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Stephen Trigg

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Stephen Trigg
This headstone marks the mass grave at Blue Licks where Trigg is presumed buried.
Delegate, Virginia House of Burgesses (1775)
Delegate, Virginia House of Delegates (1778, 1780-81)
Personal details
Bornc.1744
Virginia
Died19 August 1782
Blue Licks, Kentucky
SpouseMary Christian
Residence(s)Trigg's Station, Kentucky

Stephen Trigg (c.1744–August 19, 1782) was an American pioneer and soldier from Virginia. Colonel Trigg was killed in one of the last battles of the American Revolution while leading the Lincoln County, Virginia militia unit at the Battle of Blue Licks in present-day Kentucky.

Born the son of William and Mary (Johns) Trigg, Trigg mainly worked as a public servant and militia officer during the early years of the frontier counties in southwest Virginia and those portions that would later form Kentucky, and was one of the wealthiest men on the frontier at the time.[1] He was a delegate to the first Virginia Revolutionary conventions and was a member of the Fincastle Committee of Safety that drafted the Fincastle Resolutions, which was the precursor of the Declaration of Independence made by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. He was also elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

In recognition of his role in the formation of Kentucky, Trigg County, Kentucky was named in his honor.

Early life and family

Trigg was the son of William and Mary (Johns) Trigg of Virginia, whose family was prominent on the Virginia frontier. His father served as a Judge of the Court of Chancery, an equity court, and the Bedford County Court.[2] He had four brothers, William, John, Abram and Daniel, who were all involved as soldiers in the Revolutionary War. Two of these brothers, John and Abram, later represented Virginia in the U.S. Congress. Stephen married Mary Christian, daughter of another Virginia pioneer Israel Christian. Trigg lived the early part of his life in southwest Virginia, and ran a tavern in Botetourt County.[3]

Trigg and Mary Christian had the three sons, and two daughters. His daughter Mary married General David Logan, whose son was Stephen Trigg Logan. Logan later served in the Illinois state legislature, and was the law partner of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois.

Virginia pioneer

Location of Fincastle, Virginia

The western county of Augusta in Virginia could no longer serve the needs of the far flung pioneers along the New River, and so in 1769, the county of Botetourt was created.[4] Trigg was one of several appointed as its first Justices of the Peace,[4] which was a judge presiding over misdemeanors and other civil cases. He also served as magistrate, Justice of the County Court in Chancery and a Justice of Oyer and Terminer, a criminal court, for the new county in 1770 and 1771.[5] When the town of Fincastle, Virginia was forming in 1770, Trigg was instrumental in its development, helping to sell lots, build the town's prison, and a Court House with his father-in-law Israel Christian.[6]

Due to the needs of a growing population, the southernwestern half of Botetourt county was separated in 1772 and named Fincastle County.[7] Trigg was installed as one of its first Justices of the Peace[8] and Justice of the County Court in Chancery and a Justice of Oyer and Terminer and also appointed Deputy Clerk and surveyor of the road from New River to the Sinking Spring.[9] Trigg also continued pursuing his livelihood as a merchant at Dunkard Bottom in present-day Pulaski County. He partnered with David Ross and operated a community store in New Dublin, with branches located in Meadow Creek, Reed Creek, and Reed Island in 1773 and 1774.[10] At this time, many indentured servants came to this area of the state. Short of money, they sold themselves to the ship owners for passage to America for a term of servitude, to be given land and tools at the end of their service. In October, Trigg advertised the sale of 30 white indentured servants with a discount for "ready money" at his home on October 11, 1773.[11] Trigg also served as a delegate to the last session of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1775, representing Fincastle County, but he absented himself to serve as Captain in Dunmore's War.[3][12]

Settlers again agitated for another split, and so Fincastle County was split into three counties in 1776, Montgomery, Washington and Kentucky, and thereby became defunct.[13] Again Trigg was a member of the first court of justices held for a new county, this time Montgomery.[14] He also served in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1778.[15]

Early Kentucky pioneer

The new Virginia counties were growing rapidly, and with this growth came trouble. Trigg was appointed as one of the judges to the Virginia Land Court commission of 1779-80 charged with settling land disputes in Kentucky County, Virginia. The Virginia Land Act of 1779 had set up this court of four judges in order to examine the numerous land claims and to certify valid titles and essentially bring order out of chaos.[16] The four judges arrived at St. Asaph in October and triggered emigration to Kentucky, as people wished to either certify their claims, or seek unclaimed land.[17] They closed their court on February 26, 1780 and prepared to return home. However, in March they were told that they had to reopen the court and stay through April, as claimants were delayed due to weather. Trigg and two fellow judges reconvened on April 16 and heard another 134 cases.[18]. In all, the court judged 1328 claims covering over 1 million acres of land.[19] After these sessions ended, Trigg stayed and established his home at Trigg's Station about four miles north-west of Harrodsburg in Kentucky County, Virginia, on 1,000 acres of land.[20]

When Kentucky County, Virginia was split into three counties in 1780, Trigg was made Lieutenant-Colonel for the new county of Lincoln.[21] He also continued his public service by serving as one of the first Justices of the Peace, was one of the trustees to lay out Louisville, and served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Kentucky County in the 1780-1781 session.[22] It was during this session, that he, along with his fellow delegate John Todd, secured passage of the act that allowed the formation of Louisville.[23]

Stephen continued his service in the militia throughout this period. In 1781, he was made Colonel of the Lincoln County, Virginia militia.[24] In 1782, the four delegates to the Virginia General Assembly from Kentucky pushed for Trigg's recommendation as one of the Assistant Judges to the newly-created Supreme Court for Kentucky, but his early death prevented him from performing this service.[25]

This was the darkest and most critical period in the history of the early Kentucky settlements. It must be remembered that the settlement of Kentucky was much different from the settlement of most of the other places where the new colony joined the older settlements. Kentucky, instead of adjoining already settled districts, was like an island in the wilderness. There were more than two hundred miles of forest between the settlements of Kentucky and the settlements of the older states.[26]

— Virginia Webb Howard, Historian

Revolutionary War

Meanwhile, events had moved from local agitations against the British crown to outright war. Early on, Trigg served in local militias, but he also represented Fincastle in the Virginia Conventions. These were five political meetings that started after Lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, had shut down the House of Burgesses after its delegates expressed solidarity with Boston, Massachussets, whose harbor had been closed by the British. Trigg was at the first convention in 1774 and was elected a delegate to the second convention in 1775, though he did not attend. He was elected to the third convention (July-August 1775), and did appear. He was also a delegate to the Fourth Convention (December 1775-January 1776), but did not appear.[3][27]

His other revolutionary activity at the time was as a member of the Fincastle County Committee of Safety, an outgrowth of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence. Committees of Correspondences had begun as ad hoc bodies that responded to specific crises with Britain, but events had reached a point where the Virginia House of Burgesses decided to form a permanent body in 1773. These committees were responsible for disseminating the British actions in the colonies to each other and to foreign governments and played an important role leading up to the American Revolution. The Virginia Committee of Correspondence was formed on March 12, 1773 and requested each county to do the same. The British refused to address the issues that were of greatest concern to the colonists, and so the freeholders of Fincastle County met at the Lead Mines on January 20, 1775, and formed a Committee of Safety, of which Trigg was a member. They were one of the first to respond to the request of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence to form such a body.[28][29] Committees of Safety basically served as provisional governments for their area.[30] It was also at this meeting that they drew up the Fincastle Resolutions, which was the precursor of the Declaration of Independence made by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and Trigg was one of the signatories.[31] This declaration, frought with the spirit of freedom, was the first made in America, antedating the famous Mecklenburg, North Carolina declaration. The resolutions, addressed to the Virginia members of the Continental Congress, contained the boldest assertion of the grievances and rights of the American colonies.[28] In February 1775, he wrote to William Christian suggesting they call another meeting of the freeholders to elect their delegates to the second Virginia Convention.[29] With the discovery that William Christian was leaving with the Fincastle militia company for Williamsburg to fight, Trigg took over as chairman of the Committee of Safety.[29] On October 7, 1775, they met to express their appreciation of Trigg:

together with the most exemplary zeal and attachment to the liberties of your country, and your indefatigable industry in the service thereof, you merit and deserve our particular thanks.[32]

The British then engaged the Cherokees to fight on the British side, which meant the people living in that part of Virginia were facing British-armed Cherokees. The members of the Committee of Safety met at Fort Chiswell on June 11, 1776, and drafted a letter to Oconostota and Attacullaculla, chiefs of the Cherokee nation, to meet with them and come to terms for a peace agreement. The letter mentions the colonists dissatisfaction with England:

It is true that an unhappy Difference hath subsisted between the people beyond the great water, and the Americans for som [sic] years, which was intirely [sic] Owing to some of the great Kings Servants who wanted to take Our money without Our Consent, and otherwise to treat us, not like Children, but Slaves, which the people of America will not submit to.[33]

Trigg was one of the signers of this letter.[34] The conflict with the Cherokees was called the Christian Campaign (presumably from Col. William Christian's last name) and Trigg was the paymaster in 1776-1777.[35] In 1777, he was tasked with making a list of men who swore allegiance to several militia companies.[36] By May of 1778, the inhabitants along the New River had either left or were ready to leave at a moment's notice, due to increased hostilities with the Shawnee in the area.[37] William Preston, an officer in the militia, felt exposed on the frontier, but was reluctant to abandon his home "Smithfield" not only for the safety of his family, but for the county records he safe guarded.[38] Trigg was then leaving for his term in the General Assembly, and Preston urged him and the other delegate for a guard.[38] When it was initially presented to the Governor's Council, Preston's petition was denied, but Trigg met several times with Governor Patrick Henry about Preston's situation and won another hearing with the Council. Trigg made three separate appeals in all, before carrying his point.[39] When the governor agreed to send a guard of twelve men and a sergeant, Trigg sent Preston the news and also told him of the Treaty of Alliance that was signed in France in February.[38]

Last battle and death

Daniel Boone

When the British staged an invasion of Kentucky in 1782, they secured the help of several Native American tribes (Shawnee, Wyandot, Huron and several others).[40] When Trigg received word of their movements, he was commanding the fort at Harrodsburg. He quickly assembled the local militia of 135 men and met up with Colonel Daniel Boone and Major Levi Todd and more militia at Bryant's Station.[41] When they approached Blue Licks, they suspected a trap and convened a war council, but unruly troops lost patience and descended into the valley.[41] The three leaders formed a column each, with Trigg commanding the right. When they met with the opposing force, Trigg's column was ambushed.[41] Trigg was killed and his men fell back after only five minutes of battle.[41] When troops returned to the scene of battle, Trigg's body was found quartered.[42]

He was buried nearby, somewhere in what is now Nicholas County, Kentucky. Kentucky later named Trigg County to honor him. His descendants continued the western expansion of the country. There is an historical marker in Cadiz, on the Courthouse lawn, US 68.

He was greatly beloved and very popular; and if he had lived, would have taken rank among the most distinguished men of his time.[43]

— Lewis and Richard Collins, "History of Kentucky"

Notes

  1. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 171
  2. ^ Virkus, The Compendium of American Genealogy, 887.
  3. ^ a b c Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, Revolutionary Virginia: Road to Independence, III, 309.
  4. ^ a b Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 91
  5. ^ Summers, History of Southwest Virginia, 108-109. Kegley, Kegley's Virginia Frontier, 385, 401.
  6. ^ Kegley, Frederick Bittle, Kegley's Virginia Frontier, 401-3.
  7. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 95
  8. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 97
  9. ^ Cook, Fincastle and Kentucky Countys, Virginia, 131, 290, 293. Summers, History of Southwest Virginia, 130.
  10. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 369
  11. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 161, 370
  12. ^ Leonard, The General Assembly of Virginia, 105
  13. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 103
  14. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 107
  15. ^ Summers, History of Southwest Virginia, 253. Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 107. Swem, A Register of the General Assembly of Virginia 1776-1918 and of the Constitutional Conventions, 439.
  16. ^ Stephenson, Martha, "Why the Mother Town?", Kentucky State Historical Society, XXIV, (1926), 273.
  17. ^ Hammon and Taylor, Virginia's Western War, 1775-1786, 109
  18. ^ Hammon and Taylor, Virginia's Western War, 1775-1786, 117
  19. ^ Hoefling, 126
  20. ^ Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 7, 253. Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 370
  21. ^ Cook, Fincastle and Kentucky Countys, Va, 19.
  22. ^ Leonard, General Assembly of Virginia, 138.
  23. ^ "Introduction to the Certificate book of the Virginia Land The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, XXI, (1923), 5-6
  24. ^ Cook, Lincoln County, Kentucky Records, 8.
  25. ^ Wilson, Samuel M., "The First Land Court of Kentucky 1779-1780," Address before the Kentucky State Bar Association at Covington, Kentucky, 6 July 1923 (Lexington, Ky: n.pub., 1923), 40.
  26. ^ Howard, Virginia Webb, Bryants Station Heroes and Heroines (1932), 31.
  27. ^ Leonard, General Assembly of Virginia, 110, 112, 114, 117.
  28. ^ a b Summers, History of Southwest Virginia, 201-203.
  29. ^ a b c Kegley, Early Adventurers on the Western Waters, 370.
  30. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 101
  31. ^ Kegley, Early Adventurers, I, 103
  32. ^ Harwell, Richard, ed., The Committees of Safety of Westmoreland and Fincastle. Proceedings of the County Committees 1774-1776 (Richmond, VA:n.pub., 1956), 67
  33. ^ Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, Revolutionary Virginia: Road to Independence, VII, 444-45.
  34. ^ Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission, Revolutionary Virginia: Road to Independence, VII, 446.
  35. ^ Summers, History of Southwest Virginia, 217.
  36. ^ http://www.angelfire.com/co3/Skaggs/War.html, accessed 11 June 2006.
  37. ^ Johnson, William Preston and the Allegheny Patriots, 207-208
  38. ^ a b c Johnson, William Preston and the Allegheny Patriots, 208
  39. ^ Tillson, Gentry and Common Folk, 94
  40. ^ Ranck, Kentucky Locals: The Story of Bryan's Station, 26-28.
  41. ^ a b c d Talbert, Benjamin Logan: Kentucky Frontiersman, 156, 157, 158-159. Bakeless, Daniel Boone: Master of the Wilderness, 297, 298
  42. ^ Calendar of Virginia State Papers, 281
  43. ^ Collins & Collins, History of Kentucky

References

  • Bakeless, John (1989). Daniel Boone: Master of the Wilderness. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
  • Cook, Michael L., C.G. and Cummings, Bettie A. Cook, C.G. (1987). Fincastle and Kentucky Countys, Virginia. Kentucky Records and History Volume 1. Evansville, Indiana: Cook Publications.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Cook, Michael L. (1987). Lincoln County, Kentucky Records, Volume II. Evansville, Indiana: Cook Publications.
  • Collins, Lewis (1980). History of Kentucky. Southern Historical Press. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Hammon, Neal O. (2002). Virginia's Western War, 1775-1786. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  • Hoefling, Larry J. (2005). Chasing the Frontier: Scots-Irish in Early America. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse.
  • Johnson, Patricia Givens (1992 Rpt 1976). William Preston and the Allegheny Patriots. Blacksburg, Virginia: Walpa Publishing. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  • Kegley, Mary B., and Kegley, F.B. (1980). Early Adventurers on the Western Waters, Volume 1. Orange, Virginia: Green Publishers, Inc.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Kegley, Frederick Bittle (1938). Kegley's Virginia Frontier. Roanoke, Virginia: The Southwest Virginia Historical Society.
  • Leonard, Cynthia Miller, comp. (1978). The General Assembly of Virginia, July 30, 1619 - January 11, 1978. Richmond, Virginia: Virginia State Library.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Ranck, George W. (1896). Kentucky Locals: The Story of Bryan's Station. Transylvania Printing Co.
  • Summers, Lewis Preston (1971). History of Southwest Virginia 1746-1786, Washington County 1777-1870. Baltimore, Maryland: Regional Publishing Company.
  • Swem, Earl G. and Williams, John W. (1918). A Register of the General Assembly of Virginia 1776-1918 and of the Constitutional Conventions. Richmond, Virginia.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Talbert, Charles Gano (1962). Benjamin Logan: Kentucky Frontiersman. University of Kentucky Press.
  • Tillson, Albert H. (1991). Gentry and Common Folk: Political Culture on a Virginia Frontier 1740-1789. The University Press of Kentucky.
  • Virkus, Frederick Adams (1925–1942). The Compendium of American Genealogy, First Families of America, VII. Chicago, Illinois: A.N. Marquis and Company.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
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