Estill's Defeat: Harper Family Series, Part 2

Fort Boonesborough, 2001
Photo by Vonda Lee Heverly

I am fortunate to have a few ancestors for whom records are abundant.  These are the ones I want to write The Book for: that thick dust-gatherer that tells every little detail, complete with sources, of course. I realize the impossibility of completing such a task, so my goal is to write individual chapters. Each chapter may not be complete, and they certainly aren't going to be in chronological order. But each installment will get me closer to having The Book I've been longing for.

One such family is the Harpers.  They were among the earliest settlers in Kentucky and lived in close proximity to some famous people (translation: lots of source material!). I've written one chapter in this journey already, The Life and Murder of Peter Harper.  Peter was my 6x great-uncle; now I turn to his brother John Harper, my 5x great-grandfather.

John Harper was born probably in Prince William County, Virginia in about 1747 to George and Betty Harper.  He first came to Kentucky in 1779, aged about 32.  He came with a small group of men to stake out claims for land.  That first winter was a rough one, and he spent it inside the shelter of Boonesboro, a fort Daniel Boone had built in 1775.  He spent the next few years serving in the Kentucky militia on the frontier during the Revolutionary War as a spy, scout, and ranger. This was a time when there were many skirmishes between the white settlers and the natives who hunted in the area.

This story is about one such clash, the Battle of Little Mountain, also called Estill's Defeat.  There is an excellent account of this story written in Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky by Lewis and Richard H. Collins.  This link takes you directly to the story in the book on archive.org.  This book was published in 1874, and the language is a little flowery to our modern ears.  Here is my interpretation of the original in a modern tone, with a few original excerpts in block quotes:

On March 19th, 1782, an empty Indian raft floated down the Kentucky River past Boonesboro. This indicated that Indians were crossing the river further upstream with the intention of sneaking up the back side of unprotected settlements.  An alarm was sent to Captain James Estill about 15 miles away at his station, and he raised a party of 40 men to investigate.

The day after the party left Estill's Station, Indians attacked it. They killed a young woman within sight of the fort, and took captive an enslaved man, Monk.  Monk knew full well there were no fighting men left behind, but told the Indians how strong the fort was and of all the men inside to defend it. His exaggeration was effective enough to send the Indians away, saving the women and children left inside.

Image from The History of Kentucky
[see citation below, click link to view book online]

Two boys were sent to catch up to Captain Estill and tell him of the attack. They reached Estill's party early on March 21st. The men resolved to chase the Indians, sending five men back to the station to defend it. After crossing the river, they discovered the Indian trail and rode hard to catch them.  They camped that night near where Mount Sterling, Kentucky stands today, an area called Little Mountain. [Little Mountain was actually an Indian burial mound that was leveled in 1845. You can read about it here.] Ten of the men had horses unable to go on, so the remaining 25 took off the next morning, March 22nd. They soon observed fresh Indian tracks and knew they were getting close.

They rode several hours, when they came upon six Indians preparing their supper from a buffalo.  Captain Estill fired his gun, causing the Indians to run.  David Cook, a little ahead of the rest of the party, saw an Indian halt. He raised his gun, and fired. Just at that instant, another Indian crossed their path, and the single shot killed both men.  This remarkable shot, seen by most of Estill's group, spurred them on to fight.

The Indians were beginning to retreat, not wishing to engage, when their leader was shot and fell.  His death would have ended the battle 20 minutes after Cook shot the first Indians.  To quote the History of Kentucky:

"But to the true son of the forest there is no rallying cry like that from his wounded leader. He ordered them to come back, and fight like men." 

The Indians dragged their leader, whose name has been lost to history, behind a bush where he would be protected but could give orders to his men. His voice was strong and they did not disobey.

Image of Estill's Defeat from the Digital Public Library of America
(see full citation below in References)

The two sides were evenly matched, and it turned into a series of individual conflicts instead of organized forces going head to head.

"Each rifleman singled out his man, and fired at no uncertain mark. Life itself was forfeit. The firing was deliberate. For an hour, both sides stood firmly, or bravely fell...In the clangor and uproar of a general battle, death is forgotten, and cowards often die like brave men; but in the cool and lingering expectation of death, only the man of true courage can stand. Such was the situation now...The Indian chief could not retreat, and without him his men would not." 

At this point, Captain Estill sent a detachment of six men with Lt. William Miller to go around the creek and flank the enemy so as to surround them.  If these seven men had followed their orders, the settlers might have won the day.  However, as they moved their position they panicked and abandoned their comrades, securing their own safety but sealing the fates of the other men.

As soon as Estill saw what had happened, he ordered David Cook to the flank.  These men immediately obeyed, but Cook was shot.  The men in the front were running low on ammunition. Suddenly, Adam Caperton, one of Estill's closest friends, was shot in the head.  However, the shot did not immediately kill him, but crazed him. Unaware of his own actions, he staggered out into the open space between the enemies, and a powerful Wyandot, out of ammunition, leaped out to scalp him. Estill could not leave his friend to this fate. Gun empty and three times wounded himself, Estill rushed toward the Indian with his butcher-knife drawn. The two warriors grappled in hand-to-hand, life or death combat.

"Each was so powerful and quick, the other could not use his weapon; first up, then down upon the ground, twisting and turning like two immense serpents struggling for the mastery."

Estill had broken one of his arms four months before; it was not yet fully healed, and it finally gave way. The Indian, with a wild yell of triumph, buried his knife in Captain Estill, killing him instantly.  Just as he gave his yell, the Indian fell dead over Estill, shot by Joseph Proctor.  He had been watching the contest with a steady aim, but held his fire lest he kill Estill.

One more settler was killed, and the battle was over. The Indian chief had finally passed.  The battle had gone on for nearly two hours. The whites left their dead behind, and carried off their three wounded.  Joseph Proctor carried William Irvine nearly the whole 40 miles back to Estill's station on his back.  Though the battle ended effectively in a draw, the Indians were left with possession of the field and so it is called Estill's Defeat.

The enslaved man Monk escaped from the Indians, and reported that they had 17 killed and 2 wounded.  Of the whites, seven were killed, 11 returned to Estill's station, and seven deserted in dishonor. Monk was freed later that year by Captain Estill's son for his actions during these days. He went on to have 30 children by three wives and became a Baptist minister.

John Harper wasn't in the Battle of Little Mountain; he didn't witness Estill's defeat firsthand.  However, three days later he led a party of men to the battle ground to bury the dead, which they did by covering them with logs and debris.  The Indians had carried off their own dead, and did not mutilate or scalp the whites. They made no attempt to harass the burial party, surely knowing such a party would come.  Twenty-one years after the battle, John Harper gave testimony in a land dispute case:

Deposition of John Harper (taken on May 20, 1803, at spot where James Estill was defeated and killed):  That he piloted the company to this place that came to bury the dead that was killed in the battle with James Estill, and he found James Estill dead on, or very near, this spot of ground and that he was well acquainted with this spot of ground previous to the battle.  Question by plaintiff: Do you not know that this place was a place of great notoriety previous to the first of the year 1783?  Answer: it was from the time of the battle being fought, and was ever since called Estill's battle ground.  Question by same: Was there any marks by which a stranger could know this place to be the place where Estill was killed?  Answer: None, other but by the trees being scalped by bullets and the bones of the people that were buried on the ground which was plain to be seen the first of the year 1783. [Source: Fayette County, Kentucky Records, p. 93, see full source below.]

John Harper had lived in close proximity to these men for four years. He knew some of them quite well: Joseph Proctor gave testimony for John when he applied for a pension for his service during the American Revolution.  Beal Kelly, another survivor, also came from Prince William County in 1779. John helped him build his cabin and stake his claim.  Though accustomed to rough frontier living, it had to be a shock to see seven of these men dead on the battlefield, their bodies subjected to wildlife and the elements for some days.  Nearly a year later the land was still scarred and the bones of these men were visible.  Over twenty years later, he led men to the exact spot where he had seen it all.

Estill's Defeat from the Historical Marker Database
Photo Credit: Mark Hilton, 11 May 2015

References:

• Estill's Defeat from the Wyandotte perspective
• Estill's defeat. 1859. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-f65a-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.(Accessed January 30, 2019.)
• The History of Kentucky: From Its Earliest Discovery and Settlement, to the Present Date, by Zachariah Frederick Smith; published by Prentice Press, 1895; original from New York Public Library, digitized 11 Feb 2008; accessed 30 Jan 2019.
• Fayette County, Kentucky Records Volume 1, by Michael L. Cook and Bettie Anne Cook, Cook Publications, Evansville, IN 1985.