Episode 15: The Defeat of Post Rider Thomas Ross
Since the beginning of the migration from Virginia and other areas east of the Appalachian Mountains into what we know today as the Bluegrass area of Central Kentucky in the late 1700s, the threat from Native American attacks had been all too real.
Numerous travelers lost their money, household goods, cattle and horses, and even their lives to the Natives.
It’s important to note that many, perhaps most, of these attacks by Native Americans were renegade groups not sanctioned for their actions by their tribal leaders.
In fact, a treaty between the Cherokee and the United States government had been negotiated in July 1791 and finalized in February 1792.
The treaty allowed a postal road to be opened in 1792 from Bean Station, Tennessee through Cumberland Gap to Danville, Kentucky.
That road passed through what would become Laurel County.
In spite of the treaty, parties of renegade Cherokee and Chicamauga lurked along the Kentucky trails, attacking small groups of travelers who they perceived as vulnerable.
The motive for most of these attacks was greed.
The attackers stole money, horses, cattle and other goods that had value, leaving behind or destroying items that did not – including the people who stood in their way.
Today those attacks are often referred to as “massacres,” but that’s not an entirely accurate term in many cases, including the event I’m going to tell you about in this episode.
The 18th century word, “defeat,” meant “destruction, ruin, or undoing,” and could apply to one person or to many people.
And to be “defeated” didn’t necessarily mean to be “killed,” it simply meant someone (or some group) lost a fight.
So “defeat” is more accurate than “massacre” in most cases when it was used for these events during the settlement of the frontier in the late 18th century.
With that background in mind, I want to tell you about the “defeat” of Thomas Ross, a post rider – that is, a mail carrier – who was killed by Native Americans on March 21, 1793 in what would later become Laurel County.
A first person account of the event by Rev. Joseph Brown of Fort Nashboro, now Nashville, Tennessee, was published in the “Banner of Peace” newspaper on August 5th, 1858.
The original account is quite long, and contains descriptions of other Laurel County defeats, so I’ve condensed it somewhat for the purposes of this episode.
This narrative was sent to a Colonel Putman by its author, Rev. Joseph Brown, who details the events surrounding an attack on his party by unnamed Native Americans during a return trip from Knoxville to Nashville in March, 1793.
The travelers had to venture into Kentucky to avoid a band or renegades who were intent on waylaying travelers.
Listen to this episode to hear about the attack that cost Thomas Ross his life and wounded his two companions, including Rev. Brown.
This podcast is presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center at Heritage Hills off Tom Jensen Highway in London.
The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to acquire and preserve historical documents and artifacts related to the rich history of Laurel County and Southeastern Kentucky.
You can get directions to the museum and genealogy center on their website at laurelcokyhistorymuseum.org or call 606-862-1693. They’re open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and by appointment.
Episode 15: The Defeat of Post Rider Thomas Ross
Since the beginning of the migration from Virginia and other areas east of the Appalachian Mountains into what we know today as the Bluegrass area of Central Kentucky in the late 1700s, the threat from Native American attacks had been all too real.
Numerous travelers lost their money, household goods, cattle and horses, and even their lives to the Natives.
It’s important to note that many, perhaps most, of these attacks by Native Americans were renegade groups not sanctioned for their actions by their tribal leaders.
In fact, a treaty between the Cherokee and the United States government had been negotiated in July 1791 and finalized in February 1792.
The treaty allowed a postal road to be opened in 1792 from Bean Station, Tennessee through Cumberland Gap to Danville, Kentucky.
That road passed through what would become Laurel County.
In spite of the treaty, parties of renegade Cherokee and Chicamauga lurked along the Kentucky trails, attacking small groups of travelers who they perceived as vulnerable.
The motive for most of these attacks was greed.
The attackers stole money, horses, cattle and other goods that had value, leaving behind or destroying items that did not – including the people who stood in their way.
Today those attacks are often referred to as “massacres,” but that’s not an entirely accurate term in many cases, including the event I’m going to tell you about in this episode.
The 18th century word, “defeat,” meant “destruction, ruin, or undoing,” and could apply to one person or to many people.
And to be “defeated” didn’t necessarily mean to be “killed,” it simply meant someone (or some group) lost a fight.
So “defeat” is more accurate than “massacre” in most cases when it was used for these events during the settlement of the frontier in the late 18th century.
With that background in mind, I want to tell you about the “defeat” of Thomas Ross, a post rider – that is, a mail carrier – who was killed by Native Americans on March 21, 1793 in what would later become Laurel County.
A first person account of the event by Rev. Joseph Brown of Fort Nashboro, now Nashville, Tennessee, was published in the “Banner of Peace” newspaper on August 5th, 1858.
The original account is quite long, and contains descriptions of other Laurel County defeats, so I’ve condensed it somewhat for the purposes of this episode.
This narrative was sent to a Colonel Putman by its author, Rev. Joseph Brown, who details the events surrounding an attack on his party by unnamed Native Americans during a return trip from Knoxville to Nashville in March, 1793.
The travelers had to venture into Kentucky to avoid a band or renegades who were intent on waylaying travelers.
Listen to this episode to hear about the attack that cost Thomas Ross his life and wounded his two companions, including Rev. Brown.
This podcast is presented by the Laurel County History Museum and Genealogy Center at Heritage Hills off Tom Jensen Highway in London.
The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to acquire and preserve historical documents and artifacts related to the rich history of Laurel County and Southeastern Kentucky.
You can get directions to the museum and genealogy center on their website at laurelcokyhistorymuseum.org or call 606-862-1693. They’re open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and by appointment.