USA > Virginia > Washington County > Washington County > History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 > Part 6
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
march homeward, for signs of Indians was plenty & we had but lit- tle amunition but before we left the fort, we were Sworn-the words of the oath Do not remember exactly, but the Intent of the thing was not to tell that we ever heard them say that they were Chero- kees without required to swere-so left the fort and marcht till dark & took up Camp at a Plantation upon a Branch of the Little River. We continued there that night-next morning, being Tuesday the 22nd inst. we marcht from that place to Blackwater-we eat din- ner with them marcht off again Rob Joneses Plantation on the head of Pig River, and Tarryed there that night, next morning being Wednesday 23d. inst. they delayed time in the morning, and we had nothing to eat, the Company had some rum to drink, but myself and four more left the Company and went across to Goblingtown & came to Mayo Fort-that night-the Captain and the Rest of the men tells us that they came to Hickey's fort and that night and next day to Mayo fort-I remember no more worth making a remark of so Courteous Reader I Rem'n
Yrs. &., JOHN ECHOLS.
Captain Wm. Preston and Captain Wm. Byrd each organized a company of Rangers. A number of the men that enlisted under them afterwards settled in Washington county and their names were as follows :
Capt. Wm. Preston's Co.
Wm. Johnston,
Benj. Estill, George Martin, John Johnston,
Jas. Clendenen, John Vance,
Solomon Kendrick,
Christopher Ackland, Robert Rutherford.
Capt. Wm. Byrd's Co. Michal Morrison, Sergt.,
John Crank,
Thomas Brumley,
John Donnelly, Fifer,
Richard Staunton, Sergt.,
John Lemons,
Richard Chapman,
Francis Farmer,
Henry Dooley,
Drury Puckett, Sergt., John Ross.
On the 29th of July, 1756, a Council of War assembled at Staun- ton, by direction of the Governor of Virginia, to determine at what
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
points forts should be built along the frontier for the protection of the settlers.
The Council was composed of Col. John Buchanan, Samuel Stal- naker and others, of which Council Wm. Preston acted as clerk. There can be no doubt that Captain Samuel Stalnaker represented the Holston settlement and that it was at his request that the stockade fort was built at Dunkards' Bottom, on New river, and at Davis' Bottom, at the head waters of the Middle Fork of Holston river.
In the year 1757, Dickenson's Fort, situated on the Cow Pasture river, in Augusta county, was raided by the Indians, and several chil- dren, playing under the walls outside the fort, and a number of men were captured. So careless were the commanding officers that the Indians reached the very gates of the fort before they were discov- ered. At the time of this raid upon Dickenson's Fort, the Indians captured a boy who was destined in after years to play such a part in the history of Washington county as would justly entitle him to the appellation of "Father of Washington County," so intelligent and active were his efforts in the settling of our county and in the protection of its earlier inhabitants ; and this boy was Arthur Camp- bell, who had volunteered as a militiaman for the protection of the frontiers. On the day of the raid he, with others, had gone to a thicket near by in search of plums, when the party was fired upon from ambush by Indians, and Campbell was wounded and cap- tured. He was carried by the Indians to Ohio and thence to the Lakes, where he was detained for a number of years, when he suc- ceeded in making his escape to an English force and returned to his home. Upon his return he addressed a letter to the Governor of Virginia, detailing the circumstances of his capture and detention, and thereby made such an impression upon the Governor that he was afterwards granted a thousand acres of land in consideration of his services.
Governor Dinwiddie was so much in earnest about enlisting the Cherokee and other Southern Indians in the war against the French and Northern Indians, that, in the year 1756, he dispatched the Hon. Peter Randolph and Wm. Byrd to their country as commis- sioners, to negotiate formal treaties with them. The commissioners returned to Williamsburg and, either before or at that time, a treaty was made with the Indians, by which it was stipulated that the
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Indians were to send reinforcements to aid the Colonies, in consid- eration of the agreement of the Government to build a fort in their country. On the 24th day of April the Governor directed Major Andrew Lewis to enlist, sixty men who could use the saw and axe, and to proceed to the Cherokee country with all speed and erect a fort as agreed upon. Major Lewis did not start for the Indian country until June of that year, and on the 20th day of August, wrote the Governor that he might expect a reinforcement of a hun- dred and fifty Cherokees and fifty Catawba Indians at an early date.
Major Lewis, with his force, passed down the waters of the Hols- ton to the southern bank of the Tennessee river, at the head of navi- gation, about thirty miles from the present city of Knoxville. He there built a fort, which he called Fort Loudon, in honor of the Governor of Virginia. In September of that year, Major Lewis addressed another letter to the Governor of Virginia, in which he stated that the Indians were very much pleased with their fort, and that the Governor might expect a reinforcement of four hundred Indians. This letter also contained a request from the Indians that the Governor would send a small garrison of white men to hold the fort during the absence of their warriors. By the 18th day of September, 1756, Captain Samuel Overton and his men, who had accompanied Major Lewis, had returned to their homes, leaving Major Lewis in the Indian country to bring in the reinforcements.
In the fall of that year Major Lewis returned from the Chero- kee country, accompanied by seven warriors and three women, great- lv to the surprise of the Governor. The French in the meantime had bought off the Indians.
Fort Loudon was then estimated to be more than a hundred miles from the nearest settlement, was at a place at all times difficult to reach, even in times of peace, and beyond the reach of help from the settlements in the event of war with the Cherokee Indians. This fort was by order of the Earl of Loudon, then Governor of Virginia, garrisoned by two hundred troops from Britain.
The Indians allured artisans into Fort Loudon by donations of land, which they caused to be signed by their own chief and by Governor Dobbs of North Carolina. There was a rapid increase of the number of settlers, as a result, at and in the vicinity of Fort Loudon.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
In the year 1:56 the New River Lead Mines were discovered by Col. John Chiswell, at which time operations were begun.
Col. Chiswell had been engaged in mining operations near Fred- ericksburg, Va., for some time previous to this time, and was au intimate friend of Col. Wm Byrd.
About this time the lead mines were discovered, and four hun- dred acres of land, including the mines, were surveyed on October 1st, 1:81, and a patent was issued to Chas. Lynch, trustee for the led mine company, by Beverly Randolph, Governor of Virginia. on the 7th day of May. 1:91, in consideration of £3 10s. sterling. paid by Chas. Lynch, and of pre-emption Treasury warrants Nos. 2393 and 2356. As far as I can ascertain this property was owned orig- inally by Col. Wm. Byrd. Col. John Chiswell and John Robinson, afterwards Treasurer of Virginia. Col. John Chiswell, some time previous to 1115, killed a man in Cumberland county, Virginia, and while awaiting trial he committed suicide .*
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the Legislature of Virginia directed the Committee of Safety for Fincastle county to lease these mines, at a reasonable rent. and if they could not lease them, to impress them for tthe use of the State. The committee, acting according to their authority, took possession of the lead mines, whether by lease or by impressment I cannot say. and the State of Virginia. through her agents, Chas. Lynch and Capt. Calloway, operated these mines during the Revolutionary War, and paid rent therefor to the representatives of John Robinson and Wm. Byrd. and to John Chiswell, the son of Col. John Chiswell.
A considerable village had grown up around Fort Loudon by the year 1760.
British arms were successful at every point in the contest with the French and Indians in 1758-1260. Canada was conquered and the French expelled from it in 1:59, and Fort Du Quesne was cap- turned by General Forbes and the French expelled from the Ohio Valley.
The result of the expulsion of the French from Canada and the Ohio Valley proved very disastrous to the western settlements of the Southern Colonies. "The scene of action was only changed from
"Ninth Henning's Statutes, pages 73-237.
¡ Vol. 14 Call's Rep., page 17.
1 2 H. & M. Rep., page 22.
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one place to another, and the baneful influence of those active and enterprising enemies that had descended the Ohio soon manifested itself in a more concentrated form among the upper Cherokees, the interior position of whose country furnished facilities of immediate and frequent intercourse with the defeated and exasperated French- men, who now ascended the Tennessee river and penetrated to their mountain fastnesses. An unfortunate quarrel with the Virginians helped to forward their intrigues and opened an easier access into the towns of the savages. The Cherokees, as before remarked, had, agreeably to their treaties, sent a number of their warriors to assist in the reduction of Du Quesne. Returning home through the back parts of Virginia, some of them, who had lost their horses on this expedition, laid hold on such as they found running at large and appropriated them. The Virginians resented the injury by killing twelve or fourteen of the unsuspecting warriors and taking several more prisoners. This ungrateful conduct from allies, whose fron- tiers they had defended and recovered, aroused at once a spirit of deep resentment and deadly retaliation. The
. flame soon spread through the upper towns. The garrison at Fort Loudon, consisting of about two hundred men under the command of Captains Demere and Stuart, was, from its remote position from the white settlements, the first to notice the disaffection and to suffer from it. The soldiers, as usual, making excursions into the woods to procure fresh provisions, were attacked by them and some of them killed. From this time such dangers threatened the garrison that every one was confined within the small boundary of the fort."
"All communication with the settlements across the mountains from which they received supplies was cut off, and the soldiers, having no other sources from which provision could be procured, had no prospect left them but famine or death. Par- ties of the young warriors rushed down upon the frontier settle- ments, and the work of massacre became general along the borders of Virginia and North Carolina."*
The Governor of North Carolina undertook to pacify the Indians, and negotiated a treaty with six of their head men, but this treaty did not express the sentiments of the Indians and they paid no attention to it.
Numerous companies of Rangers were organized to patrol the
*Haywood.
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frontiers and punish the Indians for any depredations they might commit, and every means was exhausted to bring about peace, but the Indians were not disposed to listen to any terms of accommo- dation and continued their depredations wherever and whenever possible.
The Governor of Virginia directed Col. William Byrd to proceed to Fort Loudon with a body of backwoodsmen from Virginia, num- bering about six hundred men, and to relieve the garrison. Col. Byrd organized his force and began the march, but was greatly hampered by lack of men and supplies.
Notwithstanding the fact that Col. Byrd was an experienced cam- paigner, he occupied most of his time in building block-houses and roads, and accomplished nothing in the way of relieving Fort Lou- don.
He crossed New river to the lead mines and immediately pro- ceeded to build a fort about two miles south of the present site of Max Meadows on the MeAdam road near the home of James Mc- Gavock, to which he gave the name of Fort Chiswell, in honor of his friend, Col. John Chiswell, who was at that time working the lead mines which had been discovered some time previously.
From Fort Chiswell Col. Byrd marched to the Long Island in the South Fork of Holston river, opening a road from Fort Chiswell to Long Island.
At this point, Col. Byrd and his men spent the winter of 160. During the winter Col. Byrd erected a fort upon a beautiful level on the north bank of the South Fork of the Holston river, nearly oppo- site the upper end of Long Island, to which fort he gave the name of Fort Robinson, in honor of John Robinson, the partner of him- self and Col. John Chiswell in the ownership of the lead mines. This fort was built upon an extensive plan. The walls were sutli- cient in thickness to withstand the force of a small cannon shot. There were proper bastions, and the gates were spiked with large nails so that the wood was entirely covered .*
At the time this fort was built, it was supposed that the Long Island was in Virginia, the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina not having been run farther west than Steep Rock.
And thus to Virginians may be assigned the honor of having
*Fort Patrick Henry, 1:76.
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erected Fort Loudon and Fort Robinson, the first Anglo-American forts within the present State of Tennessee.
While engaged in building Fort Robinson Col. Byrd was joined by five hundred men from North Carolina under the command of Col. Waddell.
As a result of the course pursued by Col. Byrd, great dissatisfac- tion arose among his men, and Col. Byrd resigned, and was suc- ceeded in the command of the force, now numbering about twelve hundred men, by Col. Stephens.
In the meantime, the distant garrison at Fort Loudon, consist- ing of two hundred men, was reduced to the dreadful alternative of perishing by hunger or submitting to the mercy of the enraged Cherokees. The Governor of South Carolina, hearing that the Vir- ginians had undertaken to relieve it, for awhile seemed satisfied and anxiously waited to hear the news of that happy event, but so remote was the fort from any settlement and so difficult was it to march an army through a barren wilderness, where every thicket con- cealed an enemy, and to carry, at the same time, sufficient supplies along with them, that the Virginians had not succeeded in giving them assistance. Provisions being entirely exhausted at Fort Lou- don, the garrison was upon the point of starving. For a whole month they had no other subsistence than the flesh of lean horses and dogs and a small supply of Indian beans, procured stealthily for them by some friendly Cherokee women. The officers had long en- deavored to encourage the men with the hope of succour ; but now, being blockaded night and day by the enemy and having no resource left, they threatened to leave the fort and die at once by the hands of the savages, rather than perish slowly by famine. In this extrem- ity the commander was obliged to call a council of war to consider what was proper to be done. The officers were all of the opinion that it was impossible to hold out longer. They therefore agreed to surrender the fort to the Cherokees on the best terms that could be obtained from them. For this purpose, Capt. Stuart, an officer of great sagacity and address and much beloved by those of the Indians who remained in the British interest, procured leave to go to-Chota. one of the principal towns in the neighborhood, where he obtained the following terms of capitulation, which were signed by the com- manding officers and two of the Cherokee chiefs.
"That the garrison of Fort Loudon march out with their arms
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
and drums, each soldier having as much powder and ball as his officer shall think necessary for the march, and all the baggage he may choose to carry ; that the garrison be permitted to march, unmolested. to Virginia or Fort Prince George, as the commanding officer shall think proper, and that a number of Indians be appointed to escort them and hunt for provisions during the march; that such sol- diers as are lame, or by sickness disabled from marching, be received into the Indian towns and kindly used until they recover, and then be allowed to return to Fort Prince George: that the Indians do provide for the garrison as many horses as they conveniently can for the march, agreeing with the officers and soldiers for payment ; that the fort, great guns, powder, ball and spare arms be delivered to the Indians without fraud or further delay, on the day appointed for the march of the troops .*
"Agreeably to this stipulation. the garrison delivered up the fort and marched out with their arms, accompanied by Oconostota, Judds' friend, the Prince of Chota. and several other Indians, and that day went fifteen miles on their way to Fort Prince George.
At night they encamped upon a plain about two miles from Tali- quo, an Indian town, when all their attendants, upon one pretext or another, left them : which the officers considered as no good sign, and therefore placed a strict guard around their camp. During the night they remained unmolested, but next morning about break of day a soldier from an outpost came running in and informed them that he saw a number of Indians, armed and painted in the most dreadful manner, creeping among the bushes and advancing in order to surround them. Scarcely had the officer time to order his men to stand to their arms, when the savages poured in upon them a heavy fire from different quarters, accompanied by the most hideous yells, which struck a panic into the soldiers, who were so much en- feebled and dispirited that they were incapable of making any effect- ual resistance. Captain Demere, with three other officers and about twenty-six privates, fell at the first onset. Some fled into the woods and were afterwards taken prisoners and confined among the towns in the valley. Captain Stuart and those that remained were seized. pinioned and brought back to Fort Loudon. No sooner had Attakul- lakulla heard that his friend, Mr. Stuart. had escaped, than he has- tened to the fort and purchased him from the Indian that took him,
*Haywood.
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giving him his rifle, clothes and all he could command by way of ransom. He then took possession of Capt. Demere's house, where he kept his prisoner as one of his family and freely shared with him the little provisions his table afforded, until a fair oppor- tunity should offer for rescuing him from the hands of the savages, but the poor soldiers were kept in a miserable state of captivity for some time and then redeemed by the province at great expense.
"While the prisoners were confined at Fort Loudon, Oconostota formed the design of attacking Fort Prince George. To this bold undertaking he was the more encouraged, as the cannon and am- munition surrendered by the garrison would, under direction of French officers who were near him, secure its success. Messengers were therefore dispatched to the valley towns requesting their war- riors to meet him at Stickoee.
"By accident, discovery was made of ten bags of powder and a large quantity of ball, that had been secretly buried at the fort to pre- vent their falling into the enemy's hands. This discovery had nearly proved fatal to Captain Stuart; but the interpreter had such presence of mind as to assure the incensed savages that these warlike stores were concealed without Stuart's knowledge or consent. The sup- ply of ammunition being sufficient for the siege, a council was held at Chota, to which the captive Stuart was taken. Here he was re- minded of the obligations he was under for having his life spared, and as they had determined to take six cannon and two cohorts against Fort Prince George, the Indians told him he must accom- pany the expedition, manage the artillery and write such letters to the commandant as they should dictate to him. They further in- formed him that if the officer should refuse to surrender, they had determined to burn the prisoners, one by one, before his face and try whether he could be so obstinate as to hold out while his friends were expiring in the flames.
"Captain Stuart was much alarmed at his present situation and from that moment resolved to make his escape or perish in the attempt. He privately communicated his design to Attakullakulla and told him that the thought of bearing arms against his country- men harrowed his feelings, and he invoked his assistance to accom- plish his release. The old warrior took him by the hand, told him he was his friend and was fully apprised of the designs of his country- men, and pledged his efforts to deliver him from danger. Attakulla-
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kulla claimed Captain Stuart as his prisoner and resorted to strata- gem to rescue him. He told the other Indians that he intended to go a hunting for a few days and to take his prisoner with him. Accordingly they departed, accompanied by the warrior's wife, his brother and two soldiers. The distance to the frontier settlements was great and the utmost expedition was necessary to prevent sur- prise from Indians pursuing them. Nine days and nights did they travel through a dreary wilderness, shaping their course by the sun and moon, for Virginia. On the tenth they arrived at the banks of the Holston river, where they fortunately fell in with a party of three hundred men, sent out under the command of Col. Byrd for the relief of Fort Loudon. On the fourteenth day the Captain reached Col. Byrd's camp on the frontiers of Virginia. His faithful friend Attakullakulla was here loaded with presents and provisions and sent back to protect the unhappy prisoners till they should be ran- somed and to exert his influence with the Cherokees for the restora- tion of peace."*
It will be observed that Fort Loudon was defended by twelve great guns. It cannot be explained how the cannon had been transported to Fort Loudon as early as 1756. They could not have been brought down the Ohio and up the Tennessee, for the French were in pos- session of the mouth of the Tennessee. The only plausible ex- planation that can be given is that these cannon were carried across the mountains from Augusta county when reinforcements were sent to Fort Loudon, and then along Indian trails upon pack horses. It is possible that these cannon were brought from Fort Lewis to the head waters of the Holston and carried down the same in boats or canoes to the mouth of the Holston, and thence up the Little Ten- nessee to Fort Loudon.
It is sad to contemplate the fate of the occupants of this the first Anglo-American fort established in Tennessee.
It does not appear that the fort at Long Island was permanently occupied at this time. About this time, large numbers of hunters from Eastern Virginia, allured by the report of the abundance of game and the prospect of gain in the western wilderness, organized themselves into companies, and hunted throughout Southwest Vir- ginia, East Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky.
The first company of hunters who visited this section, as far as
*Haywood.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
I can ascertain, was a company organized by Elisha Wallen (from whom Wallen's Creek and Wallen's Ridge received their names, as well as Wallen's Station in Lee county), accompanied by Scaggs, Blevins, Cox and others. They remained eighteen months, during which time they hunted in Clinch and Powell's Valleys in Virginia, and Carter's Valley in Tennessee, and went as far as Laurel moun- tain in Kentucky.
About the same time Daniel Boone, accompanied by several hunt- ers, visited the Holston and camped the first night in what is now known as Taylor's Valley. On the succeeding day, they hunted down the South Fork of Holston river and traveled thence to what was thereafter known as Wolf' Hills, where they encamped the second night, near where Black's Fort was afterwards built. It is interest- ing to note at this point that Daniel Boone and his companion, im- mediately after nightfall, were troubled by the appearance of great numbers of wolves, which assailed their dogs with such fury that it was with great difficulty that the hunters succeeded in repelling their attacks and saving the lives of their dogs, a number of which were killed or badly crippled by the wolves. The wolves had their home in the cove that underlies the town of Abingdon. The entrance to this cave is upon the lot now occupied by the residence of Capt. James L. White, and it was from this incident that Abingdon re- ceived its first name, Wolf Hills. Boone and his companion re- mained at Abingdon for a short while, during which time they dis- agreed and separated, Boone taking the Indian trail leading to Long Island, and Nathaniel Gist, his companion, following the Indian trail to Cumberland Gap. They did not meet again upon this trip.
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