Mary Ingles, Early American Heroine Part 2

Early settlers joined together to help one another in times of need. On July 8, 1755, the men of Draper’s Meadows gathered at the farm of William and Mary Ingles to harvest wheat. Meanwhile Mary Ingles and her sister-in-law Eliza Draper prepared a hearty meal. The elder Col. James Patton was also in the cabin writing letters.

A party of twenty or more Indians who had been skulking about the edge of the woods closed in on the dwelling. Eliza Draper went to the vegetable garden near the house and was startled when she saw several Indians. She immediately started running toward the cabin, screaming an alarm as she went.

The Indians were close on her heels and when she burst through the cabin door she grabbed her baby and headed for the opposite door in an attempt to run toward the wheat field where the men were working. A rifle shot reverberated through the cabin and Eliza’s arm went numb, the baby falling to the ground. She instinctively grabbed the screaming youngster with her other hand and again took flight.

She was overtaken by two young braves and an older Indian not far from the cabin. Eliza kicked and fought but the Indians were able to snatch the baby from her arms after hitting her a glancing blow from his tomahawk. It caused her to lose her breath and ability to fight. She was unable to resist any longer so the Indians pulled her to the cabin.

The older Indian took the infant by the legs and swung it hard against the end of one of the cabin logs, killing the baby immediately. Eliza was unable to move because a bullet had shattered her arm and the blow to her back left her breathless. She couldn’t believe her eyes as the red man proceeded to scalp her baby.

Meanwhile several of the Indians pushed through the door where the other women waited along with Colonel Patton. The colonel fired, killing a brave immediately but he had no time to reload. Grabbing his broad-bladed sword he proceeded to swing at the red men as they closed in. One blow nearly severed the arm of a brave while a second blow to the brave’s neck left him dying on the dirt floor of the cabin.

The older Indian kept his distance and fired a death shot at Patton from the doorway, his sword falling from his grasp. Another of the attackers proceeded to shoot Mary Ingle’s mother. Mary felt helpless for her safety and that of her two young sons, expecting to die at any moment.

The chief, the oldest of the group of Indians, interrupted by telling the others not to harm Mary as he was taking her captive. He proceeded to lead Mary and her sons from the cabin. The other braves took numerous items before following along.

The house was set afire and soon the men in the field noticed the smoke. As they ran toward the cabin they heard and then saw the large war party whooping and scurrying about.

Although the men noticed that Mary Ingles her two sons and Eliza Draper had been captured, they could not be of help as they had few weapons. Most of their guns had been left at the cabin and were now in the possession of the Indians.

Concerned for his wife and children, William Ingles continued running toward the burning cabin while the other men cautioned him to stop.

“Will, you get back here,” John Draper warned. “Those injuns will have your scalp and then you’ll be no good to Mary or to anyone else.”

Ingles continued but when the Indians noticed him two braves went to capture him. Finally determining that he was no match for the large war party he took off running with the two braves in pursuit.

The Indians kept gaining on William Ingles who thought that Heaven was near. He also thought of others, first of Mary and his sons, then of himself. Suddenly a downed tree, of enormous size, was immediately in front of him – surrounded by vines and brush. He had no alternative but to leap over the huge tree.

Although he cleared the hurdle, his foot was snared by a vine sending him tumbling into the brush unable to be seen except at a very close distance. The two braves noticed Ingles leaping the fallen tree and they proceeded to quickly run past on either side and continued the chase not knowing that Ingles had fallen and that he was nestled among the thicket.

Soon the Indians doubled back but saw that William had returned and rejoined the other settlers near the wheat field.

Meanwhile the war party took the food, rifles, ammunition, and other items from the Ingle’s cabin and tied them to the back of the settler’s horses. After they departed the men returned to the smoldering cabin where they found the Indians had killed Mrs. George Ingles and their oldest resident, Colonel James Patton, and youngest, John and Eliza Draper’s baby. Several of the men soon returned to their respective cabins to see if their families were safe.

Incidentally Col. Patton’s nephew William Preston, had been sent on an errand that morning that may have saved his life. He later inherited Drapers Meadows upon the death of his wife, Susanna Smith, and changed its name to Smithfield. His son would later become a governor of Virginia. Copyright 2024 Jadon Gibson

Editor’s note: Mary Ingles, fearful for the life of her two sons and unborn baby, is bent on escaping in Jadon’s “From the Mountains: next week. Jadon is a widely read Appalachian writer. His stories are both historic and nostalgic in nature. Thanks to Lincoln Memorial University, Long’s Pic Pac, Brook’s Tire, Elmer Kincaid Coal, Harrogate Hospital for Animals, Gen. Paul Phillips, the Museum of Appalachia and Arnett and Steele Funeral Home for their assistance.