Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
What lay beneath 18th century Native American Raids in
the area, Part 1
Article of October 11, 2001
Inevitably, the phrase �the victor writes the
history,� applies to Native Americans and their role
in the history of the United States. Therefore,
today, objectivity needs to be considered when writing
about the history of the same to prevent a return to
the passionate romanticist ideals that readily flowed
in early 20th century works.
In addition to the much-enjoyed nostalgic flare of the
romanticists, there is significant value to the
various stories written by John Wayland, Harry
Strickler and Joseph Waddell. There can be no doubt
that what they transcribed (and much that remains
unpublished in their notes), saved crucial Valley
history that would have otherwise been lost.
Additionally, to that list, it is also essential to
include Samuel Kercheval.
Since the times of their published works, many
resources have come to the surface to clarify various
details. While the recorded raids were certainly
tragic on the first American frontier, a different
form of historiography has risen that enables us to,
especially when it comes to Native Americans, become
more objective and allows us to realize just what
these people were trying to preserve in ridding their
frontier of the �invasive Europeans.�
It is possible that at the time of the settlement of
Jamestown that there were actually Native Americans
inhabiting the Shenandoah Valley. Sometime between
1650-1700, there may have been a group of people known
as the �Senedo� (a possible origin of �Shenandoah?�)
that were exterminated by a Southern tribe � perhaps
the Catawba.
Waddell even writes of Alexander Wither�s beliefs of a
group of people known as the Massawomees. In his 1831
work titled �Chronicles of Border Warfare�. Withers
mentioned that when Virginia became known to the
whites, the portion of the State lying northwest of
the Blue Ridge and extending to the lakes was
possessed by these people. �These were a powerful
confederacy, rarely in unity with the tribes east of
that range of mountains; but generally harassing them
by frequent hostile irruptions into their country.�
As Europeans moved in-land from the coast, the
Massawomee receded like the tide beyond the mountains.
As evidence of early Native Americans, though more
likely the remains of yet an even earlier group of
people, there were over 24 Native American burial
mounds in Page County. Regretfully, the mounds were
plowed through, robbed and excavated well into the
20th century and, much like the history of Native
Americans in the Valley, the bulk of the rich
artifacts from these mounds is not likely be found
within the limits of the county�s boundaries today.
Ultimately, as Europeans settled in the rich fertile
areas of the Shenandoah Valley, and under the shadow
of the Massanutten, there was the inevitability of a
collision of cultures. For years before the first
settlements, the Valley had been used as a hunting and
trading arena as well as a route for warring tribes.
As early as 1742, there had been a clash between
settlers and Native Americans in what is now
Rockbridge County.
With the defeat of General Edward Braddock near Fort
Duquesne in the summer of 1755, the gateway to the
Valley seemed to be open for raids. In the spring of
1756, Native Americans appeared, according to
Kercheval, in the lower Shenandoah Valley along the
Potomac. Soon after, Fort Loudoun was constructed
near Winchester.
More to follow.
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