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Simpson's Leader-Times from Kittanning, Pennsylvania • Page 22

Location:
Kittanning, Pennsylvania
Issue Date:
Page:
22
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

i i i i I i i i i i i Man For Whom Murphy's Bottom Name Last Survivor of Lord Dunmore's Wai Armstrong County people with. an interest in the history of their area can do a little discovering themselves this summer. A bit of digging into the history books and a trip to Murphy's Bottom, along the Allegheny River, two and a half miles upstream from Freeport, can reveal the interesting history of Captain Samuel Murphy, the nation's last survivor of Lord Dunmore's War. The following is a reprint of a copyrighted October 30, 1972 article by Patricia Burton, written and distributed to mark the coming American Revolution Bicentennial. Reading the article is the first step a Sunday afternoon drive to the landmark along the river is second.

By PATRICIA BURTON October 30th, 1972. Today is the hundred and twenty-first anniversary of the death of Armstrong County's Samuel Murphy. With the AMERICAN REVOLUTION BICENTENNIAL now getting underway across the Nation, Captain Murphy's grave, at Murphy'sBottom, along the Allegheny River, will be coming in for marked attention. For the man buried there more than a century ago, at the age of ninety-three, was the last sur- of a war which has been all but forgotten LORD DUNMORE'S WAR of 1774. This war, little publicized by the history books, resulted in a battle fought at Point Pleasant (now West Virginia) on the tenth of October, 1774 which has been duly recognized as having been the opening engagement of the American Revolution.

Samuel Murphy was not in the battle. Rather, he was with. Governor Dunmore's troops which made up the NORTHERN DIVISION of the war. It was part of the SOUTHERN DIVISION, under command of Colonel Andrew Lewis, which won a decisive victory over the Confederacy of Indian Nations, led by the Shawnee chief, Cornstalk, at "the Point" on that October day. The authentic facts concerning Murphy's participation in the war have been preserved, thanks to the zeal of the New York-born Lyman Copeland Draper (1815- 91), who spent a lifetime collecting original documents and information on the old frontier.

Draper paid his first visit to interview Samuel Murphy in 1846. His notes were written on September 1st. Murphy related that he had been born on the 12th of May, 1758, on the Shenandoah River in Frederick County, Virginia. His father died when he was very young. At the age of three years, he was "bound out" to a John Stevenson.

When the boy was about eight or nine, Stevenson moved, settling on Jacob's Creek, now in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Stevenson was a half- brother of the noted Colonel William Crawford. The Crawfords and Stevensons had both resided on Bull Skin Creek; William and Valentine Crawford arid their half- brothers; John, Hugh, Richard, James and Mark Stevenson. The mother was Irish and Samuel Murphy recalled that she would spread her bread and butter with her thumb and finger. Her maiden name had been "Grimes." When her first husband died (Crawford), she married Mr.

Stevenson who was living with the family. In 1755, when Braddock went out, he pressed all of Stevenson's horses into the service. Valentine Crawford slipped out into the night and followed the troops. At their next encampment, he crept in, mounted one of the familiar horses and dashed off, the others following as he had expected. About 1766, when Colonel Washington was in Frederick on his survey work, he made his home with the Stevensons.

John Stevenson had taught young Samuel Murphy, then about eight, to perform a "trick" on command. At a given signal from Stevenson, the boy would strike out and knock anyone with his fist. On this particular day, Colonel Washington had just seated himself when Stevenson gave the signal. Uttle Samuel "let have" and struck Washington on the side of his head. Astonished, Colonel Washington demanded to know why he had been struck? John Stevenson then explained and Washington, smiling, turned and gave Samuel a silver dollar.

In 1774, when he was just past sixteen, he went in the company of his master, Captain John Stevenson, on the Dunmore Expedition. He recalled that Daniel Morgan, Colonel William Crawford, Hugh Stevenson, Peter Helphinstone were along, as well as others. Near Grave Creek, William Harrison, who was the son-in-law of Colonel Crawford, went out from camp to kill a deer. But, he BATTLE MONUMENT at Point Pleasant, W. erected in 1909 to commemorate the Battle of Point Pleasant, fought Oct.

10, 1774, during Lord Dunmore's War. Colonel Andrew Lewis' Virginia troops won a victory over the Confederacy of Indian Nations, led by the Shawnee chief. Cornstalk. During the 12 hours of fierce fighting, one out of every five Virginians was either killed or wounded, including the beloved Col. Charles Lewis; the top- ranking officer to be slain as he was leading out the initial action.

became lost. Murphy recalled that the drums were beat and shots were fired as a means of directing Harrison back to camp. He remembered stopping at Logstown where there were only a few deserted houses. John Gibson was along and he cooked some chocolate, giving some to Murphy. It was the first chocolate young Murphy had ever tasted.

When they reached the point which is now Wheeling, West Virginia, Murphy recalled that Crawford laid out the plan of a fort and set up the first of the picketing. From there, they went down on foot, to a site opposite Hockhocking where they built a blockhouse. Murphy thought that Lord Dunmore and Stephen (Adam) were already the time they arrived. As Dunmore's troops prepared to leave Fort Gower (described as the block-house, which had been built), an "old Capt. Kirkendall" was left in command to care for the few sick and unfit persons of the campaign.

The balance of the men, horses and- cattle swam the Ohio at Hockhocking. Murphy thought it was either the second or third night after leaving Fort Gower that the "Lewis Express" overtook the army with the intelligence of the great battle of "the Point" which had taken place on October 10th. He described Governor Dunmore as grey headed, a heavy chunk of a man who marched all the way on foot with a small gun slung across his He quoted his expression which he used as, "Hoot man!" Colonel Adam Stephen, a large heavy man who was well under six feet, rode a horse. On one occasion, the Governor, out of mischief, got Nathaniel Fox to steal away Stephen's horse so that the Colonel had to walk for several hours, which because of his size, caused him to become very weary. Murphy remembered that Colonel Stephen, who had been wounded "in the belly" during the Braddock campaign, drew a silk handkerchief through his wound.

When the army neared the Indian towns, camp was set up in what is now Pickaway County, Ohio. Known as "Camp Murphy could not recall that there was any Picketing; that it was not a fort. Lyman Copeland Draper, in taking his notes, querried as to the Governor's quarters. But, Murphy could only recalTthat he thought he had "some sort of Place," to occupy. It must be remembered that Samue Murphy was going back SORK seventy-two years, straining hi aged memory, He did recall that Governo Dunmore had sat with an age Indian, conversing for a Ion time in French.

Murphy said tha this was not Cornstalk. Dra thought it was probably Chie White-Eyes. Murphy had no recollection ofl the peace treaty which was signed at Camp Charlotte. But, he did remember seeing Cornstalk, whom he described as "a noble, portly looking Indian." He said that Cornstalk's sister, the Grenadier's Squaw and her "Fanny," were there, each" riding fine horses with elegant saddles. Both the mother and daughter were quite tall, Murphy told Draper.

On the return trip, back to Fort Gower, Cornstalk and several other Indians went with them. Four Indian hostages were then sent on to Williamsburg. Murphy explained that in later years, he became very good friends with one, Tavenor Ross. Ross had been taken prisoner by the Indians when about seven years old (about 1754), near Cumberland, Maryland, after they had killed his father. Raised by the Indians, Ross was with the enemy party that day at Point Pleasant when they attacked the Virginia troops of Colonel Andrew Lewis.

Many years later, Tavenor Ross returned to live with the whites. Michael Cresap (a cousin of the noted Captain Michael Cresap) aided Ross in courting a white woman whom he married. The couple settled in Butler County and lived out their lives there. Murphy commented that he "knew old Tav Ross well." Draper returned to visit Samuel Murphy again in 1851. He spent September 28, 29 and 30 engaged in taking more notes.

Despite his advanced age, he retold the events of his life almost as he had done in the earlier interview of 1846. In recalling Tavenor Ross, he stated that Ross and an Indian companion had fired the first shots on the morning of October 10,1774 at Point Pleasant, killing the first soldiers of the battle. (Continued on Page 12).

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About Simpson's Leader-Times Archive

Pages Available:
131,433
Years Available:
1926-1977