Arrival of reinforcements at Bryant's Station--Colonel
Daniel Boone, his son and brother among them--Colonels
Trigg, Todd, and others--Great number of commissioned
officers--Consultation--Pursuit commenced without waiting for
Colonel Logan's reinforcement--Indian trail--Apprehensions
of Boone and others--Arrival at the Blue Licks--Indians
seen--Consultation--Colonel Boone's opinion--Rash conduct of Major
McGary--Battle of Blue Licks commenced--Fierce encounter with the
Indians--Israel Boone, Colonels Todd and Trigg, and Majors Harland
and McBride killed--Attempt of the Indians to outflank the
whites--Retreat of the whites--Colonel Boone nearly surrounded
by Indians--Cuts his way through them, and returns to Bryant's
Station--Great slaughter--Bravery of Netherland--Noble conduct of
Reynolds in saving Captain Patterson--Loss of the whites--Colonel
Boone's statement--Remarks on McGary's conduct--The fugitives meet
Colonel Logan with his party--Return to the field of battle--Logan
returns to Bryant's Station.
The intelligence of the siege of Bryant's Station had spread far and
wide, and the whole region round was in a state of intense excitement.
The next morning after the enemy's retreat, reinforcements began to
arrive, and in the course of the day successive bodies of militia
presented themselves, to the number of one hundred and eighty men.
Among this number was Colonel Daniel Boone, his son Israel, and his
brother Samuel, with a strong party of men from Boonesborough. Colonel
Stephen Trigg led a similar corps from Harrodsburg; and Colonel John
Todd headed the militia from Lexington. Majors Harland, McGary, McBride,
and Levi Todd were also among the arrivals.[43]
It is said that nearly one-third of the whole force assembled at
Bryant's Station were commissioned officers, many of whom had hurried
to the relief of their countrymen. This superior activity is to be
accounted for by the fact that the officers were generally selected
from the most active and skillful of the pioneers.
A consultation was held in a tumultuous manner, and it was determined
to pursue the enemy at once. The Indians had retreated by way of the
Lower Blue Licks. The pursuit was commenced without waiting for the
junction of Colonel Logan, who was known to be coming up with a strong
reinforcement. The trail of the enemy exhibited a degree of carelessness
very unusual in an Indian retreat. Various articles were strewn along
the path, as if in terror they had been abandoned. These symptoms, while
they increased the ardor of the young men, excited the apprehensions
of the more experienced borderers, and Boone in particular. He noticed
that, amid all the signs of disorder so lavishly displayed, the Indians
seemed to take even unusual care to conceal their numbers by contracting
their camp. It would seem that the Indians had rather overdone their
stratagem. It was very natural to those not much experienced in Indian
warfare to suppose that the articles found strewn along the road had
been abandoned in the hurry of flight; but when they found that the
utmost pains had been taken to point out the way to them by chopping the
trees, one would have thought that the rawest among them, who had only
spent a few months on the border, could have seen through so transparent
an artifice. But these indications were disregarded in the desire felt
to punish the Indians for their invasion.
Nothing was seen of the enemy till the Kentuckians reached the Blue
Licks. Here, just as they arrived at Licking River, a few Indians were
seen on the other side, retreating without any appearance of alarm.
The troops now made a halt, and the officers held a consultation to
determine on the course to be pursued. Colonel Daniel Boone, on being
appealed to as the most experienced person present, gave his opinion as
follows:
"That their situation was critical and delicate: that the force opposed
to them was undoubtedly numerous and ready for battle, as might readily
be seen from the leisurely retreat of the few Indians who had appeared
upon the crest of the hill; that he was well acquainted with the ground
in the neighborhood of the Licks, and was apprehensive that an ambuscade
was formed at the distance of a mile in advance, where two ravines, one
upon each side of the ridge, ran in such a manner that a concealed enemy
might assail them at once both in front and flank before they were
apprized of the danger.
"It would be proper, therefore, to do one of two things. Either to await
the arrival of Logan, who was now undoubtedly on his march to join them;
or, if it was determined to attack without delay, that one-half of their
number should march up the river, which there bends in an elliptical
form, cross at the rapids, and fall upon the rear of the enemy, while
the other division attacked them in front. At any rate, he strongly
urged the necessity of reconnoitering the ground carefully before the
main body crossed the river."[44]
McClung, in his "Western Adventures," doubts whether the plan of
operation proposed by Colonel Boone would have been more successful than
that actually adopted; suggesting that the enemy would have cut them off
in detail, as at Estill's defeat.
But before the officers could come to any conclusion, Major McGary
dashed into the river on horseback, calling on all who were not cowards
to follow. The next moment the whole of the party were advancing to the
attack with the greatest ardor, but without any order whatever. Horse
and foot struggled through the river together, and, without waiting to
form, rushed up the ascent from the shore.
"Suddenly," says McClung, "the van halted. They had reached the spot
mentioned by Boone, where the two ravines head, on each side of the
ridge. Here a body of Indians presented themselves, and attacked the
van. McGary's party instantly returned the fire, but under great
disadvantage. They were upon a bare and open ridge; the Indians in a
bushy ravine. The centre and rear, ignorant of the ground, hurried up
to the assistance of the van, but were soon stopped by a terrible fire
from the ravine which flanked them. They found themselves enclosed as
if in the wings of a net, destitute of proper shelter, while the enemy
were in a great measure covered from their fire. Still, however, they
maintained their ground. The action became warm and bloody. The parties
gradually closed, the Indians emerged from the ravine, and the fire
became mutually destructive. The officers suffered dreadfully. Todd and
Trigg in the rear, Harland, McBride, and young Israel Boone in front,
were already killed."
"The Indians gradually extended their line to turn the right of the
Kentuckians, and cut off their retreat. This was quickly perceived by
the weight of the fire from that quarter, and the rear instantly fell
back in disorder, and attempted to rush through their only opening to
the river. The motion quickly communicated itself to the van, and a
hurried retreat became general. The Indians instantly sprung forward
in pursuit, and, falling upon them with their tomahawks, made a cruel
slaughter. From the battle-ground to the river the spectacle was
terrible. The horsemen, generally, escaped; but the foot, particularly
the van, which had advanced furthest within the wings of the net, were
almost totally destroyed. Colonel Boone, after witnessing the death of
his son and many of his dearest friends, found himself almost entirely
surrounded at the very commencement of the retreat."
"Several hundred Indians were between him and the ford, to which the
great mass of the fugitives were bending their flight, and to which the
attention of the savages was principally directed. Being intimately
acquainted with the ground, he, together with a few friends, dashed into
the ravine which the Indians had occupied, but which most of them had
now left to join in the pursuit. After sustaining one or two heavy
fires, and baffling one or two small parties who pursued him for a short
distance, he crossed the river below the ford by swimming, and, entering
the wood at a point where there was no pursuit, returned by a circuitous
route to Bryant's Station. In the mean time, the great mass of the
victors and vanquished crowded the bank of the ford."
"The slaughter was great in the river. The ford was crowded with horsemen
and foot and Indians, all mingled together. Some were compelled to seek
a passage above by swimming; some who could not swim were overtaken and
killed at the edge of the water. A man by the name of Netherland, who
had formerly been strongly suspected of cowardice, here displayed a
coolness and presence of mind equally noble and unexpected. Being finely
mounted, he had outstripped the great mass of fugitives, and crossed
the river in safety. A dozen or twenty horsemen accompanied him, and,
having placed the river between them and the enemy, showed a disposition
to continue their flight, without regard to the safety of their friends
who were on foot, and still struggling with the current."
"Netherland instantly checked his horse, and in a loud voice, called
upon his companions to halt, fire upon the Indians, and save those who
were still in the stream. The party instantly obeyed; and facing about,
poured a close and fatal discharge of rifles upon the foremost of the
pursuers. The enemy instantly fell back from the opposite bank, and gave
time for the harassed and miserable footmen to cross in safety. The
check, however, was but momentary. Indians were seen crossing in great
numbers above and below, and the flight again became general. Most of
the foot left the great buffalo track, and plunging into the thickets,
escaped by a circuitous route to Bryant's Station."
The pursuit was kept up for twenty miles, though with but little
success. In the flight from the scene of action to the river, young
Reynolds, (the same who replied to Girty's summons at Bryant's Station,)
on horseback, overtook Captain Patterson on foot. This officer had not
recovered from the effects of wounds received on a former occasion, and
was altogether unable to keep up with the rest of the fugitives.
Reynolds immediately dismounted, and gave the captain his horse.
Continuing his flight on foot, he swam the river, but was made prisoner
by a party of Indians. He was left in charge of a single Indian, whom he
soon knocked down, and so escaped. For the assistance he so gallantly
rendered him, Captain Patterson rewarded Reynolds with a present of two
hundred acres of land.
Sixty whites were killed in this battle of the Blue Licks, and seven
made prisoners. Colonel Boone, in his Autobiography, says that he was
informed that the Indian loss in killed, was four more than that of the
Kentuckians, and that the former put four of the prisoners to death,
to make the numbers equal. But this account does not seem worthy of
credit, when we consider the vastly superior numbers of the Indians,
their advantage of position, and the disorderly manner in which the
Kentuckians advanced. If this account is true, the loss of the Indians
in the actual battle must have been much greater than that of their
opponents, many of the latter having been killed in the pursuit.
As the loss of the Kentuckians on this occasion, the heaviest they had
ever sustained, was undoubtedly caused by rashness, it becomes our duty,
according to the established usage of historians, to attempt to show
where the fault lies. The conduct of McGary, which brought on the
action, appears to be the most culpable. He never denied the part which
is generally attributed to him, but justified himself by saying that
while at Bryant's Station, he had advised waiting for Logan, but was
met with the charge of cowardice. He believed that Todd and Trigg were
jealous of Logan, who was the senior Colonel, and would have taken the
command had he come up. This statement he made to a gentleman several
years after the battle took place. He said also to the same person, that
when he found them hesitating in the presence of the enemy, he "burst
into a passion," called them cowards, and dashed into the river as
before narrated. If this account be true, it may somewhat palliate, but
certainly not justify the action.
Before the fugitives reached Bryant's Station, they met Logan advancing
with his detachment. The exaggerated accounts he received of the
slaughter, induced him to return to the above-mentioned place. On the
next morning all who had escaped from the battle were assembled, when
Logan found himself at the head of four hundred and fifty men. With this
force, accompanied by Colonel Boone, he set out for the scene of action,
hoping that the enemy, encouraged by their success, would await his
arrival. But when he reached the field, he found it deserted. The bodies
of the slain Kentuckians, frightfully mangled, were strewed over the
ground. After collecting and interring these, Logan and Boone, finding
they could do nothing more, returned to Bryant's Station, where they
disbanded the troops.
"By such rash men as McGary," says Mr. Peck,[45] "Colonel Boone was
charged with want of courage, when the result proved his superior wisdom
and fore-sight. All the testimony gives Boone credit for his sagacity
and correctness in judgment before the action, and his coolness and
self-possession in covering the retreat. His report of this battle to
Benjamin Harrison, Governor of Virginia, is one of the few documents
that remain from his pen."
"Boone's Station, Fayette County, August 30th, 1782.
"Sir: Present circumstances of affairs cause me to write to your
Excellency as follows. On the 16th instant, a large number of Indians,
with some white men, attacked one of our frontier Stations, known by the
name of Bryant's Station. The siege continued from about sunrise till
about ten o'clock the next day, when they marched off. Notice being
given to the neighboring Stations, we immediately raised one hundred and
eighty-one horse, commanded by Colonel John Todd, including some of the
Lincoln County militia, commanded by Colonel Trigg, and pursued about
forty miles.
"On the 19th instant, we discovered the enemy lying in wait for us.
On this discovery, we formed our columns into one single line, and
marched up in their front within about forty yards, before there was
a gun fired. Colonel Trigg commanded on the right, myself on the left,
Major McGary in the centre, and Major Harlan the advanced party in
front. From the manner in which we had formed, it fell to my lot to
bring on the attack. This was done with a very heavy fire on both sides,
and extended back of the line to Colonel Trigg, where the enemy were so
strong they rushed up and broke the right wing at the first fire. Thus
the enemy got in our rear, with the loss of seventy-seven of our men,
and twelve wounded. Afterward we were reinforced by Colonel Logan,
which made our force four hundred and sixty men. We marched again to
the battle-ground; but finding the enemy had gone, we proceeded to bury
the dead.
"We found forty-three on the ground, and many lay about, which we could
not stay to find, hungry and weary as we were, and somewhat dubious that
the enemy might not have gone off quite. By the signs, we thought that
the Indians had exceeded four hundred; while the whole of this militia
of the county does not amount to more than one hundred and thirty. From
these facts your Excellency may form an idea of our situation.
"I know that your own circumstances are critical; but are we to be
wholly forgotten? I hope not. I trust about five hundred men may be sent
to our assistance immediately. If these shall be stationed as our county
lieutenants shall deem necessary, it may be the means of saving our part
of the country; but if they are placed under the direction of General
Clark, they will be of little or no service to our settlement. The Falls
lie one hundred miles west of us, and the Indians northeast; while our
men are frequently called to protect them. I have encouraged the people
in this county all that I could; but I can no longer justify them or
myself to risk our lives here under such extraordinary hazards. The
inhabitants of this county are very much alarmed at the thoughts of
the Indians bringing another campaign into our country this fall.
If this should be the case, it will break up these settlements. I hope,
therefore, your Excellency will take the matter into consideration, and
send us some relief as quick as possible.
"These are my sentiments, without consulting any person. Colonel Logan
will, I expect, immediately send you an express, by whom I humbly
request your Excellency's answer. In the meanwhile, I remain,"
DANIEL BOONE.
[Footnote 43: Peck.]
[Footnote 44: McClung.]
[Footnote 45: "Life of Boone," p. 130.]