1782. Girty's talk with Reynolds. 251 succors came about two in the afternoon; sixteen men being mounted, and thirty or more on foot. The savages expected their arrival, and prepared to destroy them, but the horsemen, by rapid riding, and enveloped in dust,* reached the fort unharmed, and of the footmen, after an hour's hard fighting, only two were killed and four wounded. The Indian's courage rarely supports him through long continued exertion; and Girty found his men so far disheartened by their failures, that of the morning in the attempt to take the fort, and that in the afternoon to destroy the troops from Lexington, that before night they talked of abandoning the siege. This their leader was very unwilling to have done and thinking he might scare the garrison into surrender, he managed to get within speaking distance, and there from behind a large stump, commenced a parley. He told the white men who he was; assured them of his great desire that they should not suffer; and informing them that he looked hourly for reinforcements with cannon, against which they could not hope to hold out, begged them to surrender at once; if they did so, no one should be hurt, but if they waited till the cannon came up, he feared they would all fall victims. The garrison looked at one another with uncertainty and fear; against cannon they could do nothing, and cannon had been used in 1780. Seeing the effect of Girty's speech, and disbelieving every word of it, a young man named Reynolds took it upon himself to answer the renegade. "You need not be so particular," he cried, "to tell us your name; we know your name, and you too. I've had a villanous, untrustworthy cur-dog, this long while, named Simon Girty, in compliment to you; he's so like you-just as ugly and just as wicked. As to the cannon, let them come on; the country's roused, and the scalps of your red cut-throats and your own too, will be drying on our cabins in twenty-four hours. And if by any chance, you or your allies do get into the fort, we've a big store of rods laid in on purpose to Scourge you out again." The method taken by Reynolds was much more effectual than any argument with his comrades would have been, and Girty had to return to the Indian council-fire unsuccessful. But he and the chiefs well knew that though their reinforcements and cannon were all imaginary, the expected aid of the whites was not. Boone, Todd, and Logan would soon be upon them; the ablest * Cist's Cincinnati Miscellany, i. 238. The account is by E. E. Williams, who was a boy in the station at the time of the attack. 252 Kentuckians pursue Girty. 1782. and boldest of the pioneers would cut them off from a retreat to the Ohio, and their destruction would be insured. On the other hand, if they now began to retire and were pursued, as they surely would be, they could choose their own ground, and always fight with their way home clear behind them. All night they lay still, their fires burning, but when day broke, the whole body of savages was gone.* By noon of the 18th of August, about one hundred and eighty men had gathered at Bryant's station; among them were Boone and his youngest son. They had nominal commanders but no true discipline, and after a disorderly discussion, determined upon immediate pursuit, without waiting for the arrival of General Logan; accordingly, in the afternoon of the 18th, the whole body set forward, Colonel John Todd acting as leader. The trail of the savages was as plain as could be wished; indeed, to Boone and the more reflecting, it was clear that the retiring army had taken pains to make it so, and our sagacious woodsmen at once concluded that a surprise at some point was intended, and that point Boone was confident was the Lower Blue Licks, where the nature of the ground eminently favored such a plan. With great caution the little army proceeded until, upon the following day, they reached the Licking river, at the point designated by Boone as the one where an attack might be expected; and as they came in sight of the opposite bank, they discovered upon its bare ridge a few Indians, who gazed at them a moment and then passed into the ravine beyond. The hills about the Blue Licks are even now almost wholly without wood, and the scattered cedars which at present lend them some green, did not exist in 1782. As you ascend the ridge of the hill above the spring, you at last reach a point where two ravines, thickly wooded, run down from the bare ground to the right and left, affording a place of concealment for a very large body of men, who could thence attack on front, flank, * The difficulty of telling any thing about details in our western border stories, is well shown by the uncertainty which exists as to how long the Indians were before Bryant's station. Butler says they came on the evening of the 14th, and left on the morning of the fourth day, or 18th.-McClung says they came on the night of the 14th, and implies that they left on the morning of the 15th.-Governor Morehead agrees with McClung.Boone's Sketches says the investment took place on the 15th, and that they retired the third day, or 17th; though his letter to the Governor of Virginia, dated August 30th, 1782, says the attack was on the 16th, and the retreat about ten o'clock the next day; while the account in Cist's Cincinnati Miscellany, i. 236, by one present, makes the attack on the 16th, and the retreat before daylight on the 17th. Boone's letter is in the appendix to Governor Moorehead's address at Boonesboro. 1782. Battle of Blue Licks. 253 and rear, any who were pursuing the main trace along the higher ground: in these ravines, Boone, who was looked to by the commanders for counsel, said that the Indians were probably hidden. He proposed, therefore, that they should send a part of their men to cross the Licking farther up, and fall upon the Indians in the rear, while the remaining troops attacked them in front. While Boone's plan was under discussion by the officers of the pursuing party, Major Hugh McGary, according to the common account, "broke from the council," (to use the words of one present,*) "and called upon the troops who were not cowards to follow him, and thus collecting a band, went without order, and against orders, into the action, and in consequence of this act a general pursuit of officers and men took place, more to save the desperate men that followed McGary, than from a hope of a successful fight with the Indians." It is to be noticed, however, that Boone in his letter to the Governor of Virginia, dated August 30th, 1782, not only fails to mention McGary's conduct, but mentions circumstances which seem wholly at variance with such a sudden and disorderly charge as that described by Colonel Cooper and the common tradition. His words are these:-on discovering the enemy-"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 advance party in the 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 Col. Trigg, where the enemy was so strong that they rushed up and broke the right wing at the first fire. Thus the enemy got in our rear, and we were compelled to retreat with the loss of seventy-seven of our men and twelve wounded." Nor is the impression of this passage altered by the statement of the same keen pioneer, as given in his account of his adventures. There he says: "The savages observing us, gave way, and we, being ignorant of their numbers, passed the river. When the Benjamin A. Cooper's certificate in Frankfort Commonwealth, of January 15th, 1846: taken from St. Louis Era, and furnished that paper by Mann Butler. + See Marshall, i. 138. He speaks of the whites advancing without any regular order, McGary at the head. The same account is given in Stipp. Col. Cooper says he was with Boone when by counting the Indian fires, (query, before Bryant's station ?) he concluded there were at least 500 savages. Boone's letter says, "by the signs we thought the Indians had exceeded four hundred”—but this he says as though the calculation had been made after the battle. 254 Battle of Blue Licks. 1782. enemy saw our proceedings, having greatly the advantage of us in situation, they formed the line of battle, from one bend of Licking to the other, about a mile from the Blue Licks. An exceeding fierce battle immediately began, for about fifteen minutes, when we, being overpowered by numbers, were obliged to retreat with the loss of sixty-seven men, seven of whom were taken prisoners." Governor Morehead, however, has derived from the accounts of eye-witnesses, received through R. Wickliffe, some particulars, which, if correct, will reconcile most of the common story with Boone's statement, and these we give in the words of his address; leaving our readers to judge, 1st, as to the probability that Boone would entirely omit all reference to the conduct of McGary; and 2d, as to the likelihood of McGary and his followers pausing when once under way. It is also to be noticed that Colonel Cooper, Marshal, and Stipp say nothing of the pause alluded to. Scarcely had Boone submitted his opinions, when Major McGary "raised the war whoop," and spurring his horse into the river, called vehemently upon all who were not cowards to follow him, and he would show them the enemy. Presently the army was in motion. The greater part suffered themselves to be led by McGary-the remainder, perhaps a third of the whole number, lingered a while with Todd and Boone in council. All at length passed over, and at Boone's suggestion, the commanding officer ordered another halt. The pioneer then proposed, a second time, that the army should remain where it was, until an opportunity was afforded to reconnoitre the suspected region. So reasonable a proposal was acceded to, and two bold but experienced men were selected, to proceed from the lick along the buffalo trace to a point half a mile beyond the ravines, where the road branched off in different directions. They were instructed to examine the country with the utmost care on each side of the road, especially the spot where it passed between the ravines, and upon the first appearance of the enemy to repair in haste to the army. The spies discharged the dangerous and responsible task. They crossed over the ridge-proceeded to the place designated beyond it, and returned in safety without having made any discovery. No trace of the enemy was to be seen. The little army of one hundred and eighty two men' now marched forward-Colonel Trigg was in command of the right wing, Boone of the left, McGary in the centre, and Major Harlan with the party in front.t After the disastrous defeat of the Blue Licks, the Kentuckians * Butler, 125, on the authority of General Clark. + Morehead's Address, p. 99. 1782 Clark attacks Shawanese. 255 retired until they met Logan who had advanced, Colonel Cooper says, but six miles north-east of Bryant's station; and from the same source we learn that the common story is wrong, in respect to the expectation of Todd, Boone, and others, before the battle, of a reinforcement. In this short, but severe action, Todd, Trigg, Harland, and Boone's son, all fell. It was a sad day for Kentucky. The feelings and fears of the Fayette county settlers may be guessed from the following extract from Boone's letter to Virginia; when he felt anxiety, what must they have suffered! By the signs we thought 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 north-east; 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 your consideration, and send us some relief as quick as possible.* Clark, of course, soon learned how severe a blow had been struck by the northern savages, and determined, as soon as possible, again to lead an expedition into the Miami valleys. It was the last of September, however, before a thousand men could be gathered at the mouth of the Licking, whence they marched northward. But their coming, though expeditious and secret, was discovered by the natives, and the towns on the Miamies and Mad River abandoned to their fate. The crops were again destroyed, the towns burned, the British store, (Loramie's) with its goods, annihilated, and a few prisoners taken, but no engagement of any consequence took place.† Such, however, appears to have been See Morehead's Address, p. 173. + Clark's letter in Butler, 2d edition, 536; also in Almon's Remembrancer, for 1783, part ii. p. 93. |