That Dark and Bloody River

by Allan Eckert

  242. Lord Dunmore’s force was at this moment moving up the Hockhocking River on its new route dictated by the governor. At this point Dunmore made an utterance that lends much credence to the long-existing belief that he colluded with the Indians in setting up the Lewis force for this battle. Dunmore suddenly paused in the march and then, apropos of nothing, spoke aloud a sentence that was overheard by at least a half-dozen of his aides and officers: “I expect that right about now, General Lewis is having a very hot time of it.”

  243. This approaching force was led by Col. William Christian—identified as Col. John Christie in some accounts—who was bringing his reinforcement of independent companies from Fincastle County.

  244. Unfortunately, most historians have written that the Battle of Point Pleasant was a victory for the whites under Gen. Lewis, but the statistics certainly prove otherwise. The erroneous conclusion is reached because it was the Indians who finally withdrew from the field. The statistics are most revealing: Gen. Lewis had 75 men killed, including more than half his commissioned officers. An additional 140 were wounded, 88 of these beyond any further fighting in this campaign. Most accounts say the Indians had 300 killed, but this figure is based on a statement made by trader William McCulloch, who was not noted for his veracity in anything. In actuality, the Indians lost only 22 men, 14 of whom were killed on the battlefield and 8 who subsequently died of their wounds. Their total in nonmortally wounded was a mere 18. The final battle result: 215 casualties for the whites, 40 for the Indians—a ratio of over five to one. A considerably more detailed account of the Battle of Point Pleasant appears in the author’s A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh.

  245. Though often referred to as the Camp Charlotte Treaty, the agreement reached between the Indians and whites at Camp Charlotte was never formalized into a treaty. That treaty was to have been made the following spring at a general council to be held at Fort Pitt. Because of revolutionary war impending, however, that council was never held, the treaty was never made and the agreement at Camp Charlotte was not binding on either side, though the Shawnees made a concerted effort to live up to it. The whites largely ignored it.

  246. Arbuckle, in Gen. Lewis’s absence, had also auctioned off all the Indian paraphernalia picked up on the battlefield the day after the battle—23 guns, 27 tomahawks, a large number of war clubs, powderhorns and shot pouches, 80 blankets, numerous coats and some deer skins. The entire lot brought in £74.4s.6d. for the use of the army. Gen. Andrew Lewis served in command positions through the ensuing Revolutionary War until, just before the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, he became ill and set out for his home, a magnificent estate called Dropmore on the upper Roanoke River, but he died before reaching there while resting at the home of Col. William Buford. His body was transported to his estate and buried there, just outside the town limits of present Salem, Roanoke Co., Va.

  247. This camp, about four miles from Camp Charlotte, was located on the south bank of Congo Creek some 3.5 miles upstream from its mouth at Scippo Creek, which in turn flows into the Scioto River. Numerous accounts state that John Gibson was one of those who went on this mission to Talgayeeta, but existing evidence indicates Gibson never left Camp Charlotte during this period. Also, since Gibson was by this time aware that it was Greathouse, not Cresap, who had massacred Talgayeeta’s family, he would certainly have passed that information along to Talgayeeta before the latter made his speech, but the content of Talgayeeta’s speech makes it clear that he still considered Cresap responsible for the murder of his family. It was not until shortly later, according to Gibson’s deposition, that Talgayeeta was finally informed by his son-in-law that Cresap had had no hand in killing Logan’s family.

  248. Talgayeeta was at this time apparently still unaware that his sister’s daughter, the child of Koonay and John Gibson, was still living.

  249. Most accounts entirely overlook the fact that Talgayeeta did, in fact, come near Camp Charlotte after dictating his speech, though continuing his refusal to meet or parley with Lord Dunmore. Gibson’s deposition (made on April 4, 1800), however, indicates this is exactly what occurred.

  250. Seekonk was situated on the left (east) bank of the Olentangy River, at the northernmost limits of the present city of Worthington, Franklin Co., O.

  251. Crawford’s mission, guided by Daniel Sullivan, who had once been a captive there but had escaped, was largely successful. Due to the presence of the detachment being discovered before dawn, the majority of the Mingoes made their escape in the darkness, but six were killed, several others wounded, plus 14 squaws and children taken prisoner.

  252. Benjamin Wilson, who was with the Dunmore army and who later rose to the rank of colonel, was enthralled by Hokolesqua at the talks and wrote of him: “When he arose and spoke he was in no wise confused or daunted, but spoke in a bugle voice that could be distinctly heard all through the camp, without stammering or repetition, and with peculiar emphasis. His appearance, while addressing Dunmore, made him the most dignified looking man I ever saw, truly grand and majestic, yet graceful and attractive. I have heard the finest orators in Virginia—Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee—but never have I heard one whose powers of delivery surpassed those of Cornstalk on this occasion.”

  253. No written copy of the actual agreement exists, and some historians, in fact, claim that no such agreement regarding territorial adjustments was ever made; that the only true agreement made was that there was a declared truce and that white traders would hereafter be required to treat the Indians with greater respect and fairness in trade.

  254. Some of these dozen or so captives were extremely reluctant to return to the whites and, in fact, after being turned over to them, several slipped away and returned to their adopted Indian way of life.

  255. These four hostages were taken to Williamsburg and incarcerated there but, on the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, they escaped and returned to their people.

  256. The preamble to that stirring and memorable utterance by Patrick Henry is as follows: “The gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace! but there is no peace. The war has actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that the gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

  257. Involved with Henderson in this land scheme were William Johnston, John Williams, James Hogg, Leonard Hendly Bullock, John Lutterell and the Hart brothers—David, Nathaniel and Thomas.

  258. McClelland’s Station was established on the site of present Georgetown, Scott Co., and Patterson’s Settlement was on the site of present Lexington, Fayette Co., Ky.

  259. This Chalahgawtha was located at the site of the present little community of Oldtown, three miles north of present Xenia, Greene Co., O.

  260. The larger watercraft that took settlers down the Ohio were known as keelboats, broadhorns, barges and Kentucky boats. All were generally very roughly constructed and were very difficult to maneuver because of their bulkiness and great weight. They ranged in length from 50 to 100 feet and in width were usually 15 to 25 feet. The larger examples could carry 60 to 100 tons of cargo, livestock and people. Freight was usually stored in a rectangular construction called a cargo box at the front of the boat, while a flat-roofed cabin of sorts with slit-windows served as accommodation for the passengers. A tillerman normally took post on the roof of the cabin and generally kept the boat straight and tried to guide it through rough waters by use of a broad-bladed rudder about 20 to 30 feet in length, angled from the cabin roof to the water behind. Cattle, swine, horses and other livestock were usually confined in sectioned corrals rigged from the cargo box nearly back to the cabin house. Some of these boats were equipped with a mast and sail that could be used for greater speed when conditions pe
rmitted. These boats were most often constructed for a one-way passage only—downstream—relying for the most part on the current to carry them to their destination. In by far the majority of cases, when the destination was reached, the boat would then be dismantled and the wood used in the construction of cabins, fences, outbuildings and the like.

  261. It was not until June 29, 1776, however, that Virginia formally adopted its own constitutional government. On that same day the Virginians themselves elected Patrick Henry as governor.

  262. Connolly, on reporting to the British Army, received a commission as a lieutenant colonel in the regular army and the following year was sent west to lead the British and Indian forces. While on the way he was captured by the Americans and imprisoned for four years. When released in 1780, he joined Gen. Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, where he was again captured and again imprisoned, this time for two years. On his release he went to England but returned in 1788 as the British lieutenant governor of Detroit, where he failed to persuade leaders in Kentucky to change their allegiance to the Crown. During 1799 and 1800 he was British deputy superintendent of Indian affairs. He died January 30, 1813, at the age of 70.

  263. Much greater details of these attacks by Chiungalla’s force against the Kentucky settlements generally and the sieges lodged against Harrodsburg, St. Asaph’s and Boonesboro may be found in the author’s The Frontiersmen and A Sorrow in Our Heart: The Life of Tecumseh.

  264. The George Baker cabin was located on the site where a large industrial complex is now located, at the mouth of Raccoon Creek, on the left bank of the Ohio River, four miles downstream from the mouth of Beaver River and the same distance below the present town of Monaca, Beaver Co., Pa.

  265. All seven members of the Baker family survived and finally returned to the upper Ohio in 1782, after five years of captivity. The Indians had treated the captives reasonably well and headed toward Detroit with them. When they camped at the Mahoning River, however, the Indians had a discussion and decided to kill Mrs. Baker and the two youngest boys because the woman was too troublesome and the two smaller boys were slowing their progress. Baker, on learning of their plans, appealed to McCarty to prevent the executions or, if he could not, then to kill all in the family, as he would not care to survive. McCarty took pity on him and convinced the Chippewas to spare them, on the basis that they would be worth a little extra trouble for the reward they would get from Gen. Hamilton, which would be greater for living prisoners than for scalps. The eldest and youngest boys, George, Jr., and Michael, were sold to the Wyandots at Sandusky; the remainder were taken to Detroit and sold there to the British. Baker appealed to Gen. Hamilton to intercede with the Indians at Sandusky to get the two missing sons back. He did so, and the family was reunited in Detroit, where they remained captive for three years. Then they were moved to Chamblee, 12 miles from Montreal, where they remained another two years until finally exchanged and sent home via Lake Champlain, North River, Potomac and Pittsburgh.

  266. Isaac Williams was born in 1737 and, as a young boy, moved with his parents and family to the frontier town of Winchester, site of the present city of Winchester, Frederick Co., Va. Not long after that move, his father died and his mother subsequently married John Buckley. He remained with them until the outbreak of the French and Indian War, at which time he enlisted in Gen. Braddock’s army. He never returned home after that, having entered the Indian trade for a while and then becoming involved in land speculation.

  267. Jim Tomlinson apparently never returned to the Grave Creek Flats. Joe Tomlinson came back after an absence of eight years (in 1785) and abandoned it again in 1786.

  268. One account states that the weather was “frosty,” but this is evidently a mistake.

  269. One account states that they were working in a cornfield.

  270. One account says that the Indians got five rifles from the cabin, but this is unlikely, since neither Lewis nor Jacob owned a gun at this time and Old John and George had brought along only their own guns.

  271. The same account mentioned above states that the Indians got three horses near the creek and two others at the cabin, but this does not coincide with better-substantiated accounts from the Wetzel family.

  272. One account states that Jacob violently threw the puppy away twice before finally consenting to carry it. Another says that he threw the puppy in Wheeling Creek, and there may possibly be some element of truth to this, in that the puppy is never again mentioned in any of the accounts.

  273. Two different accounts state that Lewis was bleeding badly from the chest and that blood was spurting from his mouth as well; this is discounted since the wound was a deep graze and did not injure the lungs or any other internal organs. A third account states that the ball carried away a portion of Lewis’s sternum.

  274. Wetzel family tradition states that no pursuit of the raiding party was made, probably for the reasons stated by Capt. Meason. Also, following the trail would have meant returning the 14 miles to the Wetzel place, by which time the Indians would have had at least a 24-to-30-hour head start.

  275. One account says it was Stillwater Creek, but the logistics do not seem to work out properly for this to have been true.

  276. One account says Jacob refused to go back for the guns and so they left without them; this is not borne out, however, by the numerous other accounts that are explicit about the boys recovering the weapons and returning them to their father.

  277. This little unnamed blockhouse at the head of Cresap’s Bottom was situated on the left bank of the Ohio at the mouth of present Graveyard Run, one mile below and on the opposite side of the river from the mouth of Captina Creek and the present town of Powhatan Point, Belmont Co., O.

  278. One account states that this incident occurred a year later, in 1778, but that is not possible, as Martin Wetzel was at that time a captive of the Indians. Following Baker’s death, the Wetzels returned at once to Wheeling to report what had happened. A party returned the next day to the little blockhouse and solemnly buried the body on high ground a short distance from it. Those attending the funeral, in addition to the Wetzels, included Henry Baker and family, George Baker, Samuel P. Baker, Reuben Roberts and family, Captain James Roberts, Aaron Hughes and the Raigor brothers, Thomas, William and Leonard. So distraught was Martin Wetzel at the death of his friend that he stated his wish for all to hear that when he died, wherever that happened, he wished to be brought here and buried beside John Baker. That wish was fulfilled when he died in 1830 at the age of 73.

  279. Unfortunately, the two men who were sent on this mission to Grave Creek have not been identified.

  280. The crossing occurred from just below the mouth of the Wheeling Creek on the Ohio side—at that time called Indian Wheeling Creek—at present Bridgeport, Belmont Co., O., directly across to the island and then almost due east across the island along the trail now essentially followed by Virginia Street, and landed about 200 yards below the old State Route 231 bridge in present Wheeling, Ohio Co., W.Va.

  281. In various accounts, McMahan’s name is spelled McMahen, McMahon, Mahon and McMechen. McMahan is correct.

  282. Lt. Samuel Tomlinson was said, in one account, to have been a member of this party, but that is an error. Tomlinson, Capt. Meason’s lieutenant, was with him when the detachment was ambushed. Andrew Zane, according to another account, was also in this party, but this is unconfirmed by any other report, all others saying there were just two whites, Greathouse and Boyd. In some of those accounts this Greathouse is named Daniel Greathouse, but that, too, is an error, since Daniel Greathouse had died of measles on October 26, 1775.

  283. There is no further information after this time about the slave named Ezra, but since his body was never found, it is assumed he was carried into captivity and was probably killed in a gauntlet run or tortured to death.

  284. Silas Zane had recently returned to Wheeling following a stint with the Continental Army, during which he was demoted for cowardice in action and sent home. />
  285. Some accounts have confused this run of Betsy Wheat’s after her baby with the later run of Elizabeth Zane to the fort for gunpowder and have stated that when she went for the baby, the Indians cried “Squaw! Squaw!” Actually, those calls were made during Elizabeth Zane’s run. There were not yet any Indians in the Wheeling Settlement when Betsy Wheat’s run was made.

  286. Accounts vary, some saying that Capt. Meason’s company went out first and, when it was attacked, Capt. Ogle’s company went out and fell into the same ambush. That seems unlikely, and the more generally accurate accounts state that all 26 men went out together and were ambushed at the same time.

  287. Abraham Rogers’s name is spelled Abram Rodgers in some accounts.

  288. This is the figure given by Alexander Scott Withers in his valuable and generally very accurate Chronicles of Border Warfare. Other sources, including McKiernan, state that within the fort only 12 men and boys remained. Withers may have been including in his number the relief party under Col. Samuel McCulloch, which arrived later in the morning.

  289. Nineteen of the 26 men of this party were killed on the spot, scalped and their weapons taken.

  290. Sgt. Jacob Ogle was later found dead and scalped. He did not, as one account states, escape into the woods with two soldiers and die of his wounds there.

  291. One account states that Meason’s thigh bone was broken by the ball that struck him in the buttock, but that is not correct.

  292. Francis Duke’s body lay too close to the fort for the Indians to take his scalp immediately. After nightfall, his body was dragged to one of the cabins, where it was scalped and otherwise mutilated.

  293. There has been much speculation as to the identity of this British officer and the white man with him, but no positive identification is known. Quite a few accounts say the man in frontier garb was Simon Girty, but that is not possible, since Girty was at this time still part of the garrison at Fort Pitt and did not defect to the British and Indians until the following March. Some say it was George Girty, but this too is incorrect, since he was presently in active service in the Continental Army and did not desert until the following April. There is a possibility, though very remote, that it was James Girty, who was at this time living with the Shawnees, but that too is unlikely, since the Shawnees took no part in this attack on Wheeling.