settline+kentucky

SETTLING THE LAND The early settlements were forts or stations located primarily in the Bluegrass region. Settlers lived in barricaded outposts for protection. When the Revolutionary War broke out, the Indian tribes sided with the British believing that the colonists would lose the war. The British also promised to restrict westward immigration to Indian lands. During the war years, attacks on settlements increased making a lone homestead too difficult to defend. Not all Indians participated in these raids. The Cherokee and Shawnee also hoped to restrict trade and settlement to a few towns but signed an agreement that they would not attack settlements. The fort system offered safety from attack but also subjected the settlers to starvation. People could not leave the forts to tend their crops without risking their lives and as a result, there was often too little food to feed everyone. After the war, settlers moved back out to the isolated frontier. People obtained deeds to their land from the land speculators. A man who bought land from a dishonest surveyor might have had to hire a lawyer and go to court to establish his claim if his property line overlapped that of another. It was not uncommon for people to end up paying twice for the legal deed to the land. Settlers too poor to pay became squatters. They could legally claim a vacant piece of land if they could establish that they had lived on it for three years and made improvements such as building a house and planting crops. Families and former neighbors settled near each other, working collectively to get started. The task of clearing land, building a starter home, and planting the first crops was too large a task for a single man. Still, rural farms were miles apart. In some areas of the Bluegrass region and a few trading posts, population density was great enough after a decade or two of immigration to form townships. For most people, however, life on the frontier was very isolated. Yet even without regular mail service, early Kentuckians managed to elect representatives to Congress.

The many Indian tribes located between the Appalachian Mountains and Mississippi River constituted a strong military force on the western frontier throughout the long years of the Revolutionary War. Although never unified, the warriors from these tribes greatly outnumbered both the British and the Americans in this region. The threat posed to their way of life by the beginning of the American settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains caused most of the Indians to favor the British. Starting in 1777, English officials actively encouraged the Indians to attack the rebellious American frontiersmen by supplying warriors with weapons and ammunition. In addition, successful war parties returning with scalps and prisoners were rewarded with presents. The Indians' major tactic was surprise; this, combined with their wilderness fighting skills, made them formidable adversaries. THE **MIAMI** had their main villages at present-day Fort Wayne, Indiana. Two important sub-groups of the Miami were the Wea, located at present-day Lafayette, Indiana and the Piankashaw, centered further south on the Wabash River in the Vincennes area. Only the Miami gave substantial support to the British during the Revolution; the Wea seemed to prefer remaining neutral and most of the Piankashaw openly favored the Americans. THE **DELAWARE**, already pushed westward from the Atlantic coast by pressure from the white advance, had taken up residence in present-day Ohio and Indiana by the start of the Revolution. During the conflict, the tribe divided into pro-British, pro-American, and neutral factions. Those Delawares favoring the English gained in numbers and became increasingly active during the latter part of the conflict. THE **SHAWNEE** were among the most active and relentless tribes in raiding the American frontier settlements in what is now West Virginia and Kentucky. In retaliation, their villages in present-day southern Ohio were attacked by forces under George Rogers Clark in 1780 and 1782. THE **MINGO** were a detached portion of the Iroquois that had migrated westward from present-day New York into what is now western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio by the time of the Revolution. Although not large in numbers, they took a very active part in raiding American settlements during the war. THE **WYANDOT**, centered along the southern shore of Lake Erie, were very active in their support of the British during the war. In addition to raiding American settlements, they constituted a major buffer against any contemplated attack on the British headquarters at Detroit by American forces from the East. THE **POTAWATOMI** were split in their allegiance during the Revolution. The western Potawatomi around the shores of Lake Michigan tended to favor Clark and the Americans, while the eastern portion of the tribe located at Detroit was loyal to the British. During war, the latter group took part in raids on American settlements in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky. THE **OTTAWA**, located near present-day Detroit, Michigan, were very active as British allies. Warriors from this tribe joined war parties against the American frontier settlements throughout the conflict. THE **KICKAPOO**, situated in the Illinois country, did not aid the British to any extent until the latter part of the conflict. They spent most of the war fighting their traditional enemies, the Chickasaw. THE **SAC** and **FOX** had formed a close alliance in the mid-1700s. Occupying land along the Mississippi River in present-day northern Illinois, they did not elect to play an active role during most of the Revolution. THE **WINNEBAGO** and **MENOMINEE**, located in present-day Wisconsin, were among the most loyal of the British allies. Warriors from these tribes took part in campaigns against the Americans in locations as widely separated as New York and what is now Missouri. THE **CHIPPEWA** extended in range through what is now Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ontario. During the Revolution, the portion of the tribe in the western Great Lakes region continued to devote most of their attention to the fur trade. Warriors from eastern Chippewa bands near the British headquarters at Detroit were more active militarily and raided American settlements in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky. THE **CHEROKEE** were a large tribe living in what is now western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Drawn early into the war on the side of the British, they soon suffered reverses from the Americans. Thereafter, the most hostile portion of the tribe, the Chickamauga, moved westward to the middle Tennessee region and continued their warfare against the American settlers around present-day Nashville. THE **CREEK**, located in present-day Alabama and western Georgia, remained neutral for a time, but eventually the majority took the side of the British. The Upper Creek joined the Chickamauga faction of the Cherokee in attacking American Settlements in the middle Tennessee region. THE **CHICKASAW**, situated in what is now northern Mississippi, had been strongly allied to the British throughout the 1700s. Removed from the main theater of the war, their major efforts were made against Clark's western outpost at Fort Jefferson near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. THE **CHOCTAW**, located in present-day southern Mississippi, were officially pro-British, but contributed little to the war effort. http://www.nps.gov/archive/gero/indians.htm
 * **//Indians on the Trans-Appalachian Frontier//** ||