RICHMOND —
In 1778, a lonely frontier outpost on the Kentucky River withstood a 10-day siege by Shawnee Indians and their British allies. The settlers turned back three onslaughts again this weekend as re-enactors portraying both sides simulated the siege for crowds of on-lookers Saturday and Sunday afternoon and Saturday evening.
Just as they did during the Revolutionary War, the combatants this weekend taunted each other with insults as well as shooting rifles at each other.
“Traitors,” a woman yelled from the ramparts of Boonesborough at the white soldiers who fought with the Shawnees.
“Get off that wall, woman, and go make babies,” came the retort from one of his majesties’ fighters.
“Boone is a woman,” another chimed in.
“Get that trash out of my yard,” the female settler yelled, when one of the attackers was dropped by a bullet fired from the fort.
The attackers set fire to hay stacks, but despite their best and bravest efforts, the fort did not succumb. A British soldier wearing a Scottish kilt and bonnet waved the Union Jack defiantly before his comrades marched away to the jeers of the defenders.
The re-enactors departed from strict historical accuracy for a crowd-pleasing vignette this year. The attacking native warriors abducted a group of children who had strayed from the fort. Dressed in period costumes, the children of adult re-enactors screamed in terror, calling for their mothers, as they were dragged from the line of spectators and marched away from the fort.
The episode had some historical authenticity, however. Two years before the siege, Indians captured Daniel Boone’s daughter, Jemima, along with Richard Calloway’s daughters, Elizabeth and Frances, when their canoe wandered within wading distance of the rivers far bank. They were rescued three days later.
The fighting at Boonesborough commenced when peace talks failed. Chief Blackfish, who had adopted Daniel Boone as a son after capturing him at Blue Licks, called Boone to come out and explain why white settlers were living on Shawnee land. Boone said Col. Richard Henderson of North Carolina had purchased the land south of the Ohio River and west of the Kentucky River from the Cherokee tribe. Blackfish appeared to accept the explanation and agreed to let the settlers live in peace. But, he said, the agreement should be formalized by the Shawnee custom of “the long handshake.”
When Blackfish’s warriors refused to release the settlers’ hands and tried to drag them away from the fort, Boone yelled out, “Treachery!” Although he and other men from the fort were in the line of fire, Boone ordered riflemen lining the fort’s walls to shoot. The desperate measure worked. The exposed settlers made it back into the fort, and the siege was on.
This was the first re-enactment for the state park’s new manager, Rob Minerich. A reception in his honor was conducted Friday evening.
Bill Farmer, the park’s living history coordinator, thanked the re-enactors as well as the Fort Boonesborough Foundation for their contributions to the re-enactment and other park events. Since its inception, the foundation has provided the park with more than $100,000 worth of goods and services, Farmer said.
Local News
Related Photos
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Teenaged girls scream in terror and call for their mothers as they are dragged away from Fort Boonesborough during Sunday’s re-enactment of the 1778 siege of fort. Bill Robinson
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Daniel Boone, played by Scott New, breaks away from a “long handshake” with Shawnee Chief Blackfish during Sunday’s re-enactment of the 1778 Siege of Fort Boonesborough. Boone yelled “Treachery!” and threatened his own safety by ordering defenders of the fort to fire on his Indian attackers. Bill Robinson
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A plume of smoke escapes from the rifle fired Sunday toward Fort Boonesborough by re-enactor portraying a Shawnee Indian. Bill Robinson
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