Captain Joseph Black (1742-1821): American Pioneer, Protector, Patriarch and

Patriot
I have known and admired Captain Joseph Black, patriot, defender of the frontier and
fighter at the stunning Battle of Kings Mountain victory, for as long as I can remember
I have had the opportunity to work with him and meet his successful descendants !et
outside the small "irginia town of #bingdon, incorporated in $%%&, there are few people
who have heard of him or know his uni'uely #merican story (ike so many of our
freedom loving forebears we can uncover facts in his story that tell us of birth, marriage,
property, military service and death but the critical details of character, courage,
cleverness and ingenuity, the details that reveal the patriot, must often be inferred from
the legacy of a life well lived I am fortunate to know him personally however, at least in
a manner of speaking
Joseph Black was born in $%)* in +pe'uon, ,redrick County "irginia -e was the son
of John Black, an Irish immigrant born about $%$. in /aterford, Ireland and his wife
0li1abeth 2Colville3 Black, born $%*4 in ,rederick, "# 5ragically Joseph was not to
have the benefit of his father in this difficult new land, loosing him to death when Joseph
was less than a year old 5hat might have been the end of Josephs story too6 as such a
devastating loss of a provider and protector would be for many pioneer toddlers 5he fact
of his survival tells us a great deal about his adaptability, his capacity to learn, his
strength and perhaps his good fortune !et we know little else until we have recorded on
#pril $)
th
, $%%) Josephs purchase of 78. acres on $& mile creek in "irginia along the
ancient trail then known as the 9reat :oad 2or sometimes the /ilderness road3, from the
well known surveyor, adventurer and purported medical doctor, 5homas /alker 5his
strategic site was a stones throw from a low hilltop cave entrance from whence wolves
that had attacked Mr ;aniel Boone and his companions one evening in $%<8 had
emerged =ince known as /olf -ills, the surroundings were well suited to a town and
Joseph, along with ;r /alker and =amuel Briggs each donated )8 acres of land upon
which the town was laid out
5o afford he and his settler neighbors protection from Indians, Joseph built a small fort
It would not be his last =oon the little settlement on the 9reat :oad nestled in the ridge
and valley of the #ppalachian Mountains became know as Blacks ,ort 5his name was
short lived but time does not permit the full telling of the creation in $%%< of /ashington
County 2after a promising 9eneral who yet only held the hope of a fledgling nation3
county, the e>pansion and importance of the fort in the local Indian wars, Josephs work
to build a ?ail and courthouse or the renaming of the town after the ancestral #bingdon,
0ngland home of Martha /ashington 5he years passed and the /ar went on in parts
distant until word arrived that the ambitious British =harpshooter, Colonel @atrick
,erguson, hoping to gain more loyalist troops from parts of "irginia and the Carolinas to
reinforce his 9eneral (ord Cornwallis, had issued a warning to the +vermountain men of
the waters of the -olston that if they resisted him he would ABhang their leaders and
lay their country waste with fire and swordC 5his was to prove an unwise choice of
words -ardy and resourceful hunters and pioneers like Joseph gathered and marched
over the mountains in answer
Joseph was among these contingents of +vermountain men 5hey marched, ?oined
together and carried out a surprise attack against the ,ergusons forces on the hastily
fortified ridges of Kings Mountain 5he Battle of Kings Mountain was a stunning
victory for the new nation 5hough small in number and in total losses, the battle was
pivotal ,erguson was killed and Cornwallis would rally no loyalist reinforcements from
the mountains and piedmonts of #ppalachia ;eprived of the victory and these critical
troops, he would be forced to retreat to !orktown and eventual surrender (ike his
fellows to whom we and even their enemies on that day would ultimately owe their
freedom, Joseph showed his patriotic mettle
# few years later, for reasons now lost, Joseph moved to what is now Maryville
5ennessee -e built another fort and helped found another town -is descendants still
live there @reparing to ?oin Joseph for his annual childrens tour through our historic
town, during its .8 year old "irginia -ighland ,estival, I met them AJosephC, or more
accurately my < &Cfather, for whom I played a recalcitrant period errand boy, was as
surprised and delighted as they at this serendipitous meeting 5hese living links to our
Colonial past had forgotten their won link to #bingdon, arriving to en?oy the festival with
friends, they had seen Josephs name in the festival program and hurried to meet their
9reat, 9reat, and 9reat 9randfatherD My own father had chosen to inhabit the persona of
AJosephC on the basis of a cryptic historic marker on #bingdons Main =treet, in order to
enliven his tours for children and involve my mother, brother and I in this annual bit of
fun (ittle did we know that is would lead to friendships, a far more detailed historic
marker and the rediscovery of a past that provided the rich future we now inhabit
5he real Joseph Black, @ioneer, @rotector, @atriarch and @atriot, now rests in honor in a
well kept churchyard outside Maryville (ike the many thousands of his contemporaries
he forged a new life of freedom and opportunity for his family and friends long ago and
he fought to protect it -e could not have imagined the events that would later lead to
this account but perhaps he did imagine that his actions would provide a new and lasting
breath of freedom for us and his descendants that would inspire the world
BibliographyE
=ummers -istory of =/ "irginia
Book on ;r 5homas /alker
Battle of Kings Mountain book
@ersonal communication with Mr ;avid Black, es'uire
Joseph Black 2$%)*F$&*$3E Born about $%)* in +pe'uon, ,redrick County "irginia
-is mother was 0li1abeth 2Colville3 Black, born $%*4 in ,rederick, "# -is father John
Black born about $%$. in /aterford, Ireland died or was killed prior to Josephs first
birthday (ittle is know about Blacks early years In addition to building the fort, he
helped clear the first wagon road into #bingdon in $%%7 and fought as an +verMountain
man at the Battle of Kings Mountain -e later left #bingdon for Maryville 5G where his
lineal descendents still live 5here, he is buried in a small churchyard