The Draper's Meadow Massacre

The French and Indian War broke out in 1754. The war between France and England spread to North America. At the time, British colonists were encroaching upon the territory of Native Americans in North America. The colonists' agricultural lifestyle offended many Native Americans as it made the colonists permanent fixtures wherever they settled. The land was being altered and the hunting land was becoming farmland. French colonists did not offend in this way. Therefore, it is no surprise that many Native American tribes sided with the French and began attacking colonist outposts. The Draper's Meadow Massacre may have been a result of this hostility.

The date the massacre took place is disputed. A marker near the Duck Pond at Virginia Polytechnic Institute possibly erroneously reads "Draper Meadow Massacre July 8, 1755." It is believed by some that the massacre took place on July 30 or 31 of 1775. Either way, at some point in July of 1775, a group of Shawnee Native Americans rode into Draper's Meadow and attacked the settlers. They killed at least four, possibly five of them. Among the dead were James Patton, Casper Barrier, Bettie Draper's infant child, Elenor Draper and possibly an old man named Philip Barger, who may have been decapitated. Bettie Draper and James Cull were wounded and Bettie was taken hostage. Taken with Bettie were Mary Draper Ingles, Henry Lenard and Mary's two young sons. Mary may have been pregnant. The survivors ran away from the scene. Most of them never returned.

The captives were taken to live with the Shawnee tribe. Mary Draper Ingles had to watch while her sons were traded. After that, she had no reason to stay with the tribe, so she and an older woman, who had been captured at another time, decided to escape. It took the women 43 days to make the more than 800-mile journey home. They accomplished most of it in the nude and on foot. One gruesome, and possibly true, version of the story explains how the old woman attempted to kill Mary for the sake of eating her, not once, but twice. Mary Draper Ingles reportedly fought her off and then made sure to stay far enough away to avoid attack, but close enough to hear the old woman if she needed help. The pair were eventually rescued-separately-by a father and son.

Mary was eventually reunited with her husband after returning to Draper's Meadow. He had gone in search of her, but returned to find his wife. One of their sons was lost forever, the other eventually returned, but was more like a Native American than an English settler.

The original Draper's Meadow site was on a 7,500-acre tract of land that belonged to James Patton. James sold off bits of his land to other settlers, while keeping some for himself. The bulk of these settlers came from Pennsylvania. An estimated 20 people had settled on the land by the time the massacre took place-roughly five years after the area was settled. The site where the massacre took place is thought to be on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Sources

Kittredge, Kevin, Draper's Meadow, retrieved 8/9/10, roanoke.com/extra/wb/xp-22824

Vannorsdall-Schroeder, Joan, Mary Draper Ingles' Return to Virginia's New River Valley, retrieved 8/9/10, bluridgecontry.com/archive/mary-draper-ingles.htm