The Monongalia County Militia was a component of the Virginia militia during Lord DunmoreâÂÂs War and the American Revolutionary War. It was based in Monongalia County, Virginia. It mostly fought invading Indian tribes who crossed the Ohio River as well as local Tories loyal to the British Crown, but it is said to have participated in George Rogers Clark's Campaign in 1779 and other expeditions against hostile Indians.
According to Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, the company consisted of about 1,000 men. The number of companies is unknown, but according to Glenn Lough's Now and Long Ago: A History of the Marion County Area, companies were stationed in local civilian forts across the frontier of Monongalia County: such as Prickett's Fort, Morgan's Fort, and Statler's Fort. The band of 1,000 men from the backwoods of western Virginia and Pennsylvania all hailed from Monongalia County, Virginia: made up of modern-day counties of Monongalia, Marion, Barbour, Harrison, Tucker, Randolph, and several others in north central West Virginia; and Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties of Pennsylvania.
The unit of Monongalia County Militia took part in the defense of the territories of western Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania from before the Revolution in 1774, to the resurgence of hostilities in 1775, to the final Indian Battle on the eastern side of the Ohio River at Fort Henry in 1782. Many, if not all, men that served with Monongalia County Militia had prior service against Native Americans while serving with the Virginia Regiment of the British Army in the French and Indian War: serving at battles like Fort Necessity, Expeditions against Fort Duquesne, and the Battle of the Monongahela. Pre-war, elements of the company constructed forts across western Virginia to defend against Chief LoganâÂÂs party of Natives following the Yellow Creek Massacre. However, the Battle of Point Pleasant of the short-lived Lord DunmoreâÂÂs War quickly drove off the party, and peace was restored across the land for less than a year. When Revolution began, companies drove invading Indian parties away from their local forts and homesteads, countered Indian attacks on nearby Fort Pitt in present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and defended the Backcountry area from Tory attacks and British interference in the early years of 1775 and 1776. Later on, threats of a Tory uprising in late 1777 and early in the year 1778 kept many elements of the unit at home. What started as a British plot to create a regiment of loyalists and Natives, what became known as "ConnollyâÂÂs Plot" brought cause to hopeless Tories and brought angered fervor to the men of Monongalia. Two American leaders, Simon Girty and Alexander McKee, defected to the British Army in an attempt to hire Indians to attack American settlements in the Monongahela and Ohio Valleys. Meanwhile, a small contingent of men from Monongalia County marched with Clark in his Illinois Campaign of 1778âÂÂ1779. In spite of odds being stacked against our militia of frontier patriots, the Tory threat was diminished following several small skirmishes (as well as legal action), and the Americans had a firm grasp on the western British and Indian territories. Following Clark's initial occupation of the Illinois Country, other detachments fought with General McIntosh in his invasion of Indian towns in the lands West of the Ohio River, notably at the Siege of Fort Laurens when frontier units attempted to control Northwestern Indian Territories during McIntosh's Campaign in 1778 into early 1779. After the inconclusive McIntosh Campaign, Monongalia County was called upon again in the recapture of Vincennes and Fort Sackville in Illinois. From 1780 onward, for Monongalia Militiamen, the Revolution was spent doing the typical frontiersmen duties of fighting off Indian and Tory invaders. Monongalia County Militia participated in some strength in 1781 during Brodhead's Coshocton Expedition, and considerably in 1782 in Crawford's Expedition: another failed attempt to take British Fort Detroit. Over time, several of the local civilian forts of Monongalia County were attacked: some stood the test of time and kept fighting for freedom (such as Fort Martin), while many others were ransacked and destroyed by adversaries (such as Fort Coburn). Fighting on the frontier during the American Revolution arguably ended in 1782 after the last elements of Americans invaded Indian territories West of the Ohio River, and the Second Siege of Fort Henry was lifted. From 1775 to 1782, Monongalia County saw much death among its civilians rather than its combatants. Many white civilian men, women, and children were killed and scalped by Native enemies who invaded American forts and homesteads. While the unit as a whole does not have campaign credit for several battles of the Revolution, many of its members are credited for such action while serving with the 13th and 7th Virginia Line Regiments, 8th Pennsylvania Line Regiment, or the Virginia and Maryland Rifle Regiment: Siege of Boston, Battle of Trenton, Battles of Saratoga.
This is a list of civilian and military forts and blockhouses located in then-Monongalia County and/or under command of Monongalia County Militia:
Below is a list of people or families killed or captured by Natives in Monongalia County from 1774 to 1782.