Fort Elk Garden

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Fort Elk Garden (1774-1794) - A colonial stockaded Indian defense built by Capt. John Kinkead. used until the end of Indian hostilities in 1794.

History

Originally seven militia forts were to be constructed in 1774 during Lord Dunmore's War against hostile Indian tribes. Capt. William Russell was to command four of the forts on the Lower Clinch River and Capt. Daniel Smith was to command three forts on the Upper Clinch River. These forts were to be erected by the local militia men supervised by Colonel William Christian who had been sent out to the frontier by Col. William Preston who was commanding officer of the Fincastle County Militia. The forts were generally named for the landowners where they were located and/or the military commanders. Many of them had multiple names as landowners and commanders changed.

Even though Lord Dunmore's War ended in 1774, the Indian attacks continued until 1794 when the Indian renegade leader, Benge, was killed near Big Stone Gap.

Capt. Russell
Lower Clinch River Forts

Capt. Smith
Upper Clinch River Forts

  1. Fort Preston (2)
  2. Fort Christian
  3. Fort Byrd
  4. Fort Blackmore

Russell's Fort, Cowan's Fort, Bickley's Fort
Glade Hollow Fort, Daniel Smith's Fort
Moore's Fort, Snoddy's Fort
Blackmore's Fort

  1. Fort Elk Garden
  2. Fort Witten
  3. Maiden Springs Fort

Landowners around Fort Elk Garden included Capt. John Dunkin, Capt. John Kinkead, Richard Price and Soloman Litton.

Current Status

Location: Fort Site located 8 miles east of Lebanon, Russell County, Virginia, on a hill top above a church on Rte 80.

Maps & Images

Lat: 36.9319 Long: -81.9684

Sources:

Links:

Visited: No



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