|
The Spirit of the Old Dominion
Freeper WVNan lives in a small town at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. In 1774 a battle took place there between the Virginia Militia and a coalition of Indian tribes. It was destined to be the battle that would influence the destiny of the American Colonies. Today we take you back to live through the Battle of Point Pleasant with a man who was there. We don't know his name, but his description of events has allowed WVNan to follow the terrain of the battle. The cliffs from which our hero jumps, later was purchased by Nan's husband's grandfather. The tale begins in early Oct. 1774. Our hero is a captive of the Indians and about to be burned at the stake, and YOU ARE THERE....
"We landed about a mile on the left hand shore of Kanawha, and climbing a large hill, we were saluted by a hundred Indians, encamped upon the top. Our captors told their adventures, no doubt, with every aggravation; for, after the most frantic expressions of grief and rage, I was bound to a tree, a large pine tree, which stands to this day upon the brow of the hill, and the fire was kindled around me. I said my prayers; my time was come; my body felt the scorching heat: but, by a miraculous interposition of Providence, the clouds which had been lowering all day, now burst out in showers, and quenched the flames. The Indians thought the Great Spirit looked over me, and directed the shower for my safety."
"My bonds were loosened, and I was allowed a little jerk and hominy for my refreshment. The next day I could perceive some great expedition on foot; the Indians were running to and fro in every direction; some grinding paint and some cleaning up their arms; and even the squaws and little boys were providing themselves with hatchets and scalping knives, and strewing themselves from the Ohio River all along the cliffs of Kanawha."
"Late in the evening, I saw an uncommon anxiety on the faces of the savages; councils, grand and petty, were held in various places, and so completely were my guards absorbed in the undertaking which was at hand, that they became entirely remiss in their attentions to me. I resolved to seize the propitious moment, and make my escape. I sprang on my feet and ran as fast as my legs would carry me. A loud whoop proclaimed the event, and in a moment, I could perceive myself closely pursued by half a dozen athletic young fellows, with uplifted tomahawks."
"Fear added to my limbs the agility of the deer. With my head turned back over one shoulder, I bounded through the pine trees until my speed had carried me unawares to the brink of a precipice. I tried to stop; it was too late; I gave a piercing shriek and bounded over. A rushing sound in my ears like the roaring of a mill-dam, then the crashing of branches and limbs recalled me to my recollection, and I found myself to my inexpressible delight, breaking my way through the thick branches of a buck-eye tree. I alighted without injury, and looking back upon the cliff above, could see my savage pursuers gaping over the precipice in amazement. I gave not a second look, but darted off toward the point with a heart swelling with praise to the great Creator, who had thus twice rescued me so miraculously from my enemies."
"Arriving at the mouth of the Kanawha, I shouted aloud for assistance. But, the whites had too often been decoyed by their own people to the savages, to be easily imposed upon. They answered me they could give no assistance."
"I could not swim, but my ingenuity, never fertile in expedients, befriended me now for the first time in my life. I rolled down a dry log from the bank into the water, and getting astride of it, I managed by great exertion of hands and feet, to row it across the stream, which at that time, from the great height of the Ohio, was as still as a millpond."
"I was received by General Lewis, the commandant of the fort, with great cordiality and affection; and, being naked and necessitous, I enrolled myself as a regular in the corps; and, being dressed in militaire, with a tremendous rifle in my hand and a thick breast work before me, I felt as brave as Julius Caesar."
"I was in hopes that I might enjoy, within the walls of a fort, some respite from the fears, toils and anxieties which had, for the last two weeks, worn me out both body and mind. But he who undertakes to settle in a new and savage country, must look out for no such respite, until, by hardihood and perseverance, he has levelled the forest, with its inhabitants, to the earth."
"On the 10th of October, 1774, about sun-rise, the hunters came in at full speed, and gave the appalling information that a large body of Indians had spread themselves from river to river, and were advancing by slow degrees toward the fort; at the same instant, we could observe the women and boys skulking up and down the opposite banks of the Ohio and Kanawha."
"The position of the fort was peculiarly favorable to a surprise. As I have above mentioned, it was situated at a right angular point formed by the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers."
"The country above the fort was covered with a heavy forest and impervious growth of underwood, through which an invading force might penetrate completely undiscovered, to the very walls of the fort. The garrison was composed of about twelve hundred men entirely Virginians, from the counties of Botetourt and Augusta. The Indians consisted of about the same number, the flower of the Shawnee, Wyandotte and Mingoe tribes, who were commanded by the celebrated Chieftain, Cornstalk."
"From the large force which he had collected for this expedition, and from the secrecy of his movements, it was evident that the Indian Chief, in this desperate attempt to recover the country east of the Ohio river, meditated nothing less than an entire extermination of the garrison."
"General Lewis ordered out about seven hundred of his rangers, under the command of his nephew, Colonel Charles Lewis(there are conflicting reports about the number sent out); with the remaining part of his troops, about five hundred in number, he determined to act as a reserve and defend the fort to extremities."
"I happened to be among those who were ordered out, very much against my will; but it was neck or nothing; we advanced about three hundred yards in front of the fort, toward a deep ravine which intersected the valley at the right angles with the Kanawha. All was still as death; one moment more and a yell mingled with the roar of a thousand rifles rung from river to river, and at the same moment every bush and tree seemed alive with armed savages."
"Col. Lewis was killed at the first fire, but the rangers maintained their ground, and a contest commenced more desperate and more rapidly fatal than any which had ever been fought with the Aboriginese, excepting that of Talledaga."
"The Indian Chief, with that promptness for seizing an advantage, and that peculiar military tact for which he was so much renowned, extended his line from the Ohio as far as it would stretch across to the Kanawha bank, for the purpose of outflanking the opposing forces. But, in the execution of this maneuver, he was completely foiled by the superior address and boldness of the whites who, animated with revenge for the loss of their leader and a consciousness of their desperate situation, fought with a fury that supplied the inequality of numbers, and set at defiance every stratagem of the savages."
"Finding that his method of outflanking would not succeed, the Indian Chief concentrated his forces, and furiously attacked the center of the Virginia line. The savages, animated by their warlike and noble Chieftan, Cornstalk, forgot the craftiness of their nature, and rushing from their coverts, engaged hand to hand with their stout and hardy adversaries, until the contest resembled more a circus of gladiators than a field of battle."
"I became desperate; hide where I would, the muzzle of some rifle was gaping in my face, and the wild, distorted countenance of a savage, render-he more frightful by paint, was rushing towards me with uplifted tomahawk. One fellow in particular, seemed to mark me as his victim; I levelled my rifle at him as he came yelling and leaping towards me, and fired."
"The ball missed my aim. He rose upon his toes with exultation, and whirling his tomahawk round his head, slung it at me with all his powers. I fell upon my face, and it whizzed harmless over my head and stuck into a sapling. I bounded up and forced it from the tree, but the Indian was on me and rescued the hatchet from my hands. I seized him round the waist, enclosing both his arms at the same time and tripping up his heels, we rolled together upon the ground."
"I at last grew furious, gouged him with my thumbs in both eyes, and seizing him with my teeth by the nose, I bit the whole of it from his face; he yelled out with pain and rage, and letting loose the hatchet to disengage my teeth, I grasped the handle and buried the sharp point into his brains. He gave one convulsive leap which bounced me from his body, and in a moment after expired."
"I immediately rose, and gaining a secure position behind a tree, remained there till the close of the fight, and made a thousand resolutions, if I survived this engagement, never to be caught in such a scrape again. I kept my word; for, I have never since encountered the savages, and if Heaven forgives me, I never will. There is no fun in it."
To read more about this fascinating bit of history click on the link below.
Lord Dunmore's War
Map of Point Pleasant. Within the yellow semi-circle is the furtherest out the battle could have been fought because beyond that is a steep hill and the ravine which the indians came down shows up as the dark cresent shape near the point. The Kanawha is at the bottom left and shows darker emptying into the Ohio.
Standing at the point and looking across the Kanawha we can see where our hero stood and called for help.
This tree stands at the point where the Kanawha empties into the Ohio. The Silver Bridge spans the Ohio further South and was built as a replacement for the Silver Bridge that fell in 1967. The Fort stood about where the camera is.
The ravine down which the Indians crept is now the rear of the city building and police station.
This is the only tree that witnessed the Battle of Point Pleasant.
We hope you enjoyed your trip into the past. ~ WVNan and Aquamarine
|
|
|
|
|
|
|