Battle of Blue Licks The Battle of Blue Licks , fought on August 19 , 1782 , was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War . The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis ' s famous surrender at Yorktown , which had effectively ended the war in the east . On a hill next to the Licking River in what is now Robertson County , Kentucky ( but was then in Kentucky County , Virginia ) , a force of about 50 American and Canadian Loyalist s along with 300 American Indians ambushed and routed 182 Kentucky militiamen . It was the worst defeat for the Kentuckians during the frontier war . Background . Caldwell ' s expedition . Although the main British army under Lord Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown in October 1781 , virtually ending the war in the east , fighting on the western frontier continued . Aided by the British garrison at Fort Detroit , American Indians north of the Ohio River redoubled their efforts to drive the American settlers out of western Virginia ( now Kentucky and West Virginia ) . In July 1782 , a meeting took place at the Shawnee villages near the headwaters of the Mad River in the Ohio Country , with Shawnees , Delawares , Mingo s , Wyandots , Miamis , Ottawas , Ojibwa s , and Potawatomi s in attendance . As a result , 150 British rangers under Captain William Caldwell ( of Butler ' s Rangers ) and some 1 , 100 Indian warriors supervised by Pennsylvania Loyalists Alexander McKee , Simon Girty , and Matthew Elliott , set out to attack Wheeling , on the upper Ohio River . This was one of the largest forces sent against American settlements during the war . The expedition was called off , however , when scouts reported that George Rogers Clark , whom the Indians feared more than any other American commander , was about to invade the Ohio Country from Kentucky . Caldwell ' s army returned to the Mad River to oppose the invasion , but the attack never came . In fact , Clark did have a large armed boat patrolling the Ohio River , but he had no plans to invade . Most of the Indian warriors returned to their homes . Bryan Station . Caldwell and about 50 Loyalists , supported by 300 Indians , crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky . They meant to surprise and destroy the settlement of Bryan Station , but the settlers discovered them and took shelter within their stockade . Caldwell and McKee ' s force laid siege to Bryan Station on August 15 , 1782 , killing all of the settlers ' livestock and destroying their crops , but withdrew after two days when they learned that Kentucky militiamen were on the way . Caldwell had lost 5 Indians killed and 2 wounded during his short siege . The militia arrived at Bryan Station on August 18 . The force included about 47 men from Fayette County and another 135 from Lincoln County . The highest - ranking officer , Colonel John Todd of Fayette County , was in overall command . Assisting him were two lieutenant colonels , Stephen Trigg of Lincoln County and Daniel Boone of Fayette County . Benjamin Logan , colonel of the Lincoln militia , was gathering men and had not yet arrived . The militiamen could either pursue the enemy immediately , to keep them from escaping , or they could more safely wait for Colonel Logan to arrive with reinforcements . Daniel Boone wanted to wait for Logan and his troops to arrive . Logan was only a day away , but Major Hugh McGary urged Boone to chase after the Indians . McGary convinced others that they would be cowards if they did not follow the Indians and Boone was forced to go after them . The Kentuckians decided to pursue the enemy , who had a 40 mile ( 60 km ) lead on them . They set out on horseback over an old buffalo trail before making camp at sunset . Battle . On the morning of August 19 , the Kentuckians reached the Licking River , near a spring and salt lick known as the Lower Blue Licks . A few Indian scouts were seen watching them from across the river . Behind the scouts was a hill around which the river looped . Colonel Todd called a council and asked Daniel Boone , the most experienced woodsman , what he thought . Boone said he had been growing increasingly suspicious because of the obvious trail the Indians left . He felt the Indians were trying to lead them into an ambush . Hugh McGary , eager to prove he was no coward , urged an immediate attack . When no one listened , he mounted his horse and rode across the ford . He yelled out , " Them that ain ' t cowards , follow me . " The men immediately followed McGary , as did the officers , who hoped to restore order . Boone remarked , " We are all slaughtered men , " and crossed the river . Most of the men dismounted and formed a line of battle several rows deep . They advanced up the hill , Todd and McGary in the center , Trigg on the right , Boone on the left . As Boone had suspected , Caldwell ' s force was waiting on the other side , concealed in ravines . When the Kentuckians reached the summit , the Indians opened fire at close range with devastating accuracy . After only five minutes , the center and right of the Kentucky line fell back . Only Boone ' s men on the left managed to push forward . Todd and Trigg , easy targets on horseback , were shot dead . The Kentuckians began to flee down the hill , fighting hand - to - hand with other Indians who had flanked them . McGary rode up to Boone ' s company and told him everyone was retreating and that Boone was now surrounded . Boone ordered his men to retreat . He grabbed a riderless horse and ordered his 23 - year - old son , Israel Boone , to mount it . He then turned to look for a horse for himself . Israel suddenly fell to the ground , shot through the neck . Boone realized his son was dead , mounted the horse and joined in the retreat . Aftermath . Although he had not taken part in the battle , George Rogers Clark , as senior militia officer , was widely condemned in Kentucky for allowing the British force to cross the river and the inflict the Blue Licks disaster . In response , Clark launched a retaliatory raid across the Ohio River in November 1782 . His force consisted of more than 1 , 000 men , including Benjamin Logan and Daniel Boone . The Kentuckians destroyed five unoccupied Shawnee villages on the Great Miami River in the last major offensive of the American Revolution . No battles took place , since the Shawnees refused to stand and fell back to their villages on the Mad River . Aftermath . Four years later , the Indian villages on the Mad River would be destroyed by Benjamin Logan at the outset of the Northwest Indian War . Hugh McGary confronted the Shawnee chief Moluntha and asked if he had been at Blue Licks . In fact , the Shawnees had not taken part , the Indians being Wyandots . Unfortunately , Moluntha misunderstood McGary ' s question and nodded his head in agreement . McGary killed him with a tomahawk . Colonel Logan immediately relieved McGary of his command and ordered him court - martialed for killing a prisoner . Legacy . The Blue Licks battle site is commemorated at Blue Licks Battlefield State Park , on U . S . Route 68 between Paris and Maysville , just outside the town of Blue Licks Springs . The site includes a granite obelisk , burial grounds , and a museum . Every August , on the weekend closest to the 19th , a re - enactment and memorial service is held .