Doug Wood portrays Thomas Ingles, the son of Mary Draper Ingles. Thomas Ingles, at age 4, was abducted with his mother in 1755 by the Shawnee at Draper’s Meadows, Virginia. Thomas lived with and was raised as a Shawnee until age 17, when he was returned to his parents. Schooled to become a Virginia gentleman, he later joined the Virginia militia and took part in the Battle of Point Pleasant.
This statue of a Virginia frontiersman is part of a monument at Point Pleasant Battle Monument State Park in Mason County. The monument commemorates the Battle of Point Pleasant — the main event in Dunmore’s War — which occurred in 1774.
This is an undated photo of living history interpreter Doug Wood, who portrays Thomas Ingles, the son of Mary Draper Ingles. Thomas Ingles, at age 4, was abducted with his mother in 1755 by the Shawnee at Draper's Meadows, Virginia. Thomas Ingles lived with and was raised as a Shawnee until age 17, when he was returned to his parents. Schooled to become a Virginia gentleman, he later joining the Virginia militia and took part in the Battle of Point Pleasant.
This is an undated photo of a monument at Point Pleasant Battle Monument State Park, called Tu-Endie-Wei Park locally, in Point Pleasant, Mason County. The monument commemorates the Battle of Point PleasantÌý— the main event in Lord Dunmore's WarÌý— that occurred on Oct. 10, 1774.
A series of events at West Virginia state parks and historical sites will revisit the significance of Dunmore's War, a struggle that took place 250 years ago between Virginia militiamen and Native American tribes of the Ohio River Valley, setting the stage for Revolutionary War struggles on the western frontier.
This is an undated photo of a monument at Point Pleasant Battle Monument State Park, called Tu-Endie-Wei Park locally, in Point Pleasant, Mason County. The monument commemorates the Battle of Point PleasantÌý— the main event in Lord Dunmore's WarÌý— that occurred on Oct. 10, 1774.
The war broke out after a party of Virginia settlers conducted, in early April 1774, a series of raids on native villages along the Ohio River about 30 miles north of what is now Wheeling. Those raids were followed on April 30, 1774, by the ambush murder of the family of Mingo Chief Logan at a settlement along the Ohio River at the site of present-day Mountaineer Casino and Racetrack in Hancock County.
After the slaughter of Chief Logan's family, warriors from the Mingo tribe joined forces with the Shawnee in the region and took part in a series of raids and skirmishes in the months that followed, culminating in the Oct. 10, 1774 Battle of Point Pleasant. That battle involved a force of about 1,000 native warriors led by Chief Cornstalk of the Shawnee and a like number of Virginia militiamen ordered to engage them by John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore, a Scottish member of the House of Lords and colonial governor of Virginia.
Free, public events planned
A group of West Virginia historians, archeologists, living history interpreters and re-enactors will commemorate the 250th anniversary with a series of public events focusing on Dunmore's War starting on April 20 and ending on Oct. 26. Events scheduled so far include:
April 20, 12 p.m. — Tomlinson Run State Park in Hancock County will host the first Dunmore's War event, that — with the help of living history interpreters — tells the story of one of the primary causes of the conflict: The April 30, 1774, murder of Chief Logan's family at nearby Baker's Bottom.
Doug Wood portrays Thomas Ingles, the son of Mary Draper Ingles. Thomas Ingles, at age 4, was abducted with his mother in 1755 by the Shawnee at Draper’s Meadows, Virginia. Thomas lived with and was raised as a Shawnee until age 17, when he was returned to his parents. Schooled to become a Virginia gentleman, he later joined the Virginia militia and took part in the Battle of Point Pleasant.
DIANNE ANESTIS | Courtesy photo
June 1, 1 p.m. — At the Sayre Log House in Riverfront Park in Ravenswood, Jackson County, and through a partnership with Great Bend Museum in Ravenswood, living history interpreter , the son of Mary Draper Ingles, who, at age 4, was abducted with his mother by the Shawnee in 1755 at Draper's Meadows, Virginia. Thomas Ingles lived with and was raised as a Shawnee until age 17, when he was returned to his parents schooled to become a Virginia gentleman, later joining the Virginia militia and taking part in the Battle of Point Pleasant.
June 4, 6 p.m.Ìý— of the Kanawha County Public Library.
June 23, 2 p.m. — At the McFarland-Hubbard House, 1310 Kanawha Boulevard East, Robert Miller, a Native American legal scholar, lawyer, judge and Eastern Shawnee citizen, will discuss the legal concept of the "Doctrine of Discovery," used by the English to justify the seizure of Native American lands during the colonial era, and later employed by the U.S. government.
This is an undated photo of living history interpreter Doug Wood, who portrays Thomas Ingles, the son of Mary Draper Ingles. Thomas Ingles, at age 4, was abducted with his mother in 1755 by the Shawnee at Draper's Meadows, Virginia. Thomas Ingles lived with and was raised as a Shawnee until age 17, when he was returned to his parents. Schooled to become a Virginia gentleman, he later joining the Virginia militia and took part in the Battle of Point Pleasant.
DIANNE ANESTIS |Courtesy photo
July 2, 6 p.m.Ìý— of Kanawha County Public Library.
July 6, 12 p.m.Ìý— Bluestone State Park in Summers County will host a interpreting the construction of frontier forts for protecting European settlers and for mustering Virginia militia recruits.
Aug. 3, 12 p.m.Ìý— Hawks Nest State Park in Fayette County will host interpreting the difficulties Col. Andrew Lewis's 1,000-man militia force encountered traveling from the Greenbrier Valley to the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, while driving hundreds of cattle and pack horses.
Sept. 13-15, 12 p.m. dailyÌý— will be the focus of a program hosted by Beech Fork State Park in Wayne County. Interpreters will demonstrate the daily activities of soldiers and warriors. Mary Draper Ingles' husband, William, was the chief commissary officer for the 1,000-man Virginia militia force that marched from the Greenbrier Valley to Point Pleasant. Her brother, John, was a militia lieutenant and served as a scout during the march, and her son, Thomas, was also a lieutenant.
Oct. 12, 12 p.m. — The annual at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in Point Pleasant will feature living history interpreters telling the story of the battle that signaled the end of Dunmore's War.
This statue of a Virginia frontiersman is part of a monument at Point Pleasant Battle Monument State Park in Mason County. The monument commemorates the Battle of Point Pleasant — the main event in Dunmore’s War — which occurred in 1774.
Point Pleasant Battle Monument State Park
Library of Congress photo
Oct. 26 — on the island at Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park in Wood County to shed light on the transitional events that transpired between the end of Dunmore's War and linked it to the American Revolutionary War.Â
Rick Steelhammer is a features reporter. He can be reached at 304-348-5169 or rsteelhammer@hdmediallc.com. Follow on Twitter.
