Fort Henry ( West Virginia ) Fort Henry was a fort which stood about ¼ mile from the Ohio River where the town of Wheeling , West Virginia is now located . The fort was originally known as Fort Fincastle and was named for Viscount Fincastle , Lord Dunmore , Royal Governor of Virginia . Later it was renamed for Patrick Henry , and was at the time located in Virginia . The fort was subject to two major sieges , two notable feats ( McColloch ' s Leap and Betty Zane ' s trek through the battle ) and other skirmishes . History . Built in June 1774 , Fort Henry was not erected by any specific plan or design , but was one of a number of similar forts built to protect settlers on the frontier in the middle years of the 1770s . The outbreak of the tribe or Dunmore ' s War , a conflict between American Indians of the Ohio Country and Virginia , was the immediate reason for its construction . Construction was supervised by Colonel William Crawford under the orders of the Royal Governor of Virginia , Lord Dunmore . It would appear that the need for a fortified shelter was noticed simultaneously by the residents of the area , and by the military authorities at Fort Pitt ( Pennsylvania ) , in the spring of 1774 . John Connolly wrote to Wheeling and urged the settlers to fortify themselves as soon as possible . Ebenezer Zane and John Caldwell began the fort , which was completed with the help of Captain William Crawford , Colonel Angus McDonald and 400 militia and regulars from Fort Pitt . A letter preserved in the Pennsylvania Archives shows that Connolly told Crawford " to proceed to Wheeling and complete the fort . " A letter from Lord Dunmore dated June 20 , 1774 to Connolly states that Dunmore “ entirely [ approved ] of the measures [ Connolly ] have taken to build a fort at Wheeling . " Dunmore , then , did not specifically order the fort to be built , but did approve of it . Connolly , according to some accounts , left Fort Pitt with 100 men to help build the fort , but was harassed by a small raiding party of Indians . He returned to Fort Pitt , and then sent out Crawford and McDonald with 400 men . Form . The fort enclosed about and was defended on three sides by the topography . On the south and west ( river ) sides , the bluff prevented or greatly hindered assaults . On the north , the ravine provided protection . The only level ingress would have been from the east . Zane ' s blockhouse protected the entrance since attackers had to pass by it to attack the fort . They would have been caught in a crossfire between the fort and the blockhouse . All of the recorded attacks on Fort Henry came from the east . The outer palisade wall was made of timbers , with blockhouses built at each of the four corners . In 1781 a two - story log structure was added near the front gate on which a cannon was mounted . Battles . The fort was besieged twice during the American Revolutionary War , once in 1777 and again in 1782 . In 1777 , Native Americans of the Shawnee , Wyandot and Mingo tribes joined to attack settlements along the Ohio River . Local men later joined by recruits from Fort Shepherd ( in Elm Grove ) and Fort Holliday defended the fort . The native force subsequently burned the surrounding cabins and destroyed livestock . Major Samuel McColloch led a small force of men from Fort Vanmetre along Short Creek to assist the besieged Fort Henry . McColloch was separated from his men and was chased by attacking Indians . Upon his horse , McColloch charged up Wheeling Hill and made what is known as McColloch ' s Leap down its eastern side to safety . The Indians rushed to the edge , expecting to see the Major lying dead in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the hill . To their great surprise they instead saw McColloch , still mounted on his white horse , galloping away from them . In 1782 , a native army along with some British soldiers attempted to take Fort Henry . During this siege , Fort Henry ' s supply of ammunition was exhausted . The defenders decided to dispatch one of its men to secure more ammunition from the Zane homestead . Betty Zane volunteered for the dangerous task . During her departing run , she was heckled by both native and British soldiers . Upon successfully reaching the Zane homestead , she gathered a table cloth and filled it with gunpowder . During her return , she was fired upon but was uninjured . It is believed that one bullet did , in fact , pierce her clothing . As a result of Zane ' s heroism , Fort Henry remained in American control . Numerous other skirmishes took place nearby .