The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1870-06-03
Correspondence
LETTERS FROM VIRGINIA.
History and Settlement OF Washing ri ON
County.
No. &c.


SOFT, in preceding letters, an outline ofth
topography, character ofsoils, productions,
resources, &C., of this county, together with
tie manner of farming, both ancient and
modern, and now propose, very concisely,
to refer to its history, earlier settlers, their
habits, and incidents of the past
Washington county is part of the terri
tory of which George Washington said in
one OF his patriotic appeals in the darkest
hour of the Revolutionary the armies OF
George the Third drive me from the low
lands, | willplant my bannerupon the noun
tains of old West Augusta, where | will
draw around me the brave men who will vet
achieve our independence" 1t was laid
off and organized in 1776-the year of In
dependence--and the first court was held
in grove of hickory saplings on spot OF
ground now occupied by one of the prin-
cipal mercantile establishments in the
town of Abingdon. II qoas the first spot of
earth named in honor of tile Father of his
Country. The great highway from east to
west, and which passes through the centre
of our town, was known originally as
Blooms Trace" and is the identical route
"blazed" out by the great pioneer of that
name in his first expedition from North
Carolina to Kentucky, route that had
been Travelled for ages before by elk and
buffalo, and which subsequently became
one Of the principal war-paths of the red
man in his predatory excursions toward
the border.
In the early settlement of the country.
this locality was known by the unpoetical
name of "Wolf Hills" and block-house
had been erected within five minutes walk
of where ] am now writing, into which the
families Of the few scattered settlers gath
cred when alarmed by the approach of
Indians. The very year of the organiza-
ton of the county, and upon the very day
of the PRONUNCIATION of the Declaration of
Independence the Indians made their last
stealthy march into the settlement, caught
a small party of settlers or the way from
the block-house to a clearing couple of
miles off, killed one Of them, and the grave
in which his dust reposes, marked by a
rude stone with the inscription, "William
Cresswell, killed July 4, 1776," formed the
nucleus of the village cemetery, now peo-
pied by the dead Of three generations.
An amusing incident occurred at the
time Cresswell was killed, which was rcla-
ted to me nearly thirty-five years ago by
an aged lady who was probably one of the
inmates of the blockhouse at the time -
Several of the men were on their way to
the clearing in a wagon, and on hearing
the report of a rifle and seeing Cresswell
fall, sprang out and concealed themselves
in a chinquopin thicket on the roadside
Their leader, Parson Cummings, who, as
was the custom of the clergy of that day,
wore powdered wig, and thus attracted
the attention of an Indian, who kept the
wig in view as the Parson made his way
through the thicket. In crawling under
the bushes, the wig was left hanging upon
a twig, while the Parson kept on a little
farther and concealed himself in a clump
of briars. The Indian, with his eye upon
the wig, failed to see the owner as he left
it, and running up grasped what he sup
posed to be mans head, but discovering
his mistake, after looking at it intently for
a moment, with apparent CONSERVATION,
threw it upon the ground with the pious
aculation-"d-d lie !" and bounded
away with as much apparent terror as fine
had met "Banshee" in his path The
owner of the wig being but few feet from
him, heard his exclamation, and saw the
terror depicted in his tawny visage The
scattered men soon rallied, and, with the
aid of those they had left at the fort, made
bullet-holes through one or two of the red
skins, and drove the balance back to their
wigwams beyond the Cumberland Noun
tain.
The hill upon which Abingdon is loca-
ted was first settled by a man by the name
of Black, who was succeeded by a man by
the name of Smith, (whether or not it was
the ubiquitous "John" cannot saw who
kept a wayside inn for the accommodation
of immigrants to the Ozark and Bloody
Ground" and the nearer settlements in the
valley of Holston. Next to these came the
Cummingses, the Campbells, the Pipers,
the Cams, the Prestons, the Whites, the
Craigs, the McCullochs, the Edmondsons,
the Findlays, the Smyths and others, many
OF whose descendants are still here, and
among our most prominent citizens
Those of your readers who have read ofthe
battle of Kings Mountain, on the line be-
tween the Carolinas-the battle which, as
all reliable history informs us, turned the
tide OF the Revolution in favor of the col
onial arms-will remember the name of
Gen. William Campbell, the senior officer
in command on that occasion. He was a
citizen of this county, and was the grand
father OF the Hon. VIM. G. Preston, former
ly Senator in Congress from South Caro-
lima, as also Of the present Gen. John s..
Preston of that State, of the first wife of
Gen. Wade Hampton, of Mrs. Gen. FLOYD,
and of the wife of Rev. Robert Breckin-
ridge, d. D. A large portion of the gal
liant men who followed Gen. Campbell to
that last bloody but victorious field of the
Revolution, followed him in their hunting
shirts and moccasins, and with their long
flint-lock rifles, were from this county
"the mountains of West Augusta"-and
their names are recorded in its archives
must here give you an incident or two
illustrating the patriotism and daring of
Gen. Campbell and his men prior to their
march to Kings Mountain. There is a
beautiful little valley known by the name
of "Black Lick" nestled among the noun
tains of the county of Wythe some so miles
east of Abingdon, which, being remote
from the highways and environed by unin-
habited forests, afforded shelter for num-
Der of tories, who made frequent forages
upon the neighboring settlements, and then
concealed themselves in this remote and
quiet retreat. Their hiding place becom-
ing discovered, Gen. Campbells men sur
rounded it and captured about dozen of
them, and hung them upon wowhite-oaks,
L. L. ~ 4 r.