CHAPTER III THE COUNTY OF KENTUCKY, 1776-1780 ALTHOUGH it was not until 1778 that the title of the Transylvania Company was legally annulled, it had long before ceased to be considered valid. On the Kentucky established 4th of July, 1776, the Continental Congress County adopted the Declaration of Independence, and in December of that year Kentucky1 County was established by Virginia. Before this time, the region was a part of Fincastle. County, Virginia, and so remote a part that the settlers had no voice in the government of the State. But now they were entitled to choose for themselves two representatives to the Virginia legislature, and to have local courts of justice and military protection. The change brought greater stability to the colony. Harrodsburg was selected as the county seat, and the first court was held there in September, 1777. It was composed of the ablest men of the time. Among the number were John Floyd, John Todd, Benjamin Logan, 1 After the Transylvania Colony was abolished, the name "Kentucky" was adopted by the pioneers. "Kentucky is from the Iroquois word Kentake, meaning prairie or meadow land. The name probably originated in those treeless stretches of country between the Salt and Green rivers, which our ancestors called barrens. The Indians in early times burnt the trees off these lands and then designated them by Kentake, meaning the meadow or prairie lands."- Centenary of Kentucky, by R. T. Durrett; Filson Club Publication No. 7. John Bowman, and Richard Callaway, all men of character, who became distinguished in the pioneer struggle for existLevi Todd was appointed clerk, and John Bowman colonel of Kentucky County. ence. Repeated For the next two years, the different stations were disturbed by frequent raids from Indians, which, however, did not result in any serious loss of life to the whites, but proved extremely distressing to the women and children and unfavorable to the growth of the country. Harrodsburg was first attacked, and then, in quick succession, Boonesborough and Logan's fort. An incident in connection with the latter siege is worthy of remembrance, as it illustrates the sagacious heroism of a man whose every act was honorable and courageous. S of In the spring of 1777, some women were milking cows outside the fort, guarded by armed men, when they were fired upon by Indians. All fled toward the Logan's fort, but one man was killed, another slightly heroism wounded, and a third so severely injured that he was unable to escape. The Indians left him where he fell, while they lurked within gunshot. Secure of his scalp, they hoped In to entrap others who might venture to his rescue. prised and puzzled Indians had time to recover sufficiently to take sure aim at him. Balls and arrows flew about him, but he and his companion reached the fort in safety. Indian hostilities The Indians continued their resistance to the settlement of Kentucky, and yet the population slowly grew. Boonesborough suffered a second attack, July, 1777. At this time there were only twentytwo fighting men to defend the fort; but toward the end of the year that station was increased by fifty men and their families, and Logan's fort had an addition of thirtyeight families. There were now between five hundred and six hundred people in Kentucky; and only the stouthearted came, for it was known that the Indians were powerfully aided by the English in their warfare upon the Kentuckians, and that it would probably be long continued. The British aid the Indians We have seen that the country west of the Alleghanies and east of the Mississippi had been in the possession of the French, who began to settle it as early, probably, as 1688, after the celebrated La Salle (who made explorations there) had returned to his native land with accounts of the great river and the fertile country. Later on, a conflict arose between the French and English colonists in North America that developed into what is called the French and Indian War. After a long and fierce struggle, the French surrendered to the English in 1763. The old French villages, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, etc., in Illinois, and Vincennes, on the Wabash, were fortified by the conquerors, and, at the outbreak of the Revolution, these posts were the military strongholds of the English king. It was from them that the Indians, who had allied themselves with Great Britain against the Americans, received the supplies which enabled them to besiege the Kentuckians. George Rogers Clark had been contemplating an attack upon these British possessions that would subdue the power of the Indians, and open the west to the Americans. About this time he received an order from the Virginia legislature to lead his expedition into the Illinois counRogers Clark's try, as that region was then indefinitely called. Clark George expedition George Rogers Clark had visited Kentucky in 1776, and had determined to throw in his fortunes with that colony. He was a young Virginian of striking bearing and bold, unwavering character. He possessed precisely the order of talent fitted for the expedition to which he was called. His plan of conquering the Illinois country was adroit and vigorous. His victorious march from Kaskaskia to Cahokia, and the final capture of Vincennes, February 25, 1779, distinguished him as a man of high military genius. An account of these campaigns belongs properly to the history of the United States. Their result, however, was of inestimable benefit to the settlers in Kentucky and they rejoiced in the glory attending them; for most of the men who served with Clark either had lived in Kentucky or intended to make their homes there. John Todd, already a prominent Kentuckian, was made county lieutenant or governor of the Illinois country. When Clark and his troops came down the Ohio in flatboats, on their way to the Illinois country, they brought with them about twenty families who intended to settle in Kentucky. They landed upon a founder of small island at the Falls of the Ohio, May 27, 1778, and proceeded to erect a fort. Clark the Louisville Here they remained |