Thomas Hale

Other Events:

• War: 30 May 1774, Fincastle County, Virginia; Dunmore's War

Notes:

War:
Dunmore's War: In June of 1774 the British Governor Dunmore decided upon aggressive action against the Indians and sent out a call to mobilize the militia of western counties. Among the Muster Rolls of Companies Defending the Frontier in a letter from Thomas Burk to Colonel Preston written May 30, 1774 there is listed William, Edward and Thomas Hale. Burk, a captain, was actively recruiting officers and men in preparation for the impending conflict. He wrote that he had proceeded according to directions, and appointed 11 our of 34 able-bodied men, and that he expected to arrive at Fincastle very soon with these men. Listed together as 2 of the 11 men appointed, grades not indicated, were Thomas Hale and his brother Edward.

Two columns, totaling over 2000 men, set out simultaneously arranging to join forces in the heart of the Indian country on the Ohio River. The northern column, accompanied by Lord Dunmore himself, mobilized a Fort Pitt and started down the Ohio. The southern column, under the command of Colonel Andrew Lewis of Botetourt moved down the Great Kanawha River. In the triangle formed by the junction of the Kanawha and Ohio, Colonel Lewis' division, 900 strong, was attacked on October 10th by about 800 Indians led by Cornstalk, the Shawnee Chief, and a murderous encounter took place in the thick woods along the river bank. Although the killed and wounded were about 200 on each side, Cornstalk counseled his warriors to sue for peace. The Indians withdrew and sent a deputation to Lord Dunmore who had set up camp among their open villages north of the river. This ended Dunmore's War, but the bloody day-long battle which had been fought at Point Pleasant on the south side of the Ohio had been a savagely hardening experience for the men of Virginia.

-Roots in Virginia; an account of Capt. Thomas Hale, Virginia frontiersman

Family/Spouse: Jane. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]