USA > Kentucky > Historical sketches of Kentucky : embracing its history, antiquities, and natural curiosities, geographical, statistical, and geological descriptions with anecdotes of pioneer life, and more than one hundred biographical sketches of distinguished pioneers, soldiers, statesmen, jurists, lawyers, divines, etc. > Part 28
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CAPTAIN GARRARD'S TROOP.
We copy the " Muster roll of a troop of volunteer state dragoons, for twelve months, under command of Captain William Garrard, of Major James V. Ball's squadron, in the service of the United States from date of the last muster (Orto- ber 31. 1812), to the 31st December. 1812, inclusive," with the remarks appended to each namne. The roll is certified as correct, and the remarks as "accurate and just," by the officers. The roll will awaken old reminiscences, and will be examined by many of our readers with great interest.
OFFICERS.
William Garrard, Captain, frost bitten. James Reason, Ist Corporal, sick on furlough. Edmund Basye, Ist Lieut. do. and wounded. | Win. Walton, Sad do., frost bitten. David M. Hickinan, 2d do., wounded. Jesse Todd, 3.1 do., sick, alent.
Thos. H. McClanahan, Cornet, frost bitten.
Jno. S. Bristow, 4th do., frost bitten. Chas. S, Clarkson, Ist Serg't, sick on furlough. Joseph McConnell. Farrier, wounded Dec. 19. William Barton, 2d do., do. Ephraim Wilson, Trumpeter, frost bilten.
John Clark, 3J do., died Nov. 15, 1812.
Willian Daviss, Saudier, du.,
Benj. W. Edwards, 4th do., Serg't Major. signed Nov. 20.
PRIVATES.
John Finch, frost bitten, appointed Sergeant. | Samuel J. Caldwell, frost bitten and sick. William Beneer, present fit for duty.
David B. Langhorn, trost bitten.
John Wynne, sick, ab-ent.
William Mountjoy, frost bitten. Samuel Henderson. do. Henry Wilson. wounded Dec. 18th, 1812.
William Jones, sick on furlough.
John Terrill, frist bitten.
Walter Woodvard. do. Moses Richardson, do., wounded 18th Dec. Jacob Shv, frost bitten. Lewis Duncan, sick on furlough.
Edward Waller, fit for duty.
Gustavus E. Edwards, wounded, frost bitten. Stephen Barton, do.
Stephen Bedford, do.
John M. Robinson, Jo.
Jacob Sharrer, siek on furlough.
Isane Sanders, rejoined 26th Novenner.
James Brown, frost bitten. Henry Towles, si k on furlough.
John Metcalfe, frost bitten.
William M. Baylor, frost buten.
Alexander Brott, do.
do., wounded Dec. 18. James Clark do., sick. Roger P. West, burnt by the explosion of powder. Frederick Loring, frost bitten. Thoma, Barton, do.
Jolın Baseman, do. Jesse Bowlden, do. John Funston, do. James Johnston, do.
John Layson, do.
Will. B. Northcutt, do.
Jonathan Clinkenbeard, do.
Thomas Webster, wounded on the 18th Dec.
Abel C. Popper, frost bitten and sick. Beverly Brown, killed in action With The.
Robert Thomas, frost bitten.
Jacob Counts, absent on furlough. Joba Snoodv, trost bitten. Thomas Bedford, killed in action 18th Dec. Junes Finch, frost bitten and sick. Walker Thornton, present fit for duty. Thomas Estin, wounded on the loth Dec.
Gerrard Robinson, sich on furlough.
Stephen Owen. do.
James Conn, sick on furlough. Jarob Thomas, frost bitten. Witham Allentharp, not yet juned the tang. Nathaniel Hill, .. ). Strother I. Hawkins, wounded trong treten. Edward Motquire, sin en turkmen. Troy Waugh, servant, livet inthets.
· Sketches of Western Adventure.
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DISTINGUISHED MEN.
The number of horses marked as killed, on the roll. is eight, and eight as wounded.
This county was the residence of Governor JAMES GARRARD, whose biograph- ical sketch will be found under the head of Garrard county. The monument b, his memory, crected by the state of Kentucky, contains the following inscription :
" This marble consecrates the spot on which repose the mortal remains of Colonel JAMES GARRARD, and records a brief memorial of his virtues and his worth. He was born in the county of Stafford, in the colony of Virginia. on the 14th day of January, 1749. On at- tainining the age of manhood, he participated with the patriots of the day in the dangers and privations incident to the glorious and successful contest which terminated in the inde- pendence and happiness of our country. Endeared to his family, to his friends, and to society, by the practice of the social virtues of Husband, Father, Friend and Neighbor; honored by his country, by frequent calls to represent her dearest interests in her Legislative Councils ; and finally by two elections, to fill the chair of the Chief Magistrate of the State, a trust of the highest confidence and deepest interest to a free community of virtuous men, pro- fessing equal rights, and governed by equal laws ; a trust which, for eight successive years. he fullided with that energy, vigor, and impartiality which, tempered with christian spirit of God-like mercy and charity for the frailty of men, is best calculated to perpetuate the ines- timable blessings of Government and the happiness of Man. An administration which re- ceived its best reward below, the approbation of an enlightened and grateful country, by whose voice, expressed by a resolution of its general assembly in December, 1822, THIS Mosy. MENT of departed worth and grateful sense of public service, was erected, and is in-eribed. He departed this life on the 19th day of January, 1822, as he had lived, a sincere and pious christian, firm, constant and sincere in his own religious seutiments, tolerant for those who differed from him; reposing in the mercy of God, and the merits of his Redeemer, his hopes of a glorious and happy Immortality."
This county has been the nursery of many prominent, and some very distin- guished men, particularly at the bar and on the bench. It was the residence of Judge Robert Trimble, of the supreme court of the United States, (see Trimble county)-of Judge Mills, of the court of appeals of Kentucky-and of Judge Bledsoe, who was remarkable for his forensic powers. Captain William and General Jamies Garrard, were active soldiers in the war of 1812 -- both frequent representatives in the legislature, and the former for many years clerk of the Bourbon county court. Several distinguished pioneer divines were also residents of this county, who are noticed under proper heads.
The Honorable Thomas Corwin, the able and eloquent senator of Ohio, and the Rev. John P. Darbin, D. D., late president of Dickinson college, and one of the most eloquent divines in the United States, are both natives of Bourbon county.
Colonel James Smith, whose interesting narrative of his captivity in western Peunsylvania and residence among the Indians, was published many years since. and transferred, in an abridged form. to the " Sketches of Western Adventure, " settled in Bourbon, seven miles above Paris. in 1748. Having been prominent in his native State. as an Indian nighter, a member of the Pennsylvania conven- tion, and a member of her legislature, luis public and private worth became spre- dily known in Bourbon; and in the first year of his residence, he was elected a member of the convention, that sat at Danville, to confer about a separation from the State of Virginia. From that period until 1799, with an intermission of two years only, according to his narrative. he continued to represent Bourbon county. either in convention of as a member of the general assembly. A few evries from the narrative of Colonel Saith are only ined
On the second evening succeeding his capture, (in the year 1755). Colonel Smith arrived with his expres at fort Du Queens, now Pittsburgh. When within half a mile of the fort, they raised the scalp halloo, and fired their gens. The carrison was instantly in commotion, the cannon were fired, the drums were beaten, and the French and Indians ran out in great numbers to meet the party and partake of their triumph. Smith was instantly surrounded by a multitude of savages, painted in various colors, and shouting with delight. They rapidly formed in two long lines, and brandishing their hatchets, ramrods, switches, etc., called aloud apoa him to run the GAUNTLET.
" Never having heard of this Indian ceremony before, he stood amazed for some time, not
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BOURBON COUNTY.
knowing what to do ; one of his captors explained to him, that he was to run between the two lines, and receive a blow from each Indian as he passed, concluding his explanation by exhorting hin to " run his best," as the faster he ran the sooner the affair would le over This truth was very plam ; and young Smith entered upon his race with great spirit. il. was switched very bandsomely along the lines, for about three-fourths of the distance, the stripes only acting as a spur to greater exertions, and he had almost reached the opposite ex- tremuity of the line, when a tall chief struck him a furions blow with a club upon the ba: k of the Lead, and instantly felled him to the ground. Recovering himself in a moment, he sprung to his feet and started forward again, when a handful of sand was thrown in his eyes, which, in addition to the great pain, completely blinded him. He still attempted to grope his way through ; but was again knocked down and beaten with merciless severity. He scon became insensible umler such barbarous treatment, and recollected nothing inore, until he found himself in the hospital of the fort, under the hands of a French surgeon, bra- ten to a jelly, and unable to move a limb. Here he was quickly visited oy che of his cap- tors, the same who had given him such good advice, when about to comience his race, lie now inquired, with some interest, if he felt " very sore." Young Smith replied, that he had been bruised almost to death, and asked what he had done to ment such barbarity. The Indian rephed that he dad done nothing, but that it was the customary greeting of the in- dians to their prisoners ; that it was something like the English " how dye do l" and that now all ceremony would be laid aside, and he would be treated with kindness."
Smith was still a captive and at fort Du Quesne, when General Braddock was defeated, the same year, and nearly the whole of his army cut down, or dragged into captivity, and reserved for a more paintol death.
"About sunset, fon the day of battle] he beard at a distance the well known scaly halloo. followed by wild, quick, josfut shrieks, and accompanied by long continued firing. This too surely announced the fate of the day. About dusk, the party returned to the fort, driving before them twelve British regulars, stripped naked and with their faces painted black ! an evidence that the unhappy wretches were devoted to death. Next came the Indians dis- playing their bloody salgs, of which they had immense numbers, and dressed in the scarlet costs, sashes, and military bats of the officers and soldiers. Behind all came a train of has- gage horses, laden with piles of scalps, canteens, and all the accoutrements of British Not- diers. The savages appeared frantic with joy, and when Smah beheld them entering the fort, dancing, yelling, brandishing their red tomahawks, and waving their scalps to the air, while the great guns of the tort replied to the incessant discharge of rilles without, he says, that it looked as it b-I had given a holiday, and turned loose its inhabitants upon the upper world. The most melancholy spectacle was the band of prisoners. They appeared dejected and anxious. Pour fellows ! They had but a few months before lett London. At the command of their superiors, and we may easily imagine their feelings, at the strange and dreadful spectacle around thein. The yells of delight and congratulation were scarerls over, when those of vengeance began. The devoted prisoners-British regulars-were led out from the fort to the banks of the Alleghany, and to the eternal disgrace of the French commandant were there burnt to death, one after another, with the most awful tortaces. Smith stood upon the battlements and witnessed the shocking spectacle. The prisoner was tied to a stake with his hands raised above his head, stripped naked, and surrounded by in- dians. They would touch hum with red hot irons, and stick his body full of pine spunters and set them on fire, drowning the shrieks of the victim in the yells of delight with which they danced around him. His companions in the meantime stood in a group near the stake, and had a foretaste of what was in reserve for each of them. As fast as one prisoner died under his tortures, another filled his place, until the whole perished. All this took pier so near the fort, that every screamn of the victims must have rung in the ears of the trench: commandant !"
Colonel Smith has an article in his pamphlet on the manners and customs of the Indians, their traditions and religious sentiments, their police or civil govern- ment, ect. The following extracts must suffice :
" 'Their traditions are vague, whimsical, romantic, and many of them scarce worth relat- ing; and not any of them reach back to the creation of the world. They tell of a spaw that was found when an infant, in the water. in a canoe made of bull-rushes; this . pias became a great prophites and did many wonderful things; she turned water into dry hal. and at length trade this comment, which was, at that ante, only a very small island. It but a few Indians in it. Though they were then but few, they had not suchetent rough to hunt; therefore this squaw went to the water side, and praved that tins fiul island matant in! enlarged. The great Being then heard her praver, and sont great numbers of water fortunes and musarats, which brought with them med and other materials. tor enlarging the Island, and by this means, they say, it was wcreased to the size that n now reuidius; therefore,
202
BENJAMIN MILLS.
they say, that the white people ought not to encroach upon them, or take their land from them, because their great grand-mother made it. They say that. about this time, the angels or the heavenly inhabitants, as they call them, frequently visited them and talked with their forefathers ; and gave directions how to pray, and how to appease the great Being when he was offended They told them they were to offer sacrifice, burnt tobacco, buffalo and deer bones ; but that they were not to burn bear or raccoon bones in sacrifice.
" The Indians, generally, are of opinion that there are a great number of inferior Deities, which they call Carreyagurouna, which signifies the Heavenly inhabitants. These beings, they suppose, are employed as assistants in managing the affairs of the universe, and in in- specting the actions of men: and that even the irrational animals are engaged in viewing their actions, and bearing intelligence to the gods. The eagle, for this purpose, with her keen eye, perched on the trees around their camp in the night ; therefore, when they observe the eagle or the owl near, they immediately offer sacrifice, or burn tobacco, that they may have a good report to carry to the gods. They say that there are also great numbers of evil spirits, which they call Onasahroond, which signifies the inhabitants of the Lower Region. These spirits are always going after them, and setting things right, so that they are constantly working in opposition to each other. Some talk of a future state, but not with any certainty : at best, their notions are vaque and unsettled. Others deny a future state al- together, and say that after death they neither think nor live.
" I have often heard of Indian kings, but never saw any. How any term used by In- dians in their own tongue, for the chief man of a nation, could be rendered king, I know not. The chief of a nation is neither the supreme ruler, monarch or potentate : He can neither make war or peace, league or treaties : He cannot impress soldiers or dispose of magazines: He cannot adjourn, prorogue or dissolve a general assembly, nor can he refuse his assent to their conclusions, or in any manner control them. With them, there is no such thing as hereditary succession, title of nobility or royal blood. even talked of. The chief of a nation. even with the content of his assembly, or council, cannot raise one shilling of tax off the citizens, but only receive what they please to give as free and voluntary dona- tions. The chief of a nation has to hunt for his living, as any other citizen."
BENJAMIN MILLS was born in the county of Worcester, on the eastern shore of Maryland. January 12th, 1779. While he was quite young, his family emi- grated to the vicinity of Washington, Pennsylvania, where he obtained his edu- cation, and engaged in the study of medicine. While yet a youth, he was called to the presidency of Washington Academy, an institution which was soon after erected into Washington College, and which has sent from its walls a number of prominent public men. Having removed with his father to Bourbon county, . Kentucky, and relinquished the study of medicine for that of the law. in 1505 or '06, he commenced in Paris the practice of the latter profession. His abilities and diligence soon ensured him, in his own and the adjacent counties, an exten- sive practice. For several years he was elected to represent the county of Pour- bon in the legislature, and in 1516 failed of an election to the senate of the United States, In competition with Ishain Talbot, Esq., by only three votes. In 1817, to relieve himself from an oppressive and injurious practice of the law, he accepted the appointment of judge in the Montgomery circuit. In the succeed- ing year, by the unanunous request of the Fayette bar. he was transferred to that circuit. In tego, he was elevated to a seat on the beach of the court of appeals. which he filled with great firmness, through a period of extraordinary excitement with reference to the judiciary of the State, till he retired in 1998. Having (- signed this post. he removed from Paris to Frankfort, to engage again in the practice of the law in the higher courts of the State. Success commensurte with his wishes again crowned his labors, till the morning of the 6th of D. cen - ber, 1831, when, by an apoplectic stroke. his mortal existence was termination
As a man, Judge Milis whis never remarkably popular. Though kind Med faithful in every relation of life, ho aimed, by a course of firm and inflexible lu- tegrity, rather to command the approbation than to win the affections of his fellow men. He was. to a very great event. a self-made man, and affords a fine es- ample of the ennobling tendency of republican Institutions, and an encouragement to all meritorious young men who are struggling in obscurity and poverty.
As a practitioner of the law, by a profound and thorough knowledge of its principles. and the most approved tomus of practice. he Soon rose to eminee. As a public speaker, he was clear, logical and forcible ; but not possessing a bux voice, and seldom using the ornaments of rhetoric, he was less admired as an Orator than many others.
٣ ٢٠ دال مقل
203
BOURBON COUNTY.
As a legislator, he was zealous and active in the promotion of wise, and the resistance of injudicious measures. Some of the most valuable provisions of the statutes of the state, had their origin in his conceptions. His efforts on the exel- ting new election question in 1816, will be remembered by those familiar with the politics of that day, as having a great influence in settling a construction of the constitution, which, in several instances since, has been acquiesced in with happy effects by the people of the state.
As a circuit judge, he conducted the business of the courts with uncommon industry and energy. The promptness and general accuracy of his decisions, and the perfect impartiality of his administration of justice, gained for him the respect of the orderly portion of the community.
While on the bench of the court of appeals, his official acts tended not only to enlighten, bat to enlarge the sphere of his profession. and to establish a sys- tem of legal polity alike favorable to the country and honorable to himself. His written opinions furnish abundant proofs of the clearness of his perceptions, the depth of his legal researches, the strength of his memory. his power of analysis, and the steadiness and sternness of his integrity.
For the last twelve years of his life, he was a member of the Presbyterian church, and for a considerable portion of that time a ruling elder. His life. during this period. was in a high degree consistent with his profession : and the extent of his charities in the support of all the great benevolent enterprises of the day, was surprising to those who knew how limited were his means.
JESSE BLEDSOE was born on the 6th of April, 1776, in Culpepper county, Vir- ginia. His father. Joseph Bledsoe, was a Baptist preacher. His mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Miller. In early life, Judge Bledsoe's health was delicate, and from weakness in his eyes. could not be sent regularly to school. When his health and sight were restored, which was not until he had become quite a large hoy, (having emigrated with an elder brother to the neighborhood of Lexington, Kentucky), he went to Transylvania seminary, and by the force of talent and assiduous industry, became a fine scholar. Few men were better or riper ches- sical scholars ; and to the day of his death it was his pleasure and delight pr read the Grecian orators and poets in their original tongue. After finishing his collegiate course, he studied law, and commenced its practice with snecess and reputation.
Judge Bledsoe was repeatedly elected to the house of representatives of the Kentucky legislature, from the counties of Fayette and Bourbon ; and was also a senator from the latter county. He was secretary of state, of Kentucky, under Gov. Charles Scott ; and during the war with Great Britain, was elected a sen- ator in the congress of the United States from the state of Kentucky. for an unexpired term, serving in that capacity for two or three years. In 1822. he was appointed by Gov. Adair, a circuit judge in the Lexington district, and removed tu Lexington, where he received the appointment of professor of law in the Tran- sylvania University. He held the offices of judge and professor for five or six years, when he resigned both, and again commenced the practice of law.
In 1833, he removed to Mississippi, and in the fall of 1×35 or spring of 1-36. he emigrated to Texas, and commenced gathering materials for a history of me new republic. In May, 1×36, he was taken sick in that portion of Texas wear the line of the United States, and not far from Nacogdoches, where he died.
At an early age, he married the eldest daughter of Colonel Nathaniel Gist, and his widow is still living in Frankfort.
Judge Bledsoe possessed a strong and powerful intellect, and was supposed in popular and forensic eloquence by but few men of his day.
JAIN ALLEN was born in James City county. Va., in 1749. When the revit .. tomary war broke out, he joined the American army, and devoted all his energis In the service of his country. He rose to the rank of major, and acted for p time as commissary of subsistence. At a tea party in Charleston, South (' ... Las. which was attended by British and American officers, the conduct of the for ner towards the latter because very insulting; and an officer rained Days repeated the insult so frequently as to provoke Major Allen to sticke Jam with las sword, which instantly broke up the party. In the course of the war, Major Ailen was taken prisoner by the same officer, (Davis), and what was most re-
204
BOYLE COUNTY.
markable in the history of the times, was treated by him with special kind- ness.
In 1981, Major Allen married Miss Jane Tandy, of Albermarle county. Vir- ginia, and engaged in the practice of the law, having studied his profession with Colonel George Nicholas, then of Charlottesville. He emigrated to Kentucky in 1786, in company with Judge Sebastian, and located in Fayette county. In 1788, he removed to Bourbon, and settled in Paris, then containing but a few lou cabins-the ground upon which the town is now reared being then a marsh, springs of water bursting from the earth in great profusion. After the organization of the State government, Major Allen was elected one of the commissioners to select a site for the permanent seat of government, During the first term of Goy. Garrard, under the old constitution, Major Allen was appointed judge of the Paris district court, the duties of which he discharged with general acceptance. hu 1802, after the adoption of the present constitution, and during the second term of Gov. Garrard. he was appointed judge of the circuit court, including in his district the county of Bourbon.
Judge Allen died in the year 1816, having devoted a large portion of his long life to the service of his country, and leaving behind him a name which will b. held in grateful remembrance by his posterity. He had born to him twelve cil- dren-nine sons and three daughters. His widow still survives, and resides in Paris, being now four score years of age, and enjoying a degree of health which rarely falls to the lot of one of her years.
BOYLE COUNTY.
BOYLE county was formed from parts of Mercer and Lincoln in 1841, and named for the Hon. John Boyle, for many years chief justice of the state. It is bounded on the north by Mercer. cat by Garrard, south by Casey and Lincoln, and west by Marion. Danville, the county seat, is forty miles from Frankfort. The soil of this county is very deep and rich, and generally lies well for cultivation. The products are principally stock and hemp. The citizens are generally independent in their circumstances well educated and intelligent. Number of acres of land in the county, 147,045 ; average value per acre, $12,22 ; taxable prop- erty in 1916, $3,852,123; number of white males over twenty- one years of age, 1,119 ; number of children between the ages of five and sixteen years, 1,372. The county was organized since the census of 1840 was taken.
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