Down the Wilderness Road

I was on the jobsite of the residential job that I am currently working on near Big Stone Gap, Virginia and decided to stop at the Wilderness Road Park just out of Middlesboro , Kentucky across Cumberland Gap, near Rose Hill ,Virginia. The significance of this location is that it was the last civilized settlement in Virginia before the settlers traversed the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. This was the site of Martin's Station, a frontier fortress that protected the pioneers from the ravages of the savage Indians and nature. The state of Virginia has reconstructed the old log fort from historical accounts and documents, and it serves as probably one of the best reminders of how rough life on the frontier truly was in the 1770s. This Fort is of some interest to modern day Stanford where I live because plans are to reconstruct Ft. Logan in Stanford, much as it was when the town was established by Benjamin Logan in the spring of 1775. In Kentucky history the three earliest settlements in order of establishment were Harrodsburg by James Harrod, Ft. Logan by Ben Logan, and Boonesborough by Daniel Boone. Ft. Logan was called St. Asaphs after a Welsh Saint because the Longhunters first camped there on the holiday of St. Asaphs. Later tradition says that the name was changed to Stanford after the attacking Indians called it "Standing_Fort " when they were unable to capture it in 1777 after fifty some days of seige.This seige is officially considered a battle of the American Revolution due to the British Governments aid in trying to run the settlers out of territory claimed by the King of England.It is interesting that I take a similar path across the Wilderness Road that our ancestors took over 200 years ago. The difference is that I travel the 150 miles or so in about three hours, whereas their journey took weeks, without McDonalds ,I might add. The same road was taken back through Middlesboro to Tennessee by the defeated Confederate army after the Battle Of Perryville in October of 1862. Of interest to Lincoln County is that along their retreat the Confederate Army took some 12 Gentlemen from Crab Orchard that were known Union sympathizers and hanged them on the river bank from a big sycamore tree in Pineville in sight of where the Pineville Hospital now sits. The leader of the hanged men was a Mr. King.The seige of Ft. Logan lasted over fifty days and two men were killed by the savages who camped on the bluff overlooking the creek, the present location of Buffalo Springs Cemetary. History doesn't tell how many savages were killed, but the settlers were notably better shots than the Shawnees with their smooth bore muskets. The description and size of FT. Logan was told to Lyman Draper by a Captain Briggs who was a resident of the fort. Draper wrote probably the best history of the frontier that has ever been achieved. He wrote thousands of pages of history from many direct interviews with actual pioneers in the mid 1800s, including the last son of Daniel Boone that he talked with in 1851. Draper wrote the definitive history and biography of Daniel Boone. His manuscripts are held by the University of Wisconsin. As I sit here tonight I am within earshot of where the Indians attacked the Fort in 1777. I often woder of what courage these pioneers had as they crossed the mountains, and how far we have come. Not content to cross over Cumberland Gap, we blasted under the mountain and now go through the tunnel, knocking off about 30 minutes of travel time. All along the route are buffalos serenely grazing in the park areas. I found that they are on loan from a man named Estes who has a whole herd on a hillside between Jonesville and Pennington Gap. They are huge ,formidable beasts that provided a lot of food to the pioneers.I wish the modern pioneers success with the fort reconstruction, but I am happy with modern Stanford with our red caboose and renovated downtown. Just let Ben Logan stay in Shelbyville.