Captain Boone tried by court-martial--Honorably acquitted and
promoted--Loses a large sum of money--His losses by lawsuits and
disputes about land--Defeat of Colonel Rogers's party--Colonel
Bowman's expedition to Chillicothe--Arrival near the town--Colonel
Logan attacks the town--Ordered by Colonel Bowman to
retreat--Failure of the expedition--Consequences to Bowman and to
Logan.
Some complaint having been made respecting Captain Boone's surrender of
his party at the Blue Licks, and other parts of his military conduct,
his friends Colonel Richard Callaway and Colonel Benjamin Logan,
exhibited charges against him which occasioned his being tried by
court-martial. This was undoubtedly done with a view to put an end to
the calumny by disproving or explaining the charges. The result of the
trial was an honorable acquittal increased popularity of the Captain
among his fellow citizens, and his promotion to the rank of Major.[39]
While Boone had been a prisoner among the Indians, his wife and family,
supposing him to be dead, had returned to North Carolina. In the autumn
of 1778 he went after them to the house of Mrs. Boone's father on the
Yadkin.
In 1779, a commission having been opened by the Virginia Legislature
to settle Kentucky land claims, Major Boone "laid out the chief of his
little property to procure land warrants, and having raised about twenty
thousand dollars in paper money, with which he intended to purchase
them, on his way from Kentucky to Richmond, he was robbed of the whole,
and left destitute of the means of procuring more. This heavy misfortune
did not fall on himself alone. Large sums had been entrusted to him by
his friends for similar purposes, and the loss was extensively felt."
Boone must have suffered much anxiety in consequence of this affair.
Little is known respecting it, excepting that it did not impair the
confidence of his friends in his perfect integrity.
This appears in the following extract of a letter from Colonel Thomas
Hart, late of Lexington, Kentucky, to Captain Nathaniel Hart, dated
Grayfields, August 3d, 1780.
"I observe what you say respecting our losses by Daniel Boone. [Boone
had been robbed of funds in part belonging to T. and N. Hart.] I had
heard of the misfortune soon after it happened, but not of my being
partaker before now. I feel for the poor people who, perhaps, are to
lose even their pre-emptions: but I must say, I feel more for Boone,
whose character, I am told, suffers by it. Much degenerated must the
people of this age be, when amongst them are to be found men to censure
and blast the reputation of a person so just and upright, and in whose
breast is a seat of virtue too pure to admit of a thought so base and
dishonorable. I have known Boone in times of old, when poverty and
distress had him fast by the hand: and in these wretched circumstances,
I have ever found him of a noble and generous soul, despising every
thing mean; and therefore I will freely grant him a discharge for
whatever sums of mine he might have been possessed of at the time."
Boone's ignorance of legal proceedings, and his aversion to lawsuits,
appear to have occasioned the loss of his real estate; and the loose
manner in which titles were granted, one conflicting with another,
occasioned similar losses to much more experienced and careful men at
the same period.
During the year 1779 the emigration to Kentucky was much greater than
any previous one. The settlers do not seem to have been so much annoyed
by the Indians as formerly. Yet this year is distinguished in the annals
of Kentucky for the most bloody battle ever fought between the whites
and Indians within her borders, with the single exception of that of the
Blue Licks.
It took place opposite to Cincinnati. Colonel Rogers had been down to
New Orleans to procure supplies for the posts on the Upper Mississippi
and Ohio. Having obtained them, he ascended these rivers until he
reached the place mentioned above. Here he found the Indians in their
canoes coming out of the mouth of the Little Miami, and crossing to the
Kentucky side of the Ohio. He conceived the plan of surprising them as
they landed. The Ohio was very low on the Kentucky side, so that a large
sand-bar was laid bare, extending along the shore. Upon this Rogers
landed his men, but, before they could reach the spot where they
expected to attack the enemy, they were themselves attacked by such
superior numbers that the issue of the contest was not doubtful for a
single moment. Rogers and the greater part of his men were instantly
killed. The few who were left fled toward the boats. But one of them was
already in the possession of the Indians, whose flanks were extended in
advance of the fugitives, and the few men remaining in the other pushed
off from shore without waiting to take their comrades on board. These
last now turned around upon their pursuers, and, furiously charging
them, a small number broke through their ranks and escaped to
Harrodsburg. The loss in this most lamentable affair was about sixty
men, very nearly equal to that at Blue Licks.
The Kentuckians resolved to invade the Indian country, and Chillicothe
was selected as the point to feel the weight of their vengeance. Colonel
Bowman issued a call, inviting all those who were willing to accompany
him in the expedition to rendezvous at Harrodsburg. This was the manner
of organizing such expeditions in Kentucky. An officer would invite
volunteers to participate with him in an incursion into the Indian
country. All who joined were expected to submit to his direction.
On this occasion there was no want of zeal among the people. Bowman's
reputation as a soldier was good, and three hundred men were soon
collected, among whom were Logan and Harrod; both holding the rank of
captain. It does not appear that either Boone or Kenton engaged in this
enterprise. Indeed, the first is said to have been absent in North
Carolina his family having returned there after his capture in the
preceding year, supposing him to be dead.
The expedition moved in the month of July--its destination well
known--and its march so well conducted that it approached its object
without discovery. From this circumstances, it would seem that the
Indians were but little apprehensive of an invasion from those who had
never before ventured on it, and whom they were in the habit of invading
annually; or else so secure in their own courage that they feared no
enemy, for no suspecting spy was out to foresee approaching danger.
Arrived within a short distance of the town, night approached, and
Colonel Bowman halted. Here it was determined to invest and attack the
place just before the ensuing day, and several dispositions were then
made very proper for the occasion, indicating a considerable share
of military skill and caution, which gave reasonable promise of a
successful issue. At a proper hour the little army separated, after a
movement that placed it near the town the one part, under the command of
Bowman in person--the other, under Captain Logan; to whom precise orders
had been given to march, on the one hand, half round the town; while the
Colonel, passing the other way, was to meet him, and give the signal for
an assault. Logan immediately executed his orders, and the place was
half enveloped. But he neither saw nor heard the commander-in-chief.
Logan now ordered his men to conceal themselves in the grass and weeds,
and behind such other objects as were present, as the day began to show
itself, and he had not yet received the expected order to begin the
attack nor had he been able, though anxious, to ascertain what had
intercepted or delayed his superior officer. The men, on shifting about
for hiding-places, had alarmed one of the Indians' dogs, who forthwith
set to barking with the agitation of apparent fright. This brought out
an Indian warrior, who proceeded with caution on the way that the dog
seemed to direct his own attention, and in a short time, if he had
continued his progress, might have been made a prisoner; but, at this
critical moment, one of the party with the Colonel fired his gun;
which the Indian, well understanding as coming from an enemy, gave an
instantaneous and loud whoop, and ran immediately to his cabin. The
alarm was instantly spread through the town, and preparation made for
defense. The party with Logan was near enough to hear the bustle and to
see the women and children escaping to the cover of the woods by a ridge
which ran between them and where Colonel Bowman with his men had halted.
In the mean time, the warriors equipped themselves with their military
habiliments, and repaired to a strong cabin; no doubt, designated in
their councils for the like occurrences. By this time daylight had
disclosed the whole scene, and several shots were discharged on the
one side, and returned from the other, while some of Logan's men took
possession of a few cabins, from which the Indians had retreated--or
rather perhaps it should be said, repaired to their stronghold, the more
effectually to defend themselves. The scheme was formed by Logan, and
adopted by his men in the cabins, of making a movable breastwork out of
the doors and floors--and of pushing it forward as a battery against
the cabin in which the Indians had taken post; others of them had taken
shelter from the fire of the enemy behind stumps, or logs, or the vacant
cabins, and were waiting orders; when the Colonel finding that the
Indians were on their defense, dispatched orders for a retreat. This
order, received with astonishment, was obeyed with reluctance; and what
rendered it the more distressing, was the unavoidable exposure which the
men must encounter in the open field, or prairie, which surrounded the
town: for they were apprized that from the moment they left their cover,
the Indians would fire on them, until they were beyond the reach of
their balls. A retreat, however, was deemed necessary, and every man was
to shift for himself. Then, instead of one that was orderly, commanding,
or supported--a scene of disorder, unmilitary and mortifying, took
place: here a little squad would rush out of, or break from behind a
cabin--there individuals would rise from a log, or start up from a
stump, and run with all speed to gain the neighboring wood.
At length, after the loss of several lives, the remnant of the invading
force was reunited, and the retreat continued in tolerable order, under
the painful reflection that the expedition had failed, without any
adequate cause being known. This was, however, but the introduction to
disgrace, if not of misfortune still more extraordinary and distressing.
The Indian warriors, commanded by Blackfish, sallied from the town, and
commenced a pursuit of the discomfited invaders of their forests and
firesides, which they continued for some miles, harassing and galling
the rear of the fugitives without being checked, notwithstanding the
disparity of numbers. There not being more than thirty of the savages
in pursuit. Bowman, finding himself thus pressed, at length halted his
men in a low piece of ground covered with brush; as if he sought shelter
from the enemy behind or among them. A situation more injudiciously
chosen, if chosen at all, cannot be easily imagined--since of all
others, it most favored the purposes of the Indians. In other respects
the commander seems also to have lost his understanding--he gave no
orders to fire--made no detachment to repulse the enemy, who, in a few
minutes, by the whoops, yells, and firing, were heard on all sides--but
stood as a mark to be shot at, or one panic struck. Some of the men
fired, but without any precise object, for the Indians were scattered,
and hid by the grass and bushes. What would have been the final result
it is difficult to conjecture, if Logan, Harrod, Bulger, and a few
others, had not mounted some of the pack-horses and scoured the woods,
first in one direction then in another; rushing on the Indians wherever
they could find them, until very fortunately Blackfish was killed; and
this being soon known, the rest fled. It was in the evening when this
event occurred, which being reported to the colonel, he resumed his
march at dark--taking for his guide a creek near at hand, which he
pursued all night without any remarkable occurrence--and in quiet and
safety thence returned home, with the loss of nine men killed and
another wounded: having taken two Indian scalps: which, however, was
thought a trophy of small renown.
A somewhat different account is given by some, in which Bowman is
exculpated from all blame. According to this, it was the vigorous
defense of the Indians which prevented him from fulfilling his part of
the combinations. Be this as it may, it is certain that Bowman lost
reputation by the expedition; while, on the other hand, the conduct of
Logan raised him still higher in the estimation of the people.
[Footnote 39: Peck.]