The book by Larry Fleenor, _The Bear Grass_, that I often reference is OUT OF PRINT. There are no current plans to reprint. Of course I will let you know if that changes. -eddie . . . get a life. Eternal Life!

Weather man got it wrong!! Never heard of that before. <g> I got the maps. Boy, what a pile of paper. They did great for the most part. I made them redo the SW VA map and enlarge it. The county maps look great. Now to get them in the envelopes and out the door. -eddie -----Original Message----- From: Edgar A. Howard [SMTP:ehoward@conknet.com] Sent: Thursday, February 25, 1999 12:34 PM To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Snow on the Map I woke to two inches of snow but now they forecast 6-8" of snow in NH and 12" in Manchester where the maps are. I should get them by the weekend and start mailing them. Sorry for the delays. -eddie . . . get a life. Eternal Life! ==== SW_VA Mailing List ==== #2 A large database of SURNAMES and the researcher's email address can be found at http://www.fortunecity.com/millennium/quarrybank/194/swabc.htm You may have your SURNAMES included by posting them and your address to the LIST and NOT to the sysop/owner. [Pam Moehling] Hey, I heard about the bad snowstorm in the New England area on the radio... You guys take care up there....we only got 3-4 inches here in Northern Illinois....bad enough tho.. . got a life...an eternal one...can't wait to get there.. Pam ==== SW_VA Mailing List ==== #1 When you have a new email address please UNSUBSCRIBE from the old BEFORE you lose it; and SUBCRIBE from the NEW address as soon as you get access to it. If you fail to do this please send the old and new address to: ehoward@conknet.com and the Mailing List name -sysop . . . get a life. Eternal Life!

<<The question is, did the Watauga Settlements really have maple syrup to mix with their corn? I'm sure there are maple trees in TN, but I've never heard of the syrup being used by the pioneers.>> I learned this a few months ago. Cane did not come to SW VA until about the War to Enslave the Southern Citizentry. Before that it was sugar maple. Note the place names with sugar in it. Sugar Hollow, Sugar Grove, etc. <The comments are, most stories about this battle call the losers "British," although, as this history points out, most of them were also Carolinians, but Loyalists -- the first civil war?>> This is a perfect example of the victor writing the history. The bad British sounds better than bad cousin or bad neighbor. Makes one suspicious of the other Civil War history. <The British had to stop and remove their bayonets before they could reload, and by then, many were dead.>> With their breech loaders while did they resort to the bayonet?? Which side had the advantage of longer range? <To a Civil War buff, the casualties seem very light for such a close encounter, but compared to, say, Gettysburg, so does Normandy.>> That is the difference in accuracy of the current rifle. -eddie . . . get a life. Eternal Life!

-----Original Message----- From: Edgar A. Howard [SMTP:ehoward@conknet.com] Sent: Thursday, February 25, 1999 12:34 PM To: SW_VA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Snow on the Map I woke to two inches of snow but now they forecast 6-8" of snow in NH and 12" in Manchester where the maps are. I should get them by the weekend and start mailing them. Sorry for the delays. -eddie . . . get a life. Eternal Life! ==== SW_VA Mailing List ==== #2 A large database of SURNAMES and the researcher's email address can be found at http://www.fortunecity.com/millennium/quarrybank/194/swabc.htm You may have your SURNAMES included by posting them and your address to the LIST and NOT to the sysop/owner. [Pam Moehling] Hey, I heard about the bad snowstorm in the New England area on the radio... You guys take care up there....we only got 3-4 inches here in Northern Illinois....bad enough tho... got a life...an eternal one...can't wait to get there.. Pam

Hi, Debra -- Thanks for sharing this with us. I have one question and a couple of comments. The question is, did the Watauga Settlements really have maple syrup to mix with their corn? I'm sure there are maple trees in TN, but I've never heard of the syrup being used by the pioneers. The comments are, most stories about this battle call the losers "British," although, as this history points out, most of them were also Carolinians, but Loyalists -- the first civil war? Another is that when the "British" troops put their bayonets in place, it was a mixed blessing. They had to stick the back end of it in the barrel, plugging it. A bayonet charge usually caused the opponents to fall back (see Little Round Top during the Civil War), but when the Americans stopped retreating, they could reload and fire their rifles. The British had to stop and remove their bayonets before they could reload, and by then, many were dead. To a Civil War buff, the casualties seem very light for such a close encounter, but compared to, say, Gettysburg, so does Normandy. Thanks again, Debra! Tom Robertson Escondido, CA

I have been reading with interest the postings to this list. I have been reviewing some of the information furnished me by my family and also searching my atllas for towns mentioned. I found Damascus and Gates City but where can I find Bethel and Lido? Researching SW VA for MINTON, DUTTON, HOLBROOK, COLE, STEFFEY, SKEEN, EVANS, ROBINSON AND COPENHAVER. Any info appreciated. Thanks, Audrey Jeffries

Eddie, The old road from Wolf Hills (present Abingdon) appears to have left the "town" on the southwest end, crossing Wolf Creek and continuing westwardly following the Wyndale Road from the old Pet Milk Plant (the milk plant wasn't there in 1775) about a mile, turning right and continuing in the general direction of Abindon Elementary School , following the general pathe of the "Old Glade" road, and turning southwestwardly crossing rt. 611 at Fraleys farm. From there it followed the general "middle" of the Cummings Syncline (shown on geological map) by the old Shutters farm (settled about 1770) to Rt. 614 a short distance. >From where it left 614 it is not clear whether it continued south or turned northwest and over a hill to present Black Hollow road..But it continues at the Maple Grove Masonic Lodge following the general direction of the road presently marked Reedy Creek Road to Clear Creek where Benjamin Logan lived at the time the call was made to Rev. Charles Cummings to come and serve Tinkling Springs and Sinking Springs congregations..from there it continues southwestward about a mile or two north of Wallace and Bristol, Va... It did not follow Black Hollow Road out to Butts, in this you are correct, infact, it followed Black Hollow road only a short distance, if at all.. Eddie, you mention that you believe it was where Garrett Creek crosses Black Hollow road, it would have been about a half mile southeast of there, infact, it would have passed the big spring which begins Garrett Creek near the top of a hill at Fraleys farm.. My grandmother bought a farm which is described as lying on Reedy Creek Road and it was directly in the middle of the cummings syncline and on present Rt. 614 or Childress Hollow Road..over a pretty high hill from Black Hollow Rd..and over a mile north of Wyndale and the railroad.. Concerning the Kentucky lands purchased by Judge Henderson from the Cherokees, my source states that Henderson offered 10,000 pound English money, 2,000 in cash and eight in merchandise and that after deliberations, the elder chiefs accepted the offer substantially as it was made... No one has to accept my information as "gospel", everyone is welcome to research and come to their own conclusions..Infact, I encourage everyone to research their information...G. Lee Hearl Abingdon, Va....

Can someone tell me the address & phone number of the old Wise Cemetery, Wise, VA? My GGfather, Miles E. Blevins, d 1909, son of Richard Daniel (Dan) Blevins and Frances Marian Belcher is buried there. Thanks. Looking for info on David Roy Lemons m Laura Belle Lyons, (1850 - 1875) sw VA. Helen Lawson Quillen PATCH1@inetone.net

<<From Abingdon (Wolf Hills), the road followed the trail known as Reedy Creek road to present Kingsport, Tenn.. I can look from the hill where I live and see part of that old road today..and I can walk through the woods and find places where the banks are eight or ten feet high where the pioneer wagons wore the earth away.>>> I wish this person would show me this path. We know where Reedy Creek road was in the Wallace and Wyndale area. It was Black Hollow road but did not run to Butt which is where Black Hollow meets Hwy 19. So where did it turn north toward Abingdon. I think it is near Garrett creek meets Black Hollow road. << When Judge Henderson of N.C. traded a bunch of junk to the Cherokees for land in Ky., he hired Daniel Boone to recruit men >> I read that is was a sizable amount of cash and then the Cherokee told them that the Shawnee would not respect the title. Which was true, the Shawnee killed many settlers. -eddie . . . get a life. Eternal Life!

I woke to two inches of snow but now they forecast 6-8" of snow in NH and 12" in Manchester where the maps are. I should get them by the weekend and start mailing them. Sorry for the delays. -eddie . . . get a life. Eternal Life!

Ward, Christopher, 1952, The War of the Revolution, MacMillan Company, W5644 CHAPTER 67 King's Mountain Tarleton saw the strength of the American position and paused at the foot of the hill for his foot soldiers to come up, meanwhile dismounting the infantry of the 63rd to fight on foot. Sumter took advantage of the division of his enemy's force. He directed Colonel Elijah Clark with 100 men to pass Tarleton's flank and get between him and the infantry he was expecting. Sumter led a corps against the men of the 63rd. Under heavy fire, the British charged up the steep hill and drove Sumter back, Tarleton's horse following in support. But near the buildings they met a concentrated fire from the men posted in them and had to retire. Tarleton tried again, without success. He was finally obliged to retreat. The Americans claimed that Tarleton's casualties amounted to 92 killed and 100 wounded, an impossible number if, as he claimed, only 250 of his men were actually in the fight. He admitted a loss of 51 killed and wounded. Of the Americans, 3 were killed and 4 wounded, one of them Sumter, who was shot in the right shoulder. Sumter, fearing another attack by the 71st Regiment and the rest of the 63rd, who had been sent in support of Tarleton, withdrew across the Tiger River. This withdrawal seems to have been the basis of Tarleton's extraordinary claim of success in his attempt, in which he said 100 Americans had been killed and wounded and 50 captured. The prisoners appear to have been civilians picked up on his withdrawal to Winnsboro, one of whom he hanged. The only advantage actually gained by Tarleton was the temporary disablement of Sumter. End of Part 7 I enjoyed hearing from list members about their ancestors that fought at King's Mt. I just wanted to let everyone know how important it is to check your own family's library and book shelves as well as your Inlaw's, because I found this book at my father-in-laws house. Debra Clark

Ward, Christopher, 1952, The War of the Revolution, MacMillan Company, W5644 CHAPTER 67 King's Mountain Cornwallis abandoned at once his project for the subjugation of North Carolina and, on October 14, started his troops on a hurried retreat. The rainy season had set in, and for several days rain fell incessantly. The roads were deep with mud, the swampy parts almost impassable. There was a lack of provision; for one five-day period the soldiers lived on corn gathered from the fields. Lacking tents, they spent the nights in the open, lying on wet ground. And always they were harassed by the American militia, hanging on their rear and cutting off baggage wagons. There was much sickness; Cornwallis himself, stricken with fever, lay in one of the wagons. After fifteen days of this wretched flight they reached Winnsboro, between Ninetysix and Camden, and encamped. For some time the two armies lay in camp, the Americans at Hillsboro, North Carolina, the British at Winnsboro, South Carolina. Morgan's newly organized light troops made an expedition to Salisbury and down into Mecklenburg County to cooperate with the local militia, but nothing "of consequence" happened. Then, having heard of a Tory outpost at Rugeley's Mills, South Carolina, William Washington's horsemen marched against it. Colonel Rugeley with 100 Tories occupied a log barn surrounded by an abatis. It was impregnable to bullets, the horsemen could do nothing with it, and Washington had no artillery. He fashioned a log into the semblance of a gun and propped it up on the stubs of three of its limbs. This "Quaker gun" was pushed boldly to the front by some of his dismounted men. The garrison was summoned to surrender or have their fortress blown to pieces. They surrendered, and Washington led the colonel, a major, and 107 privates back to Morgan's camp at New Providence, where Gates with his main force also came and established his camp. Though there was no major activity on the part of the two armies at this time, Marion's irregulars were busy in South Carolina between the Pee Dee and the Santee River, arousing the people to revolt against the British, threatening the enemy's communications between Camden and Charleston, and cutting off supply trains. Cornwallis sent Tarleton after him. The Swamp Fox successfully eluded Tarleton's stronger force. Sumter was active in the same country. Against him Cornwallis sent Major Wemyss with a part of the 63rd Regiment mounted and 40 of the British Legion horse. At Fish Dam Ford in what is now Chester County, Wemyss came upon Sumter's camp on November 9 and attempted a surprise; but he was on guard, and when Wemyss dashed upon the American pickets he was received with a volley. Two bullets hit and disabled him. His second in command pushed on, but Sumter from behind a fence poured upon the enemy such a fire that 28 of them were shot down. Further attempts were fruitless. Wemyss was captured, as were 25 of his men, and the rest retreated. End of part 6

His men, in terrified disorder, crowded behind their wagons and tried to keep up the fight. Cleveland brought up his force behind them. Completely surrounded, they ~ed to a hollow place. But there was no shelter there. They stood like a herd of deer in a corral, while the infuriated Whigs shot them down, crying, "Buford! Buford! Tarleton's quarter!" One of them rode out of the press showing a white flag. His saddle was emptied. Another met the same fate. Many of the patriots were bent on avenging the deaths of friends or relations killed by the Tories. They would not desist from the slaughter of their helpless enemies. Major Evan Shelby called on the Tories to throw down their arms. They did so, and he implored his men to cease firing. But it was hard to stop them. Campbell rode to the front crying: "For God's sake, quit! It's murder to shoot any more!" De Peyster, in command after Ferguson's death, protested to Campbell against further killing. Campbell ordered the Tory officers to separate from their troops and called to the defeated men to take off their hats and sit down. Even after this submission, the killing did not altogether cease; but at last the rebels ceased firing and gathered in a circle, four deep, around the prisoners, glaring at them, calling out the names of individuals who were known for particular atrocities. When some sort of order was finally restored the prisoners' arms were collected, and they were confined under guard. Ferguson's personal effects were divided, as souvenirs, among the patriot officers. His body was wrapped in an ox hide and buried. Except one body of about 200 who had left that morning on a foraging expedition, not one of Ferguson's men escaped death or capture. Of about 1,000 in the fight, 157 were killed, 163 were wounded so badly that they were left on the field, and 698 were taken prisoners. The patriots lost 28 killed and 62 wounded. Fifteen hundred muskets and rifles and a quantity of stores and ammunition fell into the hands of the victors. The rebels marched their prisoners to Gilberttown. There arose a demand for retaliation upon them for Tarleton's slaughter of surrendered men, and for execution of forty patriot prisoners taken by the British in former encounters, at Camden, at Augusta, and at Ninety-six. One patriot officer present had recently seen eleven of his friends hanged to suppress rebellion. A sort of court was convened, and between thirty and forty individual prisoners were convicted of assisting the British in raiding, looting, and burning houses of the rebels. Of the twelve who were condemned to execution, nine, including Colonel Ambrose Mills, an elderly man of character and reputation, were hanged. One of the twelve escaped; the other two were let off. The disposition of the prisoners presented a problem to the hastily gathered and little organized patriots. The over-mountain men wanted to go home and did go, as did most of the South Carolinians and Virginians. The captives were entrusted to Cleveland's North Carolina men, who finally decided to take them to Gates at Hillsboro. Gates asked Thomas Jefferson, governor of Virginia, what to do with them. Jefferson suggested turning them over to the civil governments of the two Carolinas. But such governments hardly existed. In this impasse they were loosely guarded and within a few months all but sixty escaped. The effect of the victory at Kings Mountain was instantaneous and of great importance. It turned the tide of the war in the south. On receipt of Ferguson's appeal for help, the very day of the battle, Cornwallis had sent Tarleton. Tarleton heard of the disaster on the way and returned in all haste to Cornwallis at Charlotte with the news. Rumor magnified the numbers of rebels to 3,000, and the British commander feared they would sweep around him into South Carolina and capture Ninety-six and Camden. Though the fear was baseless, it was true that the patriots of Mecklenburg and Rowan counties had been aroused and the partisan corps of Marion, Sumter, and Pickens were increasing in numbers and were more and more active. They did present an immediate danger to the British. End of part 5 Debra Clark

Ward, Christopher, 1952, The War of the Revolution, MacMillan Company, W5644 CHAPTER 67 King's Mountain On October 7 the forerunners came to the mountain on which Ferguson had established himself, with the announcement that "he defied God Almighty and all the rebels out of Hell to overcome him." King's Mountain afforded a position of extraordinary natural strength. Its level summit was about 500 yards long and 70 to 80 yards wide, but broadened to 120 yards at its northeast end, where Ferguson had fixed his camp. Its steep, rocky, heavily wooded sides rose about 60 feet from the plain below. He had about 100 Rangers, picked men from the King's American Rangers, the New Jersey Volunteers, and the Queen's Rangers, also 1,000 Tory militia. The Rangers were men of a good class. The second in command was Captain Abraham de Peyster of New York. Another captain was Samuel Ryerson of New Jersey. The adjutant was Anthony Allaire of New York, and the surgeon was Dr. Uzal Johnson of New Jersey. These men were as well trained and experienced as regular soldiers. They were equipped with bayonets and well drilled in their use. The local Tory auxiliaries were provided with long blades to be fitted into the muzzles of their rifles or muskets and used as bayonets. It is a remarkable fact that Ferguson was the only British soldier in the ensuing battle, one of the most important of the war. On both sides, all the rest were Americans. The patriots reached the mountain about noon of October 7, 1780, dismounted, fastened their blankets and coats to their saddles, tied their horses, and took positions in a line around its broader end and along the sides of its narrower part nearly to its southwestern extremity, Campbell's troops at the southwest end of the line on one side, Shelby's on the other. These two forces were to begin the attack, swarming up their respective sides and meeting so as to enclose Ferguson's at the broad end. A war whoop signaled the attack. The drums in the camp called their men to arms. Shelby met the first fire. He restrained his men from replying until they had got nearer the top. Campbell could be heard shouting, as his men climbed the mountain: "Here they are, boys! Shout like hell and fight like devils!" Shelby's men were driven back by a bayonet charge part way down the height. Having no bayonets, they could only take trees and fire up at their enemy; and they did this with deadly effect. Meanwhile, the rest of the rebels around the broad end of the mountain were climbing, taking cover, and firing. Cleveland's men gained the top, and Ferguson sent his bayonets at them, driving them back as he had driven Shelby's; but they, too, kept up their fire. Campbell and Shelby had again come on, and again Ferguson's bayonets repelled them. But Sevier's corps was now on the summit, and he had to turn to them. The bayonet was only a temporary resource. It might drive the attackers before it; it could not stop the bullets from the Deckhard Riflemen rifles, aimed by dead-shot frontiersmen. All the rebel contingents came into the fight with unrestrained fury. Everywhere the Tories were surrounded by men, not in solid bodies to be attacked with the bayonet and driven back, but fighting each man on his own behind the trees fringing the open plateau. From every side came a hail of bullets. The position of the Tories was hopeless, but Ferguson would not give up. He was everywhere on the held animating his men. Twice, when white flags were raised, he cut them down with his sword. To an officer who begged that the carnage might cease, he replied that he "would never surrender to such banditti." But at last he had to admit that the battle was lost. With a few others he tried to cut a way through the ring of his enemies. A rifle bullet stopped him. He fell from his horse and died with one foot caught in his stirrup. End of Part 5

Ward, Christopher, 1952, The War of the Revolution, MacMillan Company, W5644 CHAPTER 67 King's Mountain Patrick Ferguson was a remarkable man. The son of a Scottish judge, he entered the British army as a cornet of horse at the age of fifteen and served in the wars on the continent of Europe until, as a captain, he came to America. He was ingenious enough to invent a breech-loading ride which could be fired five or six times a minute, at least twenty-five times as fast as a muzzle-loading rifle when its barrel became fouled. It also used a pointed, instead of a spherical, bullet. A few such rifles were manufactured and were used with effect by the men in the British rifle corps he commanded at the Battle of the Brandywine; but for the most part his men were equipped with the muzzle-loader. When Clinton sent the expedition south in 1779, Ferguson was allowed to raise his own corps of rifleman, American Tories, called the American Volunteers, of which he made effective use in independent operations until his death. He was a soldier of great merit, "a fit associate for Tarleton in hardy, scrambling, partisan enterprise; equally intrepid and determined, but cooler and more open to impulses of humanity."' Less bloodthirsty than the more famous Tarleton, he was yet a bitter foe of the rebels, whose homes he mercilessly plundered and destroyed. Ferguson was at this time in the prime of life, thirty-six years of age, of "middle stature, slender make and possessing a serious countenance, yet it was his peculiar characteristic to gain the affections of the men under his command." Though of slight build, he was strong and athletic. He was a dead shot with rifle and pistol, and, though his right arm had been disabled in battle, he was a formidable antagonist with the sword, wielded in his left hand. Beyond the mountains on the west, in what is now Tennessee, were the Watauga settlements inhabited by a hardy breed of frontiersmen, mostly Scotch-Irish, hunters, Indian fighters, expert shots with their long-barreled Deckhard rifles, weapons of precision. Their only other equipment was a horse, a blanket, a hunting knife, and a bag of ground, parched corn sweetened with maple syrup. When this gave out, they lived on the game that the country afforded. They were not only rebels, but bitter enemies of Ferguson himself, whose merciless plundering in the Carolinas had made his name infamous. To them he audaciously sent word that if they did not desist from opposition to the king he would march over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste their country with fire and sword. This message was not well received. The Watauga men had an idea that, if any fighting was to be done, it ought to be in the enemy's country rather than among their farms and homes and women and children. Colonel Isaac Shelby of Virginia and Colonel John Sevier accepted the challenge. They called on Colonel William Campbell of Virginia to join them. Campbell summoned Colonel Benjamin Cleveland of North Carolina. To Sycamore Flats on the Watauga River, by September 25, Colonel Charles McDowell of North Carolina brought 160 men, Sevier brought 240 "over-mountain men," Shelby brought 240 of the same, Campbell brought 400 Virginians. They were mostly mounted but, with their long rifles, would fight on foot. Ferguson called on Cornwallis for reenforcements; the over-mountain men called on Heaven, the Rev. Samuel Doak being their mouthpiece. In a service of prayer before they set out, he asked for the aid of "the sword of the Lord and of Gideon." Ferguson started south towards Ninety-six. The "backwatermen," as Ferguson called them, followed. At the Catawba- River Colonel Cleveland joined them with 350 North Carolinians. Ferguson eluded his pursuers, who thought he was for Ninety-six, by turning east towards King's Mountain. They came to the Cowpens, west and somewhat south of the mountain, on October 6. There Colonel James Williams with 100 North Carolinians and Colonel William Graham with 60 joined them, making their total force over 1,400. Having news of Ferguson's real route, they decided that 900 of the best mounted men should push after him as rapidly as possible, the rest to follow. End part 3. Debra Clark

Hello Everyone, Edward writes: <<< KENTUCKY ROAD The early trails/roads of SW VA is one of my favorite subject over the past three years. I have posted an article I wrote two years ago to the List. What makes it hard is that most trails or roads had more than one name, or a different name for a different segment of the roads, and often had different branches or spurs. >>> My notes: I agree 100% with what you said above in that there are so many branches of the known trails. One very good and "prime" example is the Boone Trail! Around here where I live, if one believed all the signs of where the Boone Trail runs, old Daniel would not have had time to go to Kentucky, he would never have gotten out of the NC, neTN and swVA area there are so many Daniel Boone Trails!!!....<BG> You write: <<< I also included the Fincastle Road he discribes. In Scott Co. it runs from east of Dungannon down the river and "through Fort Blackmore to state [route] 649. It joins the Wilderness/KY Road "on Stock Creek via the Rainbow Bridge." He says that some locals still call it the Fincastle Road. >>> My notes: The old Fincastle Road is still there, although it more than likely has been altered over the years. In fact, the old Fincastle Church still sits beside the old Fincastle Road, very near where the Fincastle Road cuts off the Kentucky Road. You write: <<< I don't say that this is for sure. I only know that this is what my limited research shows. I'm open to documented correction. >>> My notes: I love to work old deeds myself. There is a wealth of information of all kinds contained in them. This is not a correction but for your information. I got these abstracts from the Washington County, Va. Genweb but the actual deeds can be found on the Library of Virginia web site: This first abstract is almost due east of Dungannon and across the Clinch River from Dungannon. James Alley's land is directly across the river from Dungannon. [ALL CAPITALS ARE MINE]. #1. Page 87 - Thomas Alley...245 ac...CommissionersCertificate...on the south side of ClinchRiver...Beginning above the sink hole spring corner to James Alleys land that he now lives on...by a path...on the KENTUCKY ROAD...November 18, 1782 - Thomas Alley...400 ac... adjoining James Alleys land, includes improvements, actual settlement made in 1776...August 23, 1781 #2. Page 87 - Edward Stapleton, assignee of JamesBlack...108 ac...Commissioners Certificate...on the east side of Cassells Run, south branch of Clinch River...Beginning on the north side of the KENTUCKY PATH path corner to Frederick Friley & Edmund Smiths land...November 9, 1783 - James Black, assignee of William Burney, assignee of Bazaleel Maxwell...150ac...actual settlement made in 1772 on Cassells Run on the west side adjoining Edmund Smith on the south...August 10, 1781 - Assigned to Edward Stapleton by purchase on September 24, 1782. Signed:James Black. Witnesses: Patrick Porter, William Cowan #3. Page 28 - Col. William Russell...620 ac...PreemptionWarrant... on the waters of Clynch River and along the foot of Copper Creek Ridge on the north side of the same...Beginning corner to Samuel Porter's land...near a path...crossing the KENTUCKY ROAD on James Osburns line...crossing the above road twice...above the sink of the creek...by the road...on Smiths line...on the side of Copper Creek Ridge...March 13, 1783 As Edward said, most roads got their name from where they were going. And from studying the migration flow here in the region, all the roads of that time pointed to Kentucky......<BG> Until later, good hunting, Jerry in Kingsport, TN

I am not sure if this is the KY Road that a previous poster asked abt, but was sent this information sometime ago, and can't find who sent it, so if it was one of you, pls forgive my carelessness in keeping the origin. The "I' in the post is not me. :-) Nancy S THE WILDERNESS ROAD THROUGH SOUTHWEST VA. I read with interest the recently posted speech about the GREAT WAGON ROAD from Pa to N.C. and southwestward and the comment about how busy it was so I decided to bring some attention to a fork in that road at Salem, Virginia, where the Wilderness Road to Kentucky and beyond started.. The first recorded use of this road I have found is in the journal of Dr. Thomas Walkers exploratory trip to Kentucky in 1749.. He was not the first to follow this trail, longhunters and Indian traders had followed this old buffalo path long before Walker.. Sinclair and Stalnaker had followed the trail to where they settled on the Holston waters in present Smyth County, Va., miles from any other settlers.. The Wilderness Road crossed the rugged mountains near Pulaski and Christiansburg and as soon as the first settlers arrived along the river, Engles ferry was established and those moving farther west could cross the river without fear of losing their belongings. >From Abingdon (Wolf Hills), the road followed the trail known as Reedy Creek road to present Kingsport, Tenn.. I can look from the hill where I live and see part of that old road today..and I can walk through the woods and find places where the banks are eight or ten feet high where the pioneer wagons wore the earth away. Daniel Boone has received much credit for blazing this trail through the wilderness but the truth is that the road from Roanoke to Kingsport was well worn before Daniel Boone ever came through Southwest Virginia.. At Kingsport the road crosses the Holston River and turns northwest toward a gap in Clinch Mountain and into Powell Valley and on to Cumberland Gap leading into Kentucky... The first settlers probably had to take their wagons apart to get them into Ky through Cumberland Gap. When Judge Henderson of N.C. traded a bunch of junk to the Cherokees for land in Ky., he hired Daniel Boone to recruit men and clear a road from Powell Valley into the lands of Ky and to build a fort for the settlers he was recruiting to move from N.C. to his settlement.. Again, Daniel Boone has been given credit for building a part of the road to Ky. but Henderson and the pioneers with him were forced to leave their wagons in Powell Valley because the road was hardly more than a bridle path through the woods.. When the government decided to build a wagon road through Cumberland Gap, it is said that Daniel Boone expected to be in charge of the work but didn't get the job..When that road was opened about 1800 it was immediately filled with wagons, livestock and barefoot children moving west. Recently a tunnel was bored through the mountain and a super highway built beneath the land those hardy pioneers trod.. .

Hi, I am researching the name Rasnick/Rasnic/Rasnake. This family was from Lee ,Russell,and Wise County Va. If anyone is searching this same family line, please e-mail me. Thank You For Your Time Susan

Members, This ain't political. You should see the junk that the Rootsweb filter bounces to me. VA is considering an anti-junk email (spam) law. It has real teeth. If you live in VA I encourage your active support. Write or call someone. Commonwealth of VA has a webpage and I think Roanoke Times has links to delegates. -sysop/owner . . . get a life. Eternal Life!

rest of the riflemen, he charged up the lane towards the front with such ardor and such a shouting that the whole enemy force gave way at once and fled, only to meet a sharp fire from Davidson's riflemen by which 60 were killed or wounded. Davie collected 96fully equipped horses and 120 stand of arms and hastily retired to his camp at Providence before troops sent by Cornwallis could arrive on the scene. His loss was one man wounded. It may be noted that Tarleton himself at this time was ill and absent from his command." On September 25 Cornwallis resumed his northward march from the Waxhaws towards Charlotte in North Carolina, with Tarleton's Legion and light infantry in advance of the main body. Davie, with 20 horsemen, Davidson's two companies of riflemen, and a small body of Mecklenburg militia under Major Joseph Graham, was in Charlotte, a village of twenty dwelling houses and a courthouse, when Cornwallis's van approached. Davie posted his 20 dragoons behind a stone wall near the courthouse, the rest of his men behind fences on both sides of the road to it. The infantry of the British Legion, commanded by Major George Hanger, and the light infantry deployed in line across that road and moved slowly up towards the courthouse, to be received with a close fire from the men behind the fences. From this they recoiled, though Cornwallis himself urged them on. Hanger ordered the Legion cavalry to dislodge Davie's dragoons behind the stone wall. They charged, but were stopped by the fire of the 20 men, and would not again go forward. As Stedman says, "The whole of the British army was actually kept at bay for some minutes by a few mounted Americans, not exceeding twenty in number." Davidson's and Graham's troops abandoned their fences and joined the dragoons. Under the repeated orders of Cornwallis, the Legion infantry and the light infantry again attacked and succeeded in turning Davie's right flank. He ordered a retreat. He was pursued for several miles and lost 30 killed, wounded, or captured. The British lost 15 killed or wounded. It maybe remembered that, in June, when Cornwallis was sending various expeditions to occupy posts throughout South Carolina, he had detached Major Patrick Ferguson with his American Volunteer regiment to cover the country between the Catawba and Saluda rivers. Ferguson went on to join Lieutenant Colonel Balfour, who was holding the post at Ninety-six. Thence he moved a few miles east and established his camp on Little River. It became a rallying post for large numbers of South Carolina Tories, whom he organized into seven regiments, about 4,000men. With this strong force, Ferguson held the district of Ninety-six--the "upcountry"--in complete subjection, sending detachments in every direction to harass and plunder the rebels and making every effort to encourage the Tories to join the King's army. At the time Cornwallis marched north from Camden, he sent orders to Ferguson to move from Ninety-six into North Carolina to spread the gospel of loyalism there and finally to join the main army at Charlotte. Late in September, Ferguson was at Gilberttown in what is now Rutherford County, North Carolina. He had in mind the interception of a force of Carolinians and Georgians under Colonel Elijah Clark, which had made an unsuccessful attempt upon Augusta in Georgia, had been beaten off, and was now, with 300 men and 400 women and children, endeavoring to avoid the British forces in South Carolina and escape into the Old North State. But trouble was brewing for Ferguson behind the mountains to the westward. End Part II