Siege of Boonesborough

In 1775, bands of the Shawnee people began attacking travelers and settlers in the lands south of the Ohio river in an attempt to retake land that had been ceded in the conclusion of Dunmore's War in the summer of 1774. The treaty ending that conflict had pushed the boundary of the Indian reserve area west and north to the Ohio River from the 1763 line.
As the British looked to add a second western front to pressure the revolting colonists in the east, they found allies in the Shawnee and their chief Blackfish. Blackfish was looking to drive the colonists back out of their hunting grounds in the area ceded in 1774. The British armed and supplied the Shawnee for raiding parties into the territory. Throughout 1777, any colonists traveling away from established settlements were likely to be captured or killed. 
In June 1778, following his capture by the Shawnee, Daniel Boone escaped after overhearing Blackfish's plans to attack Boonesborough along with British militiamen from Detroit. Boone made his way back to Boonesborough and was able to race home within 5 days. 
On 7 September 1778, Blackfish arrived outside Boonesborough with his force of over 400 indigenous warriors and a dozen militiamen. Blackfish offered the fortified settlement a letter from Governor Hamilton in Detroit that stated if the settlers surrendered to Blackfish, they would be brought to Detroit safely. If they refused surrender, there would be no guarantees. After consulting inside the walls, the settlers determined to fight rather than surrender. The settlers, who counted around 40 able-bodied gunmen, created an illusion of force by asking the women of the settlement to don men's clothing and carry weapons on the walls. Governor Hamilton had relied on faulty intelligence that told him there would be 200 militia in Boonesborough. Late the next day, the answer was given to a surprised Blackfish and both sides began preparations for a siege. 
On 17 September 1778, in response to a message from Boonesborough sent prior to the arrival of Blackfish and his forces, a wing of the Continental Air Forces out of Camp Wyatt arrived at Boonesborough to aid the settlers in the siege. The arrival of the wing quickly routed Blackfish's warriors who had taken significant losses in the siege. The siege broke overnight and by noon the next day, the sieging force had broken into disparate raiding parties and left Boonesborough. The dragons of the wing chased the larger parties for a while before returning to Boonesborough to ensure the settlement was recovered.

Conflict Type

Skirmish

Start Date

07 September 1778

Ending Date

18 September 1778