USA > Virginia > Tazewell County > Tazewell County > History of Tazewell county and southwest Virginia, 1748-1920 > Part 30
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
Failing to receive any message from Lord Dunmore, Colonel Lewis decided to proceed without delay to the mouth of the Great Kanawha, and began his march to that point on the 1st of October. The troops were formed into two columns for the march, each column being divided into two divisions. The Botetourt troops constituted the right and the Augusta men the left column. Captain John Lewis, a nephew of Colonel Andrew, marched with his company a short distance in front of the two columns, acting as the advance guard. The cattle and pack-horses were placed between the front and rear
307
and Southwest Virginia
divisions ; and each flank was covered with a guard of one hundred men. This was an admirable formation for protecting the army from surprise attacks by the Indians; and was used each day of the march until the expedition arrived at the mouth of the Kanawha, its excellence being shown by the fact that not a man or animal was lost during the six days occupied in the march from Elk Creck to the Ohio.
This was the first army of a thousand men, composed entirely of frontier hunters and skilled woodsmen, that had ever marched against the Indians. It was not only unique in its composition, but must have presented a rare and imposing spectacle as it marched over mountains and through the trackless wilderness. The men were not uniformed, but their dress was strikingly similar in character and appearance. They wore the frontier fringed hunting shirt- dyed various hues, brown, yellow, and red-girdled by a belt around the waist; and fashioned by their wives and daughters from jeans or heavy flax cloth, which the noble women had manufactured at home with spinning wheel and loom. Their accoutrements were: a leather pouch swung on their left side by a shoulder belt, and a powder horn, similarly carried on the right side. The leather pouch held their bullets and lead, bullet moulds, patching, tow for wiping out the rifle barrel, and such small tools as might be needed for cleaning and repairing their guns. The powder-horn was made from the horn of a cow or ox, scraped so thin and highly polished as to make it transparent, and in which the powder was safely dry in the very worst weather. All the men had either fur caps or soft hats made from the furs of animals they had killed; and they wore moccasins and heavy woolen or buckskin leggings that reached half- way up the thigh. Each man was armed with that "terrible gun," the mountain flint-lock rifle, and carried in his belt a tomahawk and scalping knife. Some of the officers wore swords but each of them was equipped with rifle, tomahawk and scalping knife. As they marched, scouts were kept far out on the flanks and in front, and axemen went in front to blaze the trail and remove fallen trees and other obstacles.
Colonel Lewis and his army reached the junction of the Great Kanawha with the Ohio on the 6th day of October, 1774, and went into camp on the point that lies in the fork of those two streams. A letter from Governor Dunmore to Colonel Lewis was found in a hollow tree, having been deposited there by messengers sent by the
308
History of Tazewell County
governor, but who had arrived at the place several days in advance of Lewis' army. Dr. Lyman Draper says the messengers were, Simon Girty, Simon Kenton, and Peter Parchment. But Samuel Murphy, an Englishman who was with Dunmore's division, made
-
Is
The above picture is made from a photograph of the heroic bronze statue of General Andrew Lewis, that stands at the west side of the magnificent Washington Equestrian Statue in the Capitol Square, Richmond, Virginia. It correctly shows the pioneer garb and accoutre- ments worn by General Lewis and his mountain men at the battle of Point Pleasant.
309
and Southwest Virginia
the list : Simon Girty, John Turner, and Joseph and Thomas Nicholson. It is certain that Simon Girty, the despised "white rene- gade," was one of the messengers.
Colonel Lewis sent scouts with a reply to the letter from Dun- more that had been found in the hollow tree. The contents of that letter were never revealed to the public; but it is believed by many that Lewis was ordered to cross the Ohio and join Dunmore, who was then endeavoring to make peace with the Indians; and that Lewis in his reply letter expressed dissatisfaction for himself and unwillingness on the part of his men to comply with the orders of the governor. On the 8th, scouts, led by Simon Girty, came down the Ohio in a canoe, and brought letters from Lord Dunmore to Lewis. The records do not disclose what the orders were, but it is generally agreed by historians that Lewis was directed to take his forces across the Ohio and join Lord Dunmore at the Indian towns near the Pickaway Plains. Though displeased with the change of plans originally adopted, Colonel Lewis made preparations on the 9th to break camp the following morning, the 10th, and join Dun- more, in compliance with the orders given him.
If such was the purpose of Colonel Lewis, he was destined to be foiled in its execution. Cornstalk, the great Shawnee chief, had been kept fully informed by spies and runners of the movements of the Lewis army from the time it started from Camp Union until its arrival at the Ohio River. He had gathered together from eight hundred to one thousand of the bravest and most skillful warriors of the Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware and Ottowa tribes, and marched them rapidly through the forest to the Ohio River, reaching that stream at a point some six or eight miles above where Lewis and his men were camping. During the night of the 9th he transported this large force across the river on rafts, and marched them quietly down the stream with the intention of making a surprise attack at daybreak upon his white foes, before they had been fully aroused from their slumber. Cornstalk's plans were well conceived, and would possibly have been successfully carried out but for the inter- position of two men from the Clinch Valley, James Mooney and - Hickman, who were members of Captain Russell's company. They had gotten up before daylight the morning of the 10th, and had started up the river on a hunting or scouting expedition. After going about a mile from the camp they came suddenly upon Corn- stalk's warriors, who were already moving towards the encampment
310
History of Tazewell County
of their white foes. The Indians fired at the two men and Hickman was killed, the fatal shot being fired by Tavenor Ross, a white rene- gade. Mooney ran swiftly back to camp and gave the alarm, report- ing that he had seen enough Indians to cover five acres of ground, and that his companion, Hickman, had been killed by the red men.
Thwaites and other historians have stated that the two men who discovered Cornstalk's army were members of Captain Shelby's company ; and Thwaites says that the man who was killed was James Hughey. A man with that name does appear upon the roll of Cap- tain Shelby's company; but Thwaites is contradicted by Colonel William Fleming, who, in his account of the battle, says positively that the two men beloned to Captain Russell's company. And Flem- ing is supported by Isaac Shelby, son of Captain Evan Shelby, and lieutenant of his father's company. In a letter to his uncle, John Shelby, written at Point Pleasant, on the 16th of October, 1774, Lieutenant Shelby said: "Monday morning about half an hour before sunrise two of Capt. Russell's Company Discovered a large party of indians about a mile from Camp one of which men was killed the Other made his Escape & brought in his intelligence; in two or three minutes after two of Capt. Shelby's Compy came in and Confirmed the Account." This proves beyond question that the first man killed at Point Pleasant was from the Clinch Valley; and that a Clinch Valley man was the first to announce the approach of Cornstalk and his army of desperate warriors.
311
and Southwest Virginia
CHAPTER X.
THE BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT-KENTUCKY OPENED FOR SETTLEMENT.
Immediately after Mooney gave the alarm, Colonel Andrew Lewis called his men to arms. He believed the report as to the number of Indians was exaggerated, and that it was only a scouting party. So believing, instead of advancing with his entire force, he ordered two detachments to be formed, to be made up of select men from each company, and each detachment to have one hundred and fifty men. As soon as the detachments were formed they went in quest of the Indians. Colonel Charles Lewis lead the Augusta detachment, and had with him Captains Dickinson, Harrison and Skidmore. Colonel William Fleming led the Botetourt and Fin- castle men, and had with him Captains Shelby, Russell, Buford, and Love. When the advance began, the Augusta line marched on the right near the foot of the hills, and the Botetourt and Fincastle line marched on the left, moving up the Ohio River, keeping at a dis- tance of about two hundred yards from the stream. The advance was made briskly, and when about three-fourths of a mile from the camp, the sun being one hour high, the detachment led by Colonel Charles Lewis came in contact with the enemy. The Indians fired a few shots, killing the two white scouts that were in advance of the columns. This was quickly followed with heavy firing by the con- cealed enemy on the right, which extended instantly to the left; and the two detachments of white men became hotly engaged in deadly strife with their hated savage foes.
The attack made by the Indians was both fast and furious, and was met with cqual fury by the enraged white men. Hearing the heavy clash of resounding firearms, Colonel Andrew Lewis realized that he had made a mistake in his estimate of the number of the attacking enemy; and he sent Colonel Field hurriedly to the front with a reinforcement of two hundred men. Early in the engagement Colonel Charles Lewis was mortally wounded, but he remained with his men until the line was substantially formed. He had not "taken to a trce," that is, used a tree for protection, but was standing on a clear piece of ground, chcering his men and urging them to advance, and wearing a scarlet waistcoat-a fine target for the
312
History of Tazewell County
Indians. Finding that the wound was serious, he handed his gun to a man near him, remarked to his men, "I am wounded, but go on and be brave," walked unassisted back to the camp, and died in a few hours thereafter.
Soon after Colonel Charles Lewis was forced to retire from the field of battle, Colonel Fleming was desperately wounded. Two balls passed through his left arm, and one entered his breast. After encouraging his men with a calm voice to press on to victory, he retired to the camp, and was thought to be mortally wounded. At this time the Indians on the firing line, which extended for more than a mile from the foot hills toward the river, greatly exceeded the Virginians in number; and they succeeded in forcing the white men on the right of the line to retreat 150 or 250 yards. Colonel Flem- ing had rallied and reformed the line just before he was wounded; and then Colonel Field came upon the scene of conflict with rein- forcements. As ranking officer, after the retirement from the field of Colonels Lewis and Fleming on account of their wounds, Colonel Field assumed command of the entire line. He was soon supported by additional troops sent forward by Colonel Andrew Lewis. The additional reinforcements were lead by Captains McDowell, Mat- thews, and Stuart from Augusta ; and Captains John Lewis, Pauling, Arbuckle, and McClannahan from Botetourt. With the lines so substantially reinforced, the Virginians moved forward; and not only recovered the ground they had lost but began to drive the enemy back and up the river. The Indians were forced back until they got in line with the Fincastle troops that Colonel Fleming had left in action when he was compelled to retire from the battle. While the Indians were falling back, Colonel Field was killed. He was standing behind a tree, trying to get a shot at an Indian on his left who was attracting his attention by laughing and jeering at him. While Field's attention was thus diverted, he was shot by two Indians who were concealed behind logs on his right. There being no other field officer in the engagement, the command of all the lines devolved upon Captain Evan Shelby, who was senior captain among the surviving commissioned officers.
From the commencement of the battle, which began about an hour after sunrise, until twelve o'clock the conflict was waged with unceasing vigor by both the white men and the red men. The hostile lines, though more than a mile long, were in such close contact, being separated not more than twenty yards, that numerous single com-
313
and Southwest Virginia
bats were engaged in by the combatants. In these encounters, either the Indian or the white man would single out a foeman worthy of his steel, and the two would join in a hand-to-hand struggle; and with tomahawk and scalping knife fight until one, or both, of the combatants fell. An encounter of this kind took place between Wil- liam Bowen and an Indian of powerful statue; and the stalwart man from Tazewell vanquished his savage adversary.
After twelve o'clock the fighting became less violent; but Isaac Shelby declared it "continued sharp enough until one o'clock." The Indians about midday tried to slip around the right flank of the Virginians and get to the camp. This effort was defeated by the whites, who in turn outflanked the enemy, and forced the Indians to fall back on their entire line. They used their best men to cover their retreat but were so hard pressed that they had to leave a num- ber of their dead on the field, something very unusual for the red men to do. About one o'clock, while retreating, the Indians reached "a most advantageous spot of ground," from which, as was con- cluded by Captain Evan Shelby and the other officers, it would be very difficult and dangerous to dislodge them. This resulted in the lines of both the whites and the Indians remaining, as they were then formed, sufficiently near each other to continue the fighting; and the firing was kept up, with advantage to the white men, until sunset. During the night the Indians made a skillful retirement across the Ohio, carrying their wounded with them and throwing many of their dead into the river.
The Virginians, though greatly exhausted, and deeply grieved by the losses they had sustained of gallant officers and men, were content with the result of the battle. They enjoyed the proud satisfaction of knowing that none of their men, save poor Hickman, had been scalped by the Indians; but that the white men had taken nearly twenty scalps from their dead foes.
When a list of the casualties the Virginians had suffered in the battle was made, it was found that of the Augusta line Colonel Charles Lewis, Colonel John Field, Captain Samuel Wilson, Lieu- tenant Hugh Allen, and eighteen privates had been killed; and that Captains John Dickinson and John Skidmore, Lieutenants Samuel Vance and - - Laird, and fifty-one privates of the same line had been wounded. It was found that of the Botetourt, Bedford and Fincastle men, Captains John Murray, Robert McClannahan, James Ward, and Thomas Buford, Lieutenants Matthew Bracken,
314
History of Tazewell County
and Edward Goldman, Ensign John Cundiff, and seventeen privates were killed; and Colonel William Fleming, Lieutenant James Robin- son and thirty-five privates were wounded.
At the request of Colonel Andrew Lewis, the casualties of the battle, as above enumerated, were forwarded to Colonel William Preston by Colonel William Christian, and are, therefore, official. From this report it appears that eleven officers and thirty privates were killed, a total of forty-six. And that six officers and eighty- six privates were wounded, a total of ninety-two. Lieutenant Isaac Shelby wrote his uncle John that about forty-six were killed and about eighty were wounded. Shelby also reported that "five men that came in Daddy's Company were Killed."
There is an existing roll of Captain Shelby's company, but none of Captain Russell's. But from a daily report of the forces com- manded by Colonel Fleming the day before the battle at Point Pleasant, it appears that Shelby had 44 men fit for duty and Russell 41. The brief accounts of the engagement given by Colonel Christian and others do not tell whether any of the men from Clinch Valley were killed. These reports do show, however, that Russell's com- pany was in the engagement from the time the first volley was fired until the fight was ended, and that they were in the thickest of the fray. From available records it is shown that six men from the territory of the present Tazewell County were in the battle. They were the three Bowen brothers, William, Rees and Moses Bowen; and David Ward, Robert Cravens, and Lyles Dolsberry.
After Colonel Andrew Lewis marched from Camp Union, the troops he left at that place were joined by three more companies from Fincastle County. They were commanded, respectively, by Captains John Floyd, James Harrod, and William Herbert, which made the contingent from the county complete. The Fincastle men were so eager to participate in the Ohio campaign, that their com- mander, Colonel Christian, determined to break camp at Camp Union and follow Lewis down the Kanawha, This course was fol- lowed on the 27th of September, and, after an eight days' march, Christian with his troops arrived at Elk Creek on the 5th day of October. On the 6th day of October, he began his march from Elk Creek to the mouth of the Kanawha; and on the 10th, when about twelve or fifteen miles from Point Pleasant, he was met by scouts and informed that the army had been attacked that morning by a large body of Indians. and that the battle was still raging. There-
315
and Southwest Virginia
upon, Colonel Christian pushed on with his troops and arrived upon the scene about midnight. He got there too late for the battle; but not too late to assist in giving comfort to the wounded and suffering, and fresh hope to the men who confidently expected the conflict would be renewed the following morning.
Colonel Fleming, in a journal he kept of special incidents of the campaign, thus, in part, describes features of the battle: "The enemy wherever they met with an advantageous piece of ground in their retreat made a resolute stand, during which some of them were employed to move their dead, dying and wounded. In the afternoon they had gained such an advantageous post that it was thought imprudent to attempt to dislodge them, and firing ceased on both sides about half an hour before sunset. From this place the enemy made a final retreat and crossed the Ohio with their wounded. Some of their dead were slightly covered in the field of battle, some were dragged down and thrown into the Ohio, and others they had scalped themselves to prevent our people. Whilst this passed in the field, Colo. Lewis was fully employed in camp, in sending necessary reinforcements where wanted on the different quarters. The troops were encamped on the banks of the New River and Ohio, extending up both Rivers near a half mile. The point betwixt the rivers was full of large trees and very brushy. From the furtherest extent of the tents on both rivers, he (Colonel Lewis) eleared a line across, and with the brush and trees made a breastwork and lined it with the men that were left in camp."
An Englishman, named Smyth, who falsely claimed to have been a participant in the engagement, in writing about the battle, accused Colonel Andrew Lewis of cowardice, because he did not adopt the tactics of Braddock and Grant, rush to the front and fight the Indians in the open; and others, who were jealous of Lewis, were disposed to repeat the unjust accusation. The testimony of Colonel Fleming, and the previous and subsequent record of Andrew Lewis prove that he was one of the bravest of the brave men of his day. Roosevelt, in his "Winning Of the West," says: "It was purely a soldiers' battle, won by hard individual fighting; there was no dis- play of generalship, except on Cornstalk's part."
With all due respect for Colonel Roosevelt's aptness as a mili- tary leader, he is greatly at fault in his estimate of the management of the battle by the commander of the army and of the leadership of the officers who executed his orders. From the report of Mooney.
316
History of Tazewell County
of Russell's company, and that of the two men of Shelby's company, Lewis was uncertain as to the number of Indians that were advanc- ing for an attack, or what the nature of the attack would be. Believing that the attacking force was nothing more than a large scouting party sent across the Ohio to hold him on the south side of the river while Dunmore's division was engaged on the other side of the Ohio, he sent forward two divisions, each having one hundred and fifty picked men, to meet the advancing foe and ascertain their strength. Then, as a wise precaution, he proceeded to fortify the camp, in the manner described by Colonel Fleming; and when he found that a really large body of Indians was making the attack, he quickly sent ample reinforcements to support the two divisions that had been first dispatched to the front. He knew the character of the ground he was camping on, with its many advantages for the Indians in their well known peculiar methods of fighting; and, so knowing, he showed both excellent judgment and the skill of a trained frontiersman in the management of the battle.
That the Indians were confident they would be the victors was manifested by their conduct before they made an attack, and during the progress of the battle. When they crossed the Ohio they car- ried with them their deer skins, blankets and other kinds of goods ; and also brought along their boys and squaws. It was intended that the boys and squaws should follow the warriors as they drove the pale faces back and club the wounded whites to death; and thus help to win the fight quickly. They expected to drive the white men into the Ohio and the Kanawha ; and to prevent their escape across these rivers had placed lines of their braves on the opposite sides of the streams to shoot the whites as they attempted to cross. The courage and defiance of the Indians was beyond anything the old Indian fighters had ever witnessed. Their chiefs ran continually along the lines, exhorting their men to "lie close" and "shoot well," to "fight and be strong," while their men over the Ohio called to them to "drive the white dogs in." Cornstalk's splendid voice could be heard above the din of the conflict as he urged his comrades on to battle.
The day after the battle was fought, large ranging parties were sent out to locate the Indians. Finding that the enemy had retreated across the Ohio, the scouting parties returned to the camp. On the 12th the cattle and horses that had been dispersed and that strayed during the fight were collected. Colonel Fleming in his Orderly Book says: "This day the Scalps of the Enemy were collected and
317
and Southwest Virginia
found to be 17. They were dressed and hung upon a pole near the river bank & the plunder was collected & found to be 23 Guns 80 Blankets 27 Tomahawks with Match coats, Skins, shot pouches, powderhorns, war-clubs &c. The Tomahawks Guns & Shot pouches were sold & amounted to near 100 pounds."
On the 13th of October, the scouts or messengers that had been sent to notify Lord Dunmore of the battle and victory returned. They brought orders for Colonel Lewis to cross the Ohio and to march toward the Shawnee towns; and to join his Lordship at a certain place, afterwards known to be the Pickaway Plains. The 14th, 15th, and 16th, the men in camp were kept busily occupied finishing a storehouse, and erecting a breastwork, which latter was raised two logs high, with part of a bastion. Leaving the sick and wounded, with a sufficient force to hold and protect the camp against small bands of the enemy, Colonel Lewis crossed the Ohio on the 17th with about one thousand men, and proceeded on his way to join Dunmore and his army.
The defeat they had encountered so completely broke the spirit of the Indians that, as soon as they reached their towns, a council of the head-men and chiefs was called and held, to see if a favorable treaty could not be made with the Virginians. Cornstalk, who had, at the council which met immediately before hostilities commenced, earnestly opposed the war, at the present council as vigorously opposed making peace with the whites. He was a splendid orator, but all his eloquent appeals to his fellow-chiefs were made in vain. He urged them, if necessary, to kill all their women and children, and that they sacrifice their own lives, fighting till the last man fell, rather than yield to the Long Knives. Failing to win their consent for a continuation of the war, disgusted with their cowardice, he struck his tomahawk into the war post, and declared that he would go to Dunmore and make peace for the cravens. To this proposition, prompt and unanimous approval was given; and Cornstalk with his fellow-chiefs repaired to Dunmore's camp.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.