Volume 14 , Issue 12

Highland County Virginia - Dunmore War & Revolution

In chapter 10, page 100, The History of Highland County, by Oren F. Morton, deals with The Dunmore War of 1774, Battle of Point Pleasant, the Revolution, Augusta Men in the War and slight outward change under Independence. From 1764 until 1774 there was a nominal peace with the Indians. It was the summer of 1774 that persistent pressure of the white settlers led to outrages as war broke out. Governor Dunmore led a force down the Ohio from Wheeling, while General Andrew Lewis, with militia of the Valley re-enforced by a few troops from Bedford and Culpepper, marched down the Great Kanawha, reaching Point Pleasant early in October.

In the army of Lewis there were 1,100 strong, were four companies from the counties of Bath, Highland and Pendleton. The Captains commanding them were John Dickenson of Bath, Andrew Lockridge and Samuel Wilson of Highland, and John Skidmore of Pendleton. The Virginia forces were divided, the Indians attempted to surprise and overwhelm Lewis, but did not succeed. The influence on the Revolution broke out the following year. The battle at Point Pleasant was well contested on both sides, with fighting almost hand to hand, the lines being seldom more than twenty mile apart, and sometimes no more than six. The Virginians lost 75 men killed and 140 wounded, with the slightly injured not apparently being included. The numbers and losses of the Indians were unknown, but were probably somewhat smaller in both particulars. The result at the close of day was thought by some of the whites as no better than a drawn battle. The Indians were disheartened, agreed to peace which lasted until they were stirred up by the British in 1778. Lewis' army returned in November.

Captain Wilson was killed and Captain Skidmore was wounded. The following extracts were written on the spot by men who were in the battle, which they furnished accounts of the first great battle in which Highland men were engaged, giving us some idea of the writing of that period. It comes from Col. William Fleming's Orderly Book.

Col. William Fleming's Orderly Book

Monday, October both (1774) -- "This morning before sunrise two men came running into Camp and gave information That a considerable body of Indians were incept about 2 miles up the Ohio a small distance from it, who made a very formidable appearance. This important intelligence was quickly confirmed by two or three more. The drums by order immediately beat to Arms and 150 men were ordered to be paraded out of each line and march against the enemy in two Columns. The right column headed by Col. Chas. Lewis with Captains Dickinson, Harrison, and Skidmore. The left Column commanded by Col. Fleming with Captains Shelby Russell Love and Buford. Thus disposed, they marched pretty briskly about 150 to 200 yards apart up the river about half a mile when, on a sudden, the enemy lurking behind bushes and trees gave the Augusta line a heavy fire, which was briskly followed by a second and third and returned again by our men with much bravery and courage. The attack was attended with the death of some of our bravest officers and men also with the deaths of a great number of the enemy. Nor were the enemy less tardy in their attack upon the left Column; for immediately after the fire upon the right line succeeded a heavy one on the left and a return from us with spirit and resolution. As the disposition in which the men were first placed would never promise success against an Indian Enemy the men were forced to quit their ranks and fly to trees in doing this the enemy made a small advance and forced our men of both lines to retreat the distance of perhaps one or two hundred yards under heavy fires attended with dismal yells and screams from the enemy. About this time we were succoured (sic) with a detachment from the camp commanded by Captains Mathews McDowell and others of the Augusta line and some time afterwards by all the Captains of each line except Capt. McClenshan of Augusta, who was upon guard and Captain Lewis of Botecourt , who was ordered to form a line round the camp for its defense. With the reinforcement front the camp, our men found their strength much increased and making a fierce onset forced the enemy from their stations and caused them to retreat by degrees about a mile giving them many brisk fires and hitting many of the leading men as was imagined. We at last with difficulty dislodged them from a fine long ridge leading from a small slash (swamp) near the river towards the hills and being discontinued by a small wet bottom again rose and was continued to the hills half a mile or more from the river. This advantageous post was gained about 1 o'clock all the efforts of the enemy to regain it proved rustles. Tho' they would summon all the force they could raise and make many pushes to break the line; the advantage of the place and the steadiness of the men defied their most furious essays. About 3 or 4 o'clock the enemy growing quite dispirited and all the attempts of their warriors to rally them proving vain they carried off their dead and wounded, giving us now and then a shot to prevent a pursuit; so that about an hour by sun we were in full possession on the field of Battle. Victory having now declared in our favor we had orders to return in slow pace to our camp carefully searching for the dead and wounded and to bring them in, as also the scalps of the enemy. The day being by this time far advanced with [out] any written orders double guards were ordered to be mounted. Parole Victory. Killed of the Augusta line in the action on the 10th of October, 1774, Col. Chas. Lewis, Capt. Saml Wilson and Lieuts. Hugh Allen, and 18 Privates, 2 Capts., 2 Lieuts. and 51 Private wounded."

Extract of Letter by W. Ingles

"Our guards properly posted at a distance from the camp as usual little expecting to be attacked by any party of enemy as we looked upon them to be so much inferior to us in numbers, but they taking the advantage of the night they crossed the Ohio on rafts and posted themselves within one mile of our camp where they lay till morning with an intent as we suppose to force our camp had not providence in a particular manner interposed in our behalf they were discovered by some of our hunting parties that happened to turn out that morning very early and one of our men was fired upon by them and killed and one of them was killed in his place that firing alarmed the whole camp and two detachments was sent out of a hundred and fifty each, the one commanded by Col. Charles Lewis of Augusta the other by Col. William Fleming the soon fell in with the enemy and a hot engagement ensued which lasted three hours very doubtful the enemy being much superior in number to the first detachments disputed the ground with the creates obstinacy often running up to the very muzzles of our guns where they as often fell victims to their rage. Several more detachments being sent from the camp they were obliged to give ground which the disputed inch by inch till at length they posted themselves on an advantage piece of ground where they continued at shooting now and then until night put an end to that tragical scene and left many a brave fellow wallering in his gore. We had the satisfaction of caring of all our wounded and killed with very little lose of scalps. We scalped 20 (17) of them on the field several they have scalped themselves their wounded the y carried off in the night after the Battle and several of them they dragged into the river. (Our) loss of men is very considerable."

Letter of Col. Wm. Christian

"From what I can gather here I cannot describe the bravery of the enemy in the battle. It exceeded every mans expectations. They had men planted on each river to kill our men as they would swim over, making no doubt I think of gaining a complete victory. Those over the Ohio in the time of battle called to the men to drive the white dogs in. Their chiefs ran continually along the line exhorting the meant o lye close and shoot well, fight and be strong. At first our men retreated a good ways and until new forces were sent out on which the enemy beat back slowly and killed and wounded our men at every advance. Our people at last formed a line, so did the enemy, they made may attempts to break our lines, at length our men made a stand, on which the enemy challenged them to come up and began to shoot. Our men could have forced them away precipitately, but not without great loss, and so concluded to maintain their ground all along the line. Which they did until sundown, when the enemy were supposed to be all gone. Our people then moved backward scalping the enemy, and bringing in the dead and wounded. The enemy came over on rafts about six miles up Ohio and set at the same place. They encamped within two miles of this place the night before the battle and killed some of our beeves (sic)."

War of Revolution

The war of the revolution began only half a year after the battle of Point Pleasant. The pioneers of Highland were zealous supporters of the American cause. The war was fought by the Americans to gain industrial freedom and to maintain their rights as British citizens. They acknowledged themselves to be subjects of the king of England, but held that they could rightfully be taxed only by their own legislatures. If this claim were given up, the door was at once open to injustice and oppression. The colonies rapidly grew, and in consequence it was the more intolerable that they should be expected to keep out of manufacturing, trade only with England, and be content to exchange the raw products of their fields and forests with the finished products of her workshops. The claims of the Americans did not necessarily lead to independence. This step was resorted to and accomplished because of the blind obstinacy of the British king. Canada, Australia, and South AFrica remain British because the home government learned wisdom from the lesson of 1783.

On 22 February 1775, the Augusta people wrote instructions, drawn up at Staunton, and given to their delegates to the House of Burgesses: "The people of Augusta are impressed with just sentiments of loyalty to his majesty, King George, whose title to the crown of Great Britain rests on no other foundation than the liberty of all his subjects. We have respect for the parent state, which respect is founded on religion, on law, and on the genuine principles of the British constitution. On these principles do we earnestly desire to see harmony and good understanding restored between Great Britain and America. many of us and our forefathers left our native land and explored this once savage wilderness to enjoy the free exercise of the rights of conscience and of human nature. These rights war are fully resolved with our lives and fortunes inviolably to preserve; nor will we surrender such inestimable blessings, the purchase of toil and anger, to any ministry, to any parliament, or any body of en by whom we are not represented, and in whom we are not represented, and in whose decisions, therefore, we have not voice. We are determined to maintain unimpaired that liberty which is the fight of Heaven to the subjects of Britain's empire, and will most cordially join our countrymen in such measures as may be necessary to secure and perpetuate the ancient, just, and legal rights of this colony and all British subjects."

A Memorial presented May 16, 1776, from County Committee: "A representation from the committee of the county of Augusta was presented to the convention and read, setting forth the present unhappy condition of the country, and from the ministerial measures of revenge now pursuing, representing the necessity of making a confederacy of the United States, the most perfect, independent, and lasting, and of framing an equal, free, and liberal government, that may bear the trial of all future ages."

The British government closed the port of Boston to foreign commerce; Augusta went 137 barrels of flour toward the relief of the people of the northern city; and the Augustans also backed up their words with bullets. men at that time or later were residents of Highland served in Washington's army. They also helped to guard the western frontier against the Indian allies of the British. It was the Highland volunteers under Captain David Gwin (NW OKie's 4th Great Grandfather) that marched to the support of General Greene in 1781 and took part in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Gen. Greene's Virginia militia fought well. On the field of Guilford the raw Virginians helped very much in making the nominal victory of Cornwallis a crashing defeat in reality. The war had never been popular with the English people. Even before the surrender of Cornwallis, William Pitt on the floor of Parliament had pronounced it the "most accursed, wicked, barbarous, cruel, unnatural, unjust, and diabolical of wars."

The last Augusta court under King George was held May 1, 1776. The first one under American independence was held July 16, 1776. The native governor lived in state like his British predecessor and signed land patents just as he had done. The man signing a bond was no longer "indebted to the king," but to "His excellency, the governor." The Virginia constitution of 1776 was no more than a restatement of the source of virginia law. The structure of society was in fact no more democratic and no less aristocratic the it was before.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

---