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Dunmore's
War and the Battle of Point Pleasant
In
1774, Lord Dunmore was the British governor of Virginia.
After the Peace of Paris of 1763, the British had undisputed
claim to the area west of the Appalachian Mountains.
The people of Virginia did not like the British presence
in their state. Also, the British did not want the Virginians
to settle on any land west of the Appalachians, but
the Virginians did not agree. Many white people were
continuing to settle on lands west of the Appalachian
Mountains and the Indians were harassing them.
Lord
Dunmore went to Pittsburgh in the spring of 1774 hoping
to make peace with the Indians. Soon, it became clear that
peace would not happen. He began recruiting men and soon
had a force of about 1,000 soldiers. After a couple of weeks
of drill, Dunmore led the troops to the mouth of the Little
Kanawha River.
While
camped at the Little Kanawha River, Dunmore was to meet
with his officers who already had about 1,000 men camped
about six miles away from Dunmore. The Battle of Point
Pleasant prevented them from meeting.
The
Shawnee leader, Cornstalk,
had a loosely organized group of approximately 500 Indians
waiting to attack Dunmore's officers. In the early morning
hours, the Indians crossed the Ohio River and attacked.
The Battle of Point Pleasant lasted into the afternoon
and was very intense. However, by the end of the day,
the Indians were retreating to the north bank of the
Ohio River in defeat.
After
the Battle of Point Pleasant, Dunmore marched his men
north to the Shawnee villages. At this point, he was
able to negotiate for peace. As a result of Dunmore's
War, the Indians agreed to give up all of their white
prisoners, restore all captured horses and other property,
and not to hunt south of the Ohio River. Also, they
were to allow boats on the Ohio River and not harass
them. This opened up present day West Virginia and Kentucky
for settlement.
from
the Ohio
Historical Society Site
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