Shelter from the Storm: History of Vance's Fort

As you travel the modern roads of today, and visit the cities, towns and villages dotting the hills and dales of upper Appalachia, it is hard to ever imagine the area as a vast wilderness laden with dangers lurking behind nearly every tree. This was an area forged by the sweat and blood of a unique breed of pioneer, those who could see the diamond in the rough of this land, knowing that when mined and polished it would bear the fruits of their labors for their families and the countless generations to follow. Moreover, in order to fire up their tireless forging of the wilderness the pioneers needed a hearth and smithy to commence the work, this is the story of that metaphorical place and man, and this is the history of Vance’s Fort.

In 1774, twenty four year old Joseph Vance made the daunting trek from Frederick County, Virginia across spine of the Appalachians to the western frontier. He followed the bloody trail that was cut into the wilderness by General Edward Braddock nearly twenty years before and came into the tiny outpost surrounding Fort Pitt. He then continued westward to an area of nearly uninhibited lands that his friend and fellow Virginian, George Washington, had told him laid nestled in the hills just east of the mighty Ohio River.

"Rich Flatts"
Cross Creek, Pennslvania (2011)

At the time this land was being claimed by both Virginia and Pennsylvania, and Joseph Vance made his land claim for the farm known as “Rich Flatts” in Augusta County, Virginia’s Land Office. Upon receiving his land grant, Joseph began to clear next to a spring creating the head of a small stream leading to Raccoon Creek.  Here Joseph erected a fortified blockhouse and planted a field of crops, as well as girdled a large amount of trees surrounding the area to quickly thin them out. Upon completion of this Joseph returned to Virginia and married his cousin Anne Vance, and returned to his new lands in the west.

However, while he was in Virginia, Joseph was convinced by his father, Major William Vance, and several other military minded men that Indian unrest called for more protection than a simple blockhouse, and if the strained bonds of affection between the colonies and Mother England were to sever war would break out. Furthermore, if war were to commence the British Empire would probably take a page out of their enemy’s book and align with the Indians to wage war on the western frontier. Thus with this knowledge, Joseph returned and began to erect a small fort surrounding his blockhouse. The fort was one of the strongest on the western frontier consisting of several cabins and blockhouses all surrounded by a stockade made of oak.

A Forgotten Forefather

Throughout the course of time there have been a countless number of men that have performed tasks of great distinction and are forever remembered in the annals of history, yet there are even more men who have perform just as nobly and have all but been forgotten.  Many of these forgotten men laid the very footing of the civilization that we live in today. Moreover, many of us can call them our ancestors, they are the roots of which we derive from; a thread in our lives’ fabrics, and an unknown moral compass within us. This is the story of one of these men; this is the story of Jonas Groves.

In researching the life of Jonas Groves, it quickly becomes apparent that much of his life is still submerged in the murky waters of history, yet to surface to the modern researcher. However, the story of his life that is known is that quite full of merit and well worth recording in the annuals of history. What is known is that Jonas Groves was born in 1743, and at the age of seventeen volunteered for service in the French and Indian War. He enlisted in 1761 with Major Robert Rogers and his Rangers, and quickly became one of the feared scouts.

Roberts’ Rangers were a fierce bunch of backwoods pioneers who fought for the British Crown against the French and Indians in the northwest frontier of the Great Lakes region. They were well known as being one of the only combatant groups, besides Indians, that could function in theses harsh terrains and harsher winters. Major Roberts led his Rangers on many raids in the dead of winter against French towns and encampments, using primitive snowshoes and walking across frozen lakes and rivers.

On February 10, 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed by France and England ultimately ending formal warfare between the two countries and bringing the seven year French and Indian War to a close. As part of the surrender terms the French were to relinquish Fort Detroit over to British control, and Major Roberts and his Rangers were assigned the task of taking control of the fort and supplying it.

Jonas Groves was sent to Buffalo, New York along with several other Rangers to gather supplies and ferry them across Lake Erie to Fort Detroit.  On May 30, 1763, while Jonas and 117 other Rangers were ferrying supplies in open boats to Fort Detroit they were attacked by a large band of Ottawa Indian warriors. Although they were twenty-five miles from the fort and in open water, they were surprised and ambushed, suffering heavy casualties. Of the one hundred and eighteen men on the lake, only eight Rangers, including Jonas Groves, survived and were taken captive.

The Fire And Brimstone Patriot

In the late eighteenth century there was a new wave of ideals sweeping the British colonies in America. The citizens of these lands thought of themselves more as free Americans than as subjects to the crown, and this idea was only compounded with each new generation born upon these soils. These new idealist felt that they should govern themselves with laws and taxes that they felt fit and that they should have the freedom to practice the religion of their choosing. One of these idealists was a young Pennsylvanian by the name of John Herrington.



John Herrington
His only picture on his 100th Birthday



On January 1, 1759, John Herrington was born in Pennsylvania to John and Martha (Berkley) Herrington. John was born into a developing area still hostile with wild game and frequent Indian Raids. In 1763, during the closing days of the French and Indian War, the Herrington family fled from an Indian attack; however, both of John parents died in this attack leaving the four year old boy orphaned. John was raised by a couple in the community that was devoutly faithful and taught the word of the Lord to the young lad.

When the Revolution broke out John soon enlisted with Captain John Redman’s company attached to the 11^th Pennsylvania Regiment.  While in service John fought under General “Mad” Anthony Wayne in 1777 at the Battle of Brandywine, and again at the Battle of Paoli, where the regiment took heavy casualties.  Herrington spent the fateful winter of 1777-78 encamped at Valley Forge and saw his last engagement of the war at the Battle of Monmouth under Aaron Burr, before being mustered out of service.



 

The Case of Mistaken Identity and Murder: The Story of Jacob and Samuel Bushong

If you would visit Grand View Cemetery in Carrollton, Ohio, you will find the grave of the cemetery’s only Revolutionary War Veteran.  Underneath an impressive marble slab lies the body of a man who fought for this nation’s independence and blazed a trail into the frontier; building a solid foundation for his family and the newly formed village in which they lived. However, the name etched into the weathered marble headstone is not the name of the man buried beneath it.

Upon discovering the burial place for this Veteran of Independence, you will read will read carved into the tarnished marble: “Samuel Bushong Died 1829 Fought Under Baron Steuben in the Revolutionary War.” Not only is that the wrong name but also the wrong service record. The name of the true Revolutionary patriot is not Samuel Bushong, but his father Jacob Bushong.

In all of the early histories of Carrollton and Carroll County, the same oft-repeated mistake is made, and therefore, built upon and recognized as fact.  In the Carrollton Centennial published by the Free Press Standard it states, “Samuel Bushong – A native of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany; came to America with Baron Steuben and fought for the colonies in the Revolutionary War; he died here in 1835 and was buried in “the honors of war”; his unmarked grave is near that of Peter Bohart. He built the two story log house still standing east of Robert’s Park, in 1820.” This simple paragraph was repeated in many subsequent histories causing the truth to fall between the cracks. How and why this occurred is not clear, but it is finally time to right this wrong, and to do this all of the facts need to be looked at.  Since this is the story of two men it is only proper that both of their stories be told.