USA > Kentucky > The history of Kentucky, from its earliest discovery and settlement, to the present date, V. 1 > Part 42
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"Such, however, was the excitement of the public mind on the subject of the Mississippi, added to its fevered condition in regard to French politics, that too many persons were ready to embrace those foreign proposals to embroil the peace of the United States. Two of these emissaries had the audacity to address letters to the governor, informing him in express terms of their intention 'to join the expedition of the Mississippi,' and requesting to be informed whether he had 'positive orders to arrest all citizens inclining to our assistance.' To this presumptuous letter of Delpeau, Governor Shelby condescended to reply, in the words of the secretary of state, that he had been charged to 'take those legal measures necessary to prevent any such enterprise, to which charge I must pay that attention which my present situation obliges me.' These foreign agents proceeded in their piratical attempt, from the bosom of a neutral and friendly nation, to raise two thou- sand men under French authority, and to distribute French commissions among the citizens of Kentucky, to purchase cannon, powder, boats, and whatever was deemed necessary for a formidable expedition. In an un- guarded moment, these insinuating agents, influenced by the same mis- chievous spirit that had undermined the peace and independence of so many European states, subordinated the exalted patriotism and fidelity of General George Rogers Clark, and prevailed upon him to take command of the expedition, as ' a major-general in the armies of France, and commander- in-chief of the revolutionary legions on the Mississippi.' Under this omi- nous entitlement for an American officer, he issued, under his own name. proposals 'for volunteers for the reduction of the Spanish forts on the Mississippi, for opening the trade of that river, and giving freedom to its inhabitants. All persons serving on the expedition will be entitled to one thousand acres of land ; those that engage for one year will be entitled to two thousand; if they serve three years, or, during the present war with France, they will have three thousand acres of any unappropriated land that may be conquered, the officers in proportion as other French troops, all lawful plunder to be equally divided, according to the custom of war; those
I Butler, p. 223.
2 American State Papers, pp. 2-36.
321
THE PRESIDENT ISSUES A PROCLAMATION.
who serve the expedition will have their choice of receiving their lands or one dollar per day.'
"Governor St. Clair intimated to Governor Shelby, early in November, that this commission had been given to Clark. This communication was followed by one from General Wayne, of January 6, 1794, inclosing his orders to Major W. Winston. commanding the United States cavalry in Kentucky, which placed that officer and his men under the orders of Gov- ernor Shelby, and promised that, 'should more force be wanted, it should not be withheld, notwithstanding our proximity to the combined force of hostile Indians.' After the receipt of these letters, Governor Shelby ad- dressed the Federal secretary of state, on the 13th of January, 1794, and, after acknowledging the receipt of the information in regard to Clark and the French emissaries, proceeded as follows:
"' I have great doubts, even if General Clark and the Frenchmen attempt to carry this plan into execution, provided they manage their business with prudence, whether there is any legal authority to restrain or to punish them, at least before they have actually accomplished it. For if it is lawful for any one citizen of the State to leave it, it is equally so for any number of them to do it. It is also lawful for them to carry any quantity of provisions, arms, and ammunition. And if the act is lawful in itself, there is nothing but the particular intention with which it is done that can possibly make it unlawful ; but I know of no law which inflicts a punishment on intention only, or any criterion by which to decide what would be sufficient evidence of that inten- tion, even if it was a proper subject of legal censure.'
"This communication precluding any effectual interposition on the part of the governor of Kentucky, the president of the United States issued his proclamation, on the 24th of March, apprising the people of the West of the unlawful project, and warning them of the consequences of engaging in it. About the same time, General Wayne was ordered to establish a strong military post at Fort Massac, on the lower Ohio, and to prevent by force, if necessary, the descent of any hostile party down that river."
It was most evidently not the province or duty of Governor Shelby to interpose the State authority in a matter that concerned the Federal Govern- ment alone. Though his political enemies charged that he was conniving with the French party, his view, that the suppression of the military move- ment on Spanish Louisiana was a matter beyond the limited jurisdiction of the State government, was certainly tenable. As an individual, Governor Shelby no doubt sympathized with the almost universal sentiment of his people, in favor of opening the navigation of the Mississippi to all.
In his letter to the secretary of state, of 13th of January, in bold words, he continues : 1 " Much less would I assume a power to exercise it against Frenchmen, whom I consider as friends and brethren, in favor of the Span- iard, whom I view as an enemy and a tyrant. I shall also feel but little in-
I Butler, p. 232.
21
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
clination to take an active part in punishing or restraining any of my fellow- citizens for a supposed intention only, to gratify the fears of the minister of a prince, who openly withholds from us an invaluable right; or one who se- cretly instigates against us a most savage and cruel enemy. Yet, whatever may be my private opinions as a man, a friend to liberty, an American citi- zen, and an inhabitant of the Western waters, I shall at all times hold it as my duty to perform whatever may be constitutionally required of me as ·governor of Kentucky, by the president of the United States."
In March, the secretary of state, Edmund Randolph, replied to this letter of the governor's, and endeavored to confute the legal difficulties which had embarrassed his mind. 1 He then assures him the negotiations at Madrid, respecting the navigation of the Mississippi river, had been under consideration since the first verbal overtures of Spain in December, 1791, which had been accepted by the president; and that Mr. Short had been associated with Mr. Carmichael, the charge d' affairs at Madrid, in the ne- gotiation; that for many months the commissioners had been employed in this important affair at the Spanish capital, and were so employed yet. Though necessary forms had enforced delay, and the events of Europe, and other considerations, had presented embarrassments, yet there was expecta- tion of a satisfactory result.
Persistently, actively, and steadily, the agents of the French Government and the veteran pioneer leaders who were commissioned by them pursued the work of raising, organizing, and equipping the army of two thousand men, to man a flotilla for a descent upon New Orleans, the Spanish provin- cial capital. The best of fighting men were not wanting, and the notes of busy preparation echoed throughout the land.
Citizen Genet, the ambassador of the French republic, had landed in Charleston in the spring of 1793, and was received with demonstrations of . enthusiasm that seemed to have elated him beyond all discretion. His progress through the Atlantic States to New York was characterized by scenes befitting the triumphal march of a Roman conqueror. Treating with contempt the president's proclamation of neutrality, he proceeded openly to arm and equip privateers, and to enlist crews in American ports for ves- sels to war upon the commerce of England and Spain, as though the United States were an ally, and sanctioned the authority.
All Europe beheld with dismay the fire, and cloud, and shock of the great political volcano that poured its desolating lava from the Parisian cen- ter, over its most distant countries and capitals. The contagion of excite- ment spread its ominous influences throughout America. to be viewed with alarm by our government; to be hailed with delirious joy by the over-san- guine democracy, that had not yet learned to distinguish its own love of liberty and order from the unchastened and untamed licentiousness of Jaco- binism. The impatient and dangerous sympathy, heedless of the warning
I Marshall, Vol. II., p. 150.
323
GENET IS RECALLED.
proclamations of Washington, distilled its poison throughout the States. Only the fortunate distance and the intervening ocean held Americans in check.
Nowhere did it blaze forth with more intensity than in Kentucky, for her people had an aim and an interest; while her remoteness made this the most available theater of active operations. The clubs resorted to every method of arousing the people, aided by the invectives of the press. In the spring of 1794, a meeting was called at Lexington, where violent resolutions were adopted, breathing the deepest hostility to the administration, and inviting à future convention of delegates to be appointed in citizens' meetings in the several counties, which more than hinted in the old direction of separation.
Fortunately, about this time, the intelligence came that Genet had been recalled, at the earnest instance of our own Government, and all his acts disavowed by the French republic. Thus disrobed of authority, and their military commissions rendered null and void, the French agents abandoned further efforts in the State. In consequence, the whole scheme of an expe- dition against New Orleans, which had tempted the allegiance of Kentuck- ians, vanished into thin air. The collapse had come. On the 14th of May La Chaise informed the Lexington club : "That unforeseen events had stopped the march of two thousand brave Kentuckians to go, by the strength of their arms, and take from the Spaniards the empire of the Missis- sippi, insure to their country the navigation of it, break the chains of the Americans and their brethren, the French, and lay the foundations of the prosperity and happiness of two great nations, destined by nature to be one."
Of this period of intense political agitation throughout the world, a dis- tinguished writer says: " Nowhere did it rise to a higher degree than among the ardent and excitable people of Kentucky. The adventurous spirit and energetic stamp of a conquering and emigrating people communicate them- selves to the general character, and are displayed in the general deportment." This may, in part, be a solution of the overflowing ardor and abounding energy, which are so prominently exhibited in Kentuckians, and which still mark the descendants of that daring body of men, who conquered the fa- vorite of all the hunting-grounds of the Indians. In addition to this, a large body of Revolutionary officers and soldiers had settled in Kentucky, and, no doubt, increased the military impulse. How mistaken and ill- directed, and how ill requited was all this enthusiasm of Americans for French interests need not now be detailed.
1 Of General Isaac Shelby, who, as governor of Kentucky, has been brought into prominence in our history, the reader will demand more than the passing mention. Few prominent characters in the military and political events of his day, both continental and local, evinced more decision and ability than he. Born and reared in Maryland, in early manhood North Carolina became the State of his first adoption. Following the early inclina-
1 Collins, Vol. II., p. 712.
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
tion of his nature for military life, he tendered his offices to General Lewis, of Virginia, and rendered brilliant service at the great and decisive battle of Point Pleasant, with the confederated forces of the Miami tribes, an action before mentioned in this history. Afterward, in North Carolina, he rendered most efficient service during the Revolutionary war in many minor expeditions, but especially in retrieving the disaster of Gates, at Camden, the effect of which cast a gloom over the Southern country. That which seemed to paralyze others only awakened a spirit of greater resolve in : Shelby, and to develop the superior military power which distinguished his after life. Holding together the little army he then commanded, he secured a large number of prisoners in his hands by a swift movement to the shelter of the Blue Ridge mountains. At this time, the noted Ferguson was spreading terror among the people of that district of North Carolina, hardly dreaming of serious opposition. It was mainly the genius of Shelby that conceived and planned, and his energy and determination that rallied and led, the forces at the battle of King's mountain, where victory gave new in- spiration to the patriot population, although in subordinate command. He rendered signal service at the battle of Cowpens, and was ever in the front of that, active campaigning, in his adopted State, against the English and Tories, which formed one of the most exciting episodes of the war of the Revolution.
At the conclusion of peace in 1783, he removed to Kentucky, and soon won the confidence and sympathy of her impulsive people. He became at once prominent in the political and military affairs of the State. He was notably gifted with a penetrating and sagacious statesmanship, which, to- gether with his military ability and experience, gave him an influence in the State second to that of no other citizen. His independence of mind and speech, and his personal bravery, endeared him to a people who especially admired those manly qualities. He strongly sympathized with the party that contended so earnestly, and, at times, threateningly, for the full and equal recognition of rights for the Western people in the policies of the General Government. Yet no man was more devoted to the principles. upon which the republic was based, or more loyal to the authorities who with equality and justice, administered the government of the same.
We left General Wayne in headquarters at Greenville, in the fall of 1793. During the winter. he reoccupied the battle-ground of St. Clair, and there erected Fort Recovery. 1 The British agents not only continued to supply the Indians with arms and munitions, and to instigate them to im- placable hostilities, but themselves resorted to open and flagrant outrages, that under other conditions would have been a justifiable cause of war.
2 On the roth of February, Lord Dorchester, governor-general of Can- ada, in a speech before an assemblage of tribes at Quebec, declared to them
I Marshall, Vol. II., pp. 137-9; Butler, p. 235.
2 American State Papers, Vol. II., pp. 65-73.
325
CONFIDENCE IN GENERAL WAYNE.
that "he should not be surprised if Great Britain and the United States were at war in the course of the year, and, if so, a line must be drawn by the warriors." Yet holding Detroit, ten years after the treaty of peace, in the same hostile spirit, Governor Simcoe established a military post below the rapids of the Maumee, about fifty miles south of that fort. Against the remonstrance of the Government, he refused to withdraw the garrison, the British minister seeking to justify the insult.
Under these encouragements, and secretly supplied with British arms, a large body of Indians attacked Fort Recovery in July, who, after an assault of twenty-four hours, were driven off, with a loss of less than one hundred killed and wounded.
The brief experience of the Kentuckians with General Wayne in the partial campaign of the autumn of 1793 had wrought a revolution in their sentiments in his favor. On the return home of General Scott, on fur- lough, with his one thousand drafted troops, they all bore testimony to the military ability, as well as the gallantry and dash, of General Wayne, or " Mad Anthony," as he was known by the sobriquet given him for daring courage in the Revolutionary war. With confidence established, General Scott reported with sixteen hundred Kentucky militia, on the 26th of July, and united his forces with about the same number of regulars under the commanding general. The army commenced its march to the junction of the Au Glaize and Maumee rivers, with the intention of surprising the rich and extensive Indian towns there. But warned of his approach by a deserter, he found the enemy had fled. Destroying the crops, General Wayne continued his march down the Maumee on the same side on which the British had recently built the new fort, in the vicinity of which his scouts reported the Indians to be camped in large force. Taking time to hastily construct Fort Deposit, within seven miles of the British garrison, the march was resumed.
Major Price, who commanded the advance guard, sent back word to General Wayne that the enemy were in order of battle within a mile or two of the British fort, their left upon the Maumee, and their right extending in- definitely into the thick brush-wood.
The regulars were drawn up in two lines, the right resting on the Mau- mee, while General Scott was ordered, with a brigade of Kentucky volun- teers, on the left, to turn the extreme right of the enemy and to attack him in the rear ; then General Barbee, with his brigade, was directed to follow close behind the second line of the regulars, to be employed as circum- stances might require.
The order was given to the regulars to " advance and charge with trailed arms, and arouse the Indians from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and, when up, to deliver a close and well-directed fire on their backs, fol- lowed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them time to load again, or form their lines." Such was the impetuosity of the charge that the Indians, and
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
a lot of Canada militia and volunteers with them, were routed from their coverts, and driven in disorderly panic before the relentless bayonet, and under a destructive fire from the infantry. So general and rapid was the flight that, with the very best exertions he could make to overtake and engage the savages with his detachment of mounted men, General Scott was able to bring but a part of them into the action. The loss of the Indians was very heavy, and far out of proportion to that of the whites. The woods for two miles were strewed with the dead bodies of the red men and their white auxiliaries. The Indians, in their retreat, were surprised and dis- heartened that the gates of the British fort were shut against them in their flight.
The army remained for three days encamped on the battle-ground, de- stroying all the houses, the fields of grain, and other property in reach, including the house and stores of Colonel McKee, the British Indian agent, and principal instigator of the Indians to hostilities against the Americans. While this work was in progress, Major Campbell, who commanded the new fort, addressed General Wayne to "know in what light he was to view such near approaches, almost in reach of the guns of a fort belonging to his majesty, the king of Great Britain." To this insolence, General Wayne replied that "were you entitled to an answer, the most full and satisfactory was announced to you from the muzzles of my small arms yesterday morn- ing, in the action against hordes of savages in the vicinity of your fort, which terminated gloriously for the American arms." Everything in view of the fort and under its guns was then destroyed. It was with difficulty that the commanding officer could restrain the disposition of the Kentuck- ians to attack the British. They tauntingly fired their rifles toward the fort to provoke a response, and only the discreet avoidance of retaliation on the. part of the British commander saved them from the wrath of the exasperated soldiers.
The great and decisive victory on the Maumee, together with the failure of their English friends to come to their relief, broke the spirit of the In- dians, and shortly after they were invited to a treaty meeting at Greenville, where terms of peace were agreed on. Large cessions of territory were made to the United States, and all claims south of the Ohio river given up, all of which was faithfully observed until the war of 1812.
In the early summer of 1794, Captain William Whitley raised one hun- dred men to march against the Nicojack towns in Tennessee, from which repeated raids upon the settlers in that State and across the Kentucky line had recently been made, resulting in murders and spoliations. Crossing the line, he joined Colonel Orr, by appointment, who had collected up several hundred volunteers for the same purpose. The command was conceded to Whitley, though the men were mustered in under Orr's name, to entitle them to pay. The rendezvous was but a night's journey, but for fifteen miles over rough and almost pathless mountains. The aim was to surprise
327
REMINISCENCES OF "BIG JOE."
the enemy, and this was successfully done. An hour after sunrise, the In- dian town was surrounded and assailed. Fifty of the savages were killed, nineteen made prisoners, and the houses and property destroyed. Whitley, with a small detachment, set out to attack a village called Running Water, but was met by a large body of the enemy, and a sharp skirmish ensued, with the loss of several on either side, when the Indians fled. Many articles of plunder were recaptured, showing the guilty hostility of the red men, among them, clothing showing bullet-holes made by their murderous rifles.
In April, 1793, Morgan's station, on Slate creek, seven miles from Mount Sterling, was assailed by a band of thirty-five Indians, and captured and burned. Two of the helpless whites were slain and nineteen made prison- ers, most of the latter being women and children, the men being absent attending to their crops. A party was soon raised for pursuit and recapture, if possible; but the Indians, finding themselves pursued, tomahawked the weak and helpless women and children, and managed to get away with the others. They were taken to the North-west and sold, but were restored to liberty after the treaty of Greenville, in 1795. This was the last Indian incursion into the interior of Kentucky.
Raids were made into Logan county the same year, and at Bear Wallow, in Hart county, on the Cumberland road, three men were killed and scalped. Scurrying bands committed outrages at other points at different times, but not in large bodies. These were evidently but expiring efforts, showing that the prestige and power of the savages were yielding to the encroachments of the white men, never to be restored. The onward march of the dominant race was slow, but toward manifest destiny.
About the year 1790, an individual known as "Big Joe Logston" emi- grated from near the source of the north branch of the Potomac to Ken- tucky, and resided many years in the family of Andrew Barnett, in Green county. He subsequently removed to Illinois. Big Joe seems to have been a rare and an original character, well suited for the hazards and adventures of pioneer life. The following account, given by Mr. Renick in the Western Pioneer, of a desperate fight with two Indians is characteristic: "The In- dians made a sudden attack, and all that escaped were driven into the rude fort for preservation, and, though reluctantly, Joe was one. This was a new life to him, and not at all congenial. He soon became very restless, and every day insisted on going out with others to hunt up the cattle. Knowing the danger better, or fearing it more, all persisted in their refusal to accom- pany him. To indulge his taste for the woodsman's life, he turned out alone, and rode till the after part of the day without finding any cattle. What the Indians had not killed were scared off. He concluded to return to the fort. Riding along a path which led in, he came to a fine vine of grapes. He turned into the path and rode carelessly along, eating his grapes, and the first intimation he had of danger was the crack of two rifles, one from each side of the road. One of the balls passed through the paps of
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HISTORY OF KENTUCKY.
his breast, which, for a male, were remarkably prominent. Fortunately, it proved to be only a flesh wound, and did not injure the breast-bone. The other ball struck his horse behind the saddle, and he sunk in his tracks. Thus was Joe eased off his horse in a manner more rare than welcome. Still, he was on his feet in an instant, with his rifle in his hands, and might have taken to his heels, and no Indian could have caught him. That, he said, was not his sort. He had never left a battle-ground without leaving his mark, and he was resolved that that should not be the first. The moment the guns fired, one very athletic Indian sprang toward him, with tomahawk in hand. His eye was on him, and his gun to his eye, ready as soon as he approached near enough to make a sure shot to let him have it. As soon as the Indian discovered this, he jumped behind two saplings, some distance apart, neither of which were large enough to cover his body; and, to save himself as well as he could, he kept springing from one to the other.
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