Fort Vause (also known as Fort Vaux, Voss, Vass, Vance, or "Vass' Fort", and renamed Fort Lyttelton in 1757) was built in 1753 in Montgomery County, Virginia, by Ephraim Vause. The historic site is near the town of Shawsville, Virginia. It was attacked by French troops and Native American warriors in 1756, and most of the inhabitants were killed or taken prisoner.Waddell, Joseph Addison. Annals of Augusta County, Virginia, from 1726 to 1871. Virginia Historical Society, Staunton VA: C. R. Caldwell, 1902. The fort was rebuilt in 1757 but abandoned by 1759.
History
The original fort was built in 1753 on the Great Wagon Road leading from Philadelphia to North Carolina,Douglas McClure Wood, "I Have Now Made a Path to Virginia": Outacite Ostenaco and the Cherokee-Virginia Alliance in the French and Indian War," West Virginia History, New Series, Vol. 2, No. 2 (FALL 2008), pp. 31-60. West Virginia University Press to protect the home of Ephraim Vause and his neighbors. There is no description of the fort, but privately built fortified homesteads of this period were typically stockades surrounding the farmhouse and outbuildings, in some cases including a crude two-storey blockhouse. Between 17 and 25 Virginia militia troops were stationed there in 1756, under the command of Captain John Smith.Lawrence Babits, Stephanie Gandulla, eds. The Archaeology of French and Indian War Frontier Forts. University Press of Florida, 2013.Lena Gardner Sammons, "Fort Vause: The Site and the Story," Journal of the Roanoke Historical Society, Vol. II, No. 2, Winter 1965-66, pp 23-33
Mary Draper Ingles and her husband William Ingles took refuge in the fort after their home was attacked during the Draper's Meadow Massacre of July, 1755, in which Mary and her sons were taken prisoner. Mary escaped and returned to her husband, and in early 1756 they moved to Fort Vause. According to one source, soon after their arrival, Mary had a premonition that the fort would be attacked and asked her husband to leave.Transcript of John Ingles' manuscript "The Narrative of Col. John Ingles Relating to Mary Ingles and the Escape from Big Bone Lick" , 1824. Another source states that a settler who had been captured by the Indians escaped and came to the fort with a warning that the Shawnee were preparing to attack them. William and Mary Ingles left the fort on 25 June.Hale, John P. Trans-Allegheny Pioneers (West Virginia and Ohio): Historical Sketches of the First White Settlers West of the Alleghenies, 1748 and After. 1886, reprinted 2002.
Siege and destruction
Later the same day, at "about ten in the morning," Fort Vause was attacked by 25 French soldiers together with 205 Miami, Ottawa and Shawnee warriorsDarby O’Donnell, Phase I Cultural Resource Identification Survey of Proposed Mountain Bike Trails and Parking Lot at Explore Park, Roanoke County, Virginia, Darby O’Donnell LLC, October 28, 2018 under the command of François-Marie Picoté de Belestre. John and Matthew Ingles, younger brothers of William, chose to remain at the fort after William decided to leave with Mary. John is credited with shooting a scout from a tree, and then sounding the alarm that the fort was about to be attacked. He was killed and his wife Mary and their children were taken prisoner. Matthew was out hunting at the time and was attacked on his way home. He fought hand-to-hand until his rifle broke, then with a frying pan handle, killing two of his attackers. He was taken prisoner by the Shawnee, but several years later was released or escaped. He died at Ingles Ferry, "a few months after his return."Pendleton, William Cecil. History of Tazewell County and Southwest Virginia: 1748-1920, W. C. Hill Printing Company, 1920.
George Washington wrote that a lack of vigilance by the sentries may have allowed the attackers to launch a surprise assault: "Indolent and careless, and always unguarded, [the sentries] are liable to be surprized. By this means Vass’s Fort was taken (and the Garrison destroyed).""From George Washington to John Campbell, Earl of Loudoun, 10 January 1757," Founders Online, National Archives. The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 4, 9 November 1756 – 24 October 1757, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984, pp. 79–93. However, the fort's commander, Captain John Smith, after being warned by the escaped settler, had been able to send a message on 22 June to Captain William Preston requesting help.Patricia Givens Johnson, William Preston and the Allegheny Patriots, B. D. Smith & Bros., 1976 One source says the 17 defenders held off the attackers for three days,Beverley Bond, "The Captivity of Charles Stewart, 1755-57," in The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Volume 13, June 1926-March 1927, Mississippi Valley Historical Association, 1927; pp 58-200 whereas another source says the siege lasted only 8 hours, during which 32 of the attackers were killed.Daniel P. Barr, The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers Along the Frontiers of the Old Northwest Territory, 1750-1850. Kent State University Press, 2006. The French commander Belestre, who was also wounded during the siege,Maass, John R. George Washington's Virginia. Arcadia Publishing, 2017. later reported that he had lost "near 40 Men."Jim Glanville, "Remembering the attack on Fort Vause," Christiansburg News-Messenger, Wednesday, January 21, 2015; Christiansburg, Virginia Eventually only three of the fort's defenders were still able to fight,Steele, Ian K. Setting All the Captives Free: Capture, Adjustment, and Recollection in Allegheny Country. Canada: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2013. and their ammunition gave out, at which point the garrison surrendered on condition that they be permitted to leave.Joseph A. Waddell, "Indian Wars in Augusta County," in The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 2, Philip Alexander Bruce, William Glover Stanard, editors. Virginia Historical Society, 1894
Aftermath
At least 3 settlers were killed, and 22 were taken prisoner, including Ephraim Vause's wife, his three daughters, a slave he owned and two of his servants (Ephraim was away on the day of the attack). The fort was burned"To George Washington from Robert Dinwiddie, 12 July 1756," Founders Online, National Archives. The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 3, 16 April 1756–9 November 1756, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984, pp. 259–261. and Shawnee warriors tortured and burned one of the fort's soldiers, a man named Cole.Milo M. Quaife, "The Captivity of Peter Looney." The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Volume 15, 1928-1929 Two other prisoners were killed, a badly wounded soldier and an elderly man. The other prisoners were taken down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, after which several of them were then sent to Detroit and eventually transported to France. The fort's commander, Captain John Smith, was sent to England in an exchange of prisoners and returned to Virginia in early 1758. On 3 April 1758 Smith submitted a proposal to the Virginia House of Burgesses offering to lead an expedition against the Shawnee, but no action was taken.
A relief expedition of 47 men sent by Major Andrew Lewis and led by Captain William Preston arrived on 26 June, and found the fort abandoned. Preston's men followed the Indians into Kentucky but were unable to reach them.
On 10 July 1756, the French commander Belestre addressed a gathering of Shawnees allied with the French. His speech was recorded by a British prisoner, John Wotton, whose account was published in newspapers in Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Belestre was quoted, in part, as saying: "I am now returned from war against the English, and have not compleated my Design so far as I intended. When I went away I thought to have gone down so far as the...James River [modern-day Richmond]. My spies gave me great encouragement and told me that I could go down to that place undiscovered, and plunder their Store, for there is no Men down there, but some Tobacco-Carriers. [This was prevented] by a small Company of Men, ten or eleven, which kept me the best Part of a Day very hot engaged, and killed near 40 Men...You told me Virginia Men could not fight, but I did not find it so; for these few Men that I found, fought more like Devils than Men; if all Virginia is like them, we cannot get that Country."
On 5 June 1757, Cherokee warriors defending Fort Cumberland on the Maryland-Virginia border captured Belestre, who had been leading raids against other English settlements."From George Washington to John Stanwix, 15 June 1757," Founders Online, National Archives. Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 4, 9 November 1756 – 24 October 1757, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984, pp. 215–217.
In late 1757, Ephraim Vause attempted to organize a military expedition to rescue the prisoners, which included his wife and daughters. A number of men known as "The Associators" volunteered for this proposed expedition, and a total of 300 troops were expected to join. John Madison and the Augusta County Militia offered their support, and food and other supplies were obtained. Early in 1758, however, plans for the expedition were abandoned due to constant disputes among the commanding officers. Vause left the Shenandoah Valley soon afterwards, moved to Kentucky, and sold his land to John Madison in 1760.Chalkley, Lyman. Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia: Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County, 1745–1800, vol III, The Commonwealth Printing Company, Rosslyn VA, 1912. Vause's daughter Elizabeth Levicee Vause was held prisoner until she was released by agreement with Colonel Henry Bouquet in 1763.
Peter Looney
One prisoner, a 23-year-old sergeant named Peter Looney (or Lewney), was taken by Shawnees to Lower Shawneetown in Ohio. He was then sent to Detroit, where he was adopted by a Native American family.Patricia H. Quinlan, The Story of Peter Looney: His Year Living with the Indians, iUniverse, 2009 He became a respected warrior and attended important diplomatic meetings with the French.Matthew C. Ward, "Redeeming the Captives: Pennsylvania Captives among the Ohio Indians, 1755-1765," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, July 2001, Vol. 125, No. 3, University of Pennsylvania Press; pp. 161-189 He later escaped from his captors at Niagara, New York and reached Albany on 12 July 1757. He traveled to Philadelphia and then returned to Virginia, reporting on the fate of Captain Smith.
Rebuilding
Construction on a new fort was initiated by Captain Peter Hogg in 1756 as an earthworks and palisade construction.Mcbride, Kim A., "The Second Fort Vause: A Crucial French and Indian War Fort in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia," in Lawrence E. Babits, and Stephanie Gandulla (eds), The Archaeology of French and Indian War Frontier Forts Gainesville, FL, 2013; online edn, Florida Scholarship Online, 29 May 2014. Accessed 1 Sept. 2023. On 27 July 1756, Governor Robert Dinwiddie wrote orders on the fort's design: "It is agreed that...Fort Vaus be made at least one hundred feet Square in the Clear and that the Stockades be at least 14 feet Long.""From George Washington to Robert Dinwiddie, 4 August 1756," Founders Online, National Archives. The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 3, 16 April 1756–9 November 1756, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1984, pp. 312–323. When completed, it was a 100-foot square four-bastioned earthwork with a 15-foot high log palisade, with barracks.Pete Payette, "Frontier Forts of Southwest Virginia," American Forts Network, 2009.