Jump to content

Isaac Shelby

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Graham Beards (talk | contribs) at 11:03, 24 January 2009 (→Citizen Genêt affair: "the these"). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Isaac Shelby
File:Shelby Isaac.jpg
1st Governor of Kentucky
In office
June 4, 1792 – June 1, 1796
LieutenantNo such office
Preceded by(none)
Succeeded byJames Garrard
5th Governor of Kentucky
In office
August 24, 1812 – September 5, 1816
LieutenantRichard Hickman
Preceded byCharles Scott
Succeeded byGeorge Madison
Personal details
Born(1750-12-11)December 11, 1750
Hagerstown, Maryland
DiedJuly 18, 1826(1826-07-18) (aged 75)
Lincoln County, Kentucky
Political partyDemocratic-Republican
SpouseSusannah Hart
RelationsFather-in-law of Ephraim McDowell and Charles Stewart Todd
ResidenceTraveler's Rest
ProfessionSoldier, Farmer
AwardsCongressional Gold Medal, Thanks of Congress
SignatureFile:Isaac Shelby sig.jpg
Nickname"Old King's Mountain"
Military service
AllegianceThirteen Colonies, United States
RankMajor general
CommandsBattle of King's Mountain
Battles/warsLord Dunmore's War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812

Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was the first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He was also a soldier in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. While governor, he personally led the Kentucky militia in the Battle of the Thames, an action that was rewarded with a Congressional Gold Medal. Counties in nine states, and several cities and military bases, have been named in his honor. His fondness for John Dickinson's The Liberty Song is believed to be the reason Kentucky adopted the state motto "United we stand, divided we fall".

Shelby's military career began when he served as second-in-command to his father at the Battle of Point Pleasant, the only major battle of Lord Dunmore's War. He gained the reputation of an expert woodsman and surveyor, and spent the early part of the Revolutionary War gathering supplies for the Continental Army. Later in the war, he and John Sevier led expeditions over the Appalachian Mountains against the British forces in North Carolina. He played a pivotal role in the British defeat at the Battle of King's Mountain. For his service, he was presented with a ceremonial sword and a pair of pistols by the North Carolina legislature, and the nickname "Old King's Mountain" followed him the rest of his life.

Following the war, Shelby relocated to Kentucky on lands awarded to him for his military service and became involved in Kentucky's transition from a county of Virginia to an independent state. His military heroism made him popular with the citizens of the state, and the state electoral college unanimously elected him governor in 1792. He secured the state from Indian attacks and organized its first government. He leveraged the Citizen Genet affair to convince the Washington administration to make an agreement with the Spanish for free trade on the Mississippi River.

At the end of his gubernatorial term, Shelby retired from public life, but he was called back into politics by the impending War of 1812. Kentuckians urged Shelby to run for governor again and lead them through the inevitable conflict. He was elected easily, and at the request of General William Henry Harrison, commanded troops from Kentucky at the Battle of the Thames. At the conclusion of the war, he declined President James Monroe's offer to become Secretary of War. In his last act of public service, he and Andrew Jackson acted as commissioners to negotiate the Jackson Purchase from the Chickasaw. Shelby died at his estate in Lincoln County, Kentucky on July 18, 1826.

Early life

Isaac Shelby was born on December 11, 1750, near Hagerstown, Maryland in Frederick (now Washington) County.[1][2] He was the third child and second son of Evan and Letitia (Cox) Shelby, who immigrated from Tregaron, Wales in 1735.[3] Though the family had historically been loyal to the Church of England, they became Presbyterians after coming to British America; this was the denomination Isaac Shelby embraced during his life.[3]

Shelby was educated at the local schools in his native colony.[4] He worked on his father's plantation, and occasionally found work as a surveyor.[2] At age eighteen, he was appointed deputy sheriff of Frederick County.[3][5] Shelby's father lost a great deal of money when Pontiac's Rebellion disrupted his lucrative fur trade business, and two years later, the business' records were destroyed in a house fire.[6] Consequently in December 1770, the family moved to the area near Bristol, Tennessee, where they built a fort and a trading post.[7] Here, Shelby and his father worked for three years herding cattle.[5]

During Lord Dunmore's War, a border conflict between colonists and American Indians, Shelby was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Virginia militia by Colonel William Preston.[8] Serving as second-in-command of his father's Fincastle County company, he participated in the decisive Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774.[8] The younger Shelby earned commendation for his skill and gallantry in this battle.[2] The victorious militiamen erected Fort Blair on the site of the battle.[3] They remained stationed there, with Shelby as second-in-command, until July 1775 when Lord Dunmore ordered the fort destroyed, fearing it might become useful to colonial rebels in the growing American Revolution.[3]

Revolutionary War

After his unit was disbanded, Shelby surveyed for the Transylvania Company, a land company that had purchased, to subsequent controversy, a claim to much of present-day Kentucky from the Cherokees.[2] After fulfilling his duties with the Transylvania Company, he rejoined his family in Virginia, but returned to Kentucky the following year to claim and improve land there for himself.[2] While there, he fell ill, and went home to recover in July 1776.[9] Back in Virginia, fighting in the American Revolutionary War was underway, and Shelby found a commission from the Virginia Committee of Safety appointing him captain of a company of minutemen.[9] In 1777, Virginia governor Patrick Henry appointed Shelby to a position securing provisions for the army on the frontier.[9] He served a similar role for units in the Continental Army in 1778 and 1779.[9] With his own money, Shelby purchased provisions for John Sevier's 1779 expedition against the Chickamauga, a band of Cherokees who were resisting colonial expansion.[5]

Shelby was elected to represent Washington County in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1779.[9] Later that year, he was commissioned a major by Governor Thomas Jefferson and charged with escorting a group of commissioners to establish a frontier boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina.[9] Shortly after his arrival in the region, North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell elevated him to the rank of colonel and made him magistrate of newly-formed Sullivan County.[10]

Shelby was surveying lands in Kentucky in 1780 when he heard of the colonists' defeat at Charleston.[3] He hurried to North Carolina, where he found a request for aid from General Charles McDowell to defend the borders of North Carolina from the British.[3] Shelby assembled three hundred militiamen and joined McDowell at Cherokee Ford in South Carolina.[3] On the morning of July 31, 1780, he surrounded the British stronghold at Thickety Fort on the Pacolet River with 600 men.[11] He immediately demanded a surrender, but the British refused.[12] Shelby brought his men within musket range and again demanded surrender.[12] Though the fort likely would have withstood the attack, the British commander lost his nerve and capitulated.[12] Without firing a shot, Shelby's men captured ninety four prisoners.[12]

Following the surrender of Thickety Fort, Shelby joined a band of partisans under Lieutenant Elijah Clarke. This unit was pursued by British Major Patrick Ferguson. On the morning of August 8, 1780, some of Shelby's men were gathering peaches from a nearby orchard when they were surprised by some of Ferguson's men on a reconnaissance mission. Shelby's men quickly readied their arms and drove back the British patrol. Soon, however, the British were reinforced and the colonists had to fall back. The pattern continued, with one side being reinforced and gaining an advantage, followed by the other. Shelby's men were winning the battle when Ferguson's main force of one thousand men arrived. Outmanned, they retreated to a nearby hill where British musket fire could not reach them. Now safe, they taunted the British, and Ferguson's force withdrew from the area. Thus ended the Battle of Cedar Springs.[13]

General McDowell then ordered Shelby and Clarke to take Musgrove's Mill, a British encampment on the Enoree River. They rode all night with two hundred men, reaching their location about dawn on August 18, 1780. The colonists had estimated that the enemy force was of comparable size, but an advance scout brought word that there were approximately five hundred British soldiers in the camp and that they were preparing for battle. Shelby's men and horses were too tired for a retreat, and they had lost the element of surprise. He ordered his men to construct a breastwork from nearby logs and brush. In half an hour, the makeshift fortifications were complete, and twenty-five colonial riders charged the British camp to provoke the attack. The British pursued them back to the main colonial force. Despite being outnumbered, the colonists managed to kill several British officers and put their army to flight.[14]

Battle of King's Mountain

Shelby and Clarke elected not to pursue the British fleeing the Battle of Musgrove Mill.[15] Instead, they set their sights on a British fort at Ninety Six, South Carolina where they were sure they would find Ferguson.[15] However, while en route, Shelby and his men were met with news of General Horatio Gates' defeat at the Battle of Camden.[15] With the backing of General Cornwallis, Ferguson could ride to meet Shelby with his entire force. Shelby had no choice but to retreat over the Appalachian Mountains into North Carolina.[16]

John Sevier - he and Shelby led the colonial forces to victory at the Battle of King's Mountain

Following the colonists' retreat, an emboldened Ferguson dispatched a paroled prisoner across the mountains to warn the colonists to cease their opposition or Ferguson would lay waste to the countryside.[17] Angered by this act, Shelby and John Sevier began to plan another raid on the British.[17] Shelby and Sevier raised two hundred forty men each, and were joined by William Campbell with four hundred men from Washington County, Virginia and Charles McDowell with one hundred sixty men from Burke and Rutherford counties in North Carolina.[18] The forces mustered at Sycamore Shoals on September 25, 1780.[18] The troops crossed the difficult terrain of the Blue Ridge Mountains and arrived at McDowell's estate near Morganton, North Carolina on September 30, 1780.[19] Here, they were joined by Colonel Benjamin Cleveland and Major Joseph Winston with three hundred fifty men from Surry and Wilkes counties.[19]

The combined force pursued Ferguson to King's Mountain, where the he had fortified himself, declaring that "God Almighty and all the rebels out of hell" could not move him from it.[20] The Battle of Kings Mountain commenced October 7, 1780. Shelby had ordered his men to advance from tree to tree, firing from behind each one; he called this technique "Indian play" because he had seen the Indians use it in his previous battles with them. Ferguson ordered bayonet charges that forced Shelby's men to fall back on three separate occasions. Eventually, though, the colonists dislodged Ferguson's men from their position. Seeing the battle was lost, Ferguson and his key officers attempted a retreat. The colonists were specifically instructed to kill Ferguson. Simultaneous shots by Sevier's men broke both Ferguson's arms, fatally pierced his skull, and knocked him from his mount. Seeing their commander dead, the remaining British soldiers waved white flags of surrender.[21]

King's Mountain was the high point of Shelby's military career, and from that point forward, his men dubbed him "Old King's Mountain".[17] The North Carolina legislature passed a vote of thanks to Shelby and Sevier for their service, and ordered that each be presented a pair of pistols and a ceremonial sword.[22] (Shelby did not actually receive these items until he requested them from the legislature in 1813.)[23]

As the colonists and their prisoners began the march from King's Mountain, they learned that nine colonial prisoners had been hanged by the British at Fort Ninety-Six. This was not the first such incident in the region, and the enraged colonists vowed that they would now put a stop to the hangings in the Carolinas. Summoning a jury from their number – which was legal because two North Carolina magistrates were present – the colonists selected random prisoners and charged them with crimes ranging from theft to arson to murder. By evening, the jury had convicted thirty-six prisoners and sentenced them to hang. After the first nine hangings, however, Shelby ordered them stopped. He never gave a reason for this action, but his order was obeyed nonetheless, and the remaining "convicts" rejoined their fellow prisoners.[24]

The King's Mountain victors and their prisoners returned to McDowell's estate early on the morning of October 10, 1780. From there, the various commanders and their men went their separate ways. Shelby and his men joined General Daniel Morgan at New Providence, South Carolina. While there, Shelby advised Morgan to take Fort Ninety-Six and Augusta because he believed the British forces there were supplying the Cherokee with weapons for their raids against colonial settlers. Morgan agreed to the plan, as did General Horatio Gates, the supreme commander of colonial forces in the region. Assured that his plan would be carried out, Shelby returned home and promised to return the following spring with three hundred men. On his way to Fort Ninety-Six, Morgan was attacked by Banastre Tarleton and gained a decisive victory over him at the Battle of Cowpens. Shelby later lamented the fact that General Nathanael Greene, who relieved Gates only days after Shelby departed for home, claimed the lion's share of the credit for Cowpens when it was Shelby's plan that had put Morgan in the position to begin with.[25]

Later wartime service and settlement in Kentucky

Upon his return home, Shelby and his father were named commissioners to negotiate a treaty between colonial settlers and the Chickamauga.[26] This service delayed his return to Greene, but in October 1781, he and Sevier led 600 riflemen to join Greene in South Carolina.[27] Greene had thought to use Shelby and Sevier's men to prevent Cornwallis from returning to Charleston. However, Cornwallis was defeated at the Siege of Yorktown shortly after Shelby and Sevier arrived, and Greene sent them on to join General Francis Marion on the Pee Dee River.[27] On Marion's orders, Shelby and Colonel Hezekiah Maham captured a British fort at Fair Lawn near Moncks Corner on November 27, 1781.[27]

While still in the field, Shelby was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly.[27] He requested and was granted a leave of absence to attend the legislative session of December 1781.[27] He was re-elected in 1782, and attended the April session of the legislature that year.[27] In early 1783, he was chosen as a commissioner to survey preemption claims of soldiers along the Cumberland River.[28]

Shelby returned to Kentucky in April 1783, settling at Boonesborough.[27] He married Susannah Hart on April 19, 1783; the couple had eleven children.[2] Their eldest daughter, Sarah, married Dr. Ephraim McDowell, and the youngest daughter, Letitia, married future Kentucky secretary of state Charles Stewart Todd.[2][29] On November 1, 1783, the family moved to Lincoln County, near Knob Lick, and occupied land awarded to Shelby for his military service.[17] Shelby was named one of the first trustees of Transylvania Seminary (later Transylvania University) in 1783, and on December 1, 1787 founded the Kentucky Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge.[27]

Shelby began working to secure Kentucky's separation from Virginia as early as 1784.[30] That year, he attended a convention to consider leading an expedition against the Indians and separating Kentucky from Virginia.[2] He was a delegate to subsequent conventions in 1787, 1788, and 1789 that worked toward a constitution for Kentucky.[2] During these conventions, he helped thwart James Wilkinson's scheme to align Kentucky with the Spanish.[22] In 1791, Shelby, Charles Scott and Benjamin Logan were among those chosen by the Virginia legislature to serve on the Board of War for the district of Kentucky.[9] Shelby was also made high sheriff on Lincoln County.[9] In 1792, he was a delegate to the final convention that framed the first Kentucky Constitution.[4]

First term as governor

Under the newly-framed constitution, the voters chose electors who subsequently elected the governor and members of the Kentucky Senate.[17] Though there is no indication that Shelby actively sought the office of governor, he was elected unanimously to that post by the electors on May 17, 1791.[17] He took office on June 4, 1792, the day the state was admitted to the Union.[30] Though not actively partisan, he identified with the Democratic-Republicans.[31] Much of his term was devoted to establishing basic laws, military divisions, and a tax structure.[30]

One of Shelby's chief concerns was securing federal aid to defend the frontier.[1] Although Kentuckians were engaged in an undeclared war with American Indians north of the Ohio River, Shelby had been ordered by Secretary of War Henry Knox not to conduct offensive military actions against the Indians.[32] Furthermore, he was limited by federal regulations that restricted the service of state militiamen to thirty days, which was too short a term to be effective.[32] With the meager resources of his fledgling state, he was only able to defend the most vulnerable areas from Indian attack.[31] By contrast, Kentuckians suspected that the Indians were being provoked and supplied by the British.[33]

Shelby appealed to President Washington for help; Washington responded by appointing General "Mad" Anthony Wayne to the area with orders to push the Indians out of the Northwest Territory. Wayne arrived at Fort Washington (present-day Cincinnati, Ohio) in May 1793, but was prevented from taking any immediate action because federal commissioners were still attempting to negotiate a treaty with the Indians. He called for one thousand volunteer troops from Kentucky, but few heeded the call and Shelby was forced to conscript them. By the time the soldiers arrived, winter had set in. He ordered the men to go home and return in the spring.[34]

After a winter filled with Indian attacks, including one which claimed the life of Shelby's younger brother Evan Shelby III, Kentucky militia units secured some minor victories over the Indians in early 1794.[35] In the spring, the response to Wayne's call for troops was more enthusiastic; sixteen hundred volunteers mustered at Fort Greenville and were hastily trained.[36] By August 1794, Wayne was on the offensive against the Indians, and dealt them a decisive blow at the August 20, 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers.[36] This victory, and the ensuing Treaty of Greenville, secured the Territory and although Shelby did not agree with some of the restrictions placed upon western settlers by this treaty, he abided by its terms and enforced those that were under his jurisdiction.[37]

Another major concern of the Shelby administration was free navigation on the Mississippi River, which was vital to the state's economic interests. For political reasons, the Spanish had closed the port at New Orleans to the Americans. This would have been the natural market for the tobacco, flour, and hemp grown by Kentucky farmers; overland routes were too expensive to be profitable. Furthermore, with no accessible market for these commodities, it was difficult for land speculators in the state to entice immigration to the area to turn a profit on their investments. Many Kentuckians felt that the federal government was not taking action expediently or effectively enough to remedy this situation.[38]

Citizen Genêt affair

While Kentuckians despised the British and Spanish, they had a strong affinity for the French. They admired the republican government that had arisen from the French Revolution, and they had not forgotten France's aid during the Revolutionary War. When Citizen Genêt arrived in the United States in April 1793, George Rogers Clark was already considering an expedition to capture Spanish lands in the west. Genêt's agent, André Michaux, was dispatched to Kentucky to assess the support of Kentuckians toward Clark's expedition. When he gained an audience with Governor Shelby, he did so with letters of introduction from Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Kentucky Senator John Brown in hand.[39]

Edmond-Charles Genêt - Shelby was warned not to aid his schemes.

Jefferson had written a separate letter to Shelby warning him against aiding the French schemes and informing him that negotiations were under way with the Spanish regarding trade on the Mississippi. When the letter was sent on August 29, 1793, it was Jefferson's intent that it reach Shelby before Michaux did. The letter was delayed, however, and Shelby did not receive it until October 1793. On September 13, 1793, Michaux met with Shelby, but there is no evidence that Shelby agreed to help him in any way. In his response to Jefferson's delayed letter, Shelby assured Jefferson that Kentuckians "possess too just a sense of the obligation they owe the General Government, to embark in any enterprise that would be so injurous to the United States".[40]

In November 1793, Shelby received a letter from another of Genêt's agents, Charles Delpeau. He confided in Shelby that he had been sent to secure supplies for an expedition against Spanish holdings and inquired whether Shelby had been instructed to arrest individuals associated with such a scheme. Three days later, Shelby responded by letter, relating Jefferson's warning against aiding the French. Despite having no evidence that Shelby was party to Genêt's scheme, both Jefferson and Knox felt compelled to warn him a second time. Jefferson provided names and descriptions of the French agents believed to be in Kentucky and encouraged their arrest. Knox went a step further by suggesting that Kentucky would be reimbursed for any costs incurred as a result of resisting the French by force, should such action become necessary. General Anthony Wayne informed him that his cavalry was at the state's disposal. Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, also admonished Shelby against cooperation with Genêt.[41]

In his response to Jefferson, Shelby questioned whether he had the legal authority to intervene with force against his constituency and expressed his personal aversion to doing so.

I shall upon all occasions be averse to the exercise of any power which I do not consider myself as being clearly and explicitly invested with, much less would I assume power to exercise it against men whom I consider as friends and brethren, in favor of a man whom I view as an enemy and a tyrant [the king of Spain]. I shall also feel but little inclination to take an active part in punishing or restraining and of my fellow-citizens for a supposed intention only to gratify or remove the fears of the ministers of a foreign prince, who openly withholds from us an invaluable right [navigation of the Mississippi] and who secretly instigates against us a most savage and cruel enemy.

Shelby tempered this lukewarm commitment by assuring Jefferson that "I shall, at all times, hold it my duty to perform whatever may be constitutionally required of me, as Governor of Kentucky, by the President of the United States."[42]

In March 1794, perhaps in response to Shelby's concerns, Congress passed a measure granting the government additional powers in the event of an invasion or insurrection. Jefferson's successor Edmund Randolph, who actually received Shelby's letter, wrote Shelby to inform him of the new powers at his disposal, and informing him that the new regime in France had recalled Genêt. Two months later, Genêt's agents ceased their operations in Kentucky, and the potential crisis was averted.[43] In 1795, President Washington successfully negotiated an agreement with the Spanish that secured the right of Americans to trade on the river.[44]

Having successfully addressed the major challenges and the issues inherent in the formation of a new state government, Shelby left the state safe and on sound financial footing.[44] Kentucky's constitution prevented a governor from serving consecutive terms, so Shelby retired to Traveler's Rest, his Lincoln County estate, at the conclusion of his term in 1796.[9] For the next fifteen years, he tended to his own private affairs on his farm.[2] He was selected as a presidential elector in six consecutive elections, but these were his only appearances in public life during this period.[45]

Second term as governor

Gabriel Slaughter was the favorite choice for governor of Kentucky in 1812. Only one impediment to his potential candidacy existed. Growing tensions between the United States, France, and Great Britain threatened to break into open war. With this prospect looming, Isaac Shelby's name began circulating as a possible candidate for governor. Slaughter, who lived near Shelby, visited him and asked whether he would run. Shelby assured him that he had no desire to do so unless a national emergency that required his leadership emerged. Satisfied with this answer, Slaughter began his campaign.[46]

In the ensuing days, the situation with the European powers grew worse, and on June 18, 1812 the United States declared war on Great Britain, beginning the War of 1812. With the commencement of the war, cries grew louder for Shelby to return as Kentucky's chief executive. On July 18, 1812, less than a month before the election, Shelby acquiesced and announced his candidacy.[47]

During the campaign, Shelby's political enemies, notably Humphrey Marshall, criticized his response to Jefferson's second letter regarding the Genêt affair and questioned his loyalty to the United States.[48] In his defense, Shelby contended that his noncommittal response to the letter was meant to draw the federal government's attention to the situation in the west.[48] He cited the agreement between Washington and the Spanish as evidence that his ploy had worked.[48] He also claimed to have known at the time he wrote the letter that the French scheme was destined to fail.[48]

Other charges were leveled against Shelby. Slaughter's supporters mocked Shelby's advanced age (he was almost sixty-two), calling him "Old Daddy Shelby". One Kentucky paper even printed an anonymous charge that Shelby had run from the Battle of King's Mountain. Though few believed the story, even among Shelby's enemies, his supporters and even Shelby himself responded through missives in the state's newspapers. One supporter typified these responses, writing "It is reported that Colonel Shelby 'run [sic] at King's Mountain.' True he did. He first run [sic] up to the enemy... then after an action of about forty-seven minutes, he run [sic] again with 900 prisoners."[49]

As the canvass stretched into August, Shelby grew more confident of victory, and began preparations to return to the state house. He predicted a victory of ten thousand votes; the final margin was more than seventeen thousand.[50] When he took the oath of office, Shelby became the first Kentucky governor to serve non-consecutive terms. (James Garrard was permitted to serve consecutive terms in 1796 and 1800 by special legislative exemption.)

William Henry Harrison was Shelby's choice to lead the federal forces in the Northwest during the War of 1812.

Preparations for the war dominated Shelby's second term. Two days before his inauguration, he and outgoing governor Charles Scott met at the state house to appoint William Henry Harrison commander of the Kentucky militia. This was done in violation of a constitutional mandate that the post be held by a native Kentuckian. Already commander of the militias of Indiana and Illinois, Harrison picked up Kentucky volunteers at Newport before hurrying to the defense of Fort Wayne.[51]

Shelby pressured the President James Monroe to give Harrison command of all the military forces in the Northwest.[44] Monroe acceded to this request, rescinding his earlier appointment of James Winchester.[51] On the state level, Shelby revised militia laws to make every male between the ages of eighteen and forty-five eligible for military service; ministers were excluded from the provision.[44] Seven thousand volunteers enlisted, and many more had to be turned away.[52] Shelby encouraged the state's women to sew and knit items for Kentucky's troops.[44]

Shelby's confidence in the federal government's war planning was shaken by the disastrous Battle of Frenchtown in which a number of Kentucky soldiers died.[44] He vowed to personally act to aid the war effort should the opportunity arise, and was authorized by the legislature to do so.[44] In March 1813, Harrison requested another twelve hundred Kentuckians to join him at Fort Meigs.[53] In response, Shelby dispatched the requested number under General Green Clay.[54] Among this group of soldiers was Shelby's oldest son, James.[54] The reinforcements arrived to find Fort Meigs under siege by a combined force of British and Indians.[54] Clay's force was able to stop the siege, but a large number of them were captured and massacred by Indians.[55] Initial reports put James Shelby among the dead, but he was later discovered to have been captured and released via a prisoner exchange.[55]

On July 30, 1813, General Harrison again wrote Shelby requesting volunteers, and this time he asked that Shelby lead them personally.[44] Shelby raised a force of 3,500 volunteers, double the number Harrison requested.[1] Future governor John J. Crittenden served as Shelby's aide-de-camp.[56] Now a Major General, Shelby led the volunteers to join Harrison in a campaign that culminated in the American victory at the Battle of the Thames.[1]

In Harrison's report of the battle to Secretary of War John Armstrong, Jr., he said of Shelby, "I am at a loss to how to mention [the service] of Governor Shelby, being convinced that no eulogism of mine can reach his merit."[57] In 1817, Shelby received the thanks of Congress and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the war.[45] Friends of Shelby suggested he run for Vice President, but Shelby quickly and emphatically declined.[58]

Later life and death

Upon Shelby's leaving office in 1816, President Monroe offered him the post of Secretary of War but he declined because of his advanced age.[2] Already a founding member of the Kentucky Bible Society, Shelby consented to serve as vice-president of the New American Bible Society in 1816.[59] He was a faithful member of Danville Presbyterian church, but in 1816, built a small nondenominational church on his property.[60] In 1818, he accompanied Andrew Jackson in negotiating the Jackson Purchase with the Chickasaw.[4] He also served as the first president of the Kentucky Agricultural Society in 1818 and was chairman of the first board of trustees of Centre College in 1819.[2]

In 1820, Shelby was stricken with paralysis in his right arm and leg.[23] He died of a stroke on July 18, 1826 at his home in Lincoln County.[30] He was buried on the grounds of his estate, Traveller's Rest.[2] The state erected a monument over his grave in 1827.[27] In 1952, the Shelby family cemetery was given to the state government and became the Isaac Shelby Cemetery State Historic Site.[27]

Shelby's patriotism is believed to have inspired the Kentucky state motto: "United we stand, divided we fall". He was fond of The Liberty Song, a 1768 composition by John Dickinson, which contains the line "They join in hand, brave Americans all, By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall."[61] Though he is sometimes credited with designing the state seal, his public papers show that the design was instead suggested by James Wilkinson.[62]

Places named for Isaac Shelby

Counties in nine states[63] have been named in honor of Isaac Shelby, as have a number of cities and military installations.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Harrison, p. 815
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m R. Powell, p. 14
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h W. Powell, p. 326
  4. ^ a b c NGA Bio
  5. ^ a b c Townsend, p. 16
  6. ^ Wrobel, p. 10
  7. ^ Wrobel, p. 11–12
  8. ^ a b Draper, p. 412
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Johnson, p. 1261
  10. ^ Draper, p. 413
  11. ^ Fredriksen, p. 627
  12. ^ a b c d Wrobel, p. 37
  13. ^ Wrobel, pp. 38–39
  14. ^ Wrobel, pp. 39–40
  15. ^ a b c Wrobel, p. 41
  16. ^ Wrobel, pp. 41–42
  17. ^ a b c d e f Beasley, p. 2
  18. ^ a b Wrobel, p. 45
  19. ^ a b Wrobel, p. 46
  20. ^ Wrobel, p. 50
  21. ^ Wrobel, pp. 50–56
  22. ^ a b Townsend, p. 17
  23. ^ a b Draper, p. 416
  24. ^ Wrobel, pp. 56–57
  25. ^ Wrobel, pp. 61–63
  26. ^ Wrobel, p. 64
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j W. Powell, p. 327
  28. ^ Draper, pp. 414–415
  29. ^ Wrobel, p. 131
  30. ^ a b c d Encyclopedia of Kentucky, p. 71
  31. ^ a b Beasley, p. 3
  32. ^ a b Cooke, p.l 162
  33. ^ Cooke, p. 163
  34. ^ Wrobel, p. 91
  35. ^ Wrobel, pp. 91–92
  36. ^ a b Wrobel, p. 92
  37. ^ Beasley, p. 4
  38. ^ Cooke, pp.162–163
  39. ^ Cooke, pp. 163–164
  40. ^ Cooke, pp. 164–165
  41. ^ Cooke, pp. 165–166
  42. ^ Cooke, pp. 166–167
  43. ^ Cooke, p. 166
  44. ^ a b c d e f g h Beasley, p. 5
  45. ^ a b Townsend, p. 18
  46. ^ Wrobel, p. 105
  47. ^ Wrobel, p. 107
  48. ^ a b c d Cooke, p. 168
  49. ^ Wrobel, pp. 107–108
  50. ^ Wrobel, p. 109
  51. ^ a b Wrobel, p. 110
  52. ^ Wrobel, p. 111
  53. ^ Wrobel, p. 113
  54. ^ a b c Wrobel, p. 114
  55. ^ a b Wrobel, p. 115 Cite error: The named reference "wrobel115" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  56. ^ Wrobel, p. 120
  57. ^ Johnson, p. 1262
  58. ^ Wrobel, p. 132
  59. ^ Wrobel, p. 136
  60. ^ Wrobel, p. 143
  61. ^ Kentucky's State Seal
  62. ^ Wrobel, p. 90
  63. ^ a b c d e f Gannett, p. 281.
  64. ^ Buckley, p. 105
  65. ^ Bailey, Detroit's street names honor early leaders
  66. ^ Legler, p. 145
  67. ^ Shelby, Michigan
  68. ^ History of Shelby
  69. ^ City of Shelby History
  70. ^ "Shelbyville, Tennessee" in Encyclopedia Britannica
  71. ^ "Shelbyville, Texas" in The Handbook of Texas Online

References

  • Bailey, Mary (2000-02-17). "Detroit's street names honor early leaders". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  • Beasley, Paul W. (2004). Lowell H. Harrison (ed.). Kentucky's Governors. The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813123267.
  • Buckley, Jay H. (2008). William Clark. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806139110. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
  • "City of Shelby History". City of Shelby, Ohio. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  • Cooke, J.W. (1963). "Gov. Shelby and Genet's Agents". Filson Club Historical Quarterly. 37. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Draper, Lyman Copeland (1881). King's Mountain and Its Heroes. P.G. Thomson. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
  • Encyclopedia of Kentucky. New York, New York: Somerset Publishers. 1987. ISBN 0403099811.
  • Fredriksen, John C. (2006). Revolutionary War Almanac. NY Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 9780816059973.
  • Gannett, Henry (1973). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co. ISBN 0806305444.
  • Harper, Cecil Jr. "Shelbyville, Texas". The Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  • Harrison, Lowell H. (1992). Kleber, John E. (ed.). The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Associate editors: Thomas D. Clark, Lowell H. Harrison, and James C. Klotter. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0813117720.
  • Johnson, E. Polk (1912). A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities. Lewis Publishing Company. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  • "History of Shelby". National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  • "Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  • "Kentucky's State Seal". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. 2005-05-03. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  • Legler, Henry Eduard (1898). Leading Events of Wisconsin History. Sentinel Company. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  • Powell, Robert A. (1976). Kentucky Governors. Danville, Kentucky: Bluegrass Printing Company. ASIN B0006CPOVM, OCLC 2690774.
  • Powell, William Stevens (1994). Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Vol. 5, P-S. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807821008.
  • "Shelby, Michigan". Oceana County Historical Society. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  • "Shelbyville, Tennessee". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  • Townsend, John Wilson (1943). "Governor Isaac Shelby and Kentucky's Sesquicentennial". Filson Club Historical Society. 17. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Wrobel, Sylvia (1974). Isaac Shelby: Kentucky's First Governor and Hero of Three Wars. Cumberland Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Further reading

  • "Governor Isaac Shelby". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 1 (2): pp. 9–12. 1903. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Peters, H. Dean (1975). "Isaac Shelby and Gubernatorial Campaign of 1812". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 73 (4): pp. 340–345. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Quaife, Milo M. (1936). "Governor Shelby's Army in the River Thames Campaign". Filson Club Historical Quarterly. 10. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Riley, Agnes Graham Sanders (1992). "The Shelby-Campbell King's Mountain Controversy and the Gubernatorial Campaign of 1812". Filson Club Historical Quarterly. 66. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Political offices
Preceded by
(none)
 Governor of Kentucky
1792–1796 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Kentucky
1812–1816 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isaac_Shelby&oldid=266094394"