The Seven Original Forts
The actual
military
defense of Virginia's extreme western frontier did not begin, on a
large
scale, until the spring prior to the outbreak of Dunmore's War in the
fall
of 1774, more commonly referred to by historians as the
Point Pleasant Campaign.
It has been
stated
by some writers that not a single palisaded fort existed along the
Clinch
frontier until after the circulation of Lord Dunmore's order requesting
that such be built. Those making these statements used the argument
that
after the end of the French and Indian War that peace existed and there
was no need of palisaded forts. It is probably quite true that prior to
1774 there were no real palisaded forts, the inhabitants depending on
strongly
built fort-houses with port holes for warding off surprise Indian
attacks.
Some of these still stand today, such as the old Osborne house in Lower
Castlewood and the Dickenson house on Clinch River north of
Castlewood.
However, those who aver that prior to 1774 peace existed between the
Indians
and whites need to review their frontier history.
Admittedly
peace
did exist on paper as the treaty of Fort Stanwix and Lochaber prove,
but
a paper peace meant little to many of the savages who probably had
never
heard of it, or to those who did not concur with it in
the first place. Consider the killing
of
Boone's party on Wallen's Creek on October 10, 1773, almost a year
prior
to Dunmore's circular letter regarding the erection of forts.
John
McCulloch,
whose father Thomas McCulloch had settled on Moccasin Creek in 1769,
states
that in June 1771 all of Moccasin Creek was evacuated for fear of
Indians
and remained so for more than a year. (1)
On June 30,
1773,
Colonel Evan Shelby had a roster of 71 militiamen. (2) Captain William
Russell also had four Indian scouts on patrol on the 15th of April,
1774,
(3) two months prior to Dunmore's request for forts, and again in 1773,
Colonel Evan Shelby lists a group of four scouts on Clinch River, among
whom was William Moore of Moore's Fort. Does it not seem strange to
aver
that peace existed when we see a contingent of 71 militiamen, scouts on
patrol and the massacre of five people on Wallen's Creek?
There were
seven
of the original forts erected in compliance with Lord Dunmore's order,
four on the lower Clinch under Captain William Russell's militia
command,
and three on the upper Clinch under the militia command of Captain
Daniel
Smith. These forts were erected by the local militia under the
supervision
of Colonel William Christian who had been sent out to the frontier by
Colonel
William Preston who was militia commandant for the area.
When Captain
Russell
received Lord Dunmore's orders for building forts it happened to be
muster
day for the militia in Cassells Woods, and he immediately, on June 25,
1774, laid the facts before his constituents and
informed Colonel Preston of their
actions
on June 26, 1774, (4) saying:
"My company
yesterday
voted two (2) forts to be immediately built, I think in as convenient a
place as we can get, and we shall immediately began to build them."
Two weeks
later,
on July 13, 1774, Captain Russell again wrote to Colonel Preston the
following
letter showing that his people had changed their minds about the number
of forts to be built and states that the forts had already been erected:
"Since I wrote
you
last, the inhabitants of this river have altered the plan for two forts
only, on this river, below Elk Garden, and have erected three; one in
Cassell's
Woods which I call Fort Preston; a second ten miles above which I call
Fort Christian; the third, five miles below the first, which I call
Fort
Byrd, and there are four families at John Blackmores near the mouth of
Stoney Creek, that will never be able to stand alone without a company
of men. Therefore, request you, if you think it can be done, to order
them
a supply sufficient to enable
them to continue the small
fortification
they have begun." (5)
None of the
names
given to the forts by Captain Russell to enhance his military status
caught
the fancy of the settlers and were never used by them. This is
understandable
since Colonels Christian and Preston both lived near present day
Blacksburg,
and Colonel William Byrd lived far away at Westover on the James.
Fort Preston
The fort
that Russell
named Fort Preston was on the lands of David Cowan in upper Castlewood,
and stood just back of the present Masonic Lodge Hall. It was called
Russell's
Fort by some because it was here that Captain Russell had his military
headquarters and used the fort also for personal shelter. It is also,
sometimes
referred to as Cowan's Fort and later Charles Bickley bought the Cowan
land and it is then called Bickley's Fort. A fort in this area was also
called Bush's Fort and is probably this same fort, but some contend
otherwise.
Russell's
Fort,
or Fort Preston was perhaps a much smaller fort than Moore's or
Blackmore's,
and is mentioned in pension statements less often. It was attacked on
more
than one occasion by Indians, and it was at this fort that Ann Bush
Neece
was tomahawked, scalped and survived. It continued in use until the
cessation
of
Indian hostilities.
Fort Christian
Fort
Christian, better
known as Glade Hollow Fort lies between Dickensonville and Lebanon on
Cedar
Creek. It is hard to determine just who owned the land when the fort
was
erected in 1774, as no one had deeds to
lands prior to the sitting of the
Commissioners
in 1781, only warrants, and these warrants changed hands and were
assigned
many times to others before actual recording took place. Some available
data indicates that the land may
have been in possession of one James
Smith
who seems to disappear from the records after 1777. This assumption is
based upon letters written by Colonel William Christian and Arthur
Campbell,
the former being on the Clinch at
this time supervising the erection of
the
forts.
On July 12,
1774,
the day before Captain Russell wrote to Colonel Preston giving the
names
of the forts, Christian wrote to Preston, heading his letter "Captain's
Russell's Fort", and saying:
"There are
four
(4) forts erecting on the Clinch in Captain Russell's company, one at
Moore's
four miles below this; another at Blackmore's sixteen miles down; and
one
at Smith's twelve miles above this place. I am about to station 10 men
at Blackmore's and 10 here. Captain Russell thinks this will do as the
other forts are very strong and well supplied with men." (6)
Arthur
Campbell
in a letter relating to Elk Garden and Glade Hollow Forts, states:
"I give no
orders
regarding Elk Garden and Glade Hollow, only that I would write you so
and
so. I believe a wiser head that yours or mine put together would not
please
Jemmy Smith." (7)
These two
letters
seem to indicate that James Smith had something to do with Glade Hollow
Fort, and since he was not a militia officer it must have meant
possession
of the land.
In 1777,
Robert
Dale settled on a tract of land on Big Cedar Creek in Glade Hollow and
obtained a patent warrant for the same. This may be the land upon which
the fort stood and which James Smith was residing at an earlier date.
John
Carr, who was born on Carr's Creek in 1773 refers to Dale's Fort on the
Clinch, which was surely a reference to the Glade Hollow Fort. (8)
Tradition says
that
after the cessation of Indian hostilities the old Glade Hollow Fort was
converted into a church known as the Glade Hollow church. That a church
did exist here is shown in Semple's "Baptist in Virginia", Table of
Holston
Baptist Association, page 358, which reads: "The Glade Hollow church
was
planted by T. Burgess and S. Goodwin in 1788."
"There were
baptist
churches in this district at a much earlier date but they were broken
up
by the Indian wars." (Do, page 360)
"The glade
Hollow
was taken off from Clinch River church, which is one of the two old
churches
mentioned above as broken up by the war. A few members returning after
the war, the church was reconstituted."
(Do, page 361)
Tradition
states
that Squire Boone, the brother of Daniel, preached in the Clinch River
church at Castlewood. If this is true then the church was active
between
1773 and 1775, which period covered Squire Boone's stay on the Clinch.
Moore's Fort
Russell's
Fort Byrd
was located in lower Cassell's Woods on the road leading to Dungannon,
and is now owned by W. S. Banner and known as the "Sally Meade" place.
This fort was built upon the land of William Moore, who along with his
brother, Joseph, settled in Castlewood in 1769, hence the name Moore's
Fort. The Moore Brothers assigned their land warrants to Captain John
Snoddy
when they left the Clinch and since Captain Snoddy was a militia
officer
and at times was in command of Moore's Fort, as well as owning it, it
was
sometimes
called Snoddy's Fort. Moore's Fort was
the
largest and most widely known of the Clinch chain of forts.
No description
has
been left of the size or shape of Moore's Fort, but we know it had two
gates, a front and back one, with the front gate opening toward the
spring
which one may still see by visiting the spot. This was the fort that
sheltered
Daniel Boone and his family after their return to the Clinch in 1773
when
Boone's son and others were killed by the Indians on Wallen's Creek in
his first attempt at a Kentucky settlement. By petition of the people
of
Blackmore's Fort, Daniel Boone was placed in command of Moore's and
Blackmore's
Forts in 1774 as a Captain of militia and continued in command of them
until he went to Kentucky in the spring of 1775 to found Boonesboro.
While
living on Clinch a son was born to Daniel and Rebecca Boone, whose name
was William, and
who died soon after birth and lies in
an
unmarked grave in the old Moore's Fort cemetery on the brow of a hill
overlooking
the fort and Clinch River.
An amusing
story
is told of the Boone family while they were living in Moore's Fort by
Mrs.
Samuel Scott of Jessamine County, Kentucky, who was also at the time
living
in the fort. Mrs. Scott says the men had become very careless in
guarding
the fort, lounging outside the gates, playing ball and in general lax
in
their duties. One day Mrs. Boone, her daughter, Mrs. Hannah Carr and
some
of the other ladies loaded their guns lightly, went out from the fort,
shut the gates and shot their guns off in rapid succession like the
Indians.
The men all scrambled for the fort, but finding the gates shut none
could
get in, but one young man who managed to climb over the stockade wall.
So great was their consternation that some of the men ran right through
the pond in front of the fort. After they were finally let in the gates
Mrs. Scott says the men were so mad some of them wanted to have the
women
whipped. (9)
We learn from
the
pension statement of James Fraley that Moore's Fort must have been
large
- perhaps the largest fort on the frontier. He says that there was
continuously
some 20 families in the fort, with 20 or 25 men out on patrol as Indian
Spys. Considering the large size of pioneer families, plus the militia
assigned to protect the fort it surely must have sheltered from one
hundred
and fifty to two hundred people, and it would have taken a large
stockade
to quarter and shelter this number of people. (10)
Moore's Fort
was
attacked many times by Indians, and many settlers and militiamen were
killed
in and around the fort.
Blackmore's Fort
This is the
"small
fortification" that Captain Russell wrote Preston was being built at
Blackmore's
at the mouth of Stony Creek, but which in time grew to be the second
most
important fort on the frontier. Built on the lands of Captain John
Blackmore,
who along with his brother Joseph had come from Fauquier County,
Virginia,
with their families to carve out homes in the wilderness in the year
1772.
Being more
exposed
it was attacked by Indians more often than Moore's, and many people
were
killed and captured in and around this fort. The fort stood on the
north
side of the Clinch, just outside the village of Fort Blackmore. It was
to Blackmore's that all the people came when the forts in Powell Valley
were evacuated in 1776, just prior to the outbreak of the Cherokee War,
as did the people from Rye Cove Fort. It must have been of large
proportions,
but no one has left any known description of this fort. According to
Samuel
Alley who was born in sight of the fort in the year 1801, it was torn
down
and no vestige of it remained in 1887, when he paid a visit to his old
home and found the ground where the old fort stood being tended in
corn.
However, nearby stood an apple
tree planted by his father which to
that
day was known as the "John Alley Apple Tree." (11)
Across the
road
in a fringe of trees and brush, and slightly northeast of where the old
fort stood is the old fort graveyard, with rows of small, uncut stones
marking the final resting place of those who died from either the
stroke
of disease or tomahawk in the long ago.
Always known
as
Blackmore's Fort, the village today, almost two centuries later still
bears
the name except in the reverse order of Fort Blackmore.
The Forts on the Upper Clinch River
Of the
seven original
forts built by order of Lord Dunmore, the last Colonial Governor of
Virginia,
three were located on the upper Clinch River and were under the
military
command of Captain Daniel Smith. Of these three, perhaps the most noted
and possibly the largest was
Elk Garden Fort
This fort
was located
just south of State Route 19, on land now owned by the Stuart Land and
Cattle Company, and in the general vicinity of the Elk Garden Methodist
Church. Just who owned the land on which the old fort stood has not
been
ascertained, but those owning land in the immediate vicinity of the
fort
was Captain John Dunkin, Captain John Kinkead, Richard Price and
Solomon
Litton. That it was a stockaded fort is beyond question, but as to its
size and shape nothing is known.
No record has
been
found of an actual Indian assault directly upon the Elk Garden Fort
though
it is very possible there was such, as many people were killed and
captured
in the elk Garden section from 1774 to the end of Indian depredations
which
ceased with the slaying of the half-breed Chief Benge in 1794. The fort
was manned throughout this period by militia.
Andrew Lynam
who
filed his pension application in Bath County, Kentucky in 1834, says:
"In 1776, I
entered
the service under Captain John Kinkead and marched immediately to a
station
called Elk Garden, and as the object of our service was to keep down
the
Indians, we were put to repairing and fixing up the Station."
The statement
of
Lynam shows that although the fort was only two years old it was in
need
of repair, which shows that green logs embedded in earth as a stockade
soon rot and no doubt, the stockades had to be repaired and rotten logs
replaced frequently, as well as repair to the cabins and buildings
inside
the stockades.
Witten's Fort
The second
fort under
Captain Daniel Smith's command was Witten's Fort, also sometimes called
"Witten's Crab Orchard" and the "Upper Station." This fort was the home
of William Witten and was located not far from the county seat town of
Tazewell. It has been restored, less the stockade, as a tourist
attraction
alongside State Route 19, near Tazewell.
Apparently
from
all available records we must come to the conclusion that Witten's Fort
was a small affair, as the militia complement stationed to defend the
fort
was usually a small force, despite the fact that it was wide open to
the
Sandy War Passes.
In the pension
application
of James Elkins, filed in Clarke County, Kentucky in 1832, he makes
this
statement:
"The next tour
of
duty was an "old" Mr. William Witten's Fort on a tour of three months
in
the fall of 1777, from Russell County, Virginia, under Captain Thomas
Maxwell
as a volunteer. On this tour we ranged the country, but the principal
part
of our time we were guarding the above fort."
Maiden Springs Station
The third
fort under
Captain Daniel Smith's command was the Maiden Springs Station located
on
the Maiden Spring branch of Clinch River, and was the home of Rees
Bowen.
No description has been found as to the construction details or size of
this fort. There is no account that it ever came under a direct assault
by the Indians, but it did remain one of the frontier defense bastions
throughout the troubled Indian days.
Rees Bowen was
born
in Maryland in 1742. He fought in the Point Pleasant Campaign in 1774,
and went to the relief of the Kentucky Stations in 1778. During the
illness
of his brother, Captain William Bowen, he succeeded as Lieutenant to
his
brother's command at the Battle of King's Mountain and was shot dead by
a Tory from behind a baggage wagon.
Thus is
completed
the description of the seven original forts built on the Clinch
frontier.
It may be of interest to the reader to know who manned and protected
these
forts and the frontier during the well documented period of Dunmore's
War,
as militia rosters have been preserved of the first men to man these
forts
immediately after their construction.
The rosters
first
lists the forts, distance from each, and the name of the officer in
charge
and the number of men assigned.
Blackmore's
Fort
- 16 Men - Sergeant Moor, Officer in Charge
Moore's Fort -
20
men - 20 miles - Boone (Daniel), Officer in Charge
Russell's Fort
-
20 men - 4 miles - W. Poage, Sergeant, Officer in Charge
Glade Hollow
Fort
- 15 men - 12 miles - John Dunkin, Sergeant, Officer in Charge
Elk Garden
Fort
- 18 men - 14 miles - John Kinkead, Sergeant, Officer in Charge
Maiden Spring
Fort
- 5 men - 23 miles - Joseph Cravens, Sergeant - Officer in Charge
Witten's Big
Crab
Orchard - 3 men - 12 miles - Ensign (John) Campbell
This list is
dated
6 October 1774. (Draper Mss 3 QQ 116)
At the Elk
Garden
Fort - 13 August to 18 November, 1774
James
Anderson,
Robert Breeze, Robert Donnelson, Thomas Donnelson, Ben Jones, David
Kincaid,
John Kincaid, Sergeant, James Laughlin, John Lewis, Henry Mannadue,
Richard
Price, Thomas Price, David Priest, Samuel Priest, William Priest (later
killed by Indians), Ericus Smith.
At the
Glade Hollow
Fort - 29 August to 6 November, 1774
Jeremiah Able,
William
Bustar(d), Richard Byrd, Isaac Chrisman (killed by Indians Rye Cove
1776),
Abraham Cooper, Francis Cooper, James Coyle (killed by Indians 1780),
John
Dunkin, Sergeant (Captured by Indians 1780, released 1783), William
Ferrell
(Killed by Indians), Joseph Horne, Solomon Litton (prisoner of Indians
1780-1783), James McCarty, Henley Moore, Ensign, James Price, Drury
Puckett,
Archibald Scott (killed by Indians 1785), James Scott, Richard
Thompson,
William Wilmoth, Archibald Woods.
At the
Maiden Springs
Fort - August to November 1774
Rees Bowen
(killed
by King's Mountain), Robert Brown, Sergeant, Thomas Bromley, James
Cravens,
John Cravens, Joseph Cravens (Sergeant from 22nd September), Robert
Cravens,
James Douglas, John Flintham, Samuel Fowler, John Jamison, Andrew
Lammey,
James McElhenny, John Newland, Samuel Paxton, James Rogers (Draper Mss
6 XX 106), David Ward, Henry Willis
At Big Crab
Orchard
(also called Maxwell's Mills and Witten's Fort - First Listing August
to
October 1774
Levi Bishop,
Andrew
Branshead, William Brompson, David Bustar(d), John Campbell, Ensign,
John
Crawford, Samuel Doack, George Daugherty, James Edwards, James Fullen,
Michael Glaves, Alexander Grant, John Grinnup, Francis Hambleton,
Isaiah
Hamilton, John Hamilton, Alexander Henderson, Francis Hines, James
Mitchell,
Robert Moffett, Thomas Potter, Benjamin Redford, Edward Sharp, Isaac
Spratt,
Sergeant, Andrew Steel, George Vaut, Thomas Whitten, Sr., Sergeant,
Thomas
Whitten, Jr., John Williams, Roland Williams (Draper Mss 9 DD 2)
At the Big
Crab Orchard
Fort - October to November 1774
Christian
Bergeman,
Richard Breeze, Robert Brown, Phillip Dutton, Johnathan Edwards, Daniel
Henderson, Thomas Jones, Jacob Kinder, Peter Kinder, William King,
William
Lashley, Thomas Meads, William Pharis (Ferris), Michael Razor, Thomas
Rogers,
Jeremiah Whitten (Draper Mxx 6 XX 106)
Strength of
the Upper
Clinch Stations at the End of October, 1774
At Elk Garden
-
1 Sergeant, 15 men
At Fort
Christian
- 1 Ensign, 1 Sergeant, 15 men
At Maiden
Springs
- Brown & Cravens (Sergeants) and 15 men
At Whitten's
Fort
- 1 Ensign, Sergeants Spratt & Whitten, and 44 men.
Total men and
officers
- 97 (Draper Mss 5 XX 2)
Indian
Scouts on
the Clinch in Early 1774
Ephraim Drake,
William
Herrell, Edward Sharpe, Richard Stanton. Sent out by Captain William
Russell
as Scouts, 15 April 1774. (Draper Mss 3 QQ 18)
Scouts
Listed by
Captain Daniel Smith on Clinch - August to October, 1774
Rees Bowen,
William
Bowen, William Crabtree, Robert Davis, James Fowler, Samuel Hays, John
Kinkead (17 days), Thomas Maxwell (10 days), William Priest (7 days),
John
Sharp (7 days), David Ward. (Draper Mss XX 2)
Roster of
Troops
Under Captain Daniel Smith (perhaps Maiden Springs 4 October 1774)
Thomas
Boylston,
Robert Brown, Saul Cecil, Israel Harman, Vincent Hobbs, William McAdoo,
William Magee, Thomas Maxwell, Holton Munsey, Samuel Munsey, James
Myers
(Marrs), John Myers (Marrs), David Patton, Thomas Shannon, John Smith,
Joseph Turner (Draper Mss QQ 114)
While Fort
Christian
(Glade Hollow) was erected in Captain William Russell's command
originally,
it seems later to have been transferred to the command of Captain
Daniel
Smith.
No list for
the
Forts in Russell's Command in 1774 have been found, which were
Blackmore's,
Moore's and Russell's Forts. A later list has been uncovered for
Moore's
Fort, which is given below.
List of
Troops at
Moore's Fort - June 30, 1777 (Draper Mss 1 XX 20 and 1 XX 24)
Patrick
Porter,
Sergeant, Lewis Green, Jr., Robert Kilgore, James Alley, Charles
Kilgore,
Samuel Alley, John Montgomery, Samuel Porter, Zachariah Green, John
Alley,
Alexander Montgomery, Sr., Alexander Montgomery, Jr., Andrew Cowan,
Frederick
Friley, John Kinkead, John Barksdale, James Ozburn (Osborne),
Thomas Osborne, Nehemiah Noe.
Daniel Smith's Fort
Some 16
miles north
of Lebanon, on Highway Number 19, on Indian Creek in upper Russell
County,
is a
State Highway Historical Marker, which
bears
this inscription:
"Near here in
1774,
stood Daniel Smith's Fort, also known as Fort Christian. The fort was
named
for Smith who was a surveyor and Captain of militia on the upper
Clinch."
To prove that
this
marker has an error, I herewith quote two letters written at the very
time
these forts were being built on the Clinch frontier. The first of these
letters was written by Captain William Russell, who was in command of
the
forts on the lower Clinch below Elk Garden. Russell's letter is dated
July
13, 1774, and written to his superior military officer, Colonel William
Preston, and reads:
"Since I wrote
you
last the inhabitants of this river have altered the plan for two forts
only, on this river below Elk Garden, and have erected three; one in
Cassell's
Woods which I call Fort Preston; a second ten miles above which I call
Fort Christian; the third five miles below the first which I call Fort
Byrd..." (12)
Colonel
William
Christian, the same man for whom Fort Christian was named was in
Cassell's
Woods at this very time supervising the construction of the forts,
having
been sent to do so by Colonel William Preston. On July 12, 1774,
Colonel
Christian wrote to Preston, heading his letter up "Captain Russell's
Fort"
in which he writes:
"There are
four
forts erecting on the Clinch in Captain Russell's company; one at
Moore's
four miles below this; another at Blackmore's sixteen miles down; and
one
a Smith's, twelve miles above this place." (13)
Captain
Russell
says that Fort Christian was ten miles above Castlewood; and Colonel
Christian
says it was at Smith's twelve mile above. These distances from
Castlewood
puts the location of the fort on Big Cedar Creek in Glade Hollow and it
can be none other than the Glade Hollow Fort, so Glade Hollow Fort and
Fort
Christian were one and the same.
It will be
remembered
that at the time of the erection of these forts that Fort Christian was
in Captain Russell's company below Elk Garden and it is not likely that
Russell would have had the audacity to name Daniel Smith's very own
fort
over which he had no military authority whatsoever.
It is
approximately
40 miles from Russell's Fort in Castlewood to the site of Smith's Fort
at Indian Creek, north of Lebanon, and this certainly does not agree
with
the distance given by both Russell and Christian from the Castlewood
Fort
to Fort Christian.
Some say that
near
Belfast stood Smith's Fort built in 1774 by Capt. Daniel Smith, and
that
after Daniel left the Clinch it became the fort of his brother Colonel
Henry Smith who lived at Clifton in upper Russell County.
This may be true as Colonel Henry Smith
became
militia commandant for Russell County after its formation in 1786, but
it either event it certainly must have been a "family fort" defended by
its occupants, as no record has been found to prove that it was manned
by State Militia and no know Revolutionary War soldier who has left a
pension
statement says he served in Smith's Fort.
There is only
one
document that might suggest that Smith had a fort on Indian Creek, and
that is a letter written by Col. Arthur Campbell to Colonel William
Preston,
dated September 9, 1774, in which he states:
"Yesterday
morning
early, one John Henry was dangerously wounded upon Clinch, about four
miles
from Captain Smith's Station. I have sent out orders to this, and the
next
company on the Holston for all the men that have arms and ammunition to
assemble tomorrow in order to patrol a few days in the Rich Valley, and
some of the best hands to go over and see what has become of Captain
Smith,
as he is very weak at his own station, having only eight (8) men the
last
account." (14)
Campbell's
letter
does lead one to believe that Captain Smith had a fort at his home on
Indian
Creek, but why was it not mentioned in the military correspondence of
1774,
and why were no militia troops assigned to defend it? There can be only
one answer and that is, that it was a family fort as previously
suggested
and then the question arises, was it a stockaded fort, or only a
forthouse?
Other Forts on the Clinch
New Garden Station
In the
beautiful
New Garden section of Russell County, Virginia, on the south side of
the
Clinch was another very early fort called the New Garden Station. This
is another the historians have passed by and no historical marker
denotes
its existence, even the people now living in the area are unaware that
fort ever existed there. This section of Russell County was settled
very
early, in fact as early as 1769, and upon whose land and when the fort
was built it not known.
Certainly it
can
be proven that the fort stood upon Thompson's Creek, from this entry in
Washington County, Virginia, Land Entry Book, dated August 20, 1780,
which
reads:
"We the
commissioners,
etc...do certify that Israel Christian is entitled to 100 acres of land
near the New Garden Fort, on the north side of Clinch River, on the
waters
of Thompson's Creek."
The New Garden
Station
may have been built as early as 1774 and manned by the settlers in
proximity
to it. Certainly there is no militia list for it as this early date,
and
neither is it listed as one of the garrisoned forts under Captain
Daniel
Smith's command at this time.
Settlers of
the
New Garden section would have been at the complete mercy of the Shawnee
entering through the Sandy war passes, and sanctuary in either the Elk
Garden or Castlewood Fort would have been miles away. Considering these
conditions and the very early settlement of the area it seems that an
early
fort would have been a most urgent necessity of the settlers.
Both Andrew
Lynam
and George Huffaker in their pension applications say they served at
this
fort under a Lt. James Leeper in the year 1777, with Huffaker saying
that
when he served there Alexander Smith and a Mr. Jackson lived there.
Robert
Sinclair
says in his pension claim that he served there in the fall of 1776 or
1777
under Captain William Norton. These statements not only prove the
existence
of the fort, but also that it did exist at an early date.
George William
Settle
in an unpublished history of Russell County entitled "A Brief History
of
the Earliest Generations and Events, Etc., In the Eastern Part of
Russell
County, Virginia, page 53, states:
"About one
half
mile north of Oaks Garage, or around 300 yards up the ridge from Robert
Green's was an Indian fort where twenty-five or thirty people lived for
protection against the Indians. Some old man told me they would go down
to the big spring below the road, eat and go back to the fort, but
never
without the men along with their rifles."
The above
traditional
statement may actually pinpoint the location of the New Garden Fort.
Tate's Fort
Tate's Fort
on Moccasin
Creek in Russell County was another the early historians completely
overlooked,
and only two historical references brought it to light. The first made
by Mrs. Samuel Scott of Jessamine County, Kentucky, who in referring to
her stay on the Clinch makes this statement:
"We moved out
of
Tate's Fort, close on Moccasin Creek, over to Holston to get ready to
come
to Kentucky." (15) This was in the spring of 1780 and she joined a
party
of emigrants to Kentucky in 1784.
The other
statement
was made by Captain John Carr, of Sumner County, Tennessee, who was
born
on Carr's Creek in Russell County, Virginia, in 1773, and moved with
his
widowed mother to the Cumberland settlement in 1784. In speaking of the
year 1776, he states:
"My father
settled
on Big Moccasin Creek with some 15 or 20 families from Houston's Fort.
The Indians were so troublesome that we built a 'new fort.' It was
called
Tate's Fort, where we forted in summer and returned home in winter."
(16)
Carr's
statement
needs some clarification and he does not mean that his father settled
on
Moccasin Creek in 1776, but that it was this year in which they moved
out
of Houston's Fort where they had refugeed in the past and built a new
fort
for their convenience. His father had settled on Moccasin Creek much
earlier
for John, himself, was born there in 1773, and his father died there in
1782. This, then, places the construction of Tate's Fort in the year
1776.
That Tate's
Fort
was s stockaded affair certainly cannot be doubted, for 15 or 20
families
could never have crowded into a fort house. It certainly must have been
manned and defended by its occupants for I find no record of militia
ever
having been stationed there.
This fort was
built
on the lands of Colonel John Tate who had settled on Moccasin Creek in
the year 1772, on a tract of 174 acres of land surveyed for him
December
13, 1774. (17) I have not found any account that this fort was ever
attacked
directly by Indians.
Rye Cove Fort
On March
25, 1774,
Captain Daniel Smith, who was the Surveyor for Fincastle County,
surveyed
225 acres of land on Cove Creek in the Rye Cove of present day Scott
County
for Isaac Crissman. Crissman entered his land in Fincastle County,
March
28, 1774. The exact date that he settled on the land is not shown. He
and
two members of his family were slain at or near the spot in 1776 by the
Indians. The Washington County, Virginia, court appointed Archibald
Scott,
who was later himself slain by the Indians, as Administrator of
Crissman's
estate
on January 28, 1777. Crissman had
served
in the militia as a private at Glade Hollow Fort during the Point
Pleasant
Campaign in 1774.
Prior to his
death
at the hands of the Indians, Crissman had built a fort on his land,
probably
sometime in the year 1774. John Redd who had come to Powell Valley with
Captain Joseph Martin in 1775, knew Crissman, and has left the only
known
description of the fort. Of it he says:
"Rye Cove Fort
was
about 8 miles from the North Fork of the Clinch, situated about a half
mile from Cove Creek on its west side. There were several springs at
the
fort. It enclosed about half an acre of land." (18)
This fort has
been
referred to as Crissman's Fort, but more commonly as the Rye Cove Fort.
In military correspondence it is called Fort Lee, but not a single
soldier
who served there and left a statement has ever referred to it as Fort
Lee,
but always as Rye Cove Fort. It was one of the major forts and was
garrisoned
throughout Indian times with militia. May people were killed and
captured
in the Rye Cove, including troops and spys sent out from the fort.
There has been
some
thought that Crissman's Fort and the Rye Cove Fort were separate forts,
due to the fact that Captain Joseph Martin and his troops were paid for
building a fort in Rye Cove in 1777. I think, however, that it can be
proven
that Fort Lee, Crissman's Fort and Rye Cove Fort were one and the same,
and that Martin and his troops were paid for repairing the old fort,
not
building a new one. First let us go to the pension declaration of
Charles
Bickley, filed in Russell County, Virginia, in 1838, in which he states:
"That he
entered
the service in the month of September or October, 1775, under the
command
of Captain William Russell, Lt. William Bowen and Ensign James Knox,
and
was rendezvoused and stationed at Rye Cove,
where he remained in the service
guarding
and defending that fort until January 23, 1776, when he was discharged.
That in the ensuing summer of 1776, exact date not remembered, he was
engaged
in hoeing corn in the county of Russell when an alarm that Indians were
in the neighborhood was raised. The people assembled at the fort
(Russell's)
and the company of militia from Reed Creek in Wythe County, under the
command
of Captain John Montgomery, Lt. Michael Daugherty and Ensign John
Simpson,
were on their march to the Rye Cove Fort,
preparatory to an expected expedition
against
the Cherokee, when he, Charles Bickley, enrolled and marched as a
Private
under the said officers to Rye Cove where they remained a short
time.
Colonel (Anthony) Bledsoe, then in
command of the forces on the frontier,
ordered
the evacuation of the Rye Cove Fort and marched to Blackmore's Fort on
Clinch River, where a junction was made with the forces then in the
fort
and they marched from Fort Blackmore into Tennessee, where they were
joined
by Colonel (William) Christian and Major Evan Shelby.
On return of
Christian's
Army at the close of the Cherokee Campaign, it was disbanded, except a
few companies scattered here and there on the frontier. One of these
companies
under command of Captain Joseph Martin was stationed in the Rye Cove
during
the winter and spring of 1777. They were stationed at Crissman's Fort.
While here Martin's Company was attacked by Indians under the
leadership
of a son of Nancy Ward's, known among the whites by the name of Little
Fellow."
It was during
the
winter of 1777 that Martin's troops were paid for building the fort in
Rye Cove and Bickley says they were stationed in Crissman's Fort, which
seems to prove that they were paid for repairing the old fort built by
Crissman, which Bickley speaks of as both Rye Cove and Crissman's Fort.
During 1792
and
until after the last Indian raid on the frontier in 1794, Captain
Andrew
Lewis (Jr.), son of the historically famous Andrew Lewis of Salem, was
in charge of the frontier militia with his headquarters at Fort Lee in
Rye Cove.
Carter's Fort
Further
westward
in the Rye Cove of Scott County stood Carter's Fort, supposedly built
by
the Carter brothers, Joseph, Thomas, and Norris. Most early historians
place the date of this fort around 1786, but it can be proven by
Revolutionary
war pension claims that this date is at least a decade too late.
James Elkins
says
in his pension statement filed in Clarke County, Kentucky in 1832, that
he served at Carter's Station in the Rye Cove in the latter part of the
summer of 1777, under Captain William Bowen. His statement is no doubt
correct for Lt. William Bowen is shown to have been in the Rye Cove,
both
in 1776 and 1777, according to early military records.
How many years
prior
to 1777 this fort existed is not known, but the Carter brothers were
very
early settlers in the Rye Cove with land entrys in old Fincastle County
in 1774. Since this was the most westward fort in Scott County and
openly
exposed to Indian forays it is reasonable to think that the early
settlers
of Rye Cove would have had a fort for their protection at a very early
date. This was undoubtably a palisaded fort and it stood close along
the
old "Hunter's Trace" passing through Scott County.
Houston's Fort
Still in
Scott County
on the waters of Moccasin Creek was Houston's Fort. While the Moccasin
Creek waters are a tributary of the Holston River this stream was more
in the Clinch River defensive area than of the Holston, and it was
thought
for several years after the first settlers that Moccasin Creek was a
tributary
of Clinch River.
The fort was
built
by William Houston and his neighbors in 1774, upon land which had
formerly
been settled by Thomas McCulloch in 1769, and abandoned by McCulloch in
June of 1771, because of fear of Indians. William Houston, assignee of
Thomas McCulloch, seems to have taken up his abode on the land in 1772.
Nearby stood a grist mill which Houston had built to serve his and his
neighbors need for bread.
In the late
summer
of 1776, probably in August, Fort Houston was attacked by a large force
of Cherokee Indians, said by some people who were in the fort to number
300. This attack was driven off when two companies of militia under
Captain
Daniel Smith and Captain John Montgomery were sent to the relief of the
station from Fort Blackmore where the troops were gathering for Colonel
William Christian's Cherokee Campaign. (19)
Samuel Cowan
who
lived in lower Castlewood had raced across country on a borrowed stud
horse
belonging to Deskin Tibbs to warn the station that Indians were in the
area and arrived before any attack had been made upon the fort. After
delivering
his message he insisted upon returning to his home against the advise
of
those in the fort and started upon his return and was fired upon a
short
distance from the fort. The defenders of the fort hearing the shots
sallied
out to his assistance, found him shot and scalped, but still alive. He
as carried into the
fort, but died a short time afterwards.
The
horse Cowan was riding was uninjured and reached Castlewood, covered
with
sweat and lather from the long run, and Mrs. Cowan seeing the riderless
horse fainted, knowing that her
husband had been shot from the horse.
(20)
John Carr, who
was
in the fort with his parents, and at the time, only three years of age,
wrote to Dr. Lyman C. Draper in 1854, that he could remember his father
holding him up to a port hole to see the Indians firing upon the fort.
(21)
Mrs. Samuel
Scott,
another inmate of the fort, said that when the fort was attacked there
was about thirty people in the fort, with perhaps ten of these being
men,
and that the Indians stayed around several days killing livestock. (22)
Rocky Station
On the old
Kentucky
Trace between Woodway and Dryden in the vicinity of the Litton Dairy
Farm,
stood Rocky Station which was the only fort in Powell Valley to remain
open during the dangerous days of the Revolutionary War when the
Indians,
aided and abetted by the infamous British agents, living among them
were
inciting them to slaughter innocent women and children along the
western
frontier.
The Rocky
station
was garrisoned by a Company of Rangers who patrolled Powell Valley and
watched the war paths from the Cherokee and Shawnee nations especially
Cumberland Gap, which pass was used by both nations. Colonel Charles
Cocke
assumed command of this station in 1780, and remained in command until
after the Revolutionary War. Colonel Cocke was particularly alert,
often
delegating command of the fort to a subordinate and going out as an
Indian
spy himself. We sometimes find this station referred to as Cocke's
Station,
because Colonel Cocke was in command
there.
There are
numerous
accounts of Indian attacks upon the fort, and it's Rangers had many
encounters
with them throughout the valley, especially those bonds dedicated to
stealing
horses, which acts seemed to increase many fold during the Revolution.
(23)
Rocky Station
was
perhaps erected in 1775 or 1776, and was the home of Isaac Crissman,
Jr.,
who is assumed, without proof, to have been a son of Isaac Crissman who
built Crissman's Fort in Rye Cove and was slain by the Indians in early
1776 in Rye Cove. At least Isaac, Jr., was heir-at-law to an Isaac,
Sr.,
in possession of this property. Washington County, Virginia, Land Entry
Book 1, shows that Isaac Crissman, whether Junior or Senior not known,
made actual settlement on the land in 1775. In a letter written by
Colonel
Joseph martin to the
Governor, dated November 8, 1791, he
says:
"Crissman's
Station
is north of Clinch Mountain in Powell Valley." (24)
Martin's Stations
In the year
1769,
Joseph Martin of Henry County, Virginia, led a group of land seekers
into
Powell Valley in search of land. After losing their trail and having
much
difficulty in finding the valley they finally arrived, staked out vast
acreages under the Loyal Company grant and returned to Henry County.
In January,
1775,
Martin with a group of men from Henry County returned to the valley.
Among
those accompanying him was John Redd, Mordecai Hoard, Brice Martin (his
brother), and William Parks, the latter killed by the Indians the
following
year on his land claim. These men and others staked out their claims
and
were improving them for home sites. Sometime between January and June
of
1775, this little group built a fort of which John Redd leaves this
description:
"Martin's Fort
was
on Martin's Creek. The fort was located on the north side of the creek.
There was some 5 or 6 cabins; these built some 20 feet apart with
strong
stockades between. In these stockades there were port holes. The
station
contained about half an acre of ground. The shape was a parallelogram.
There were two fine springs near the station on its north side. The
station
was not reoccupied after 1776, or during the Revolutionary War." (24)
This station
was
evacuated in June of 1776, just prior to the outbreak of the Cherokee
war.
Captain Joseph Martin, after the Cherokee Campaign was appointed Indian
Agent to that nation and moved his headquarters from
the valley to Long Island. When Long
Island
was ascertained to be in the state of North Carolina, Martin then moved
back to the Valley. In 1783, the Governor of Virginia and Council
authorized
the building of a fort at Cumberland Gap which fort was erected under
the
supervision and on the lands of Captain Martin, in the fall of 1783.
This
new station was some 18 or 20 miles below Martin's Old Station and 2
miles
from Cumberland Gap on Indian Creek, or on Station Creek, a tributary
stream,
for certainly that is how the stream got its name. Unfortunately no one
has left a description of the new station, but it is sometimes referred
to as "the Blockhouse" suggesting that it had bastions at the corners.
This was the last stopover for emigrants on the great Wilderness Road
before
their entry into Kentucky. Martin retained possession of this station
until
1788, (25) when he sold it and returned to Henry County never to return
to the western frontier in which he played so great a role, and has
been
almost forgotten by historians writing of the area.
There is a
State
Historical Marker locating the site of Martin's Old Station at Rose
Hill,
in Lee County, Virginia. The location is correct, but the marker states
that the fort was built in 1768, which is an error. Martin's first
venture
into the valley, as previously stated was in 1769, and no fort was
built
since their stay at this time was only a few days.
The location of Martin's two forts can be easily verified by a letter
written
by him from his home in Henry County to the Governor of Virginia, on
November
8, 1791, wherein he states: "From Moccasin Gap to Martin's Old Station,
25 miles; from thence to Martin's New Station, 20 miles; from thence to
Cumberland Gap, 2 miles." He further states in this letter that about
100
souls were living at or near the Old Station, and at Martin's New
Station
and the neighborhood about 50 souls. These two stations were always in
Virginia, and when both Walker and Henderson ran their lines they were
so run as to leave Martin's Stations within the state.
Mump's Fort
John Redd, in his Narrative in the
Virginia
Magazine of History and Biography states that in the fall of 1775,
William
Mumps, with a small band of men built a fort at the Sinking Springs,
about
20 miles from Martin's Station. The Sinking Springs was the present
site
of Jonesville, the county seat of Lee County.
William Mumps and his men were probably
from
Henry County, Virginia, and likely induced by Martin to make settlement
in Powell Valley. Redd says the fort was evacuated in 1776, and never
again
reoccupied. In June of 1776, shortly before the evacuation of the fort
the historically famous George Rogers Clarke was a guest at Mump's
Station
on his return from Kentucky, which he had left because of fear of an
Indian
War.
Redd says the
fort
was evacuated in 1776 and never again reoccupied, yet Alexander
Ritchie,
Jr., in his Revolutionary war pension claim gives the line of forts and
stations in use by the militia and he states:
"A fort where
Lee
County Courthouse now stands."
In this statement he is referring to
the
year 1777, or thereabouts. It is possible that he was referring to
Mump's
abandoned fort and that it was in occasional use by the militia after
1776,
however, this is only a supposition. It is unknown if this was a
stockaded
fort, but in all probability, due to the exposed location, it had
some sort of rude fortification around
it.
Priest's Fort
This is another fort found only in
the memoirs
of John Redd, and of it he says:
"That it was located some 5 or 6 miles
above
Martin's Station and was on no water course." It was built about the
same
time as Mump's Fort, and William Priest, its builder, was perhaps a
Henry
County, Virginia, man in the valley through Martin's influence. Five or
six miles from Martin's Station would locate this fort between the
towns
of Rose Hill and Jonesville, in Lee County.
This fort was evacuated at the same
time
as Mump's and Martin's, and the men from both fled to Fort Blackmore,
in
June, 1776, when alarmed by the outbreak of the Cherokee War. All
evidence
points to the fact that it was, as Redd says, never reoccupied after
the
initial evacuation, as no other mention of it has been gleaned from any
source.
Owen's Station
The only known mention of Owen's
Station comes
from the pension statement of James Kincaid, filed in Lafayette County,
Missouri. He tells of going to Owen's Station ten miles below Martin's
Station in Powell Valley, in present day Lee County. Ten miles below
Martin's
Old Station would place Owen's Station some eight miles from Cumberland
Gap, and in the vicinity
of the present village of Ewing. Kincaid's reference
was to the year 1776, or 1777, and no other reference has been found
mentioning
this station. In the year 1786, a William Owen was living in the
vicinity
of Owen's Station, and this station may or may not have been his home.
Yokum's Station
Located in Powell Valley on the
banks of Powell
River, between Dryden and Woodway, near where the highway crosses the
bridge
at the Wygal place. Yokum's Station seems to have been a neighborhood
fort
for the scattered settlers of Turkey Cove. The station was perhaps the
home of one George Yokum and anything of his personal life is unknown
to
this writer. It appears that the station was built some time after
1780,
since this is about the time that Turkey Cove began to be settled, with
Vincent Hobbs and some others settling there in this year. No
description
has been found for this fort and none of the military correspondence or
pension claims make mention of it. This leads to the assumption that it
may have been only a neighborhood fort manned by the
settlers. The only intimation that
militia
troops might have been stationed there comes from the assignment order
for militia troops in 1792, which shows a Captain, Sergeant, Corporal
and
24 Privates stationed in the Turkey Cove, but does not show at what
particular
places, if any, they were stationed.
In a letter written from Morristown,
Tennessee,
September 9, 1925, by Mr. William A. Orr, who grew up in the
neighborhood
of the fort, to Dr. David F. Orr, he says:
"When the fort was built there was only
a
trail from it up and down the river, up Turkey Cove and on over
Lovelady
Gap and across Natural Tunnel in Scott County. It was then part of
Washington
County. Do you remember a large pile of rocks at the Comfrey Patch?
That
is where the fort stood. It was from there that Captain Hobbs went when
he shot Benge."
It is true that it was from this fort
that
Captain Vincent Hobbs led his small band of settlers that killed the
half-breed
Indian Chief Benge in present Wise County, Virginia, forever freeing
the
frontier from the Indian scourge. All of Hobb's men lived in and around
Turkey Cove and most of them were members of the militia in Captain
Andrew
Lewis' (Jr.) command, which again might suggest that some militia was
stationed
at this fort.
Gibson's Station
Gibson's Station was located in
lower Lee
County, about five miles from Cumberland Gap, and is still, today,
called
Gibson's Station.
In 1775, Ambrose Fletcher made a
settlement
on a tract of land in the western end of what is today Lee County,
Virginia,
and on the 10th of August 1785, Fletcher assigned his certificate for
this
land to Major George Gibson. This tract was entered before the
Commissioners
of Washington County, on August 10, 1781, by Fletcher, and is described
as 400 acres of land lying in Washington County in Powell's Valley, and
known by the name of the "Indian Old Fields". George Gibson had this
land
surveyed on December 8, 1785, and was issued a patent for
the same on August 1, 1785. (26) George
Gibson
doubtless moved on this land shortly after acquiring it and established
a station, since, and to this day known as Gibson's Station. His home
was
a two story log house nearby a spring. The spring was inside the fort,
and the chimney of the old Gibson home is still standing, but another
house
has been built to it. The location is beyond the Southern Railroad
underpass
and about 300 yards beyond, on the right.
Apparently this was another of the
neighborhood
forts, for I find no record that militia was ever stationed there. It
was
likely defended only by its occupants.
George Gibson was a son of Robert and
Isabella
Gibson, and was born in County Cork, Ireland, in 1732. Come to America
when quite young with his parents and settled in Augusta County,
Virginia.
About 1776 he married Elizabeth Smith, a daughter of Zachariah Smith of
Augusta County. When upon coming to Southwest Virginia, it is said that
he first settled in the vicinity of Abingdon, before coming to Powell
Valley
round 1785. He was a Lieutenant in the French and Indian War, and
served
during the Point Pleasant campaign in 1774. During
the Revolution he served in the
Continental
Army, was promoted to Major, and is said to have been at the Battle of
King's Mountain. He died at Gibson's Station, April 3, 1819. The
Indians
captured his son, Matthew Moss Gibson, when he was a small child and he
lived with the Indians until grown, when he was identified by a
birthmark
and ransomed by his father. Family tradition states that he never
became
accustomed to living with his family, and would often be found outside
the door listening and not entering the house. That he often returned
to
his Indian parents, staying awhile and then returning to his own
parents.
He later moved to Missouri where he spent the remainder of his life.
Davidson's Garrison
While not on the waters of either
the Clinch,
Holston, or Powell Rivers Davidson's Garrison; on the waters of
Bluestone
River in present day Tazewell County, contributed to the defense of the
upper Clinch and Holston Rivers in preventing entry by the Shawnee
toward
the headwaters of both streams. The fort located on Cove Creek, about 3
miles from it's mouth, which stream is a tributary of the Bluestone
River,
and the Bluestone settlement is often mentioned in military
correspondence
during the troubled Indian days, but never Davidson's
Fort, which seems strange, as the head
of
the Clinch and Bluestone settlements were wide open to the Sandy War
passes,
and also from the fact that state militia was stationed at this fort.
The fort was built by the Davidson
family
who were direct emigrants from County Down, Ireland, first settling on
Jackson's River in Augusta County, Virginia, later moving to Crab Creek
in Montgomery County and from thence to Cove Creek in Tazewell County.
In this family there were at least three sons, William born in County
Down,
Ireland, in 1759, his brothers Joseph, born in 1767, and Andrew
Davidson.
Both William and Joseph served in the militia at their fort, and it is
from the pension statement of William, that we draw our
information and the knowledge that such
a
fort really existed. In his pension statement filed in Tazewell County,
Virginia, he states:
" The company stationed in Davidson's
Fort
in the spring of 1777 was divided into 3 or 4 companies, and when the
spys
would come in and report Indian signs, it was the duty of the companies
to go in turns in pursuit of them. He says the settlement where he
lived
in Montgomery (now Tazewell) County was very weak and from 1777 to 1786
they had to call on the country to the east for assistance, and that a
company was sent in each of the aforementioned years from the eastern
part
of Montgomery County, part of which were stationed in the garrison with
him. That they usually went on their spying missions from Davidson's
Fort
across Bluestone River, across the Dividing Ridge between the waters of
Bluestone and Guyandot, and around this ridge between the Bluestone
River
and Davidson's Garrison. (27) An interesting sidelight on this fort is
that from 1777 to 1786, it was under the command of Captain James
Moore,
who along with his entire family were so cruelly destroyed by the
Indians
on July 14, 1786. A small booklet published many years ago under the
title
"The Captives of Abbs Valley" by an unnamed relative tells the tragic
story
of the destruction of the Moore family, except a son, James who had
previously
been captured by the
Indians and was still a prisoner when
his
family were all slain.
James Moore was appointed a Captain by
the
court of Montgomery County, on April 8, 1778, on the waters of
Bluestone.
The same court on August 23, 1786, entered this interesting order:
"George Peery appointed Captain in
place
of James Moore, deceased, Joseph Davidson, Lieutenant, and Andrew
Davidson,
Ensign in the same company."
Richlands Station
This is another of the vague
stations about
which too little is known. There are several references in official
communications
of troops being stationed in the "Rich Lands", however, no particular
station
is mentioned. This station may have been the home of one James Fowler,
who served as a scout under Captain William Russell, and was at Fort
Blair
on the Point Pleasant Campaign in the fall of 1774, and he, Fowler, was
dead prior to 18th of August 1778, the date the Washington County court
appointed administrators of his estate.
In Washington County, Virginia, Survey
Book,
page 120, is a land entry which reads: "On the North Fork, both sides
of
Clinch, in the Rich Lands. We, the Commissioners, etc., do certify that
John Fowler, heir-at-law to James Fowler, deceased, assignee of Thomas
Sharp, is entitled to 200 acres of land by
settlement in the year 1772, lying on
the
North Fork of the Clinch River, being the same where James Fowler
resided
in his lifetime."
Joseph Starnes, in his pension
statement
says that he served under Captain Aaron Lewis in a tour of 3 months at
a placed called "Fowler's Station." (28)
That Fowler's Station and the Richland
Station
were one and the same is perhaps logical reasoning, and certainly it
was
a very early station, although we do not know the year in which it was
built. In the year 1792 a list of troops and their places of
stationment
shows a Sergeant, Corporal and 12 Privates to be stationed at Brown's
or
Fugate's in Richlands. This may mean that by 1792 the old station had
been
abandoned and the above two mentioned places may have been fort-houses
where troops were stationed.
When William Ferrill was killed by
Indians
in New Garden in June, 1778, Captain Daniel Smith ordered the Sergeant
in charge of Richlands Fort to take half his men stationed there and go
to the assistance of Captain John Kinkead in New Garden. This order
shows
that Richlands Fort was a garrisoned station in 1778, with a Captain
Edmondson
being in command, but absent at the time.
Dumps Creek Station
Upon whose land and when this
station was
built cannot be stated at this time. Next to nothing is known regarding
it, with few references available and only one pension statement
reference
which may be found in the application of Patrick Coyle, filed in Wayne
County, Kentucky, in 1833, in which he says:
"That he entered the service in
October,
1780, under Lieutenant James Hawkins and was stationed at Dump's Creek."
It is possible that the Dumps Creek
Station
may have been only a fort house and not a stockaded fortress, however,
this fact is unknown.
Guest Station
Of all the frontier stations along
the Clinch
this one presents the greatest enigma. The location is between Big and
Little Tom's Creek, on the Guest River at the present site of Coeburn,
Virginia. Outside of deed references which mention this station
frequently
no other direct reference has been found pertaining to it, and no
militia
correspondence or pension applications make mention of it.
Charles B. Coale, in "Wilburn Waters"
tells
of the Indians going to this station in 1777, after their capture of
Jane
Whittaker and Polly Alley, and finding it well defended make no attack
upon it. Coale gives no authority for this statement and search for it
has prove fruitless. Who built the station and for what purpose is
unknown.
There are several opinions, but
opinions
unless backed by factual data should never become a part of written
history.
This writer does categorically deny that it has any relation with
Christopher
Gist as has been written, since Gist did not travel through the present
bounds of Wise County.
Elder Morgan T. Lipps, who settled on
Tom's
Creek in the spring of 1838, states in his diary: (29) "That the old
settlers
showed him some of the logs of the old fort and chimney rocks still
lying
upon the ground when he arrived there in 1838."
Even if Christopher Gist did visit this
spot
in 1750, he could never, with the help of a small Negro boy, have built
a structure whose remains would have lasted 88 years after his
departure.
That some sort of fortification existed
at
Coeburn is unquestioned, since from the earliest times the place was
called
Guesses Station, and retained that name until the coming of the
railroads
when the name was changed.
Fort Patrick Henry
A few forts along the Holston River
played
a part in the defense of the Clinch River Valley settlements, and only
those playing some sort of defensive role will be mentioned in this
manuscript.
Fort Patrick Henry often referred to as the Long Island Station
(present
Kingsport, Tennessee) was built in 1776, largely by the troops of
Captain
William Russell, while waiting there for the gathering of the troops
for
Colonel William Christian's Cherokee Campaign. Long Island in the
Holston,
upon which the fort was built was a spot held in veneration by the
Cherokee
Indian nation and was not ceded to the United States until after the
turn
of the 19th century. The fort was the main defensive bastion against
the
Southern Indians and was active until cessation of hostilities. It was
at this fort that Captain Joseph Martin had his headquarters as Indian
Agent until it
was determined that the island lay in
the
state of North Carolina instead of Virginia.
John Redd who has left an excellent
description
of this fort, describes it thusly:
"The fort was built on the Holston in
1776;
was built on the North bank about 200 yards below the upper end of the
island. The place selected for the fort was where the bank of the river
was very high, I suppose some 20 feet, and the water some 4 or 5 feet
deep.
The ground enclosed by the fort was about 100 yards square. There was
only
three sides enclosed, the bank of the river being almost impregnable.
This
fort was built similar to that built by Joseph Martin in Powells Valley
with the exception that the walls had bastions at the corner. The house
for the store was in the center of the square and also the house for
the
commander. There were several springs that broke out of the bank of the
river which was used, but the river was our main dependence for water."
(30)
The Anderson Blockhouse
The Blockhouse on the Holston was
one of the
most widely known places on the Wilderness Road. It stood in Carter's
Valley
on the outer edge of the Holston River settlements, about four miles
southeast
of Moccasin Gap.
In Scott County, Virginia. It seems to
have
been the only Blockhouse within the area, insofar as available data
reveals,
the other forts consisting of log cabins and stockades.
The Blockhouse was built by John
Anderson
sometime prior to 1782. It had two rooms, a lower and upper floor. The
walls of the upper floor had the usual port holes, and the upper story
extended out wider than the first floor. During the period of greatest
travel over the Wilderness Road, John Anderson, as proprietor of the
Blockhouse
was host to literally hundreds of people who stopped over on their way
to Kentucky and elsewhere.
When danger of Indian attack had
passed,
John Anderson built nearby a larger two story house with log kitchen,
into
which the family moved, and the old Blockhouse was converted into a
"loom-house."
It was continued in this use until 1876, when it, together with the
newer
house was consumed by fire.
Dr. William A. Pusey, of Chicago,
author
of "The Wilderness Road to Kentucky", had a monument erected on, or
near
the site of the old Blockhouse, the inscription which reads as follows:
"This Tablet Marks The Site of the
Blockhouse
the meeting point of the pioneer roads to Kentucky from Virginia and
North
Carolina, and the gathering place of pioneer travelers at the entrance
to the wilderness. Erected by a descendant of William Bowen who
recorded
that, "We waited hereabouts near two weeks and then set out for the
Wilderness,
with 12 men and 10 guns, this being Thursday, 18th July." (1782)
Jeremiah Harrison's Fort
This fort was located on the North
Fork of
Holston. In the year 1782
tithables of Washington County, Virginia, three
adult Harrisons were listed. They were Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah, and
from
the Biblical names they are assumed to have been brothers. Jeremiah
bought
a tract of 400 acres and the later took up a tract of 340 acres. The
400
acre tract was on Sinking Creek of the North Fork of Holston and is
dated
in the Fincastle Survey, May 28, 1774. Yet the 340 acre tract appears
in
the Washington County Survey Book, and it is this tract he sells to
David Smith on June 14, 1787. (31) The
first
mention of any fort here comes in a letter of Arthur Campbell to
William
Preston, dated October 6, 1774, (32) in which he says: "He was
stationed
on the main path to Clinch, opposite the Town House (33) to protect the
settlers, and he mentions the families of Vance, Fowler, Harrison,
etc.,
including John Campbell who had been serving as an Ensign to Captain
Daniel
Smith on Clinch."
This Jeremiah Harrison and others,
probably
brothers, must have come to the area very early as the settlement
certificate
mentions settlement in 1772. They certainly appear to be the same
family
as lived in Augusta County, Virginia, from the earliest times, for
instance,
entry of 15th of September, 1742, shows Jeremiah Harrison and Isaiah
Harrison
as delinquents in the company of Hugh Thompson. (34) They appear to be
sons of Joseph Harrison who died in early 1748, with Isaiah as
Administrator
of his estate appointed on May 18, 1748, (35) with Jeremiah as his
security.
In the summer of 1774, Jeremiah
Harrison
was paid for the pastureage of 135 steers for use at the Maiden Springs
Station. (36) There were two Jeremiah Harrisons in Augusta County and
they
have different named wives.
Apparently Jeremiah Harrison left the
Holston
and moved on to Kentucky where he is listed in a deposition at Woodford
Courthouse, Kentucky, dated July 14, 1781. (37) That these men were
old,
or aging, when Dunmore's War broke out is likely as they are not
reflected
in any muster lists.
Isaac Crabtree in making a supporting
statement
to his brother Abraham's pension application filed in Wayne County,
Kentucky,
in 1828, tells of their being sent to Jeremiah Harrison's Fort in 1776,
and Jacob Crabtree, says that he was discharged from the militia at
this
fort in 1776.
It is fairly evident that Harrison's
Fort
was a stockaded affair, but probably small due to the fact that it did
not lie on an exposed frontier, and how long it remained in use is
unknown,
as no reference have been found concerning it, other than those above
mentioned.
Vance's Station
This was a sister station to
Jeremiah Harrison's
Fort, and about five miles separated the two forts on the North Fork of
Holston. This fort, like some others came to light in Revolutionary War
pension statements. Vance's Station was no doubt the home of old
Alexander
Vance. The station is mentioned in both the pension statements of
Abraham
and Isaac Crabtree, who lived with their father, William Crabtree, on
the
North Fork of Holston, near the present Saltville, Virginia. The
Crabtree
brothers mention going to Vance's Station after a tour of militia duty
at Blackmore's Fort and at the Flat Lands, which is believed to be
another
early name for Flat Lick, that section around Duffield down to
Pattonsville
in present Scott and Lee counties.
Old Alexander Vance owned 289 acres of
land
on the North Fork of the Holston River surveyed and recorded in
Washington
County, Virginia, in June, 1783, although he had been living on the
land
many years prior to this survey and entry. This land included the mouth
of Beaver Creek. Somehow, later, this land became the property of
General
William Tate who lived at Broadford in Smythe County, just upstream
from
Saltville.
There were two Vance families in the
area,
one living on the North Fork of Holston River and the other on Beaver
Creek
near Bristol.
In 1818, one Abner Vance of the North
Fork
of Holston family was hanged at Abingdon for murdering a member of the
Horton family who had debauched Vance's daughter. Vance felt he had
gotten
an unfair trial and while in prison wrote a very stirring and tragic
ballad
which in early days virtually became a folk song and was widely sung
around
the hearthside of the pioneers and known as the "Vance Song."
On October 6, 1774, Colonel Arthur
Campbell
wrote concerning Vance and Harrison's Stations in this manner, and this
may be the clue to the dates one, if not both of these forts were built.
"Upon the alarm of (Samuel) Lammey
being
taken Vance and Fowler's wives, with several other families convened at
Mr. Harrison's, which lies upon the main path to the Clinch in the Rich
Valley, opposite the Town House. Upon request of several inhabitants on
both sides, I ordered six men to be stationed there for ten days, two
of
which were to be out ranging. Henry and John Dougherty moved their
families
to this side of the mountain, disagreeing with ye majority of ye
inhabitants,
as to the place to build a fort. Mr. John Campbell's wife has been on
this side of the mountain this past two
months
and (Campbell) himself has acted as Ensign to Captain (Daniel) Smith on
Clynch ever since that Gent was ordered to duty.
Archibald and John Buchanan's families
and
Andrew Lammey came here, (to Royal Oak) who has continued on this side
yet. Captain Wilson went immediately with 15 men, and ranged near a
week
in the neighborhood where Lammey was taken," and left four of his best
woodsmen with neighbors for several days longer. I also ordered two of
the most trusty persons I could get to act as Spys along Clinch
mountain
for ten days, which they performed, I am satisfied, faithfully; besides
the six men at Harrison's I ordered Mr. Vance's and
Fowler's wives three men a week,
particularly
to assist about saving their fodder, which they got secured safely."
(38)
Campbell's reference to a disagreement
between
the settlers as to the proper place to build a fort, it undoubtably the
beginning of both Vance and Harrison's Stations, thus placing their
erection
in the year 1774. Samuel Lammey was taken captive by the Indians on
Holston,
carried into captivity and never returned. He was taken by a band under
the leadership of the Shawnee Black Hawk.
Benham's Fort
Located on the North Fork of the
Holston River
near Mendota was the fort of John Benham. This was perhaps only a
family
fort for no mention is made of militia troops ever having been
stationed
there, or that it was in use after the Revolutionary War. The date the
fort was built is unknown, but John Benham settled there in 1769.
He owned a thousand acres of land along
the
Holston River about four miles below the village of Holston. (39) John
Benham was evidently a brother-in-law to the elder Vincent Hobbs, and
Benham
had a son named Vincent as did Hobbs, and both had sons named Joel. The
Hobbs and Benhams lived on adjoining farms. There was also a connection
between these families and the family of John Douglas who was killed by
the Indians at Little Moccasin Gap in 1776. (40) John Douglas who lived
with his father Edward Douglas on Clinch River, near Flour Ford in
present
day Scott County, Virginia, may have been returning from a visit with
these
relatives when slain by the Indians. John Benham, builder of Benham's
Fort
died in 1800.
William Wynn's Fort
This fort was the home of William
Wynn and
may have been only a fort house or small fort. It seems likely that it
must have had some sort of rude palisades due to its exposed location,
and seems to have served Wynn and his neighbors and was at times also
guarded
by state militia.
William Wynn was born August 10, 1729,
and
died July 8, 1808, and is buried near the old Fort. From his birth date
it can be seen that he was too advanced in years to take a very active
part in the militia. His first wife was Cynthia Harman, and his second
wife was Mary, the daughter of William Whitley. William Whitley was
murdered
by the Indians on the head of Clinch River in the fall of 1789, and
cruelly
mutilated, even his heart and entrails torn from his body and cast upon
the ground and bushes. (41)
Wynn's Fort was located at Locust Hill
on
the North Fork of Clinch River, about one and a half miles from the
present
town of Tazewell, Virginia, and was probably erected in 1774. Whether
it
was ever directly attacked by the Indians is unknown, but due to its
proximity
to the Sandy War Passes it may have been.
Scott County Fort Houses
In that section of Scott County from
Dungannon
down to Gray's Island, along Clinch river is one of the most
interesting
sections of Scott County. It was settled very early with residents
there
in 1770. Along that very short stretch of river, approximately two or
three
miles from Hunter's Ford to Gray's Island, then called the Big Island,
there seems to have been at least four fort-houses, at least it is
believed
these were fort houses and not stockaded forts. This conclusion is
deduced
from the fact that the residents of this area, during Indian forays,
are
shown to have been inmates of Moore's and Blackmore's Forts.
Again knowledge of these facts became
known
from studying the Revolutionary War pension claims of men who served in
them and from land deed records and litigation suits in the High Court
of Chancery of Augusta County, Virginia. Elisha Wallen says in his
pension
application that:
"We were organized by law and by the
officers
named, and were divided out along the line of the following names
forts,
to-wit: Blackmore's Fort, Rye Cove, Rocky Station, Stock Creek,
Duncan's
Fort and Osman's Fort." If that is not enough, Charles Kilgore says in
his pension statement:
"In the following year (1779) in
summer,
he again volunteered under Captain John Snoddy and Lieutenant (William)
Cowan for the purpose of guarding Osman's Fort on Clinch River in said
county of Washington. He remained in the said fort for three months,
with
said company, guarding the same." To further add to the confusion
Alexander
Ritchie, Jr., says in his pension claim:
"The militia was arraigned from that of
a
Captain's Company (24 men) to a Sergeant's command at the different
stations
and forts from Blackmore's Fort to Martin's Station, about 20 miles
from
Cumberland Gap; Moore's Fort in Castlewood, Rocky Station, Rye Cove
Station,
Shallow Ford of Clinch; Stock Creek and Duncan's Fort."
Ritchie says in an amended statement
that
he served 6 months beginning in April, 1780, at Duncan's Fort.
Here we have three militiamen, all
living
in the same general area of Scott County, as well as others not quoted,
who tell of having served in the same forts which should prove the
truth
of their existence.
In disposing of these forts, first
there
is mention of Stock Creek and Shallow Ford of Clinch. Of these two the
writer has no knowledge. The "fort where Lee County Courthouse now
stands",
if this was not the abandoned fort built by William Mumps, already
discussed,
then the writer has no knowledge of another at this place.
Osman's Fort I believe to be a
corruption
in the spelling of Osborne, and being the home of perhaps one William
Osborne,
which is not quite clear, but certainly not to be confused with Stephen
Osborne at Osborne's Ford, as the former stood near Gray's Island on
Clinch.
A deed to one William Osborne in Scott County, dated October 9, 1829,
reads:
"A certain tract or parcel of land,
lying
and being in Scott County, on the south side of Clinch River, it being
part of the same bottom that joins Buster's Shoals, opposite a place
called
Nicholson's Fort, containing 41 acres more or less." (42)
Here we pick up another fort which was
the
home of Benjamin Nicholson who settled there about 1772, later sold his
land and emigrated to Clarke County, Kentucky. The Nicholson land was
sold
to William McClain and his "fish-trap" is mentioned as the place where
Elizabeth Livingston crossed the Clinch with Indian Chief Benge when he
had her captive in 1794. The Nicholson land was near Gray's Island and
this fort has been found mentioned in deed references only.
Another in this same area, with no
further
reference found except in a Russell County deed, which reads: "One
certain
tract or parcel of land known by the name of Ritchie's Fort, containing
360 acres." (43) Originally this would have been the home of Alexander
Ritchie, Sr., who came to the area from Prince Edward County, Virginia,
and was the father of Alexander Ritchie, Jr., whose pension statement
has
been heretofore quoted. The strange thing, however, is that in his
pension
claim, Alexander, Jr., makes no mention of his father's fort. The
Ritchie's
settled on this land in 1772, later selling it and leaving the area. It
was sold to one William Osborne of Pendleton County, South Carolina,
and
he in turn sold the same land on October 20, 1792, to one James Osborne
and it is again referred to as "Ritchie's Fort". Since this fort land
was
sold to two men named Osborne it may be logical to assume that
Ritchie's
Fort and the fort referred to as "Osman's Fort" were one and the same,
the name changing with ownership.
Duncan's Fort
Duncan's Fort was the home of
Raleigh Duncan
and stood between Dungannon and Gray's Island on the Clinch River.
Raleigh
Duncan and his brother, John, first settled on a tract of land at
Hunter's
Ford in 1772, which they were jointly developing into a plantation.
John
was killed by the Indians in 1774, and Raleigh and the widow of John
fell
into dispute over the Hunter's Ford land and Raleigh moved down the
river
to another tract of land in 1775 and here he built his home which was
Duncan's
Fort. (44) Alexander Ritchie, Jr., in his Revolutionary War statement
says
that he lived at Duncan's Fort from March 1778 to April 1779, and that
he enlisted again in 1779 and 1780 under Captain John Snoddy for six
month
tours of duty for the purpose of guarding Duncan's Fort. In 1786, he
was
appointed, along with John Alley as Indian Spys by Colonel Henry Smith
of Russell County. He states they left Duncan's Fort every Monday with
their provisions on their backs, ranged across the Cumberland Mountain
and Sandy in Kentucky, returning to Duncan's Fort on Sundays. These
statements
show that the fort was an active military defense from 1778 to 1786,
and
perhaps before and after these dates. Raleigh Duncan came to the Clinch
from Culpepper County, Virginia, and was born in 1723, and died at
Duncan's
Fort in 1786.
Porter's Fort
Other
than
the old Kilgore Forthouse which is still standing, Porter's Fort was
perhaps
the most widely known fort house in present day Scott County. It was
the
home of Patrick Porter, who emigrated from Guilford County, North
Carolina,
in October, 1772, and established his fort house and grist mill on the
waters of Falling Creek, near Dungannon. This was nothing more than a
strongly
build fort house and according to the pension statement of his son,
John
Porter, it was built only for family protection. (45A) It is well
authenticated
that the Porter family sheltered in Moore's Fort during Indian forays,
and Patrick served in the militia protecting this fort in the year
1774.
There is no factual evidence that Porter's Fort was ever under direct
Indian
attack. Just below the falls of Falling Creek, Patrick Porter built his
grist mill, the first ever approved by court order on the Clinch River,
permission being granted by the court of old Fincastle County, in 1774.
Despite the fact that it was the first mill ever approved for the
Clinch,
it was not the first mill. The Lynch Mill at upper Castlewood was in
operation
for sometime before Porter's Mill was erected, but no order has been
found
granting permission for this mill. Patrick Porter was born in 1739, and
had married Susanna, the daughter of John and Ann Houston Walker.
Dorton's Fort
Located about one mile southeast of
Nickelsville,
Scott County, Virginia, on the Combs farm, this was the home of old
William
Dorton, Sr., who was killed by the Indians in July, 1780. (45)
Undoubtably
this was just another family fort house, and there is no record of it
ever
having a complement of militia. When it was built is unknown, but
likely
sometime in the 1770's. The family of William Dorton continued to live
at the place after he was slain. The court records of the 1780's refer
to it as "Dorton's Old Fort", meaning that it may have fallen into
disuse
and disrepair. Little is known of the life of William Dorton, Sr.,
prior
to his untimely death at the hands of the Indians, even the place and
details
of his death are unknown. His son, William Dorton, Jr., was in one of
the
parties that pursued the Indians under Benge after his capture of the
Livingston
family in 1794. This party led by Captain William Dorton, Jr., overtook
one of the Indian parties, who seem to have split into three separate
groups
after the capture and killing, and killed one of the Indians in that
particular
group. (46)
Scott's Fort
Leaving the waters of Clinch and
crossing
through Kane's Gap of Powell Mountain we come to the headwaters of
Wallen's
Creek, a tributary of Powell River and Scott's Fort. This was the home
of Archibald Scott, built in 1775, and nothing more than a fort house
and
not stockaded. It stood on a section of the old Kentucky Trace and was
a noted stop over for emigrants traveling to Kentucky.
Archibald Scott and his four children
were
massacred here on the evening of June 20, 1785, and his wife, Fanny
taken
captive and carried north by the Indians, presumably led by the half
breed
Benge. She eventually escaped and returned to the Clinch frontier where
her story has become one of the classical Indian stories of Virginia's
last frontier. After the destruction of the Scott family the old fort
became
the home of Robert Duff, who had married Fanny Scott's niece and
remained
a famous stop over on the Kentucky Trace for many years afterwards.
Scott
and his children were buried near the old fort house, but no markers
were
ever erected at their graves and today only the general location of
their
resting place is known. The Duff family graves are well marked and it
is
interesting to read the epitaphs of some four or five members of the
family
who served in the Confederate
Army.
Chadwell's Station
Mordecai Hoard of Henry County,
Virginia,
came to Powell Valley in Lee County, with Captain Joseph Martin in 1775
and took up a 400 acre tract of land in the Martin grant of 1769. He
also
took up another tract of 860 acres. Hoard returned to Henry County
where
he died. Captain David Chadwell, also a native of Henry County, bought
from the heirs of Hoard the 400 acre tract and 707 acres of the other
tract.
Deeds for these tracts being dated November, 1791, however, David
Chadwell
was in the area as early as May, 1790, and immediately upon coming here
he built a Station or Fort, which was widely known as "Chadwell's
Station."
The station was a stop over for people
traveling
westward over the Wilderness Road, as well as being a refuge from
Indian
attacks for Chadwell and his neighbors. Whether this was a stockaded
fort
or just a fort house is not known. There is today a church in this area
called Chadwell's Station Church.
After settlement David Chadwell began
acquiring
other lands and by 1801 he was assessed with 1800 acres of land in Lee
County. He continued to acquire land in both Lee County, and adjoining
Claiborne County, Tennessee, and finally moved to Tazewell, the county
seat of Claiborne County, leaving his Lee County lands in the hands of
his children. He died at Tazewell, in 1832, at the age of 100, having
been
born in 1732, and is buried there at Breastwork Hill. He married
Elizabeth
Turner and their children were:
1. John Chadwell, b. 1771,
m.
Mary (Polly) Adams, b. 1772
2. David Chadwell, Jr., b.
1776,
m. Nancy Lane
3. Susanna Chadwell
(1773-1846),
m. (1) Benjamin Posey (2) Daniel O'Daniel
4. Barthena Chadwell, b.
1775,
m. (1) Moses Cotterill, the Ensign who was chased across Powell
Mountain
by the Indian Chief Benge in 1793. Married (2) Jerome Skelton.
5. Mary (Polly) Chadwell,
8-30-1777,
d. 1855, m. (1) Walter Middleton, 2-29-1801. Married (2) Benjamin Cloud
who died in 1845 at Chadwell Station.
6. William Chadwell, b.
1783,
d. 12-5-1857, m. Charterine Lane, b. 1795 in Grainger Co., TN.
7. Alexander Chadwell, b.
1783,
d. 1868, m. Lucy Bailey, b. 1789, d. 3-31-1859, daughter of Carr and
Mary
Bailey of Henry County, Virginia.
8. Nancy Chadwell, b. 1774,
m.
in 1790 to James Brittain
We know that David Chadwell, who was a
Captain
in the Revolution, was in the area of his station as early as May,
1790,
for on that day he was granted permission to establish a grist mill on
his property. David Chadwell had a sister, Jemima, who married William
Cox and settled also in Lee County, Virginia. This could possibly have
been the Mrs. Cox shot at by the Indians, on march 17, 1785, mentioned
in letters to the Governor of Virginia from both Captain Joseph Martin
and Colonel Arthur Campbell.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
(1) Augusta Court Causes Ended O. S.
177
N. S. 63, Bill filed 1808.
(2) Shelby Family Papers, Library of
Congress
(3) Draper MSS 3 QQ 19-20
(4) Ibid, 3 QQ 46
(5) Ibid, 3 QQ 64
(6) Ibid, 3 QQ 63
(7) Ibid, 9 DD 3
(8) Williams, Early Times in Tennessee,
Chapter
10 Appendix
(9) Draper MSS 11 CC 224
(10) Pension Statement James Fraley,
National
Archives
(11) Draper MSS 5 C 70
(12) Ibid, 3 QQ 64
(13) Ibid, 3 QQ 63
(14) Ibid, 3 QQ 94
(15) 11 CC 224
(16) Williams, Early Times in
Tennessee,
Chapter 10, p. 225 Appendix
(17) Washington County, Virginia, Land
Entry
Book 1
(18) Virginia Magazine of History &
Biography,
Vol. 7, p. 3
(19) Pension Statement of Charles
Bickley,
1836, National Archives
(20) Draper MSS 11 CC 224
(21) Draper MSS
(22) Ibid, 11 CC 224
(23) Pension Statement Alexander
Ritchie,
National Archives (R-8784)
(24) Virginia State Papers, Vol. 4, p.
341
(25) Virginia State Papers, Vol. 5
(26) Pension William Davidson, National
Archives
(R-2695)
(27) Washington County, Virginia Land
Entry
Book 1
(28) Pension Joseph Starnes, National
Archives
(29) Dairy in possession of author
(30) Virginia Magazine of History &
Biography,
Vol. 7, p. 1
(31) Washington County, Virginia Land
Entry
Book 1
(32) Draper Mss 3 QQ 145
(33)Home of James Thompson, near
Chilhowie,
VA
(34) Draper MSS 1 QQ 20
(35) Augusta County, Virginia Will Book
1,
p. 78
(36) Draper MSS 6 XX 106-2
(37) Chalkley, Chronicles of
Scotch-Irish
Settlement, II, 47
(38) Draper MSS 3 QQ 115
(39)Washington County, Virginia Land
Entry
Book 1
(40) Draper MSS 4 QQ 53
(41) Virginia State Papers, Vol. 5, p.
180
(42) Scott County, Virginia Deed Book
4,
p. 553
(43) Russell County, Virginia Deed Book
1,
p. 13 (
44) Augusta Court Causes Ended,
Cockrell
vs Duncan
(45A) Pension of John Porter, National
Archives
(45) Pension James Fraley, National
Archives
(46) Virginia State Papers, Vol. 3,
(Ltr.
Capt. Andrew Lewis)
Pages 1 to 26
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