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 70
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. Morehead's Address. Marshall's History.
463
GABRIEL SLAUGHTER.
was idle in consequence, Harrod would disappear, and it would not be long he- 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, hke 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 1771, 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 bad 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 MeGary, Harlan, McBride, and Chap- lain. 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 low 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.
Ho rendered gallant and distinguished service in the battle of New Orleans on the 8th of January. 1515, 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 1916 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
464
MERCER COUNTY.
dence of opinion, and much firmness and decision of character. After one or 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 puguicious 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, Clarke, &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 1430, at the age of sixty-three years. The legislature, by joint resolution, some years since, ordered a marble monument to be erected to his memory on the spot where he was buried.
Captain SAMCEL DAVEISS, a well known citizen of Mercer, is a brother of the celebrated Colonel Joseph H. Daveiss, and is a fine specimen of the old Ken- tucky gentleman. He is a lawyer of considerable eminence, and has frequently represented his county in the legislature of the State, of which body he was a very useful member. Having emigrated to Kentucky at an early day, he is ex- tensively acquainted with the facts connected with the first settlement of the country, which renders his conversation exceedingly interesting and instructive.
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 Me Afee, the father of Gen. MeAfee, 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 continned 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 McCoun, who had been appointed his guardians. In the year 1796, he entered Transylvania Seminary. (the gerin of the present 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 nicer of Col. Anthony Crockett, a revolutionary officer. who was with Gen. George Rogers Clark in the expedition against Kaskakias 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 ont of the late war, he volunteered as a pri- vate, in a company of mounted riflemen, and was among the first Kentnekians who joined the north-western army. In this company he was appointed server. and was, subsequently, elected ensign, and, afterwards, second lieutenant. Ito was also made quarter-master of Col. R. M. Johnson's regiment. This regimes aided in relieving fort Wayne, at a very critical period, when surrounded by hos- tile Indians. A detachment having been sent, noder Col. Wells, against the le- dian town of Five Medals, sixty miles north-west of fort Wayne, Mcafee accom- panied the expedition. In 1513, he received from Governor Shelby a captant ", 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 increase.1 to one hundred and fifty men, were in the battle of the Thames, on the 5th of
465
THE MILITIA PIG.
Dether, 1813, and did good service. At the close of the war, Capt. McAfee re- tamnei to his farm, in Mercer county, and spent two or three years in private life. In 1×19, he was elected to the legislature ; and, in 1821, was chosen a member of the State senate. In Iset, he resigned his seat in the senate. and was elected lieutenant governor, in which capacity he served four years. He presided over taip 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. Ile 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 1-33, he 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 dscharge 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 Isti. 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 1815, he retired from public life, and has since resided on his farm, in Mercer esunty. He is now in the sixty-third year of his age. It should not be omitted, that Gen. McAfee is 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 1:55, 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 wight. The following day. the pig accompanied the troops as before, and timis bright and morning, in their progress to the river, the animal halted. rested. and warted 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 s ter's edge. promptly plunged in, waiting on the other side until the whole cor- 'ze crossed over, and resumed its post as customary in the flank of the moving "niumn. In this way the animal kept on with the troops, mail they got to the the. On the whole journey. as the men grew more familiar with their comrade. : Sepone a pet, receiving a full share of the rations issued to the soldiers, and stute as the troops found themselves at times of sustenance. no one thought of ,wing the knife to the throat of their fellow soldier. What they had was still Strand, 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 Yer3. At the margin of the lake she embarked with the troops and went as far & Bass Island. She was there offered a passage into Canada, but obstinately ofnerd 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-
30
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466
MERCER COUNTY.
tion to force a militio pig over the line. In consequence of this remark they gave her leave to remain. After the campaign had closed, the troops recrossed the lake, 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 .*
The following account of some singular natural formations among the cliffs of the Kentucky river, should have appeared under the head of Jessamine county, but was not prepared until the description of that county had gone to press. They are situated immediately opposite the county of Mercer, which is the reason of its insertion in this place.
'The most picturesque of these natural objects is called the Devil's Pulpit. We are indebted for the following account of a visit to this remarkable curiosity, to the pen of a well known citizen of Kentucky, Dr. Graham, the enterprising and intelligent proprietor of the Harrodsburg Springs. He says :
" After much vexation and annoyance occasioned by the difficulties of the road, we arrived near the object of our visit, and quitting our horses, proceeded on foot. Upon approaching the break of the precipice, under the direction of our guide, we suddenly found ourselves standing on the verge of a yawning chasm, and immediately beyond, bottomed in darkness, the Devil's Pulpit was seen rearing its black, gigantic form, from amid the obscurity of the deep and silent valley. The back ground to this gloomy object presented a scene of unrelieved desola- tion. Cliff rose on cliff and crag surmounted crag, sweeping off on either hand in huge semicircles, until the wearied eye became unable to follow the countless and billowy-like mazes of that strange and awful scene. The prevailing charac- ter of the whole was that of savage grandeur and gloom. A profound silence broods over the place, broken only by the muffled rushing of the stream far down in its narrow passage. cleaving its way to its home in the ocean. Descending by a zigzag path to the shore of the river, while our companions were making prep- arations to cross. I strayed through the valley. The air was cool, refreshing and fragrant, and vocal with the voices of many birds. The bending trees, the wind- ing stream with its clear and crystal waters, the flowering shrubs, and cluster- ing vines walled in by these adamantine ramparts-which seem to tower to the skies-make this a place of rare and picturesque beauty. The dew drops still hung glittering on the leaves, the whispering winds played with soft music through the rustling foliage, and the sunbeams struggling through the overhang- ing forest kissed the opening flowers. and all combined made up a scene of rural loveliness and romance, which excited emotions of unmingled delight. The beat having arrived, the river was crossed without difficulty, and we commenced the ascent, and after measuring up two hundred and seventy feet, arrived at the base of the " Pulpit." Fifty paces from this point, and parallel with it, in the soud ledge of the cliff, is a cave of considerable extent. At its termination, the passes out like the neck of a funnel, an opening, not larger than a hogsledu. Upon pitching rocks into this cave, a rumbling was heard at an immense disteurt below the earth. Some are of opinion that this cave contains a bottomless . We now ascended the cliffs some fifty feet further, clambering up through a sure in the rocks, having the Pulpit on our right. and a range of cliff's on out e !!. To look up here makes the head dizzy. Huge and dark masses roll up .he you, upon whose giddy heights vast erags jut out and overhang the val: threatening destruction to all below. The floating clouds give these crag- ti .. appearance of swimming in mid air. The ascent up these rocks, though s. to- what laborions, is perfectly safe, being protected by natural walls on -uher side, and forming a perfect stairway with steps from eight to ten feet thick. the head of this passage, there is a hole through the river side of the wall, kur_ enough to admit the body, and through which one may crawl, and look down:
* Vide Cist's Cincinnati Miscellany for 1-45-6, and MeAfee's History of the Late War.
167
MONROE COUNTY.
upon the rushing stream below. At the foot of the stairway stands the Pulpit, rising from the very brink of the main ledge, at more than two hundred feet of an elevation above the river, but separated from the portion which towers up to the extreme heights. The space is twelve feet at bottom, and as the cliff retreats slightly at this point, the gap is perhaps thirty feet at the top. The best idea that can be formed of this rock is to suppose it to be a single column, standing in front of the continuous wall of some vast building or ruin. the shaft standing as colonnades are frequently built upon an elevated platform. From the platformn to the capital of the shaft is not less than one hundred feet, making the whole ele- vation of the " Devil's Pulpit" three hundred feet. It is called by some the inver- ted candlestick, to which it has a striking resemblance. There are two swells, which form the base moulding and occupy about forty feet of the shaft. It then narrows to an oblong of about three feet by six, at which point there are fifteen distinct projections. This narrow neck continues with some irregularity for eight or ten feet, winding off at an angle of more than one degree from the line of gravity. Then commences the increased swell, and craggy offsets, first over- hanging one side, and then the other, till they reach the top or cap rock, which is not so wide as the one below it, but is still fifteen feet across.
MONROE COUNTY.
MONROE county was formed in 1820, and named in honor of President JAMES MONROE. It is situated on the southern border of the State, and lies on the head waters of Big Barren river, the Cumberland passing through its south-west corner : bounded on the north by Barren, east by Cumberland, south by the State of Tennessee, and west by Allen county. The face of the coun- ty is diversified-level, undulating and hilly-the principal growth walnut, hickory, beech, and white, black and chesnut oak, &c. Wheat, oats and corn are the principal products, and hogs are exported in considerable numbers.
Number of acres of land in Monroe, 155,571; average value of land per acre, $2.29 ; valuation of taxable property in 1846, $755,397 ; number of white males over twenty-one years of age, 1,118; number of children between five and sixteen years old, 1,650. Population in 1840, 6.526.
TOMPKINSVILLE, the seat of justice of Monroe county, is one hundred and forty miles from Frankfort. Contains a court-house and jail, Presbyterian and Methodist churches, one school, four lawyers, four doctors, one tavern, five stores, and five mechanics' shops-population 150. Incorporated in 1819, and named after Daniel D. Tompkins, vice-president of the United States Coudre Point is a small village on the Cumberland river.
This county received its name in honor of JAMES MONROE, the fifth president of the United States. He was a native of Virginia, and was born in Westmore- land county, on the each day of April, 1758. He was educated at William and Mary college, and graduated in 1776. Upon leaving college, he entered as a ca- det in a corps then organizing under General Mercer. He was soon after ap- pointed a lieutenant, and joined the army at York. He was in the engagement at Harlaem heights, and at White Plains, and accompanied the army in its retreat through the Jerseys. He was with Washington when he crossed the Delaware,
468
MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
and made the successful attack on the Hessians at Trenton. Here he was woun- ded in the shoulder. On recovering, he served as aid to Lord Sterling, and was with him in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. Retiring from the army, he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, as a student of law. In 1780 he was sent by Mr. Jefferson, then governor of Virginia, as a commissioner to the southern army, then under De Kalb, to ascertain its effective force, its wants and ulterior prospects. In 1782 he was elected a member of the legislature of Virginia, and the next year was sent to the continental Congress, when only twenty-four years of age. He continued in Congress three years. Upon retir- ing from Congress, he was again sent to the legislature of his native State. In 1788 he was a member of the Virginia convention which adopted the constitution of the United States, but voted against the adoption of that instrument. From 1790 to 1794, he was a member of the Senate of the United States, and was taken from that body to be envov extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to France. In 1796 he was recalled. Upon his return, he was elected governor of Virginia, and served in that capacity three years. In 1803 he was again sent by Mr. Jefferson to France, to act with Mr. Livingston, the resident minister there. From France he was transferred to London. as successor to Mr. King. From England he was ordered to Spain, from whence he returned to England on the death of Mr. Pitt. Upon his return to the United States, he spent several years in retirement upon his farm in Virginia, but in 1810 was sent to the legislature of Virginia. A few months after he was elected governor of the commonwealth, and remained in that office until he was appointed secretary of state under Mr. Madison. In ISI7 he was elected president of the United States, and continued in that office eight years. After he retired from office, he continued to reside on his farm in Virginia till the 4th of July, 1831, when he expired, in the seventy-third year of his age.
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MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
MONTGOMERY county was formed in 1796, and named in honor of Gen. RICHARD MONTGOMERY, of the revolutionary army. It lies on the waters of Hinkston and Red rivers : bounded on the north by Bath ; east, by Bath and Morgan ; south, by Estill and Ows- ley ; and west, by Clark and Bourbon,-and, originally, included Bath, part of Morgan, Floyd, Letcher, Perry, Breathitt, Owsley and Estill. The south-eastern half of the county is very thinly settled, being very mountainous, and does not embrace one hun- dred voters. Most of the residue of the county is first rate, rich, limestone land .- more broken and rolling than Bourbon, Clark, or Fayette, but the soil is considered as rich and productive as it is in those counties. Ilemp is raised, to some extent, in the county ; but the principal exports are fat cattle, mules, horses and hogy. There are nineteen schools in the county, two of which are in Mount-Sterling.
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