they came too near, he would raise his gnn as if he were really reserving his fire, which would cause them to halt and try to sur- round him. But at every attack they shot their arrows into his breast, causing great pain. For nearly an hour this running fight was kept up ; still the blood- thirsty savages pressed on. At last he was sufficiently near John- son's house to be heard. He was heard, when he raised his powerful voice for succor. But no sooner did the men at the house hear the cry of "Indians," than, they took to their heels in an opposite direc- tion. At last he arrived at the house closely pursued by the Indians, and entering after his family, barred the door, and began to make preparation for acting more upon the defensive, when the Indians made a rapid retreat. Pemberton reached his own house the fol- lowing day, where he resided many years, an eye-sore to those who had so ingloriously fled from his assistance. Many ari'ow points which entered his breast were never removed and were carried to th« end of his life, as the best certificate of his bravery and devotion to his family."* Upon the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, the General Assembly of A^irginia divided the State into ten con- gressional districts, the third district being composed of the follow- ing counties: Botetourt, Rockbridge, Montgomery, Greenbrier, Washington, Augusta, Russell, Rockingham, *Bicklev's History of Tazewell. 436 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. and directed that an election be held on the 2d day of Febriiary, 1789, at the court-house in each county in the district, for the elec- tion of a congi-essman. This election was held pursuant to the directions of the General Assembly of Virginia, and Andrew Moore, of Eockbridge coimty, was eh^eted our first representative under the Constitution of the United States. On the 15th day of May, 1789, the Indians visited the home of Joseph Johnson, in the Eye Cove settlement, and destroyed nine members of his family, Johnson and his two sons making their escape. His wife and child were found about one-quarter of a mile from the house, killed and scaljied, and the bones of another child were found burned in the house, and the rest were killed or carried into captivity. Johnson lived on Clinch river, where the old path crossed between the block-house and Eye Cove. On the first day of October. 1789, a party of Indians captured the family of one Wiley, who lived on the head waters of the Clinch. They killed and scalped four of his children and took his wife and youngest child into captivity. Mrs. Wiley soon made her escape, and upon her return made oath that the Indians told her that they would bring foair hundred. Indians against Clinch and Bluestone in the summer of 1790. In the fall of this year, William Whitely, who lived in Baptist Valley, on the line dividing Eussell and Montgomery counties, liad occasion to leave his home for a short distance In search of his horses, when a party of Indians fell on him and cut him intO' small pieces, which they strung on the bushes ; they cut out his heart and flung it against the ground with so much violence that it covered itself in the soil. During this same year, a party of Shawnese Indians ascended the Dry fork of Tug river and fell upon the family of James Eoark, who lived at a gap in the dividing ridge between the Clinch and Sandy rivers. Eoark and two of his sons were not at home at the time. The Indians killed Mrs. Eoark and several children. Eoark's Gap, the scene of this massacre, is near Maxwell's station in Tazewell county, and the location of the house occupied by Eoark and his family is still pointed out by the citizens to every passer-by. The house stood near a beautiful spring, and what is termed an "Indian mound" is found near by. During this same year, John Davidson, who lived on the head waters of the Clinch, was waylaid and killed by a band of Indiaais Washington County, 1777-1870. 427 while feeding his horse at a cabin. The Indians were accompanied on this expedition by a white man, who robbed Davidson's saddle- bags of their contents. In October of the year 1789, Colonel Campbell made a return of the militia of Washington connty, from which it was ascertained to consist of one county lieutenant, one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, one major, fifteen captains, thirteen lieutenants, eleven ensigns, thirty sergeants, three drummers, two fifers, G75 rank and file, add- ing in his remarks, "no return from three companies." "In June, 1790, a predatory party of Indians came from the Rockcastle hills in Kentucky and made their appearance at the cabin of Isaac ISTewland, on the North fork of Holston, the place subse- quently owned by Michael Fleenor and still in possession of his descendants, some eight miles north of Abingdon. Mr. ISTewland and his son were at work in a clearing near by, with no one at the cabin but his wife and her infant. The Indians captured the mother and infant, burnt the cabin and hurried away with their captives directly through the mountains toward Paissell. The alarm being given Jacob Mongle (father of Colonel Abram Mongle), being the nearest neighbor, gathered a company in as short a time as possible and took the trail, which had been plainly marked by Mrs. Newland, who had the presence of mind to break twigs by the way and leave other signs. After reaching the valley in which Lebanon is now situated, and fearing that the powder in their flint guns had become dampened in passing through the thick undergrowth of the moun- tain, they discharged their guns for the purpose of reloading, in order to make sure work should they overtake the savages, but it unfortunately so happened that the Indians had halted, and hearing the report of firearms took the alarm, murdered their victims and made their escape. A few minutes after, the pursuing party came to where the mother and child were lying, the latter not quite dead. They brought them back to the settlements, Jacob Mongle carrying the infant, which died in his arms on the way. The alarm having reached the little settlement at Abingdon it produced great consternation and serious apprehensions as to what might befall the little community at Castle's Woods, as the Indians would probably return in that direction, it being in a line wi^?h their towns beyond the Cumberland. A young man by the name of Doug- lass living at Abingdon, a fearless and determined Indian fighter. 428 Southwest Virginia, 17J^6-1786. proposed to cross the mountains to Castle's Woods, for the purpose of warning the settlers of the impending danger, and a young friend by the name of Benham, volunteered, against the expostulations of his relatives and friends, to accompany him on this perilous journey. "Everybody in this country acquainted with the old road through Little Moccasin Gap, will remember the large, square, flat, table-like rock, some five or six feet high, which stood on the lower side of the old trace along the creek not far from opposite the little mill now on the new road in the gap, the noisy machinery of which send;^ strange echoes along the surrounding peaks in these days of piping peace and corn dodgers. Douglass and Benham had reached that rock, and as was the custom of most wayfarers as long as that old road was the highway through the gap, had probably halted to eat a snack. At this moment the report of a rifle was heard, when Douglass fell mortally wounded. He at once told Benham tliat the shot was fatal and urged him to dodge into, the laurel bordering the stream, make his escape to Cas- tle's Woods and warn the settlers. Douglass saw the smoke of a rifle rise from a log between the stream and where the road now passes, and knowing that it was the habit of the Indian to lie still under such circumstances till the smoke cleared away, when he would cautiously raise his head to see the effect of his flre, he drew a bead upon the spot as he lay propped upon his elbow, and Benham afterwards stated that he had not gone fifteen yards when he heard the report of Douglass's rifle. Benham hurried on through the gap, reached Castle's Woods in safety, and gave the alarm. A company returning a day or two after found the body of Douglass lying where Benham left him, with his scalp gone, and on examining the place where the smoke of the Indian's rifle was seen, blood and brains were foimd upon the log, showing that Douglass at the instant he entered upon that journey from which no traveler returns, took an Indian with him on the solemn march. A grave was excavated among the rocks on the roadside where he fell, in which his body was deposited and still sleeps, amid the wildest and most romantic scenery of all our mountain gorges. It was the custom for each passer-by who laiew the spot to drop a pebble upon the rude mound, to perpetuate the memory of the resting place of the brave pioneer who sacrificed his life for the safety of others perhaps unknown to Washington County, 1777 -187 a. 439 him, but the vandalism of modern change, instead of rearing a mon- ument to his memory on the spot, wantonl}^ changed the location of the road to avoid a slight elevation, and thus obliterated forever the little hillock that marked the receptacle of the ashes of tlie hero and martyr.* Captain Isaac Newland was an active, thriving man, ambitious for preferment by his country, but the sad occurrence abO'Ve given had such a bad effect upon him, that "grief for a time seemed to absorb all powers of his mind and body, and he settled down into a deep melancholy, regardless of every object or occurrence. He finally sought comfort in religion, and became a Baptist preacher." f In the spring of the year 1790, a little boy, the son of John Fra- zer, of Eussell county, was taken prisoner, and in the fall of this same year, the entire family of John Frazer was murdered on tlie Kentucky road. About the middle of August, 1790, six persons were killed by the Indians on Clinch river in Russell county. In the year 1791, Ensign Simon Cockrell recommended to tlie Governor the placing of ten men at Baptist's Valley, ten men at Eichlands, ten men at New Garden, ten men at Glade Hollow, twenty men at Castle's Woods, ten men at crossing of Clinch and Kentucky road, ten men at Moccasin Gap, ten men at Eye Cove, as a protection against the invasion of the Indians, and as far as I can ascertain, the people of this section were exempt from Indian attacks until the fall of 1792. In the fall of 1791, the Governor instructed Captains Andrew Lewis and John Preston to recruit two companies of volunteer mili- tia for the defence of the frontiers of Montgomery, Wythe and Rus- sell counties, and by the 7th of February, 1792, their companies con- sisted of four musicians, two ensigns, eight sergeants, eight (x<\- porals, six scouts and one hundred and thirty-two privates, beside? the captains and lieutenants, and with this force Captains Lewis and Preston very effectively defended the frontiers during the suin- mer of 1792. In the year 1793, in the election for a representative in the Con- gress of the United States, the candidates before the people of the Fourth District of Virginia, which district was composed of the counties of Wythe, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Lee, Eussell, Montgomei-y, *Wilburn Waters and Chas. B. Coale. tChas. B. Coale. 430 Southwest Virginia, 1746-17S6. Grayson and Washington, were Abraham Trigg, of Montgomery county and Francis Preston, of Washington county. Abraham Trigg was a Jeilersonian Eepublican, while Preston was a Washingtonian Federalist, and the contest between the candidates representing these diverse principles was bitter. ? The result was the election of Colonel Preston by a majority of ten votes. Colonel Trigg was not satisfied witli tlic result and contested the election of Preston, and assigned the following grounds to sustain his contest. First. That the shcriif of Lee county closed the poll at 2 P. M. on the day of the election and refused to reopen the same. Second. That the sheriff of Washington county adjourned the poll two days instead of one as required by the laAv, and that non- residents of the State voted for Colonel Preston in said election. Third. That Captain William Preston, a brother of Francis Pres- ton, was stationed near J\fontgomery courthouse with sixty or sev- enty Federal troops, and that on the day of the election. Captain Preston's troops were marched three times around the court-house and were paraded in front of and close to the door thereof. Foujth. That said troops were polled in favor of Preston. That a part of the troops stood at the door of the court- house and refused to let the electors favoring Trigg enter the house, and in one instance knocked down a magistrate who sought admis- sion, being an advocate of Colonel Trigg. Tills contest was as hotly fought before Congress as the election had been before the people. The Elections Committee of the House of Eepresentatives on the 17th day of April, 1794, reported in favor of rmseating Francis Preston. This report was debated for many days, after which a vote was taken, which vote resulted in the report of the committee being rejected and Francis Preston was thereupon declared duly seated. Colonel Preston was returned a member of Congress from thirf district by successive elections till the year 1797. Thus our district early in its history witnessed a contest before the Congress of the United Statos. At the election held for a presidential elector, on the first Monday in jSTovember, 1792, for the district composed of the counties of Washington County, 1777-1870. 431 Wythe, Washington, Eussell and Montgomeiy, Chiiborne Watkins was selected an elector from this district to vote for President and Vice-President of the United States. In the month of December, 1792, Captain Tate and forty men were passing througli the wilderness on their way to Kentucky, when they were attacked by a company of Creek and Cherokee Indians, and, about tbe same time, several lesser encoimters oc- curred, but I cannot ascertain the casualties on either side. In the fall of 1793, the citizens of North Carolina provoked a war with the Indians, and, in the month of October, John Watts, at the head of a thousand hostile Indians, threatened an invasion of the Holston settlements and the settlements in Powell's Valley. Watts, with liis forces, began his march for the settlements and reached Buchanan's fort witliin five miles of Knoxville, where ho v.as repulsed with a loss of fifteen men killed, AVatts himself receiv- ing a bad wound. After this repulse, Watts's army dispersed in small parties, declaring their purpose to invade the settlements and to attack the settlers out of their forts. It was the declared pur- pose of W^atts and his followers, to drive off and destroy the whole of the inhabitants in Powell's Valley. The situation was truly alarming for the Virginia settlements in Powell's Valley, and the Governor of Virginia requested Colonel Arthur Campbell and Captain John Preston to submit to him their vieM^s as to the proper manner to proceed to place the western fron- tiers in a defensive position. Colonel Arthur Campbell submitted the following proposal : "That a company of fifty men as rangers, be engaged for three months from the first day of December next, to do duty at or near Cumberland Gap. As it is in the contemplation of the Executive of the State of Kentucky to have a fort built about half way in the wilderness, and place a garrison of fifty men in it, our troops, after they fortify their camp, may meet those rangers occasionally, and to the southward meet those under the direction of Governor Blount, which would form a chain of connection that might preclude the necessity of troops being stationed on Clinch river. As to attempts of the South- ern enemy, the regulars on the Ohio may cover that frontier from the inroads of the Northern Indians. But it will be useless respect- ins the Southern war. 432 Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786. The post at Cumberland Gap, besides covering a detached fro'.itior settlement in Virginia, will divide the distance between Danville and Hawkins Courthouse and of course will facilitate the trans- portation of the mail and secure our intercourse with the army on the Ohio by land. This is a plan of economy, on account of the idea of the Executive of the general government. A full company ought to be the number tor this service, as they may be assailed by large parties of Indimis and as they will be more than one hundred milps from the settle- jnent from which they can expect succour in case of extremity. It will be peculiarly mortifying, if the frontier of Virginia, exposed to the attacks of the Southern Indians, be ncg-ected, \rhen their neighbors in the Southwestern Territory, not so much in dan- ger, have an ample force ranging around the "ettl.^ments. Tlie Virginians, without murmuring, pay duties to the general govern- ment; the citizens of the Southwestern Territory not a shiHiug; Georgia and South Carolina are arranging to -opposa the f^ami' eremy, and will no doubt be paid for their services out of the Treas- nry of the United States." Captain John Preston proposed, that there should be stationed: "At the mouth of Greenbrier, an ensign, sergeant and sixteen privates. "At the five-mile fork of East river, a lieutenant, one sergeant, a corporal and twenty-four privates. "At Lincolnshire, on Clinch, a captain, a sergeant, a corporal and twenty-four privates. "At Hawkins, in the Baptist Valley, a sergeant and eight privates. "At Brown's or Fugate's, in the Eichlands, a sergeant, corporal and twelve privates. "At Wilkinson's, in the New Garden, a lieutenant, sergeant and sixteen privates. "At the montli of Dump's creek, an ensign, two corporals and twelve privates. "At .Roberson's, in Castle's Woods, a captain, a sergeant, corporal and twenty-four privates. "At Blackmore's Station, a sergeant, corporal and twelve privates. "At Carter's, in Rye Cove, a captain, sergeant, corporal and twenty-four privates. Washington County, 1777-1870. 433 "At Turkey Cove, a captain, sergeant, corporal and twenty-four privates. "At Martin's old station, an ensign, sergeant and corporal. "At Cox's, an ensign, sergeant, corporal and sixteen privates. "At Martin's lower station, sometimes called the blockhouse, where Eobinson lives, which is the lower settlement of Virginia, and where the Kentucky road enters this State, a captain, two ser- geants, two corporals and thirty-one privates. "At Blackwater branch, a place exposed to the south in Lee county, a lieutenant, sergeant, corporal and twelve privates. "And tlie scouts to be dispersed along the frontier as shall be deemed necessary, and changed when required." I cannot say which proposition was acted upon, but it is certain that steps were taken to protect the frontiers. Captain, Matthew Willoughby and Ensign William Campbell were stationed in Powell's Valley. The trouble with the Indians began at the opening of spring in the year 1793. On Sunday about the first day of April, Ensign Moses Cockrell and two men were passing from Eye Cove to Powell's Valle}^, with several loaded horses. On the top of Powell's mountain they were fired on by twelve Indians. The two men who accompa- nied Cockrell were shot dead on the spot, and Cockrell himself was pursued to tlie foot of the mountain. Two of his horses were killed and all the loads lost. Captain Neal, with a party, pursued the Indians but did not suc- ceed in overtaking them. The Chief who led this company of Indians was a half-breed Shawnese by the name of Benge. A writer in speaking of this occurrence says : "He was remarkable for his strength, activity, endurance and great speed as a runner. He was a man of more than average intelligence also, as well as of great bravery and strategy, and had more than once approached the settle- ments so stealthily and by a route so secret that he fell upon the scat- tered settlers without an intimation of his approach and retired to his wigwams beyond the Cumberland without leaving a trace of the route he had traveled, though rangers were constantly on the lookout for his trail. One of these rangers of the Holston settlements was a man by the name of Cockrell, and the writer must make a digres- sion to record an incident in his history. He was famous for his size, activity and handsome person. Benge and himself were rivals 434 Southwest Virginia, 17^6-1786. in manhood and woodcraft, each jealous of the other's prowess and courage, and both anxious for an occasion to moot in single combat. Xot many months before Benge's last incursion, they met on top of Powell's mountain, in what is now Lee county, each with a band of followers. The Indians were in ambush, having observed the approach of the whites, who were not aware of their proximity, and Benge instructed his companions not to kill Cockrell, so that he himself might run him down and capture him. At the crack of the Indian rifles two or three of Cockrell's companions fell; seeing which and at once comprehending the folly of a combat with a dozen savages, he sprang aAvay down the mountain side, like an ante- lope, with Benge in close pursuit. Two miles away in the valley on Wallen's creek was the cabin of a pioneer, in reaching which Cock- rell knew was his only chance of escape. Having two hundred dollars in specie in a belt around him, he found he was carrying two much weight for a closely contested race, and that Benge w^as gain- ing on him. Making a desperate effort, however, he increased his speed a little, and as he leaped the fence that surrounded the cabin, Benge's tomahawk was buried in the top rail before Cockrell reached the ground. Benge seeing that he had missed his aim, and not knowing how many men and rifles might be in the cabin, fled back to his companions, sadly disappointed. A few years after this Cockrell died on the north fork in this county, and during the "wake," while his body lay in the cabin, an old comrade who had been in many a hard pinch with him, thus gave utterance to his thoughts and feelings as he paced the punch- eon floor in great sorrow : "Poor Cockrell, he is gone ! He was a noble fellow after Injuns and varmints, and I hope he has gone to where, there is as much game and as desperate good range as he had on Holston !"* During the same week, fourteen persons were killed on the Ken- tucky road, near the Hazel Patch. The whites discovered the In- dians and attempted to secure the first fire, but failed, and only two of the whites made their escape. The Indians lost five dead, and one white man with them killed. Both parties broke and ran at the same time in opposite directions. About the 15th of March, 1793, several emigrants were killed on *Coale's "Wilbuni Waters." Washington County, 1777-1870. 435 the Kentucky road. Captain Andrew Lewis, to appease tlie set- tlers who were about to break up, placed a sergeant and twelve men at Dump's creek. At Eye Cove, a sergeant and seven men. At St. Mary's, with the French, a sergeant and seven men, which left twenty men at Fort Lee. On the 20th day of March, 1793, a party of Indians numbering twenty-tliree appeared upon the frontiers of Wythe and Montgom- ery, frequently showing themselves, to the terror of the inhabitants. John Davidson was murdered by them and a number of horses were stolen from Wolf creek, Bluestone and Island creek. The Indians made their escape, except a small party entrusted with the care of about eighty horses, from Island creek. This company was pur- sued by a large party from Bluestone and another from the head of Clinch, and were overtaken the next day, at the mouth of Little Cole, at what is called the Island of Guyandotte, where they were attacked by the whites. Three of their number were killed and scalped, all tlie horses retaken, with the arms and blankets of a part of their warriors. The number of Indians concerned in the murder of John Davidson at the Laurel fork of Wolf creek was about twelve. This party of Indians carried off a number of horses from that neighborhood and passed with them in daylight through, the heart of the Bluestone settlement. Colonel Arthur Campbell, in the spring of the year 1793, was commissioned by the President of the United States as Indian agents, and in April of this year, communicated to the Presi- dent of the United States a request from the Chickasaw Indians for tlie buil