Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. I, Part 60

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. I > Part 60

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If Major M'Gary is to be believed, he remonstrated against this rash precipitation, and urged a delay of one day for rein- forcements, but so keen was the ardor of officer and soldier, that his dissent was drowned, in an impatient clamor for in- stant battle; and in an evil hour, on the 18th of August, the line of march was taken up, and the pursuit urged with a keenness which quickly brought them up with the retreating foe. Before noon, on the 19th, they reached the southern bank of Licking, and for the first time beheld their enemy. A few Indians were care- lessly loitering upon the rocky ridge, which bounded the prospect to the north. These warriors seemed nowise disconcerted by the presence of so large a body of Kentuckians, but after gazing upon them for a few moments with cool indifference, very leis- urely disappeared beyond the ridge.

This symptom was not to be mistaken by the youngest woods- man in the ranks. The enemy was before them in force, and a battle against fearful odds, or a rapid retreat, became inevitable. A dozen officers rode to the front and exchanged opinions. Boone, who was best acquainted with the ground, declared with confidence that the Indian army lay in ambuscade about one mile beyond the river, which there ran in an irregular ellipsis, and of- fered peculiar advantages to the indians, if the Kentuckians should

advance by the buffalo trace. He advised either a retreat upon Logan, or a division of their force, for the purpose of making a flank attack upon each wing of the Indian army, of whose posi- tion he had no doubt. All further deliberation, however, was broken up by M'Gary, who suddenly spurred his horse into the stream, waved his hat over his head, and shouted aloud, " Let all who are not cowards follow me." Of the gallant band of one hundred and sixty, there was not one who could endure this taunt. The electric cord was struck with a rude hand, and the shock was as universal as it was violent. The horsemen dashed tumultuously into the stream, each striving to be foremost. The footmen were mingled with them in one rolling and irregular mass. They struggled through a deep ford as they best could, and without stopping to reform their ranks on the northern shore, pressed forward in great disorder, but in a fierce mood, to close with their concealed enemy. The stinging taunt of M'Gary had struck deep, and every thought save that of confronting death without fear, was for the moment banished from their minds

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M'Gary still led the van, closely followed by Boone, Harlan and M'Bride. Suddenly a heavy fire burst upon them in front, and the van halted and endeavored to obtain cover and return the fire. The centre and rear hurried up to support their friends and the bare and rocky ridge was soon crowded with the com batants. The ravines flanked them on each side, from which came a devouring fire, which rapidly wasted their ranks. There was no cover for the Kentuckians, and nearly one half of their force was on horseback. The Indians had turned each flank, and appeared disposed to cut off their retreat. The rear fell Jack to prevent this, the centre and van followed the movement, and a total rout ensued. The pursuit was keen and bloody, and was pressed with unrelenting vigor. Todd, Trigg, Harlan, M'Bride, Bulger, and Gordon, were killed on the field of battle. M'Gary, although more deeply involved in the ranks of the enemy than any other officer, was totally unhurt ; sixty officers and men were killed in the battle or pursuit, and seven prisoners were taken. The number of wounded was never ascertained. Some of the fugitives reached Bryan's station on the night after the battle, and were there met by Colonel Logan, at the head of four hun- dred and fifty men. Logan remained at Bryan's until the last of the survivors had arrived, and then continued his march to the battle ground. The bodies of the dead were collected and in- terred, and having satisfied himself that the Indians had crossed the Ohio and were beyond his reach, he returned to Bryan's sta- tion and disbanded his troops.

It was an established custom in Kentucky at that time, never to suffer an Indian invasion to go unpunished, but to retaliate upon their villages and corn fields, the havoc, which their own settlements had experienced. Colonel George Rogers Clark, stationed permanently at Louisville, declared that he would lead his regiment of State troops against the Indian villages in Ohio, and invited the militia of Kentucky to accompany him. The call was promptly answered. One thousand riflemen rendez- voused at the mouth of Licking, and under the command of Clark, penetrated into the heart of the Indian country. No re- sistance was offered. Their towns were reduced to ashes, their corn cut up, and the whole country laid waste with unsparing severity. Having completely destroyed every thing within their reach, the detachment returned to Kentucky.

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CHAPTER II.

THE certainty that actual hostilities between Great Britain and Ah erica had ceased, and that a treaty of peace would be for - mally ratified in the spring, led to an universal expectation that Indian hostilities would cease, and in expectation of that event there was a vast accession of emigrants in the fall of 1782. Peace followed in 1783, as was expected, and Indian hostilities for a time were suspended; but an unhappy failure on both sides fully and fairly to execute the treaty, finally resulted in the re- newal of the Indian war with treble violence.

By the terms of the treaty, England was bound to carry away no slaves, and to surrender the north-western posts in her posses- sion within the boundaries of the United States. On the other hand, Congress had stipulated, that no legal impediments should be opposed to the collection by British merchants, of the debts due them from citizens of the United States. None of these stipulations were faithfully executed, as they were understood by

the parties severally interested. Slaves taken during the war were removed by the British fleet. Virginia became indignant and passed a law which prohibited the collection of British debts, and England refused to deliver up the western posts, until the obnoxious laws were repealed. Congress, in helpless imbecility, was unable to control the sovereign States, and the posts were withheld until Jay's treaty, more than ten years after peace had been ratified.

The Indians at first, however, assumed a pacific attitude, and the year 1783 passed away without hostilities. In the meantime, the settlements advanced with great rapidity. Simon Kenton, after an interval of nine years, reclaimed his settlement at Wash- ington, and in 1784 erected a block house where Maysville now stands, so that the Ohio river became the northern frontier of Kentucky. The general course of emigration henceforth was down the Ohio to Maysville, and thence by land to the interior.

In the spring of 1783, Kentucky was erected into a district, and a court of criminal as well as civil jurisdiction, coextensive with the district, was erected. The court held its first session in Harrodsburg, in the spring of 1783, and was opened by John Floyd and Samuel M'Dowell, as judges, John May being clerk, and Walker Daniel prosecuting attorney. Seventeen culprits were presented by the grand jury; nine for keeping tippling houses, and eight for fornication. From these presentments, we may form some opinion of the vices most prevalent in Kentucky at that time. During the summer, a log court-house and jail. " of hewed or sawed logs nine inches thick," was erected on the

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spot where Danville now stands ; during this summer, a retail store of dry goods was opened at Louisville, and the tone of society became visibly more elevated.

In 1784, General James Wilkinson emigrated to the country, and settled in Lexington. This gentleman occupied a distin- guished position in the early civil conflicts of Kentucky, and became the leader of a political party; he had distinguished himself in the war of independence, and was aid-de-camp to Gates at Saratoga. For distinguished services in that campaign, and upon the particular recommendation of Gates, he had been promoted by Congress to the rank of brigadier-general. Friends and enemies have agreed in ascribing to him the qualities of courage, energy, address, and eloquence; of a somewhat mere- tricious and inflated character. A graceful person, amiable manners, liberal hospitality, with a ready and popular elocution, when added to his military fame, ensured him popularity with the mass of the people. He came to Kentucky with the avowed object of improving his circumstances, which were somewhat embarrassed ; he was understood to be connected with an eastern mercantile company, and not to be averse to any speculation which might improve his fortune. He soon became deeply involved in the fiercest political controversies of the day, and has left his countrymen divided in opinion as to whether he acted from patriotic and honorable motives, or was a selfish and abandoned adventurer, ready to aid any project which promised to advance his interests.

In the summer of 1784, some depredations were committed by the Indians upon the southern frontier, and Colonel Benjamin Logan had received intelligence that a serious invasion was contemplated, and publicly summoned such citizens as could conveniently attend, to meet at Danville on a particular day, and consult as to what measures should be taken for the common defence.

The alarm in the end proved unfounded; but in the meantime a great number of the most distinguished citizens assembled at Danville, under a belief that Indian hostilities upon a large scale were about to be renewed, and would continue until the north- western posts were surrendered by the British. Upon an exami- nation of the laws then in existence, their most eminent lawyers decided that no expedition could lawfully and effectually be carried out against the Indian tribes; the power of impressment had ceased with the war, and in a state of peace could not legally be exercised. Nor was there any power known to the law ca- pable of calling forth the resources of the country, however imminent the danger ; all of their legislation came from Rich- mond, distant many hundred miles, and separated from Kentucky by desert mountains and interminable forests traversed by roving bands of Indians.

The necessity of a government independent of Virginia was deeply and almost unanimously felt. But how was this to

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be accomplished? It is interesting to trace the origin, progress, and consummation of independence in this infant community- the first established west of the mountains; and when we reflect upon the bloodshed and violence which has usually attended such political changes in the old world, we are profoundly struck with the good sense, moderation, and patience, under powerful temp- tation, which marked the conduct of Kentucky.

The first step taken marks the simplicity and integrity of the movers. The assembly, having no legal authority, published a recommendation, that each militia company in the district should on a certain day elect one delegate, and that the delegates thus chosen should assemble in Danville, on the 27th December, 1784. The recommendation was well received, the elections held, and the delegates assembled. Samuel M'Dowell was elected presi- dent, and Thomas Todd, clerk. A great number of spectators were in attendance, who maintained the most commendable order, and the convention, as they styled themselves, debated the question of separation from the parent State with all the gravity and decorum of a deliberative body.

A division of opinion was manifest, but none, save legal and constitutional means, were even hinted at by the warmest advo- cate for separation ; order and law reigned without a rival. A very great majority were in favor of a petition to the legislature of Vir- ginia, and through them to Congress, for the passage of an act, in the manner provided by the constitution, by which Kentucky might become an independent member of the confederacy. A resolu- tion was passed, by a large majority, declaratory of the views of the convention. But as no clear determination, upon that subject, had been expressed by the people previous to their elec- tion, they did not consider themselves authorized to take any steps to carry their resolution into effect, further than to recom- mend that, in the spring election of delegates, from the several counties, to the Virginia legislature, the people should also elect twenty-five delegates to a convention, to meet at Danville, in May, 1785, and finally determine whether separation was expe- dient. They also apportioned the delegates among the several counties, with great fairness, according to the supposed popula- tion. The people peaceably conformed to the recommendation of their delegates, and elected the members as prescribed by the convention.

In the meantime, the subject was gravely and earnestly dis- cussed in the primary assemblies, and, in some parts of the country, with passionate fervor. A great majority were in favor of constitutional separation-none other was then thought of. On the 23d of May, 1785, this second convention assembled and adopted five resolutions. They decided that constitutional sepa- ration from Virginia was expedient,-that a petition to the legis- lature be prepared,-that an address to the people of Kentucky be published, and that delegates to another convention be elected in July, and assemble at Danville in August following, to whom

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the petition, address, and proceedings of the present convention be referred for final action.

The people, thus involved in a labyrinth of conventions, to which no end could be seen, nevertheless quietly conformed, elected a new batch of delegates in July, who assembled in Au- gust, being the third convention which had already assembled, while scarcely any progress had been made in carrying into effect the object of their meeting. In the meantime, Indian hostility became more frequent, and the exasperation of the people daily increased. The petition and address, with the other proceedings of the convention of May, were referred to the present, and under- went considerable change. The petition was drawn in language less simple, the address to the people of Kentucky was more exciting, impassioned, and exaggerated. No printing press, as yet, existed in the country, but copies of the address and petition were zealously multiplied by the pen, and widely dispersed among the people. The chief-justice of the District Court, George Muter, and the attorney-general, Harry Innes, were deputed to present the petition to the legislature of Virginia. This was accordingly done, and in January, 1786, the legislature passed an act, with great unanimity, in conformity to the wishes of Kentucky, annex- ing, however, certain terms and conditions sufficiently just and fair, but which necessarily produced some delay. They required a fourth convention, to assemble at Danville in September, 1786, who should determine whether it were the will of the district to become an independent State of the confederacy, upon the con- ditions in the act enumerated, and well known under the denomi- nation of the Compact with Virginia. And if the convention should determine upon separation, they were required to fix upon a day posterior to the Ist of September, 1787, on which the au- thority of Virginia was to cease and determine forever ; provided, however, that previous to the 1st day of June, 1787, the Congress of the United States should assent to said act, and receive the new State into the Union.

The great mass of the citizens of Kentucky received this act with calm satisfaction, and were disposed peaceably to conform to its provisions. But two circumstances, about this time, oc- curred, which tended to create unfavorable impressions, in Ken- tucky, towards the government of the Union. The one was the utter inability of Congress to protect them from the north-western tribes, by compelling a surrender of the posts, or otherwise. The other was a strong disposition, manifested by the delegates in Congress from the seven north-eastern States, to yield, for twenty years, the right to navigate the Mississippi to the ocean. The one inspired contempt; the other awakened distrust, which might rapidly ripen to aversion. Hostilities had ceased with Great Britain, but hatred and resentment blazed as fiercely between the people of the two nations, as if the war was still raging. The retention of the posts kept alive Indian hostility against Ken- tucky, while the eastern States enjoyed profound peace.

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Congress had, after long delay, made treaties with the Indians which were totally disregarded by the latter, as far as Kentucky was concerned, and the violation of which the former was totally unable to chastise. Repeated efforts were made by General Henry Lee, of Virginia, to obtain a continental force of seven hundred, or even three hundred men, to protect the western fron- tier ; but the frantic jealousy of the central power cherished by the sovereign States, at a time when that central power grovelled in the most helpless imbecility, peremptorily forbade even this small force to be embodied, lest it might lead to the overthrow of State rights. In the meantime, Kentucky was smarting under the scourge of Indian warfare ; had no government at home, and their government beyond the mountains, however sincerely dis- posed, was totally unable to protect them, from a radical and incurable vice in its constitution.

To this cause of dissatisfaction came the astounding intelli- gence, in the succeeding year, that several States in Congress had voted to barter away the right to navigate the Mississippi, in consideration of commercial advantages to be yielded by Spain to the eastern States, in which Kentucky could have no direct interest. There was neither printing press nor post office in Kentucky, and the people were separated by an immense wil- derness from their eastern brethren. Intelligence came slowly, and at long intervals. In passing through so many hands, it was necessarily inaccurate, exaggerated and distorted, according to the passions or whims of its retailers. Never was harvest more ripe for the sickle of the intriguer ; and it soon became manifest, that schemes were in agitation wnich contemplated a severance of Kentucky from Virginia by other than constitutional means, and which vaguely, and cautiously, seemed to sound the way for a total severance of Kentucky from the Union.

In the elections which took place in the spring of 1786, for the fourth convention, directed by the legislature of Virginia, General James Wilkinson became a candidate to represent the county of Fayette. With all the address, activity, and eloquence of which he was master, he strove to ripen the public mind for an imme- diate declaration of independence, without going through the slow formalities of law, which the exigencies of the country, in his opinion, would not permit them to await. He was the first pub- lic man who gave utterance to this bold sentiment; and great sensation was produced in the county of Fayette, by its promul- gation. A violent opposition to his views quickly became man- ifest, and displayed such strength and fervor, as drew from him an explanation and modification, which lulled the force of present opposition, but left an indelible jealousy in the breasts of many, of the general's ulterior intentions. He was elected to the con- vention. There was but little excitement in the other counties, who chose the prescribed number of delegates, with the inten- tion of patiently awaiting the formalities of law.

In the meantime, Indian depredations became so harassing, that

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the people determined upon a grand expedition against the In- dian towns, notwithstanding the treaties of Congress, and absence of legal power. A thousand volunteers under General Clark rendezvoused at Louisville, with the determination thoroughly to chastise the tribes upon the Wabash. Provisions and ammunition were furnished by individual contribution, and were placed on board of nine keel boats, which were ordered to proceed to Vin- cennes by water, while the volunteers should march to the same point by land.

The flotilla, laden with provisions and munitions of war, en- countered obstacles in the navigation of the Wabash, which had not been foreseen, and was delayed beyond the time which had been calculated. The detachment moving by land reached the point of rendezvous first, and awaited for fifteen days the arrival of the keel boats. This long interval of inaction gave time for the unhealthy humors of the volunteers to ferment, and proved fatal to the success of the expedition. The habits of General Clark had also become intemperate, and he no longer possessed the undivided confidence of his men. A detachment of three hundred volunteers broke off from the main body, and took up the line of march for their homes. Clark remonstrated, en- treated, even shed tears of grief and mortification, but all in vain. The result was a total disorganization of the force, and a return to Kentucky, to the bitter mortification of the commander-in- chief, whose brilliant reputation for the time suffered a total eclipse.

This expedition led to other ill consequences. The convention which should have assembled in September, was unable to mus- ter a quorum, the majority of its members having marched under Clark upon the ill-fated expedition. A number of the delegates assembled at Danville at the appointed time, and adjourned from day to day until January, when a quorum at length was present, and an organization effected. In the meantime, how- ever, the minority of the convention who had adjourned from day to day, had prepared a memorial to the legislature of Vir- ginia, informing them of the circumstances which had prevented the meeting of the convention, and suggesting an alteration of some of the clauses of the act, which gave dissatisfaction to their constituents, and recommending an extension of the time within which the consent of Congress was required. This produced a total revision of the act by the Virginia legislature, whereby an- other convention was required to be elected in August of 1787, to meet at Danville, in September of the same year, and again take into consideration the great question, already decided by four successive conventions, and requiring a majority of two- thirds to decide in favor of separation, before the same should be effected. The time when the laws of Virginia were to cease, was fixed on the 1st day of January, 1789, instead of September. 1787, as was ordered in the first act; and the 4th of July, 1788, was fixed upon as the period, before which Congress should

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express its consent to the admission of Kentucky into the Union.

This new act became known in Kentucky shortly after the fourth convention, after a delay of three months, had at length rallied a quorum, and had with great unanimity decided upon se- paration. They then found themselves deprived of all authority, their recent act nullified, their whole work to begin anew, and the time of separation adjourned for two years, and clogged with new conditions. An ebullition of impatience and anger was the unavoidable result. They seemed, by some fatality, to be invol- ved in a series of conventions, interminable as a Cretan labyrinth, tantalizing them with the prospect of fruit, which invariably turned to ashes, when attempted to be grasped.

: While such was the temper of the public mind, the navigation of the Mississippi was thrown into the scale. Shortly after the convention adjourned, a number of gentlemen in Pittsburgh, styling themselves a " committee of correspondence," made a written communication to the people of Kentucky, informing them, " that John Jay, the American secretary for foreign affairs, had made a proposition to Don Gardoqui, the Spanish minister, near the United States, to cede the navigation of the Mississippi to Spain for twenty years, in consideration of commercial advan- tages to be enjoyed by the eastern States alone."

On the 29th of March, a circular letter was addressed to the people of Kentucky, signed by George Muter, Harry Innes, Johr Brown, and Benjamin Sebastian, recommending the election of five delegates from each county to meet at Danville in May, and take into consideration the late action of Congress upon the sub- ject of the Mississippi. The letter contemplated the formation of. committees of correspondence throughout the west, and a "decent, but spirited," remonstrance to Congress against the cession, which they evidently supposed in great danger of being consummated. There is nothing objectionable in either the language or object of this circular, and, considering the impression then prevailing in the west as to the intentions of Congress, it may be regarded as temperate and manly in its character. The most ignorant hunter in the west could not be blind to the vital importance of the interest which, (as they supposed,) was about to be bartered away for advantages to be reaped by their eastern brethren alone; and although the ferment was violent for a time, yet regular and constitutional remedies were only proposed by the circular or adopted by the citizens.

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. I, Part 60

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452