Indian Attacks in Southwest Virginia:Distribution through space

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Overview Hamilton's Atrocity Stories The Data Caveats Distribution in Time Sesonality Spatial Distribution Events

Southwest Virginia can be divided into a few major regions based on watersheds. The main watersheds of the area include the Clinch, Powell, Holston, New and Pound Rivers. Based on the written accounts of attacks, most can be assigned to one or another of these watersheds. In a few instances the data is not sufficient to make such a determination. For example, some attacks are described as having occurred in Washington County; since the Clinch, Pound, and Holston watersheds all run through what historically constituted Washington County, these attacks can not be assigned to a specific watershed. Also, some attacks recorded in Hamilton's atrocity stories occurred in Tennessee or in Kentucky. Moccassin Creek was the scene of a number of attacks. Hydrographically, Moccassin Creek is a tributary of the Holston, and from one perspective attacks in that area should be included among those of the Holston. However, the settlers in the Moccassin Creek area seem to have been more closely associated with those in the Clinch River watershed. As a result, attacks in this area have been left in their own localized watershed.

From the foregoing table it is clear that the majority (56%) of attacks considered in Hamilton's Atrocity stories occurred in the Clinch and Powell watershed. Relatively few attacks (3%) occurred in the Pound watershed, probably because settlement of this area did not begin in earnest until well after the close of the period of Indian Hostilities. The relatively small percent of attacks in the Holston watershed is somewhat surprising, given the fact that this is where the majority of settlers were located throughout this. period.