A History of the Valley of Virginia by Samuel Kercheval (1833; 3rd ed. 1902)

231

EXPECTED ATTACK ON DODDRIDGE'S FORT.

When we received advice, at my father's Fort, of the attack on Rice's block-house, which was but a few miles distant, we sent word to all those families who were out on their farms, to come immediately to the Fort. It became nearly dark before the two runners had time to give the alarm to the family of a Mr. Charles Stuart, who lived about three quarters of a mile off from the Fort.

They returned in great haste, saying that Stuart's house was burned down, and that they had seen two fires between that and the Fort, at which the Indians were encamped. There was therefore no doubt that an attack would be made on our Fort early in the morning.

In order to give the reader a correct idea of the military tactics of our early times, I will give, in detail the whole progress of the preparations {s added} which were made for the expected attack, and, as nearly as I can, I will give the commands of Capt. Teter, our officer, in his own words.

In the first place he collected all our men together, and related the battles and skirmishes he had been in, and really they were not few in number. He was in Braddock's defeat, Grant's defeat, the taking of Fort Pitt, and nearly all the battles which took place between the English, and the French and Indians, from Braddock's defeat until the capture of that place by Gen. Forbes. He reminded us, that in case the Indians should succeed, we need expect no mercy; that every man, woman and child would be killed on the spot. They have been defeated at one Fort, and now they are mad enough. If they should succeed in taking ours, all their vengeance will fall on our heads. We must fight for ourselves and one another, for our wives and children, brothers and sisters. We must make the best preparations we can; a little after daylight we shall hear the crack of their guns.

He then made a requisition of all the powder and lead in the Fort. The ammunition was accurately divided amongst all the men, and the amount supposed to be fully sufficient. When this was done, Now, says the Captain, when you run your {typo corrected} bullets cut off the necks pretty close, and scrape them, so as to make them a little less, and get patches, one hundred, finer than those you commonly use, and have them well oiled, for if a rifle happens to be choked