Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1883-03-31

| Uney redcned the Great Meadows
and there Unexpectedly encountered
hostile force, greatly superior t
their own, and were defeated in bat
tie. They took shelter in Fort Ne
cessity, but they were, after gal
liant resistance, compelled to surren
der, but upon terms which allowed
them to march out with flying colors
and with all the honors of war. Col
Stephen was then placed in command
of Fort Cumberland, the frontier
out post of that period. In 1855 he
was in the memorable battle of thu
Monongahela, usually called Brad
docks defeat, and was wounded
though not seriously. In 1856 he re
sumed his command of Fort Cum
berland. In 1857 he accompanied
Washington in his expedition tC
Fort Du Quesne, where they recover
ed possession of that territory, an6
captured Fort Du Quesne, which they
subsequently named Fort Pitt, the
site OF the present city of Pittsburg
In the same year he proceeded, by
order of Congress, to the South, to
quell the hostilities of the Creek In
dams in that section. In August,
1868, the colonial government order,
ed out force Of 1000 men-500 of
whom were to be raised from this
section of the colony aud were placed
under the command of Stephen, for
| service on the Northwestern rotier;
and 500 to be raised in Greenbrier
and the adjoining counties, and
placed under the command of Col.
Andrew Lewis, to protect the South
western portion of our territory.
The object of these expeditions was
to repel an attack upon our people,
by Formidable alliance of Shaw
nees, Delawares, Wynadotts and 9th
er Indian tribes, acting in alliance
with Pontiac.
Sir Jeffrey Amherst, then in COM
mand of all the British forces in
America, thus notices these expedi~
tions in a letter of the 9th of Au-
gust 1868, addressed to Sir William
johnson, Superintendent of Indian
affairs:
Gan effectual stop will be put to
these Outrages particularly as Col.
Stephen with body of 500 men of
the Virginia militia, is advanced as
far as Fort Cumberland and Bedford,
with view not only of covering the
frontiers, but of acting Extensively
against the savages. That public
spirited colony has also sent a large
body of the like number of men un-
der the command of Col. Lewis for
the defence and protection of the
Southwest frontiers. What a con-
trast this makes between the Penn
sylvanians and Virginians, highly
to the honor of the latter but places
the former in the most dispicable
light imaginable"
Again in letter of September the
14th, 1868, to the same person, he
says:
1.-The attempts against the Shaw
neeS are certainly very necessary,
and | heartily wish Col. Stephen
success in his expedition. His chief
danger will be his retreat up the
river"
Mr.. Bancroft thus describes the
sad condition Of our frontier in June
1868, which it was the object of the
expedition under General Stephen
to avenge and redress:
"Nor was its garrisOned stockades
only that encountered the fury of
the savages. They roamed the
wilderness, masSacrlng all whom
they met. They struck down more
than hundred traders in the woods,
scalping every one of them quaffing
their gushing life blood, mutilating
their bodies. They prowled around
the cabins of the husbandman on the
frontier; and their t0mahawks
struck alike the laborer in the field
or the child in the cradle. They
passed the mountains and spread
death even to Bedford. The unhap'
by emigrant knew not if to brave
danger, or to leave his home and his
planted fields, for wretchedness and
poverty. Nearly five hundred fami
lies, from the frontiers of Virginia,
fled to Winchester, unable to find
so much as howell to shelter them
from the weather bare of every com
fort, and forced to lie scattered in
the woods" (vol. 5th, page 124.)
After aiding to quell these hostile
Indian movements, Col. Stephen re-
turned to the east and was placed in
command of Fort Loudoun at Win
chester, charged with the protection
of our entire Northwestern frontier.
All further dangers being remov-
ed from the frontiers, our troops
were disbanded and Col. Stephen,
now Brigadier General in the State
Militia, returned in 176S to his home
in Berkeley county-after fourteen
years of almost continuous service
in defence Of the people and terrific
ry of Virginia.
That General Stephen at that per,
iod enjoyed in high degree the con-
fidence of Washington is not only OBJ
vious, from the preceding narrative,
but in further shown by the fact,