The Battle of

Point PleasantBy Carol Adkins

o The Battle of Point Pleasant was fought October 10, 1774o The battle was between Virginia Riflemen and the Shawnee and Mingo Tribes.o The battle was fought over the land which is now modern day Point Pleasant o Also known as Dunmore’s War or Battle of Kanawha

The Battle of Point Pleasant was a long hard battle were many of lives were lost. So of the people who fought in this war includes Chief Cornstalk, General Andrew Lewis, Lord Dunmore, and Mad Anne Bailey. These four people are the four most famous people from this battle.

Cornstalk (c.1720 – November 10, 1777) was a prominent leader of the Shawnee people. He was born about 1720, probably in Pennsylvania. He and the rest of the Shawnee people were pushed into Ohio in the 1730's. His name in his own language meant "blade of corn.“Cornstalk and his tribesmen were a part of many battles with the English settlers of Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. But it is his death, at a time when he had been at peace with the White man, and was actually trying to warn the fort of impending plans of massacre by militant Natives, that perhaps defines this Native American Hero, at the time of his death it was said that he placed a curse on Point Pleasant.

Andrew Lewis (October 9, 1720 – September 26, 1781) was an American pioneer, surveyor, and soldier from Virginia. He served as a colonel of militia during the French and Indian War, and as brigadier general in the American Revolutionary War. He is most famous for his 1774 victory in the Battle of Point Pleasant in Dunmore’s War.

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1732 – 25 February 1809), was a British peer and colonial governor. During his term as Virginia's colonial governor, he directed a series of campaigns against the Indians known as Lord Dunmore's War. The Shawnee were the main target of these attacks, and his purpose was to strengthen Virginia's claims in the west, particularly in the Ohio Country. However, some have accused him of colluding with the Shawnees and arranging the war to deplete the Virginia militia and help safeguard the Loyalist cause, should there be a colonial rebellion.

"Mad" Anne Bailey (1742 – November 22, 1825) was a famous story teller and frontier scout who served in the fights against the American Revolutionary War. She married a settler named Richard Trotter. He served in Lord Dunmore's War and was killed on October 10, 1774 in an encounter with the Shawnee forces led by Cornstalk at the Battle of Point Pleasant. His death was a turning point in Anne's life. She left her son William with a neighbor named Mrs. Moses Mann, then joined the militia. Anne wore buckskins while carrying rifles and similar equipment for engaging in scout services, hunting, courier work and story telling.

The Curse of Chief Cornstalk

The Mothman is a creature reportedly seen in the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia from November 12, 1966, to December 1967. Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings. The creature was sometimes reported as having no head, with its eyes set into its chest. They now have the Mothman Festival to honor the sightings of the Mothman, what once scared the town now is celebrated.

The Curse of Chief Cornstalk

The U. S. 35 Highway Bridge connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with Kanauga, Ohio, collapsed at approximately 5 p.m. (EST) December 15, 1967. Forty-six persons died in the accident, nine were injured, and 31 of the 37 vehicles on the bridge fell with the bridge. Twenty-four vehicles fell into the Ohio River and seven fell on the Ohio shore. There were no pedestrians on the bridge at the time of collapse.

The Curse of Chief Cornstalk

1976: In March of that year, the town of Point Pleasant was rocked in the middle of the night be an explosion at the Mason County Jail. Housed in the jail was a woman named Harriet Sisk, who had been arrested for the murder of her infant daughter. On March 2, her husband came to the jail with a suitcase full of explosives to kill himself and his wife and to destroy the building. Both of the Sisk’s were killed, along with three law enforcement officers.

Monument at Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in Point Pleasant86 foot constructed in August 1909, was suppose to be constructed in July but was struck by lightening on a clear night. Another Curse by Cornstalk?

This is a plaque that is in Tu-Endie-Wei State Park in Point Pleasant. This plaque is a conception of what the battle was like if you were fighting in it. You can see this among many more unique things at the park, along with reenactments. Reenactments go on starting in May through October

Pictures from the Reenactment

Reenactments go on starting in May and continuing through October they have the battle along with a festival in October.