A Journal of Historical Fiction about the
Fort Blackmore, Virginia settlement
To be used with elementary students in conjunction with
Southwest Virginia History units.
I. Begin with map of United States,
Virginia, and Scott County.
A. Trace the route the Clinch River
Company (Captain Blackmore's party) traveled.
VA SOL 3.5 & 3.6
B. Locate where the Battle of Kings
Mountain took place. VA SOL 3.5 & 3.6
C. Compare a modern day route to
Nashville (Great Salt Lick) to that of John Blackmore. VA
SOL 3.6
II. Use "Becky Ann's Journal"
to review map skills and teach history of the Fort Blackmore
Settlement.
A. Use map to show location of
Blackmore's Fort.
B. Use pictures to show what the area
looks like.
C. Show pictures of Shawnee and
Cherokee tribes native to the area.
D. Have students to do journal writings
of their own when appropriate.
stockade
bastions
tract (of land)
flat bottom boat
dugout
canoe
mouth of river
settlement
hemisphere
latitude
longitude
source of river
(A Journal
of historical fiction about the
Fort Blackmore Settlement)
November 15th, 1775- Today our family took departure from our
home in Northern Virginia and traveled across the land. We were
forced to stop when a member of our party spotted two Shawnee
fishing from a canoe in the river. Papa says we have to be brave
and quiet, and mind what he and Mama say. There are two other
families traveling with us, one having three and the other having
four children. I, having just turned 10 in June, am the oldest. I
feel certain that the other children have been told to mind their
parents as well.
Why should the children do
exactly what their parents say? Why was the party forced to stop
when they saw the Indians?
January 24th, 1776- After many hard frosts and several
difficulties, we arrived at the mouth of Stoney Creek. Papa was
introduced to Captain John Blackmore, who has invited us to stay.
This settlement consists of a fort, cabins, stockades, and
bastions. There are rows of cabins, each separated from the other
by log partitions. The cabin walls are 10 to 12 feet high, with
the slope of the roofs turned entirely to the inside. I fear the
Indians, who are said to be nearby. Mama and Papa assure me that
we are safe here, but even with all the modern securities, I
sense that I shall not rest tonight.
Draw Fort Blackmore using
the description above. Give two reasons why the walls were 10 to
12 feet high.
January 31st, 1776- Heavy snow these past three days; we are
mostly confined to our cabin, which we share with another family.
Since last writing, I have learned to sleep here in the shelter
of this great fort. It is really a sight to see. The fort has a
large, folding gate made of thick slabs which hangs to the side
nearest the spring. That is, south of the fort in the bank of the
river. Even as scared as I am, I must admit that I feel some
small bit of safety whenever I see that enormous gate close.
Why would Becky feel safer
with the gate closed than if it were open?
February 20th, 1776- Returning home from drawing water today
I had a dreadful fright! I saw a dark silhouette of a husky man,
half-hidden behind a tall maple tree growing in the woods. In my
terror, I dropped both buckets of water and ran like a jackrabbit
all the way back to the fort. Mama and Papa both said I was
letting my imagination get the best of me, but when two of the
boys went to fetch my buckets, they could not be found.
Make your own journal
writing about what could have happened to the buckets.
March 13th, 1776- It is finally starting to feel like
spring. The days grow longer and warmer. We still await news back
from five of our young men. Their party was sent out to hunt and
gather food. However, their three day expedition has turned into
ten. Nobody speaks of it, but we all fear that their lives have
ended at the hands of the Indians. Captain Blackmore's fort is
supposed to be safe! Our area is supposed to be safe! Captain
Blackmore says he built this fort on the north side of the Clinch
River to get away from the Cherokee and that the Shawnee are too
far away to cause much trouble. It is said that the river divides
the hunting grounds between the Cherokee and the Shawnee. It is
supposedly understood that the Cherokee agree to stay south of
the Clinch and the Shawnee to the north. At this moment, we all
wonder if anyone is safe, or if we are in the middle of some kind
of Indian war. Whatever it is, our settlement is short five men.
What do you think happened
to the hunting party? Why would people have to be sent out to
gather food?
November 1st, 1776- I regret not having written in such a
long time. Our fort is overflowing with people and there just has
been no time for writing. It is said that a Cherokee War is under
way, so our enormous fort, as I called it, has become tiny. In
the past few months we have received families from Rye Cove and
from Powell Valley, which were both evacuated because of the
Indians. Our fort is attacked often and many people have lost
their lives. I pray every night that Mama, Papa, and I will live
to see the morning sun.
Do a journal writing about
what it would be like to go to bed every night waiting for your
home to be attacked.
December 31st, 1779- This winter is proving to be the coldest
we have ever endured here at Blackmore's Fort. This morning was
so cold that mother and I broke two spoons making breakfast.
Captain Blackmore and part of his family left out earlier this
month on a trip to the Cumberland River area. The group left in
forty or more flat bottom boats, dugouts, and canoes. They were
last seen floating down the Clinch River, in hopes of making it
to the Tennessee River. While we here complain about the cold and
the quickly decreasing supply of food, we still cannot imagine
what Captain Blackmore's brave party must be enduring. Papa says
that they are indeed a group of brave souls, while Mama insists
that they have taken leave of their senses. I keep my thoughts to
myself, but secretly envy the party's adventurous expedition.
How cold would it have to
be to break a spoon? Of what do you think the spoons were made?
How would you have felt about the people who left in the boats?
June 25th, 1823- I read back through this journal with
mixed feelings. I can still feel the excitement of arriving at
Blackmore's Fort. I feel the fear while laying in my bed waiting
for the Indians to attack. I feel the worry of not knowing
whether we would have enough food to last through the winter. I
also feel the of and respect that our family shared with those
surrounding us. I feel our bonds as we worked together to help
one another survive day by day.
I have searched high and low for the
remaining parts of my journal, but with no success. Now, as an
old woman, I will try to recount some details that have been lost
to time.
Captain Blackmore's group
survived their adventure on the Clinch, Tennessee, and Ohio
Rivers. Colonel John Donelson met up with the group near the
mouth of the Clinch River on Sunday, March 5, 1780. During their
trip they were faced with many hardships. Mr. Payne was shot by
Indians when his boat ran too near the shore. A boat got stuck
and they were throwing part of the cargo overboard to dislodge
it. In their great haste, a Mrs. Peton's newborn baby (born that
very trip) was thrown overboard and was never seen again.
The group finally arrived at
Great Salt Lick on Monday, April 24, 1780. There they found a few
log cabins. This was the beginning of the Cumberland settlement.
While there, an order came in for all able bodied men to join the
British Army. The men marched for eleven days, a two hundred mile
journey, to Watauga and Nolichucky River and other settlements
for safety. They then turned back to Kings Mountain to prevent
British invasion in Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee.
Captain Blackmore fought in this battle as a private with the
other pioneers. They defeated the British in the Battle of Kings
Mountain.
Captain Blackmore returned home
and spent some time at the fort. He obtained a land grant of 640
acres on the north side of the Cumberland River on April 28, 1788
and moved there with his wife. Captain Blackmore made his will in
1803 and died shortly thereafter.
It was believed that Captain
and Mrs. Blackmore had a son and a daughter killed by Indians in
1789. The following April (1790) Bishop Asbury recorded in his
journal that he saw the cliff from which Blackmore's son leaped
into the river after receiving the stroke of the tomahawk in his
head. He estimated the height to be between fifty and sixty feet.
My family was one of the lucky
ones. Mama and Papa both died of old age. I married Jeremiah at
the age of sixteen, and we were blessed with two children, Mary
and Joshua. We still live in the area of Blackmore's Fort and we
anxiously await the arrival of our first grandchild, Mary's, due
in August.
Discuss how you would have
dealt with the hardships faced by the members of Captain
Blackmore's party on the river. Why do you think Fort Blackmore
was attacked so many times? What do you think it was about the
fort and its people that kept it from being captured?
