Little Pieces of History (06-01-21)

 Along the way to MA, we spent two nights in the small town of Elizabethton TN.  It was obvious this was a historic area, and I assumed it would be Civil War era, but I was wrong.  This town played a role in the Revolutionary War.

In the 1700’s this area of Tennessee was Cherokee country. In fact, anything on the western side of the Appalachian Mountain peaks was Cherokee, and anything east of it was English territory.

 England signed an agreement that they would “stay out” of the Cherokee side- and made it illegal for colonists to settle here. Except, some of them really wanted to move here, so they did. They called the area Watauga, named for the river that meanders through the area.

This group of settlers leased the land from the Cherokee, and eventually bought it from them, in what was known as the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals. With the purchase of 20 million acres, it was the largest  private real estate transaction in the history of the U.S. (Unfortunately, the governments of North Carolina and Virginia refused to acknowledge the purchase so it was nullified). So, anyway,  everything was going along swimmingly, until the revolutionary war started. 

At that point, the Cherokee aligned themselves with the British, and the colonists were essentially surrounded. England gave the settlers 20 days to move out, or they would be attacked by the Cherokee. Claiming hardship, the settlers asked for and were granted, a 20 day extension. They had no intention of leaving, having pledged allegiance to the Second Continental Congress- they just wanted more time to prepare themselves and set up a defense.

Mathew Talbot, the local miller, volunteered his homestead for the town defense, fences were put up, and Fort Watauga was created.

On July 21, 1776, going about their daily business, many of the women were outside the fort, milking cows, when the Cherokee attacked. Everyone made it in before the fort gate was locked- except Bonnie Kate. She ran around looking for a way in, and threw her cap over the fence so they would know where she was. Climbing as best she could, she was yanked over the top of the fence by John Sevier ( they married 4 years later).  After 2 weeks of bloodshed the colonists persevered, and the Cherokee left in defeat.

In 1780, the Overmountain Men (people who had settled on the western side of the Appalachian mountains) including those from Watauga, were involved in another, well known battle. The battle of Kings Mountain.

They were in hot pursuit of British Major Patrick Ferguson, who was trying to beat down the Patriots. Becoming aware of being chased, Ferguson retreated until he found a place where he could take a stand-Kings Mountain.

Riding through the pouring rain to confront the British force, the patriots wrapped their guns and ammunition in blankets and coats to keep them dry. Once they arrived, the 900 colonists surrounded the British and attacked. In less than an hour, Ferguson was killed, and his second in command  raised the flag of surrender. Historians consider this battle one of the major turning points in the war for independence.

Our final interesting stop along our route brought us from the revolutionary war to the civil war, and from Elizabethton TN to Middletown VA. Looking for a place to stay, I decided to forgo the parking lot at the local Elks lodge, and booked our first stay at a Harvest Host property.

Usually Harvest Host is a brewery, winery or a museum. The expectation is that if you stay there, you will purchase wine, beer, food, or whatever else the host site offers.  This was a farm. A beautiful, historic farm.

The owner was very friendly and we chatted with him for quite a while as we parked behind his barn. He told us of the woes of getting the property recognized by the historical society (the original section of the house was built in 1790), and the history of the property.

The Battle of Cedar Creek took place in October of 1864, one of the more decisive civil war battles in the Shenandoah Valley. The short version is that the Confederates, led by General Jubal Early were well on their way to victory when the general decided to halt the attack in order to reorganize.

That pause gave enough time for General Sheridan to arrive with more Union troops and the North ultimately won the battle- the Confederacy never regained a foothold in the Shenandoah Valley.

Continuing our conversation, I asked Bob “what his deal is”. As I mentioned, most HH sites expect you to buy something in exchange for parking.  Well, Bob doesn’t sell anything. However, he does have a 501C. During Covid he was looking for ways to help those in need, and he focused on providing food and essentials to those less fortunate. It grew from he and his friends filling up their trucks with food for the food bank, to something more substantial and organized.

He thought Harvest Hosting would be an easy way for him to increase his ability to help. We were very happy to make a donation to his cause (https://thorndalefarmva.com/friends-of-thorndale-farm).

Becoming Americans (04-23-13)

I’ve been to other live history museums- such as Plimoth Plantation and Sturbridge Village, so the thought did cross my mind that we could skip Colonial Williamsburg.  Boy am I glad we didn’t. There are several things that set this living history museum apart from all others.  One is the sheer size- it’s the largest museum of it’s kind, and encompasses 300 acres.   We elected to get a multi day pass, which was smart because they rotate which years they are interpreting. Tuesdays they represent 1775-1776 and Wednesday they interpret 1779-1781.  I think what I liked most about this place was that this timeframe in our history was so dynamic, volatile and, well, historic! 

Our first stop was the movie theater to watch “Becoming a Patriot” a movie about a fictitious family in Williamsburg, 1775, and what life was like for them. Great movie.

To get to the “town”, you cross over a bridge where you “walk back in time”.  On the ground there are plaques that contain a timeline with information from different years. One plaque says “1865- from this date back, you know people who own other people.”

On the outskirts of the town was a small farm, where you could talk to farm workers and slaves about the work they were performing. From the slave’s perspective all the talk of freedom and  claiming independence didn’t mean much, because no one was talking about the slaves being free. It was ironic that colonists were willing to fight for freedom yet they all owned slaves.

There were numerous side roads with small houses, gardens, and many trade businesses.  We checked out the wheelwright, the cabinet maker, the joiner (which, surprisingly is a separate job), the brickyard, etc. Paul enjoyed watching them work using only tools available in the 1700s.

Main Street was full of houses, shops, taverns, and government buildings such as the courthouse, the powder magazine and the Capital building.

1775-1776

Our first stop inside the town was the Governor’s Palace, where we learned about the mood of the town in 1775 and what events were taking place that were causing unease among the townspeople.  Relations between England and America had been strained for many years by this point, and King George had recently declared that no more gun powder could be imported by the colonies.  Soon thereafter, the Governor of Virginia stole all of the gun powder that the people of Williamsburg had stored in the town powder magazine.  He made the excuse that he had heard a rumor that nearby slaves intended to revolt and steal the gunpowder, but that was proven to be a lie. The tension level in Williamsburg rose quickly after that.

   As we walked down the street, we could listen to, or converse with, townspeople  who were discussing taxes, what should be done about the Governor and his thievery, and whatever else they were worried about that day.

Later in the day there was quite a commotion as a rider came storming into town with the news that shots had been fired in Concord Massachusetts between colonial militia and the British troops, who had been given orders to seize the colonists’ military supplies.Quite an argument ensued, since many of the townspeople were still  loyal to the crown.

The boiling point was soon reached and Virginia, the wealthiest and largest of the 13 colonies was the first to declare it’s independence from England, in May of 1776. The war, which was already being waged, intensified. In July of 1776, all 13 colonies reviewed and signed the Declaration of Independence.

1779-1781

The reality of war and the daily sacrifices that everyone has had  to make are the topic of conversations in the street.

At noon, Thomas Jefferson spoke to a large crowd about the process of writing the Declaration of Independence.  He was part of a committee of 5 who wrote it.  He insisted that the ideas and words incorporated into it were not new, but merely formalized the thoughts that had been in the heads of Americans for many years. “Common sense” was the term he used. As a speaker, he was absolutely fabulous.


He also discussed the the phrase “we the people”  and the definition of who that actually meant at the time.  Government officials were elected by the people, yes, but in the 1700s, very few people could actually vote. You had to be white, male, over 21, Protestant, and a landowner who has no mortgage on his property in order to vote in elections.

Later in the day the streets were buzzing with the arrival of British troops who (in 1781)seized control of Williamsburg.  They were led by Benedict Arnold. The British occupied Williamsburg for several months.

The final visitor of  the day was General George Washington, who arrived in town to muster the troops and head to Yorktown. The battle of Yorktown was the last major battle in the Revolutionary War.









I had a great two days and learned a lot of great information in a fun way.