Day Two-The Early History of Appalachia

As you watch this video, think about the following

1) What is the structure of the Cherokee people?

2) What is the infrastructure of the Cherokee people?

3) what is the superstructure of the Cherokee people?

Day Two- Fast Facts

Fast Facts- Write These In Your Notes 

Settlers lived hard lives on the frontier. Most of what they needed to survive had to be brought with them as they traveled, made by hand on the frontier or traded for.

Indian attacks were prevalent and added to the struggle of the settlers

Frontier houses were simple and often dangerous leaving settlers to adapt how their homes were built.  

The Overmountain Men of Washington County, Virginia helped turn the tide at the Battle of Kings Mountain and defeat the British flank during the Revolutionary War

Review From Yesterday 

Pre-Clovis people hunted the animals attracted to the salt marshes in Saltville Valley 

Spanish explore Southwest Virginia looking for the Three Gs: Gold, God, Glory 

Dr. Thomas Walker surveys Southwest Virginia to map out the border between Virginia and North Carolina. He also surveys tracts of land to be sold to settlers east of present day Roanoke. 


Settlers move into the frontier of Southwest Virginia in search of cheap land. With them comes the spread of Methodism to the new lands.

History-recording, and analyzing of the past through primary and secondary sources
Primary Source- written at the time of the event
Secondary Source- written as a summary of primary sources 

Pre-history-Information that pre-dates the written word gleaned from archaeological study

Structure- What people are doing. How do they make a living

Infrastructure- Who has power in the community.

Superstructure- What people believe

Day Two: Frontier Forts

The actual military defense of Virginia's extreme western frontier did not begin, on a large scale, until the spring prior to the outbreak of Dunmore's War in the fall of 1774, more commonly referred to as the Point Pleasant Campaign.

There were seven of the original forts erected in compliance with Lord Dunmore's order, four on the lower Clinch River under Captain William Russell's militia command, and three on the upper Clinch River under the militia command of Captain Daniel Smith. These forts were erected by the settlers as a means of protection for the locals living in the area. The seven original forts were: Fort Preston in Upper Castlewood, Russell County, Fort Christian, between Dickensonville and Lebanon, Russell County, Moore's Fort in Castlewood, Blackmore's Fort, at the mouth of Stoney Creek in Scott County. Elk Garden Fort in Scott County, Witten's Fort near Tazewell, and Maiden Springs Station, located on the branch of the Clinch River near Tazewell. There were other forts built a few years later in the southwestern part of Virginia. They included: Daniel Smith's Fort in Lebanon, New Garden Station, in Russell County, Tate's Fort, on Moccasin Creek in Russell County, Rye Cove Fort, in Rye Cove. Carter's Fort, also in Rye Cove, Houston's Fort and the Kilgore Fort in Scott County.

http://www.swvamuseum.org/cherokee.html

Primary Source: The Killing of Chief Benge and The Recapture Of White Captives

Life on the frontier was hard. Added to this danger was the near constant threat of Indian attacks. One of the most feared Indians in Southwest Virginia was Chief Robert Benge. Born around 1760 in the Cherokee village of Togue, possibly on the Little Ta ni si river, Bob Benge - also called Captain Benge and The Bench - was the son of a Scottish trader John Benge and a full blood Cherokee named Wurtah. On April 6, 1794 Benge, and his band of frontier marauders entered the quiet little settlement fifteen miles west of the present town of Abingdon and attacked the home of Peter Livingston. At the time Peter and his brother Henry were out on the farm and the women folk, children and a few slaves were in or near the house. Benge and his raiders captured Elizabeth Livingston and the party fled as far as the foot of Stone's Mountain in Lee County. There they were ambushed by a band led by Lieutenant Vincent Hobbs and Benge was killed. The following is Elizabeth Livingston recounting of the ambush.

The Killing of Chief Benge

April 9. After traveling about five miles, which was over Powell's Mountain and near the foot of Stone Mountain, a party of 13 men, under command of Lieutenant Vincent Hobbs, of the militia of Lee County, met the enemy in front, attacked and killed Benge the first fire. I was at that time some distance off in the rear. The Indian who was my guard at first halted on hearing the firing. He, then, ordered me to run, which I performed slowly. He, then, attempted to strike me in the head with the tomahawk, which I defended as well as I could with my arm. By this time two of our people came in view, which encouraged me to struggle all I could. The Indian at this instant pushed me backward; and I fell over a log, at the same time aiming a violent blow at my head, which in part spent its force on me and laid me out for dead. The first thing I afterward remembered was my good friends around me giving me all the assistance in their power for my relief. They told me I was senseless for about an hour.

1) Why do you think Indians in Southwest Virginia would have resented and attacked the settlers?
2) What do you think the settlers could have done to prevented attacks or at least made them less likely?

For More Information About Chief Benge
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vaschs2/chief_benge.htm

http://donchesnut.com/genealogy/pages/bobbenge.htm

Day Two- Frontier Life

Life was hard on the frontier of Southwest Virginia.  Everything was done by hand. Lacking access to manifactured goods, settlers made what they needed or did without.  Food was cooked over a fire in poorly ventilated fireplaces leaving the cabins smokey.  Water was brought by hand from a well or nearby spring. Crops from the fields or trade for were dried or preserved with salt and stored where rodents could not get to them.




Any furniture the settlers had would have had to been brought with them, traded for, or most often built by hand.

Beds were a rarity. Often fronteir families slept on the ground or straw spread out on the floor. Even if a family had a bed it was often shared by the entire family. These beds featured rope slats that would have to be tightened occasionally, giving us the phrase "sleep tight." Again straw was used to make the mattresses
 

Food was sparse and the settlers diet consisted of what could be grown, traded for, or hunted.  In Southwest Virginia that meant mostly corn and few vegetables. Lacking proper nuetrients settlers often suffered from tooth loose, and bones breaks