Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the first and fifth governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He also fought in Lord Dunmore's War, the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. While governor, he 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 service 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 British forces in North Carolina. He played a pivotal role in the American victory at the Battle of Kings Mountain. For his service, Shelby was presented with a ceremonial sword and a pair of pistols by the North Carolina legislature, and the nickname "Old Kings 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 a separate state. His heroism made him popular with the state's citizens, and the Kentucky electoral college unanimously elected him governor in 1792. He secured Kentucky from Indian attacks and organized its first government. He used the Citizen Genêt affair to convince the Washington administration to conclude an agreement with the Spanish Empire 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 anticipated conflict. He was elected easily and, at the request of General William Henry Harrison, commanded troops from Kentucky at the Battle of the Thames. After the war, he declined President James Monroe's offer to become Secretary of War. In his last act of public service, Shelby and Andrew Jackson acted as commissioners to negotiate the Jackson Purchase from the Chickasaw Indian tribe. Shelby died at his estate in Lincoln County, Kentucky on July 18, 1826.
Early life
Isaac Shelby was born in the British colony of Maryland on December 11, 1750, near Hagerstown in Frederick (now Washington) County.Harrison, p. 815 He was the third child and second son of Evan and Letitia (Cox) Shelby, who immigrated from Tregaron, Wales, in 1735.W. Powell, p. 326 Though the family had been loyal to the Church of England, they became Presbyterians after coming to British America; this was the denomination Shelby embraced during his life.
Shelby was educated at the local schools in his native colony.NGA Bio He worked on his father's plantation and occasionally found work as a surveyor.R. Powell, p. 14 At age eighteen he was appointed deputy sheriff of Frederick County.Townsend, p. 16 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.Wrobel, p. 10 Consequently, in December 1770 the family moved to the area near Bristol, Tennessee, where they built a fort and a trading post.Wrobel, p. 11–12 Here, Shelby and his father worked for three years herding cattle.
Lord Dunmore's War
During Lord Dunmore's War, a border conflict between Virginian colonists and American Indians, Shelby was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Virginia militia by Colonel William Preston.Draper, p. 412 As second-in-command of his father's Fincastle County company, he took part in the decisive Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774. The younger Shelby earned commendation for his skill and gallantry in this battle. The victorious militiamen erected Fort Blair on the site of the battle. 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.
Revolutionary War After his unit was disbanded, Shelby surveyed for the Transylvania Company, a land company that purchased much of present-day Kentucky from the Cherokees in a deal later invalidated by the government of Virginia. 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 for himself. After falling ill, he returned home in July 1776 to recover.Johnson, p. 1261 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. In 1777, Virginia governor Patrick Henry appointed Shelby to a position securing provisions for the army on the frontier. He served a similar role for units in the Continental Army in 1778 and 1779. With his money, Shelby purchased provisions for John Sevier's 1779 expedition against the Chickamauga, a band of Cherokees who were resisting colonial expansion.
Shelby was elected to represent Washington County in the Virginia House of Delegates in 1779. 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. Shortly after his arrival in the region, North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell made him magistrate of newly formed Sullivan County and elevated him to the rank of colonel of the Sullivan County Regiment.Draper, p. 413
Shelby was surveying lands in Kentucky in 1780 when he heard of the British capture of Charleston. He hurried to North Carolina, where he found a request for aid from American General Charles McDowell to defend the borders of North Carolina from British forces. Shelby assembled three hundred militiamen and joined McDowell at Cherokee Ford in South Carolina. On the morning of July 31, he surrounded the British-held Thickety Fort on the Pacolet River with 600 men.Fredriksen, p. 627 He immediately demanded a surrender, but the defenders refused.Wrobel, p. 37 Shelby brought his men within musket range and again demanded surrender. Though the defending garrison likely would have withstood the attack, the fort's commander lost his nerve and capitulated. Without firing a shot, Shelby's men had captured 94 soldiers.
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, who was leading an army of Loyalists. On the morning of August 8, some of Shelby's men were gathering peaches from an 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 Loyalist patrol. Soon, however, the Loyalists were soon reinforced and the Americans fell 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 1,000 militiamen arrived. Outmanned, the Americans retreated to a nearby hill where enemy musket fire could not reach them. Now safe, they taunted Ferguson's troops, which withdrew from the area.Wrobel, pp. 38–39
McDowell subsequently ordered Shelby and Clarke to take Musgrove's Mill, a Loyalist encampment on the Enoree River. They rode all night with two hundred men, reaching their location about dawn on August 18. The Americans had estimated the Loyalist force was of comparable size, but an advance scout brought word there were approximately 500 Loyalist troops in the camp who 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 25 American cavalryman charged Musgrove's Mill to provoke an attack. The Loyalists pursued them back to the main American force. Despite being outnumbered, the Americans killed or captured 133 members of the attacking force and routed the rest.Wrobel, pp. 39–40
Battle of Kings Mountain
Shelby and Clarke elected not to pursue the fleeing Loyalists.Wrobel, p. 41 Instead, they set their sights on a British fort at Ninety Six, South Carolina, where they were sure they would find Ferguson. However, while en route, Shelby and his men were met with news of American General Horatio Gates' defeat at the Battle of Camden. Now supported by a British army under General Charles Cornwallis, Ferguson could ride to meet Shelby with his entire force, so Shelby retreated over the Appalachian Mountains into North Carolina.Wrobel, pp. 41–42
Following the American retreat, an emboldened Ferguson dispatched a paroled prisoner across the mountains to warn them to cease their opposition or he would lay waste to the local countryside.Beasley, p. 2 Angered by this act, Shelby and John Sevier began to plan another attack against Ferguson. Shelby and Sevier raised 240 men each, and were joined by William Campbell with 400 men from Washington County, Virginia and Charles McDowell with 160 men from Burke and Rutherford counties in North Carolina.Wrobel, p. 45 The forces mustered at Sycamore Shoals on September 25. The troops crossed the difficult terrain of the Blue Ridge Mountains and arrived at McDowell's estate near Morganton, North Carolina, on September 30.Wrobel, p. 46 Here, they were joined by Colonel Benjamin Cleveland and Major Joseph Winston with 350 men from Surry and Wilkes counties.
The combined force pursued Ferguson's army to Kings Mountain, where it had constructed fortifications; Ferguson declared that "God Almighty and all the rebels out of hell" could not move him from it.Wrobel, p. 50 The Battle of Kings Mountain commenced on October 7. 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 battles with them. Ferguson ordered bayonet charges that forced Shelby's men to fall back on three separate occasions, but the Americans dislodged the Loyalists from their position. Seeing the battle was lost, Ferguson and his most senior officers attempted a retreat. However, the Americans were instructed to kill Ferguson, and 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 Loyalists waved white flags of surrender.Wrobel, pp. 50–56
Kings Mountain was the high point of Shelby's military service, and from that point forward his men dubbed him "Old Kings Mountain". The North Carolina legislature passed a vote of thanks to Shelby and Sevier for their service and ordered each be presented a pair of pistols and a ceremonial sword.Townsend, p. 17 (Shelby did not receive these items until he requested them from the legislature in 1813.)Draper, p. 416