Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 101

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654

USA > Kentucky > Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II > Part 101

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"The Indians now opened a heavy fire upon the fort, in their usual manner ; but finding every effort useless, they hastily decamped, without any loss beyond the two who had fallen by the hands of the brothers, and without having inflicted any upon the garrison. Within half an hour, Major McGary brought up a party from Harrodsburg at full gallop, and uniting with the garrison, pursued the ene- my with all possible activity. They soon overtook them, and a sharp action ensued. The Indians were routed in a few minutes, with the loss of six war- riors left dead upon the ground, and many others wounded, who as usual were borne off. The pursuit was continued for several miles, but from the thickness of the woods, and the extreme activity and address of the enemy, was not very effectual. McGary lost one man dead upon the spot, and another mortally wounded."

ROBERT MCAFEE, the father of General Robert B. McAfee, moved to and built a cabin on the place where General McAfee now lives, in November, 1779, and remained during that winter, generally known as the "hard winter." Often, during the winter, and while the weather was intensely cold, he shot buffalo, deer and turkeys, while standing in his own door. The death of Joseph McCoun, noticed in the preceding pages, induced Mr. McAfee, with six other families, to

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move to James McAfee's station, where they remained till the spring of 1783, before they ventured to remove to their own farms. During the same year, a small party of Indians passed through the neighborhood and stole the greater portion of their horses. In the spring of 1795, Robert McAfee took a boat load of flour and bacon to New Orleans, where, before day light on the morning of the 10th of May, he was killed by a Spaniard, in his boat, receiving the stroke of an axe in his temple, the object of the miscreant being to rob him. His eldest son, Samuel, experienced great difficulty with the Spanish government in his efforts to save the money and other property of his father. His remains were interred near the hospital, and after steamboat navigation was commenced on the river, his son, Robert B. McAfee, attempted to recover his bones, with a view to their interment at the homestead in Kentucky, but they were found in a state of decomposition.

WILLIAM MCAFEE commanded a company, under Gen. Clark, in 1780, in an expedition against the Shawanee Indians, on the Big Miami. In a skirmish, near Piqua, he was shot through the body, and mortally wounded ; but, through the aid of his brothers, he was enabled to return to the Ohio river. descend that river to the Falls, and then travel as far as Floyd's station, (where his wife met him), before he died. He left two infant daughters, and another daughter was born to him a few months after, who afterwards became the wife of Major Willis A. Lee, for many years clerk of the senate of Kentucky. The eldest married Capt. Eli- jah Craig, who was killed at the battle of the Thames, in October, 1813. These two sisters now live in the town of Salvisa, near their relatives, in humble, but comfortable circumstances, upon the remains of an extensive landed estate left them by their father.

GEORGE MCAFEE, sen., died on his farm, near Salvisa, on Salt river, on the 14th of April, 1803, and was the first person buried at New Providence church.

SAMUEL MCAFEE died in 1801, and was buried in the family grave-yard ; but, after the death of his wife, in 1817, his remains were removed to Providence, and interred with her.

JAMES MCAFEE, the eldest brother, died on his farm, in 1817, and was buried in the family burying-ground, near New Providence.

JANE MCAFEE, sen., the mother of the above sons, came to Kentucky in 1779, with her children, and died in 1788. She was buried on a beautiful eminence, on the east side of Salt river, west of Wilson's station, on land in 1846 owned by Archibald Adams.

JAMES HARROD was emphatically the leader of the first settlers at Harrodsburg. Emigrating to the country in the year 1774, he has been rendered conspicuous, as the builder of the " first log cabin " in Kentucky. Possessing qualities of a high and generous nature-tall. erect, and cominanding in his personal appearance- bold, resolute, active and energetic-inured to the life of a backwoodsman, and familiar with its dangers and capable of supporting its hardships-he was singu- larly adapted to the position that he was to occupy .* His open, manly counte- nance-his mild and conciliating manners-his integrity, kindness and generosity -all conspired to render him the idol of his associates. Expert in the use of the rifle, he was a successful hunter, and a skillful and dangerous antagonist of the Indian. If he was an unlettered, he was not an ignorant man. The defects of his education were supplied by the masculine energy of his natural endowments ; and, at a period when the cultivation of the intellect was not only impracticable, but was deemed subordinate to the discipline of the body, his claim of rank, as a leader of the pioneers, was universally allowed. His attention to the safety and wants of his companions was as unremitted, as his magnanimity was pro- verbial. If he received information that a party of hunters had been surprised by the savages, " let us go and beat the red rascals," was his instantaneous order ; and the command and its execution were synonymous with him. If a plow horse were missing-having strayed from the station,-and the owner, unaccus- tomed to the range, or unwilling to encounter the risk of making search for him,

. Morehead's Address. Marshall's History.

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was idle in consequence, Harrod would disappear, and it would not be long be- fore the horse would be driven to the owner's premises. Of a restless and active temperament, the dull routine of life in a station was unsuited to him. He loved, like Boone, the free and unrestrained occupation of a hunter. While others were standing still for want of employment, disdaining repose, he would range through the forest, hunt the wild game, or attach himself to expeditions into the Indian country or exploring parties on the frontier. Having built his cabin on the site of the beautiful village of Harrodsburg in the spring or summer of 1774, we find him on the 10th of October with Col. Lewis, at the Point, giving, by a decisive victory over the north-western tribes of savages, a death-blow to their supremacy. On the return of spring he is again at his chosen station in the wilderness, forti- fying himself against their inroads, and, as we shall presently see, representing his little settlement in the Transylvania Assembly. Thenceforward Harrods- burg became a prominent place of refuge and resort : and she has never ceased to insist upon the validity of her claims to precedence, as the honored spot of the first settlement of Kentucky.

Harrod survived the stormy scenes of his manhood. But age could not tran- quilize the restless elements of his character. In after times, when peace and quiet had ensued, and the range of the buffalo was filled up with a civilized and enterprizing population, and he had become the father of an interesting family, the veteran pioneer would turn away from the scenes of domestic and social life, and plunge again into the solitudes of the wilderness, to indulge himself in the cherished enjoyments of his earlier years. From one of those excursions, into a distant part of the country, he never returned.

Such are some of the outlines of the character of James Harrod, one of the pioneers of Kentucky .*

Among the early settlers of Harrodsburg, distinguished for their bravery, ac- tivity and enterprise, were Major Hugh McGary, Harlan, McBride, and Chap- line. The former was ardent, impetuous and rash, but withal a man of daring courage, indomitable energy, and untiring perseverance.

Colonel GABRIEL SLAUGHTER, governor of Kentucky, was a native of Virginia, but emigrated in his youth to Kentucky, and settled in Mercer county, some few miles from Harrodsburg. His residence was widely known under the attractive name of "'Traveler's Rest."

Early in life he became a member of the Baptist denomination of Christians. and was extensively known as a prominent and useful member of that numerous and respectable society. He was frequently employed as messenger to its asso- ciated churches, and generally presided as moderator of their assemblies.

He rendered gallant and distinguished service in the battle of New Orleans on the 8th of January, 1815, as a colonel of a regiment of Kentucky troops. On one occasion, while acting as president of a court-martial-whose decision was not in accordance with the views of General Jackson-the court were ordered to re- verse their proceedings ; but Colonel Slaughter declined to comply, saying, " He knew his duty, and had performed it." General Jackson entertained the highest respect for his character as a soldier and patriot.

Colonel Slaughter was elected in 1816 to the office of lieutenant governor, and upon the death of George Madison, succeeded him in the executive chair, and administered the government as acting governor of Kentucky for the four years of Madison's term. He appointed John Pope, Esq., secretary of state, who, at that time, was somewhat unpopular in Kentucky, on account of his opposition to the war with England while senator of the United States. In consequence, it is thought, of this unexpected appointment, the new election question was fiercely agitated during the first session of the legislature after Governor Slaughter's in- auguration, and at the succeeding session also. The new election movement failed, and the construction or exposition then given to the constitution, in regard to the succession of the lieutenant governor to the office of governor, upon the " death, resignation, or refusal to qualify," of the governor elect, has been acqui- esced in ever since, and regarded as a settled precedent.

Governor Slaughter, during this exciting controversy, displayed great indepen-

· Morehead's Address.

---

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dence of opinion, and much firmness and decision of character. After one o: two legislative sessions had passed, in unavailing and violent discussions of the question of new election, Mr. Pope, regarding himself as the principal cause of the continued and turbulent agitation of the question, resigned the office of sec- retary of state. The governor was advised by timid and panic-stricken friends to yield to the arrogant and disorganizing demands of the legislature. The firm and pugnacious old patriot declared his fixed resolution to administer the government alone and without a secretary, (for he had offered the vacant secretaryship to Martin D. Hardin, who declined it), rather than submit to a violation of his rights in the overthrow of the constitution. A common sense and literal inter- pretation of the organic law, resumed its sway over the public mind, while par- tisan purpose and sophisticated opinion yielded the contest. Successive vacan- cies by death in the office of governor have since occurred, in the instances of Governor Breathitt, Clark, &c., without a renewal of the long mooted question. At the end of his gubernatorial term, Governor Slaughter retired to his farm in Mercer, where he died in 1830, at the age of sixty-three years.

The First Brick House built in Harrodsburg is still standing, on the N. E. corner of Poplar and Main streets; now occupied by Smith Hansford as a dry goods store.

Col. John Cardwell, who died in 1871, aged 82 years, when a young man walked from New Orleans seven times, through the Indian nation-returning from flat-boat or trading expeditions thither, with flour and other produce, down the Kentucky or the Salt river; in striking contrast with the return trips since steamboats were introduced freely enough, about 1820 to 1825. Ile was assessor of Mercer county for 24 years.

Gen. ROBERT B. MCAFEE was born in the district of Kentucky, at his present residence, on Salt river, in February, 1784. His ancestors came to Kentucky, and settled at this place, in the fall of 1779. Robert McAfee, the father of Gen. McAfee, had to cultivate his farm gun in hand, for four or five years after he set- tled in Kentucky ; and the subject of this sketch was born and reared amid the confusion and perils of continued Indian alarms. He was placed at school while yet very young, and continued at various institutions of instruction until he had obtained a good education. He lost his father when he was eleven years of age; and being thus left an orphan, (his mother having died the year previous), he was placed under the charge of the Hon. John Breckinridge and James MeCoun, who had been appointed his guardians. In the year 1796, he entered Transylvania Seminary, (the germ of the recent university of that name), then under the con- trol of the Rev. James Moore, a gentleman of learning and estimable character. He also attended, for a brief period, a private school, in Mercer county. When he had completed his classical education, he commenced the study of the law under the Hon. John Breckinridge, in whose office he continued three years. When he had completed his studies, he returned to Mercer county and commen- ced the practice of the law. In October, 1807, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Cardwell, a niece of Col. Anthony Crockett, a revolutionary officer, who was with Gen. George Rogers Clark in the expedition against Kaskakia and Vincennes. In the year 1800 he was elected to represent Mercer county in the legislature; and, with the exception of two or three years, has been in public life ever since. Upon the breaking out of the late war, he volunteered as a pri- vate, in a company of mounted riflemen, and was among the first Kentuckians who joined the north-western army. In this company he was appointed sergeant and was, subsequently, elected ensign. and, afterwards, second lieutenant. HA was also made quarter-master of Col. R. M. Johnson's regiment. This regiment aided in relieving fort Wayne, at a very critical period, when surrounded by hos- tile Indians. A detachment having been sent, under Col. Wells, against the In- dian town of Five Medals, sixty miles north-west of fort Wayne, McAfee accom- panied the expedition. In 1813, he received fromn Governor Shelby a captain's commission in Col. Johnson's regiment of mounted riflemen, having, previously, raised a company of eighty men, by whom he had been elected captain. Col. Johnson's regiment marched on the 25th of May, 1813, and was employed in active service on the frontiers. Capt. McAfee's company, having been increased to one hundred and fifty inen, were in the battle of the Thames, on the 5th of

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October, 1813, and did good service. At the close of the war, Capt. McAfee re- turned to his farm, in Mercer county, and spent two or three years in private life. In 1819, he was elected to the legislature ; and, in 1821, was chosen a member of the State senate. In 1824, he resigned his seat in the senate, and was elected lieutenant governor, in which capacity he served four years. He presided over the deliberations of the senate during those bitter and exciting contests, which are known in history as the new and old court questions. In 1829, he became a candidate for Congress, but declined before the election came on. In 1830, he was again elected to the legislature; and again in 1831-2. He was a member of the convention which assembled at Baltimore in 1832, and nominated Gen. Jackson as candidate for president, and Martin Van Buren for vice-president. In 1833, I.e was appointed charge d'affaires to the republic of Colombia, in South America, and proceeded to the city of Bogota, where he remained, engaged in the discharge of his duties, until 1837, when he returned to the United States. In this mission he was accompanied by his son James, as private secretary. In 1841, he was again elected to the senate of Kentucky ; and, in 1842, was ap- pointed one of the visitors to West Point, and elected president of the board. In 1845, he retired from public life, and thereafter resided on his farm, in Mercer county. He died in the sixty-sixth year of his age. It should not be omitted, that Gen. McA. was a member of the Royal Antiquarian Society of Denmark, and an honorary member of the Kentucky Historical Society.

Gen. HUGH MERCER, of Virginia, from whom this county received its name, was a native of Scotland, and graduated at an early age in the science of medi- cine. At the memorable battle of Culloden, he acted as assistant surgeon, and with many of the vanquished sought a refuge in America. In the Indian war of 1755, he served as a captain, under Washington. For his gallantry and military skill in this war, the corporation of Philadelphia presented him with an appro- priate medal. In 1775, he was in command of three regiments of minute-men ; and in 1776, he was made colonel in the army of Virginia. Having joined the continental army, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, and served in that capacity with efficiency and distinction, until the period of his death, which occurred in the battle of Princeton, where he fell mortally wounded, while leading the vanguard of the American forces. He survived nine days, and then died of his wounds.

During the last war with Great Britain a very remarkable circumstance occur- red in connection with the invasion of Canada by the Kentucky troops, which from its singularity merits preservation. A company of volunteers destined for Shelby's army, rendezvoused at Harrodsburg, Mercer county, and formed a nucleus around which the military recruits of the country gathered, obtaining fresh accessions of strength with their progress towards the Ohio. When they marched from Harrodsburg, about a mile or two out, they saw two pigs fighting, and delayed their march to see it out. When the march was recommenced, it was observed that the victorious pig was following in the route, and at night, when they encamped, the animal also hunted itself a shelter, and halted for the night. The following day, the pig accompanied the troops as before, and thus night and morning, in their progress to the river, the animal halted, rested, and started onwards when they resumed their journey. When they came opposite Cincinnati, at which place they crossed in a ferry boat, the pig on getting to the water's edge, promptly plunged in, waiting on the other side until the whole cor- tege crossed over, and resumed its post as customary in the flank of the moving column. In this way the animal kept on with the troops, until they got to the lake. On the whole journey, as the men grew more familiar with their comrade, it became a pet, receiving a full share of the rations issued to the soldiers, and destitute as the troops found themselves at times of sustenance, no one thought of putting the knife to the throat of their fellow soldier. What they had was still shared, and if the pig fared at times as scantily as the rest, it grunted on, and manifested as much patriotism in its own line. as the bipeds it accompanied in theirs. At the margin of the lake she embarked with the troops and went as far as Bass Island. She was there offered a passage into Canada. but obstinately refused to embark a second time. Some of the men attributed her conduct to constitutional scruples, and observed that she knew it was contrary to the constitu-

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tion to force a militia pig over the line. In consequence of this remark they gave her leave to remain. After the campaign had closed, the troops recrossed the Jake, having left their horses on the American side. As soon as the line was formed, to the great surprise of many, and inspiring a deep interest in all, there was the pig on the right of the line, ready to resume her march with the rest. By this time the winter frosts had set in, and the animal suffered greatly on its homeward march. It made out, however, to reach Maysville, at which point the troops recrossed the Ohio river. There it gave out, and was placed in trusty hands by Governor Shelby ; and finally taken to the Governor's home, where the animal passed the rest of its days in ease and indolence. The facts contained in this narrative are strictly true, and can be attested by many living witnesses .*

Capt. SAMUEL DAVEISS, a younger brother of the celebrated lawyer, orator, and soldier, Col. Jos. Hamilton Daveiss, was born in Bedford co., Va., Nov. 22, 1775, and died at Harrodsburg, Ky., Sept. 28, 1856, aged 81 years; was brought to Kentucky, near Danville, in 1779; studied law, and through many years enjoyed an extensive practice ; represented Mercer county in the lower house of the Kentucky legislature, 1822, '24, and in the senate, 1825-29, and 1833-35. Though bound by every personal and political bond of association to the Democratic party, yet when that party set itself in opposition to all schemes of internal improvement, Capt. Daveiss denounced their course boldly, and devoted both his time and means to these works for the rest of his life, with unflagging zeal. He was one of a trio of earnest men (ex-governors Thos. Metcalfe and Jas. T. Morehead were the other two), who for a number of years comprised the state board of internal improvement, and he presided over it for a time; the net-work of splendid turnpikes which vein the state, and the slackwater navigation which enriches the region through which rolls the swollen streams, are enduring monuments of their devotion, fidelity, and good judgment. His only son, Maj. Wy. DAVEISS-remarkable for the same rich flow of Irish humor, and the same exhaustless fund of pioneer anecdote and tradition which distinguished his father-has represented Mercer county in both branches of the legislature, in the house in 1838, '39, and '43, and in the senate in 1849, retiring from the latter before his term expired. He is still living (June, 1873).

Gen. Ray, a Scotchman, and a Band of Indians .- The following thrilling adventure is preserved in the "Autobiography of Dr. J. J. Polk," recently published :

" Do you see that old gray-headed man, now slightly bent by toil and years ? Look at his piercing black eyes, his stalwart frame, broad shoulders, and arms yet capable of inflicting hard blows. You see him surrounded by a company of men, all in breathless silence. Listen to his shrill, feminine voice. He was a pioneer, and a great Indian warrior in the carly settlement of Kentucky. His name is Ray-General James Ray. He is engaged in telling a thrilling incident of his early life. Listen to his story :

"' When the most of you were boys, I lived in Harrod's fort, one mile east of where we now sit. The inhabitants of the fort had planted a small field of corn, protecting it with a brush fence. The field was about three hundred yards long and two hundred wide. One beautiful summer's morning, an old Scotchman took his horse and went out to the field to plough the patch of corn He had not been out long, when I took iny trusty rifle and sallied forth. [ had seen signs of Indians about, the evening before ; so I made it a point te call on the old Scotchman and see if all was well. As I approached the field I saw, about two hundred yards in advance, and between me and the field, a tall, well-armed Indian. He kept a tree between him and the Scotchman, when the latter was ploughing toward him; then he moved nearer, as the Scotchman went toward the other end of the field. This maneuver the savage performed three different times. Each time, as the Indian advanced on the Scotchinan, I advanced on the Indian, until the Indian was not more than tifty yards from his intended victim. I saw the Indian attempt to level his rite; then, quick as thought, I let off my old trusty Bessy. At its sound the Indian sprang forward, discharging his rifle as he fell, but without effect. The Scotchman let go the handles of the plough, and ran with such force as to make a breach in the brush fence. I called to him several times, which

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seemed only to increase his speed. I followed, and when I arrived at the fort the Scotchman was telling about his escape from a whole band of Indians. I explained the affair, but they would not believe me until I conducted them to the field, and gave them a full account. We took the dead Indian's scalp, and returned in triumph to the fort."

"Battle of the Boards .- About 1783, when the Indians still roved through the dense forests, plundering and murdering the white inhabitants, three men left Harrod's station to search for horses which had strayed off. They pursued the trail through the rich pea-vine and cane for some miles. Fre- quently they saw signs of Indians in their vicinity; hence, moved with cautious steps. They continued the search, until darkness and a cold rain drove them to take shelter in an old deserted log-cabin, thickly surrounded" by cane and matted over with grape-vines. They determined not to strike a fire, as the Indians knew the location of the cabin, and, like themselves, might seek its friendly shelter and dispute their right to possession. They concluded to ascend into the loft of the cabin, the floor of which was clap- boards, resting upon round poles. In their novel possession they lay down quietly, side by side, each man holding his trusty rifle in his arms. They had not been in this perilous position long, when six well-armed Indians entered the cabin, placed their guns and other implements of war and hunt- ing in a corner, struck a light and began to make the usual demonstrations of joy on such occasions. One of our heroes determining to know the number of the In lians-he was the middle man of the three, and lying on his back- as hilarity and mirth grew noisier, attempted to turn over and get a peep at things below. His comrades held him, to keep him from turning over; in the struggle, one of the poles broke, and with a tremendous crash the clap- boards and the men fell into the midst of the affrighted Indians, who with a yell of terror fled from the house, leaving their guns, and never returned. The scarcely less terrified whites remained in quiet possession of the cabin, and in the morning returned to the station with their trophies. Whenever the three heroes met in after life, they laughed immoderately over their strange deliverance, and what they called the Battle of the Boards."

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Collins historical sketches of Kentucky. History of Kentucky: Vol. II, Part 101

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn Publication date: 1874 Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co. Number of Pages: 1654

Author: Collins, Lewis, 1797-1870. cn; Collins, Richard H., 1824-1889. cn
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Covington, Ky., Collins & Co.
Number of Pages: 1654