French and Indian War Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

August 18, 1749: de Blainville Plate Sets French Claim to Ohio Valley

On August 18, 1749, explorer Pierre-Joseph Celoron de Blainville buried a lead plate at Point Pleasant as part of his task to claim the entire Ohio Valley for France.

In the mid-1700s, France and Great Britain were continually on the brink of war around the world, particularly in places where the two nations contended for the same land.

Perhaps no place was more tense than the North American frontier, which included most of present West Virginia.

Earlier in August 1749, Celoron de Blainville, accompanied by 230 Canadian militia and Indian guides, had buried a lead plate at the junction of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River. The explorers then traveled down the Ohio to the mouth of the Kanawha River at present Point Pleasant and buried another plate. In all, Celoron buried four plates along the Ohio, but his effort ultimately failed. Great Britain’s victory in the ensuing French and Indian War forced the French from the region, and France surrendered to the British all claims on the Ohio Valley.

The Point Pleasant plate was found by a boy playing on the riverbank in 1846.

April 17, 1757: Col. Washington Orders Closing Ft. Ashby

On April 17, 1757, George Washington ordered the Virginia militia to abandon Fort Ashby in present Mineral County. Captain Ashby of the Virginia militia had overseen the fort’s construction, and Fort Cocke—to the south, during the summer and fall of 1755.

Ashby and Cocke were the first of several forts ordered built by Washington to defend the Western Virginia frontier during the French and Indian War. The effort was in response to Indian raids that had occurred along Patterson Creek in 1755. At the time, the colony of Virginia was trying to encourage settlement on its western frontier and protect those who’d already settled there.

By 1757, Washington could no longer provide enough forces to protect Forts Ashby and Cocke, so he abandoned both sites. Afterward, Ashby was likely garrisoned by local militia until the threat of Indian attacks ended.

Today, an old log building—probably a barracks—is all that remains of Fort Ashby. This structure, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places, is the last original structure associated with a frontier fort in West Virginia.

December 15, 1772: Grant of Land for John Savage and 59 Soldiers

On December 15, 1772, Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore granted nearly 29,000 acres of British land along the Ohio River and the lower Guyandotte and Big Sandy rivers to 60 men as compensation for their service during the French and Indian War. The land grant was specifically for soldiers who had served under George Washington at the Battle of Great Meadows in Pennsylvania. The land transactions are known collectively as the Savage Grant, named for Captain John Savage.

The grant extended about 24 miles from what is now Cattlettsburg, Kentucky, to northern Cabell County. It included most of the present city of Huntington. Apparently, none of the original soldiers ever lived on their land, but all the tracts eventually were claimed by descendants or assignees of the 60 men. John Savage’s own parcel was sold to William Buffington, who willed it to his sons, Thomas and Jonathan. About 1796, Thomas and Jonathan Buffington came to the mouth of the Guyandotte River. Thomas was one of the earliest settlers of Cabell County and helped found the original county seat of Guyandotte in 1810.

Greenville Treaty Ends Indian Threat to Western Va: August 3, 1795

On August 3, 1795, the United States and several Indian tribes signed the Treaty of Greenville. Although the treaty was signed in western Ohio, it had a major impact on the region that would later become West Virginia.

Under the terms of the treaty, the Indians ceded to the United States about two-thirds of present Ohio. By pushing the tribes west, it ended the threat of Indian attacks on the Western Virginia frontier.

For decades, Indians and pioneers had had continual conflicts on the Western Virginia frontier, with the violence peaking in 1774 and again during the Revolutionary War. Although Indian attacks waned in the years following the Revolution, there were still sporadic conflicts. The Treaty of Greenville brought peace to Western Virginia and sparked an influx of new settlement, while depriving Indians of even more of their ancestral land.

The treaty didn’t assure peace in Ohio, though, and places further west. Settlers immediately poured into territory promised to the tribes. Also, some Indian leaders, such as Tecumseh, refused to sign the treaty and began putting up long-term resistance.