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Friday, January 17, 2025

Kerr Creek Massacre

 


The sources describe several violent encounters between settlers and Native Americans in the Kerr Creek area, though the information is not always presented with specific dates or full context. Here's a breakdown of the events and related details:
Peter Warrick's Company Ambush: It is stated that Peter Warrick's company ambushed and killed fifteen Indians returning from one of the Kerr Creek massacres
. This event indicates that there were multiple attacks, rather than just one isolated event.
Recurring Attacks: The text refers to the Kerr Creek "massacres," suggesting that multiple incidents occurred in the area
. The settlers were constantly struggling with an enemy who knew no truce, and whose tender mercies were blows from their tomahawks
.
John Byrd's Capture and Recapture: During one of the raids, the Byrd family was attacked, with the older members killed. Eight-year-old John Byrd was captured, along with his sister. John was later recaptured. His sister was married to an Indian chief and was never seen again
.
John Byrd's Later Life: After being recaptured, John Byrd wore a gold chain suspended from his nose and both ears. He tried to return to the Indians twice but was prevented. He died in 1836. The source notes he was a grand-father of Hon. John T. Byrd
.
Settler Tactics: Settlers learned to fight the Indians in ways that they had learned from experience, like lying in ambush behind logs and trees
. They were innured to dangers, and taught by experience and the instinct of self-preservation the best modes of warfare
.
Impact on Families: Women and children were affected greatly by these attacks. Women were dragged from their homes to see their infants killed, and children were forced to march hundreds of miles into captivity
.
James Gay and Stevenson Family: The James Gay and Stevenson family went to Kentucky when Mrs. Stevenson was just a bride in 1774. She related that her father, James Gay, married Martha Warwick and lived on a farm about six miles from Kerrs Creek. The Indians killed her mother in September of 1759 in the first raid on Kerrs Creek
.
Eleanor Gay: The source states that one of Mrs. Stevenson's aunts, and her two children, (this was Eleanor Gay) were later captured and carried away
. It is also noted that Eleanor Gay later became Mrs. William Kincaid, and escaped capture by hiding in the woods while the Indians kept to the river. On a second occasion this same aunt and three children were captured and carried away
.
Additional Captives: The source also references that James Woods and James McClung were two of the captive children and they had their ears cropped
.
Context and Implications:
Frontier Warfare: These incidents were part of a larger pattern of conflict between settlers and Native Americans on the Virginia frontier. The settlers faced frequent raids and were forced to adopt their tactics accordingly
.
Role of Forts: The forts, such as Fort Dinwiddie, were built as a defense against these attacks, but the settlers also relied on their own ability to defend their families
.
Brutal Nature of Conflict: The descriptions of the attacks highlight the brutal nature of the conflict, with both sides engaging in violent acts
. The capture and mutilation of children, as well as the killing of women, are noted in the sources
.
The accounts of the Kerr Creek massacres reveal the perilous conditions faced by early settlers in the region, and the ongoing conflict between settlers and Native Americans.

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