Captain Isaac Ruddell (1737-January 1812) was an 18th-century American Virginia State Line officer during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and a

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

frontiersman. He was an officer commanding a company under BGEN George Rogers Clark (1777–1782). He was the founder of Ruddell's Station, or fort, on the Licking River in present-day Harrison County,

. In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the settlement was destroyed by joint British Canadian and Eastern Woodlands Indian forces under British officer Captain Henry Bird. He and his family were held prisoner in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

for over two years before their release. He was also a brother-in-law to Kentucky pioneers

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

and John Jacob Bowman. His grandson, John M. Ruddell, was a prominent Kentucky statesman and landowner.

Biography

Born in Nottingham, Pennsylvania his family moved to Virginia in the early 1740s. Ruddell became a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Washington County militia; 6 March 1797 in Shenandoah Co, VA he married Elizabeth Bowman. In 1774 or 1775, he accompanied the Bowmans to Kentucky and while living in

Boonesborough Boonesborough or Boonesboro may refer to a place in the United States: * Boonesboro, Iowa, now part of Boone, Iowa *Boonesborough, Kentucky *Boonesboro, Missouri Boonesboro is a community in Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is located o ...

, Ruddell joined his brother-in-law John Bowman who was en route to

Harrodsburg Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbor ...

with two Virginia militia companies. Ruddell would later replace John Dunkin as one of Bowman's officers. He also served under General

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...

during the

Illinois campaign The Illinois campaign, also known as Clark's Northwestern campaign (1778–1779), was a series of events during the American Revolutionary War in which a small force of Virginia militiamen, led by George Rogers Clark, seized control of several B ...

, in charge of the

Corn Island The Corn Islands are two islands about east of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, constituting one of 12 municipalities of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. The official name of the municipality is ''Corn Island'' (the English name is ...

party and of the military stores left there. For his service, he was awarded of Clark's Grant in the

Indiana Territory The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by a United States Congress, congressional act that President of the United States, President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an Historic regions of the U ...

.Hayden, William. ''Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778–1783''. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill Company, 1896. (pg. 142-143) In the Spring of 1779, he established a fortified settlement on the South fork of the Licking River known as Ruddell's Station (or Fort Liberty) in Harrison County one mile (1.6 km) from present-day Lair Station. The fort was built on the site of Hinkson's Station which was previously abandoned several years before.Kleber, John E. ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia''. Louisville: University Press of Kentucky, 1992. (pg. 107-108) Along with Martin's Station, located on Stoner Creek near present-day Paris, the settlement became home to a large number of

Pennsylvania German The Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spea ...

families over the next year. During the

however, an Indian (including

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

) raiding party of 600 - 900 led by British officer Captain Henry Bird and 150 British soldiers left twenty+ settlers dead. Isaac Ruddell was captain of the fort, and was in command of the militiamen present. When the British brought out artillery to knock down the walls to enable the Indians to massacre the defending families, he decided it was better to surrender. The approx. 470 survivors, along with he and his wife (and captives from Martin's Station), were force marched to

where they remained prisoners until the end of the war. During the march to Detroit, Ruddell was separated from his wife and children. Shortly after arriving in Detroit, Ruddell protested to the commandant of Bird disregarding his agreement of safe passage in exchange for their surrender. He was reunited with his wife and two daughters, however his two sons were turned over to the Shawnee who were eventually adopted by the tribe. Stephen Ruddell, 12 years old at the time of the attack, was accepted into the family of

Chief Blackfish Blackfish (c. 1729–1779) ( sjw, Cot-ta-wa-ma-go or ), was a Native American leader, war chief of the Chillicothe band of the Shawnee tribe. Biography Little is known about him, since he only appears in written historical records during the la ...

and eventually became the adopted brother of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

. The younger son, Abraham Ruddell, when repatriated from the Indians, by the War Department in 1794 could barely speak English and later settled in Arkansas. Shortly after their arrival in Detroit, Ruddell and his family were allowed to live on a nearby island where they grew corn and supplied food for their fellow prisoners. He also reportedly helped several men to escape from the camp. He and several other prisoners were allowed to return to Virginia in 1782. Soon after arriving, however, Ruddell was accused by several of his fellow prisoners of collaborating with the British and was charged with

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

in Frederick County but was acquitted. His friendship with the commandant is thought to have been based on Byrd's poor treatment of Ruddle's party as well as both men belonging to the

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

. Ruddell gave a written account of the attack which began appearing in newspapers in late 1783. Returning to Bourbon County in 1784, they built a home at the head of the Licking River four years later. He also built a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

on the northside of Hinkston Bridge and, in 1795, a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

which was operated by his son Abram. The town is still in existence, known today as Ruddell's Mills. He also donated land to the Stoner Mouth Church and cemetery.Wells, Dianne; Melba Porter Hay and Thomas H. Appleton, ed. ''Roadside History: A Guide to Kentucky Highway Markers''. Frankfort: Kentucky Historical Society, 2002. (pg. 162) He died in January 1812. In 2008, th
Ruddell and Martin Stations Historical Association
dedicated a new monument for Captain Ruddell.

Biography

References

Further reading