Hardy-Hampshire County WV Archives History - Books .....Hardy County History 1889 1889
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Alice Warner http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00015.html#0003503 July 22, 2009, 9:31 am

Book Title: History Of West Virginia In Two Parts By Virgil A. Lewis

HARDY.

The county of Hardy was formed from Hampshire by act of October, 1785, which
declared " That from and after the first day of February next, the county of
Hampshire shall be divided into two distinct counties by a line beginning at the
North Branch of the Potomac, opposite to the mouth of Savage river, and running
thence in a direct course so as to strike the upper end of the plantation known
by the name of Myre's Mill, on New creek ; thence in a direct course to Lewis'
Mill, on Patterson's creek; thence in a direct course to the highest part of the
mountain known by the name of High Knob; thence in a direct course to the gap of
the Short Mountain, where the North river runs through the same; thence along
the road leading to the upper end of Henry Fry's Plantation on Capon, and along
the said road to the top of North Mountain to the dividing line between the
counties of Shenandoah and Hampshire; and that all that part of the said county
lying south of the said line shall be called and known by the name of Hardy ;
and the residue of the said county shall retain the name of Hampshire."

Another section of the act provided that the first court for the new county
should be held at the house of William Bullitt, and that the justices composing
it should then select a site for the county seat.

Samuel Hardy, in honor of whom the county was named, was long a resident of Isle
of Wight county, Virginia. He was one of the early members of Congress from that
State, and as such, on behalf of Virginia, he was one of the number who signed
the Deed of Cession which transferred the Northwest Territory to the General
Government.

The early settlers of this county were among those who suffered much during the
long period of Indian hostilities. Many heroic deeds in defence of pioneer homes
deserve a lasting record.

/The Battle of the Trough/.—This was one of the most sanguinary conflicts which
took place between the pioneers of western Virginia and the savages aided and
abetted by the French. It occurred in the spring of 1756, just after Braddock's
defeat had laid the frontier open to Indian incursion. The following account is
given by Dr. Charles A. Turley of Fort Pleasant.

" The memorable battle of the Trough was preceded by the following
circumstances. On the day previous two Indian strollers, from a large party of
sixty or seventy warriors, under the well-known and ferocious chief, Kill-buck,
made an attack on the dwelling of a Mrs. Blake, on the South fork of the South
Branch of the Potomac, about fifteen miles above Moorefield, and took Mrs. Blake
and a Mrs. Neff prisoners. The former not being able to travel was tomahawked
and scalped, and the latter brought down to the vicinity of Town Fort, about one
and a half miles below Moore- field. There one of the Indians, under the
pretence of hunting, retired, and the other laid himself down and pretended to
fall asleep, with a view, as was believed, to let Mrs. Neff escape to the fort
and give the alarm. Everything turned out agreeably to their expectations; for
as soon as she reached the fort and gave the circumstances of her escape,
eighteen men from that and Buttermilk fort, five miles above, went in pursuit.
They were men notorious for their valor, and who had been well tried on many
such occasions.

" As soon as they came to the place indicated by Mrs. Neff, they found a plain
trace left by the Indian, by occasionally breaking a bush. John Harneas, who was
well acquainted with the mode of warfare of the Indians, pronounced that the
hunter Indian had not returned to his comrade, or that they were in great force
somewhere near and in ambush. They, however, pursued the trace without
discovering any sign of a larger party, until they arrived between two
mountains, forming what from its resemblance is called the Trough. Here,
directly above a spring about two hundred paces from the river, which at that
time was filled to an impassable stage by a heavy fall of rain, these grim
monsters of blood were encamped to the number above stated. The western face of
the ridge was very precipitous and rough, and on the north of the spring was a
deep ravine cutting directly up into the ridge above. Our little band of heroes,
nothing daunted by the superior number of the enemy, dismounted unobserved and
prepared for battle, leaving their horses on the ridge. But by one of those
unforeseen accidents which often thwart the seemingly best planned enterprises,
a small dog which had followed them just at this juncture started a rabbit, and
went yelping down the ridge, giving the Indians timely notice of their approach.
They immediately flew to arms, and filling up the ravine before described,
passed directly in the rear of our little band, placing them in the very
situation in which they had hoped to find their enemies, between the mountain
and the swollen river. Now came the 'tug of war,' and both parties rushed to the
onset, dealing death and slaughter at every fire. After an hour or two of hard
fighting, during which each of our little band had numbered his man, and more
than half their number had fallen to rise no more, those that remained were
compelled to retreat, which could only be effected by swimming the river. Some
who had been wounded not being able to do this, determined to sell their lives
as dearly as possible ; and deliberately loading their rifles and placing
themselves behind some cover on the river bank, dealt certain death to the first
adversary who made his appearance, and then calmly yielded to the tomahawk.

" * * * At the time of which we are speaking, there were quartered in Fort
Pleasant, about one and a half miles above the battle ground and within hearing
of every gun, a company of regulars, commanded by a British officer named
Wagner, who not only refused to march a man out of the fort, but, when the
inhabitants seized their rifles and determined to rush to the assistance of
their brothers, ordered the gates to be closed and suffered none to pass in or
out. * * *

" The Indian chief Kill-buck afterward admitted that, although he had witnessed
many sanguinary contests, this was the most so that he had ever experienced for
the number of his enemies. Kill-buck was a Shawnee, a savage of strong mental
powers, and well acquainted with all the families in the settlement before the
war broke out. Colonel Vincent Williams, whose father was inhumanly murdered by
Kill-buck, became personally acquainted with him many years after, and from him
learned the particulars of his father's death, as well as the great heroism
manifested by our little band at the battle of the Trough."

Moorefield, then in Hampshire county, was established a town by act of Assembly,
1777, on lands the property of Conrad Moore, from whom the town received its
name. Garret VanMatre, Abel Randall, Moses Hutton, Jacob Read, Jonathan Heath,
Daniel McNeil and George Rennick were appointed trustees. By Act of December,
29, 1809, it was made lawful for the freeholders, housekeepers, of the town to
elect five fit and able men, inhabitants of the town, to serve as trustees thereof.

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