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| Point Pleasant rail bridge over Kanawha River, 2014. |
My 4x great-grandfather, Andrew Thompson, is another of my paternal grandma Mary’s pioneer ancestors: Me > Verne Troutman > Mary Waggoner > Rachel Havens > Mary Jane Thompson > Bryant Thompson > Andrew Thompson.
Census records suggest that Andrew Thompson was born between 1751 and 1760.[1] A Bible record says he died in 1840 at age 90.[2] Some claims on Ancestry give his middle name, his parents’ names, and his birthplace in Ireland, but I haven’t seen proof of any of it, so if my readers have sources, please share your bounty. About 1774, Andrew married Nancy Anna (possibly Reed, but not proven that I know of). An 1849 deed recorded in Wythe County, Virginia made by John, Andrew, Amos, and Bryant Thompson of Wythe County, Virginia, and Francis Thompson of Lee County refers to land inherited from their father, Andrew Thompson, Sr. In addition to the sons named above, his estate settlement names daughters Mary Helvey, deceased, to her children, and Nancy, who married Charles Havens.[3]
During the American Revolution, Andrew lived in Montgomery County, Virginia. His service during the war included the rank of ensign in the Battle of Point Pleasant and appointment as a Justice of the Peace in Montgomery County.[4]
In the western regions of the colonies, where Andrew Thompson lived, the American Revolution often centered on battles with Indians resulting from unrest in the east and unresolved issues from the French and Indian War (or Seven Years War). Summers notes John Adams’ assertion that the Revolution actually started in 1760 when the Britain imposed taxes that the colonists deemed unfair and lacked their representation. In 1764 they organized against this oppression in Boston (and in North Carolina, I might add; see my previous post). In 1765, the Stamp Act was passed and the Sons of Liberty organized against it. In 1766 the Brits taxed tea; in 1768 they sent troops to Boston. About that time, Virginians passed an agreement not to import. In 1770 the Boston Massacre happened. In England, parliament remained determined to thwart all opposition to taxation in the colonies, which set colonists’ minds to further resistance.[5]
In order to distract colonists from problems in the east, the British promised the Shawnee that if they allied with them against the colonists in western settlements, the King would keep the colonists from crossing the mountains into Indian territories. This action, the Brits contended, would also impress the colonists with their need to depend on the Redcoats to protect them from attacks on their settlements. So at the same time the Brits allied with the Indians against the colonists, they were attempting to convince the colonists that they were their protectors against Indian attacks.
Dunmore’s War and the Battle of Point Pleasant was an example of this duplicity.[6] In short, Governor Dunmore commanded Colonel Andrew Lewis to raise an army of 1000 men from the western counties of Virginia to fight against a huge Shawnee force led by Cornstalk gathering on the Kanawha River at Point Pleasant. Meanwhile, he told Lewis that he would take a contingent of British regulars from northern Virginia to meet up with him and assist in the battle. Dunmore dawdled and delayed and never arrived, leaving Lewis’ outnumbered colonists to wage the battle on their own. After a hard fight with many killed on both sides, including several of Lewis’ officers and his brother, the battle ended at nightfall with the colonists holding the field. Cornstalk and his men left.
Summers asserts that the underrated Battle at Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774 was the first full-scale battle of the war. It greatly reduced the threat of Indian attacks on the western frontier and allowed the colonists to focus their fight against the British army in the east.
Thankfully, Andrew Thompson survived or I wouldn’t be here today.
[1] 1830 U.S. census, Wythe Co, VA, p. 360, line 5, Andrew Thompson Sr.; NARA series M19, roll 200. Also, 1840 U.S. census, Wythe Co, VA, p. 118, line 20, Andrew Thompson; NARA series M(n/a), roll 579.
[2] Records taken from Thompson Family Bible, notarized 15 Sep 1831, J. E. Wagner, Notary Public, Mercer County, WV.
[3] Wythe County, Virginia Will Book #6, pp. 69-70, 373-376; Office of the Clerk, Courthouse, Wytheville.
[4] Livia Simpson-Poffenbarger, Battle of Point Pleasant (Point Pleasant, VA: The State Gazette, 1909) p. 94. Also, L. P. Summers, Annals of Southwest Virginia (Abingdon, VA: L. P. Summers, 1929), vol. 1, p. 683. The DAR recognizes four levels of service to qualify someone as a patriot ancestor: military, public, civil, and oath of allegiance. Thompson’s service was both military and civil. The full text of these sources can be found on Hathi Trust (hathitrust.org).
[5] Simpson-Poffenbarger, p. 12, 18.
[6] Ibid., p. 13.
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