Western Frontier - Ruddell's Station & Martin's Station

Frontier Fort

As we saw the last time [12 Jul 2015]  when we examined the “western frontier,” a document had been signed on the 8^th of October 1776 for Government Service in Fincastle County, Virginia which stated, “For being legally apart of the colony and for the creation of new counties, a citation for the Western Part references the election of John Gabriel Jones and George Rogers Clark as their representatives.  Members of the Committee were John Gabriel Jones – chairman, John Bowman, John Cowen, William Bennett, Joseph Bowman, John Crittenden, Isaac Hite, George Rogers Clark, Silas Harland, Hugh McGary, Andre McConnel, James Herrod, Wm. McConnel, and John Maxwell.  This document was signed by John Gabriel Jones – Chairman and Abraham Hite, Jr. – Clerk at Harrodsburg, 20^th of June 1776.  This act formed the counties of Kentucky, Washington and Montgomery in Virginia and made Fincastle County, Virginia extinct.  This act took effect on the 31^st of December 1776.  From the above document we know that the State of Kentucky was first referred to as “Kentucky County,” part of Virginia.  In 1780, this same Kentucky County, Virginia, was divided into three large Virginia Counties: Lincoln, Fayette, and Jefferson.

If these dates are carefully examined, it may be readily determine that these events occurred during America’s struggle for independence from Great Britain. It is also important to remember that the Revolutionary War continued in more remote territory long after the surrender of Cornwallis and the British Army at Yorktown.  The frontier had experienced fighting prior to 1777 when George Rogers Clark established the Fort at the Falls of the Ohio [now Louisville, Kentucky].

The British, supported by their Native Americans allies, controlled the territory north of the Ohio River with fortifications at Fort Detroit [Detroit, Michigan], Vincennes [Vincennes, Indiana] and along the Mississippi River in what is now Illinois [Kaskaskia and Cahokia which were both inhabited by French settlers].  South of the Ohio River on the western side of the mountains, settlers following the “Wilderness Trail” were arriving via the Cumberland Gap located in what is now southeastern Kentucky.

Fighting Indian Style

Among the ensuing battles which were fought“Indian style,”  Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark captured Sackville and Lt. Governor Henry Hamilton, known as the “Hair-buyer,”  in 1779 at Vincennes [Vincennes, Indiana].  Raids south of the Ohio River included such atrocities as the destruction of Ruddell and Martin’s Stations in 1780 under the direction of British Captain Henry Bird, Indian Agent Alexander McGee and an army that included two hundred Canadian Rangers, and Tories, with approximately six hundred Native Americans of various tribes.  This army was fortified with several cannon which are believed to be the first cannon used in frontier warfare.  The original plans were for this army under Captain Henry Bird to attack Fort Nelson at what is now Louisville, Kentucky, but the Native Americans refused to attack this larger fort under the commanded of Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark whom they called the “Long Knife.”  They felt it was much safer for them to achieve their goals by attacking Ruddell’s and Martin’s Stations which were located in what is now central Kentucky.

Ruddell’s Station also known as Liberty Station was located on the Licking River.  This fort or station was forced to surrender on the 26th of June 1780 after two successful cannon shots made it obvious that the cannons could easily blow the fort to bits.  After the surrender, the Indians who were out of control rushed into the fort each claiming prisoners while killing the old and infirmed.  Babies were pulled from their mother’s arms - their heads bashed and then, their lifeless bodies were thrown into the fires as their hysterical mothers watched.  The cattle were butchered by the Indians instead of being preserved as a primary food source for the return journey to Detroit as planned and requested by Captain Henry Bird.   The prisoners were divided amongst the Indians and then were forced to carry the plunder which the Indians had acquired in the raid. The Indians proudly rode their stolen horses.  

Martin’s Station located a few miles away suffered much the same fate.  Approximately twenty-seven persons were killed; four hundred seventy captives began a death march to Fort Detroit.  As a bounty of five dollars was paid for each scalp or prisoner, it made little difference to the Indians if the captured arrived at Detroit as a scalp or as a live prisoner.  It has been recorded that carrion birds filled the sky for a distance of five miles  after the massacre at Ruddell's.

When we investigate Ruddell’s [Liberty] Station a bit further we find that in April 1779, Captain Isaac Ruddle of Shenandoah County, Virginia who had removed to Kentucky in 1777 was assisted by John Burger in renovating an “improvement” in Harrison County, Kentucky which had been made by Captain John Hinkson of Monogahelia in 1775, but who had abandoned it.   Captain Isaac Ruddle was a Captain in George Roger’s Clark’s Regiment.  This fort was renovated and maintained because of an expected British invasion of Virginia’s western frontier.  Isaac Ruddell had married Elizabeth Bowman, daughter of Hans Jerg [George] Baumann [Bowman] and his wife, Maria Elizabeth [Mary] Heydt [Hite] the daughter of Johann Jost Heydt/Hite who was known as the Old German Baron. Elizabeth Bowman’s brothers were Captain Jacob Bowman of the old 96th District in the Province of South Carolina and  Major Joseph Bowman, Colonel Abraham Bowman, Captain Isaac Bowman, and Colonel  John Bowman all of Kentucky.

After the march to Detroit, Isaac Ruddell was reunited with his wife and their two daughters. His two sons were turned over to the Shawnee and were eventually adopted into the tribe.  Stephen Ruddell, twelve years old at the time of the attack was adopted into the family of Chief Blackfish and eventually became the adopted brother of Tecumseh.  The younger son, Abraham Ruddell, when repatriated in 1794 from the Indians by the War Department could barely speak English.  He later settled in Arkansas.

Ruddell's statement concerning Tecumseh

Notes:

1. Due to the advent of modern technology and the internet in particular, it is now possible to read the actual historical/military records of many of the nations of the world.  As many of you know,  I wrote the book, The Mongers: A Family of Old Virginia, which was published in early 1980, after twenty-one years of time consuming research all of which was accomplished before the days of the personal computer, ease of  communications by telephone, copy machines and even accurate listings of various  holdings in many state, national and international archival depositories.  The Mongers: A Family of Old Virginia, covers the Ruddell's Station massacre in detail and contains photographic copies of actual court documents of the period.  Most probably the reason for a four day discrepancy in the date that this event occurred is that at that time communications in Kentucky, in an area experiencing bitter warfare, depended entirely upon word of mouth which could literal take days.  Today, in the year 2015, it  is relatively easy to find the actual dispatches of  Captain Henry Bird which officially state that this event [Massacre at Ruddell's Station] occurred on the 26th of June 1780 with Martin's Station falling on the 28th of June 1780.  

2.  Ruddell is also cited as Ruddel, Ruddle, and Riddle.

3..  Surnames of some Shenandoah Valley families captured at Ruddell’s Station are Davis, Denton, Dofflemyer/Tofflemire , Fisher, Hon/Hehn/Haines/Haynes, Kratz md. Mary Monger, Long, McDaniel, Monger/Manger/Munger, Ruddell, Sellers /Zellers. 

4. Surnames of some Shenandoah Valley families captured at Martin’s Station: Berry, McGuire.