BATTLE OF BLUE LICKS-WYANDOT & BRITISH DEFEAT BOONE & KENTUCKIANS
In August 1782, 10 months after Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown, a force of 50 British & Canadian loyalists and 300 Wyandot & Shawnee attacked and sieged Bryan’s Station (near present-day Lexington). Finding it well defended, the force retreated back north. A group of 182 Kentucky settlers—including Daniel Boone—went in pursuit. At the Blue Licks, crossing point of the Licking River, they saw Shawnee & Wyandots run over a hill just out of gunshot range. Boone first advised awaiting the main militia and, losing that argument, advised a flanking maneuver to avoid ambush from nearby ravines. The Kentuckians also ignored this advice, gave direct chase, and were attacked from the hiding places Boone warned against. The volley of gunfire threw the Kentuckians into a panicked retreat. Ensuing hand-to-hand fighting with the Wyandots & Shawnne left about 70 dead, including the militia leader and Boone’s son, Israel. A monument to the battle pays tribute only to the Kentuckians who died there.
Source: Tim Talbot, “Blue Licks Battlefield,” Kentucky History. Retrieved 2/13/2022, Blue Licks Battlefield | ExploreKYHistory Photo: Kevin Myers, 8/19/2006. Monument of the Battle of Blue Licks, Kentucky. Permissive Use.
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