McCulloch's Leap - Revolutionary War - Sept 1, 1777

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AG
As my Papaw used to say……."get western with it"

McCulloch's Leap

On this day in history, September 1, 1777, McCulloch's Leap goes down as one of the greatest escapes of the American Revolution, when Major Samuel McCulloch jumps over a 300 foot cliff from attacking Indians to safety.

Fort Henry had guarded the small village of Wheeling from Indian attack, in what was then part of Virginia, since 1774. The Ohio Valley tribes, aligned with the British, began a new campaign against the frontier settlements in the summer of 1777. Fort Henry was fortified and prepared, having received intelligence that it would be a target. On August 31, a party of 200 Mingo, Wyandot and Shawnee attacked the village and the fort. Most of the 25 or so families from Wheeling got to the fort safely.

Several messengers were able to get away and inform other nearby forts that Fort Henry was under attack. Captain Van Swearingen soon arrived from nearby Cross Creek with forty men on horses. They successfully fought their way to the fort, swelling its number of defenders. Other reinforcements arrived from Fort Shepherd and Fort Holliday.

On September 1, Major Samuel McCulloch arrived from Fort Van Metre with another 40 men. As they raced to the gate of the fort, the Indians attacked in full force. As some of the men were forced into hand-to-hand combat, McCulloch waited till the last to make sure they were all inside the fort. With the Indians getting very near the open doors, the settlers inside were finally forced to close the gates, leaving McCulloch alone on the outside.


McCulloch took off in the direction of nearby Wheeling Hill being pursued by the Indians. He was not fired upon because the Indians wanted to take him alive. Every Indian knew McCulloch, who was a notorious and feared Indian fighter on the frontier.

As McCulloch galloped along the crest of the hill, a 300 foot precipice on one side and a band of Indians chasing him from behind, he was confronted with another group of Indians to his front, who were just arriving to help with the siege of the fort. Now surrounded and with no way of escape, McCulloch knew his capture would mean the most excruciating torture. He made an instant decision to go over the edge of the precipice. Dying on the way down would be easier than being tortured at the hands of the Indians.

McCulloch held the reigns with his left hand and his gun in his right hand and spurred his horse over the edge. It is said that they did not hit ground until half way down the hill, which is nearly vertical. The rest of the way, they slid down the almost 90 degree hill, being pummeled with branches and stones until they hit bottom, but McCulloch's horse never lost his footing.

At the bottom of the hill lie Wheeling Creek. The stunned Indians watched McCulloch cross the creek and ride away in amazement. The Indians continued the siege of Fort Henry only for another day or so. With the reinforcements that had already arrived and those that McCulloch would likely bring back with him, continuing was futile and they gave up the mission. McCulloch's Leap has gone down as one of the bravest escapes of the American Revolution and, indeed, in all of the history of warfare.

From: https://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com


Jabin
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Thanks for posting that. It got me curious what Wheeling Hill actually looked like so I googled it and found this:



Wheeling Hill at McCulloch's Leap, Wheeling, W. Va. - West Virginia History OnView | WVU Libraries (wvhistoryonview.org)

The site does not state when the picture was taken, but it helps visualize what it may have looked like back in the 1700s.
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AG
That's awesome! Balls of brass or scared to death. Either way that guy would be a top hand in any outfit. How did he stay on the horse?
CanyonAg77
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CanyonAg77
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Thanks for posting. That's steep, but nowhere near 90 degrees
74OA
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Looks like a road has been built into the cliff face about two-thirds of the way up.

I imagine the earth removed to create the road was simply pushed down the cliff face, making the lower slope considerably more gradual.

Without the road construction and the centuries of erosion since, the cliff likely was much steeper at the time of this story.

The cliff face on the right-hand side of the photo is less impacted by the road and is considerably higher and steeper, for example.
Jabin
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74OA said:

Looks like a road has been built into the cliff face about two-thirds of the way up.

I imagine the earth removed to create the road was simply pushed down the cliff face, making the lower slope considerably more gradual.

Without the road construction and the centuries of erosion since, the cliff likely was much steeper at the time of this story.

The cliff face on the right-hand side of the photo is less impacted by the road and is considerably higher and steeper, for example.
Plus, there are hardly any trees in those photos. My guess is that the hill was heavily wooded at the time of the "Leap" and the hill was subsequently deforested during the growth and industrialization of Wheeling. That deforestation process may have also substantially changed the slope of the hill.

In addition, the specific spot where he went over is important. Its angle may have been different than the "average" angle of the hillside.

ETA: Here's a description of a visit to the site by someone who seems to have a generally healthy level of skepticism:

McColloch's Leap and Other Wheeling Wayside Adventures Archiving Wheeling
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