James Brenton was an American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 officer. He was killed by American Indians

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 during the Battle of Blue Licks

Battle of Blue Licks

The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's famous surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east...

 in Robertson County, Kentucky

Robertson County, Kentucky

Robertson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population was 2,282. Its county seat is Mount Olivet, Kentucky. The county is named for George Robertson, a Kentucky Congressman from 1817 to 1821. Robertson is a prohibition or dry county...

 (then Kentucky County, Virginia

Kentucky County, Virginia

Kentucky County was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia by dividing Fincastle County into three new counties: Kentucky, Washington, and Montgomery, effective December 31, 1776. Four years later Kentucky County was abolished on June 30, 1780, when it was divided into Fayette, Jefferson, and...

).

Married Rebecca Scott (1740-1771) abt. 1763 in Frederick County, Virginia. Married Mary Woodfield (1750 – 1834) in 1772, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...

.

In 1768, James traveled over the Allegheny Mountains

Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range , also spelled Alleghany, Allegany and, informally, the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the eastern United States and Canada...

 to Westmoreland County (now Washington County

Washington County, Pennsylvania

-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 152,534 registered voters in Washington County .* Democratic: 89,027 * Republican: 49,025 * Other Parties: 14,482...

), Pennsylvania, where he settled near the Monongahela River

Monongahela River

The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...

, neighboring Redstone Old Fort

Redstone Old Fort

Redstone Old Fort or Redstone Fort or Fort Burd on The Nemacolin Trail was the name of the French and Indian War era wooden fort built in 1759 by Pennsylvania Militia Colonel James Burd to guard the ancient Indian trail's river ford on a mound overlooking the eastern shore of the Monongahela River...

 (now Brownsville

Brownsville, Pennsylvania

Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, officially founded in 1785 located 35 miles south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River...

, Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....

). It’s likely that James and his brother William helped build Williams Cabin near Old Bedford Village

Bedford Village Archeological Site

The Bedford Village Archeological Site is an archaeological site in central Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in Bedford Township north of the borough of Bedford, it was once occupied by a Monongahela village...

, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania

Bedford County, Pennsylvania

Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 49,762. The county seat is Bedford. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

.

In 1774, Brenton was commissioned a Captain by Colonel Angus McDonald, who mustered roughly 400 men to take part in the Wakatomica Campaign of Dunmore’s War. The Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

 settlements of Wakatomika

Wakatomika

Wakatomika was the name of two 18th century Shawnee villages in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio. The name was also spelled Wapatomica, Waketomika, and Waketameki, among other variations, but the similar name Wapakoneta was a different Shawnee village....

 (present day Dresden

Dresden, Ohio

Dresden is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, along the Muskingum River at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. It was incorporated on March 9, 1835...

, Muskingum County, Ohio

Muskingum County, Ohio

Muskingum County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 86,074. Its county seat is Zanesville...

) as well as four other villages were burned. Three American Indian Chiefs were taken prisoner.

In 1777, he defended the frontier, serving as a First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

 in the Virginia Rangers of Monongalia County

Monongalia County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 81,866 people, 33,446 households, and 18,495 families residing in the county. The population density was 227 people per square mile . There were 36,695 housing units at an average density of 102 per square mile...

. In 1779, he was promoted to Captain

Captain (OF-2)

The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

, and then to Major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

 by Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry

Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...

.

Later that year, James and his family relocated to Harrodsburg

Harrodsburg, Kentucky

Harrodsburg is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,014 at the 2000 census. It is the oldest city in Kentucky.-History:...

, Kentucky County, Virginia (now Mercer County, Kentucky

Mercer County, Kentucky

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 20,817. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county is named for General Hugh Mercer...

). They spent the winter in Harrodsburg, and in spring of 1780 settled on the south bank of Clarks Creek at the ford northeast of Danville

Danville, Kentucky

Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....

 (now Boyle County, Kentucky

Boyle County, Kentucky

Boyle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Danville. In 2000, its population was 28,432. It was formed in 1842 and named for John Boyle , a U.S...

).

In 1782, Brenton was commissioned a Major and made fifth in command of the Crawford Expedition

Crawford expedition

The Crawford expedition, also known as the Sandusky expedition and Crawford's Defeat, was a 1782 campaign on the western front of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the final operations of the conflict...

, intended to put an end to Indian attacks on frontier settlers. James Brenton (occasionally misspelled "Brinton") was one of four majors elected for the expedition. The other Majors included David Williamson

David Williamson (Pennsylvania)

David Williamson was a Colonel in the Pennsylvania militia during the American Revolutionary War. He was born near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He led the expedition that murdered 100 Moravian Delaware Indians at the town of Gnadenhutten, Ohio. It became known as the Gnadenhutten massacre...

, Thomas Gaddis

Thomas Gaddis

Thomas Gaddis was an officer in the American Revolutionary War. He was born December 28, 1742, in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia and married Hannah Rice in 1764; the same year he built Fort Gaddis, a refuge from the Indians, located on the Catawba Trail. In fact, Pennsylvania and Virginia...

, and John McClelland

John B. McClelland

John B. McClelland was an officer in the American Revolutionary War. He was captured by American Indians during the Crawford Expedition and tortured to death at the Shawnee town of Wakatomika, which is currently located in Logan County, Ohio, about halfway between West Liberty, Ohio and...

.

According to Consul Willshire Butterfield, Major Brenton, "was a man of much spirit – a soldier, brave and active. Judging of his merits by his subsequent conduct, he unquestionably commanded the esteem as well as the confidence of the volunteers. His coolness and bravery in the face of imminent danger were long after alluded to by his surviving comrades, in terms of the highest commendation."

Major Brinton and Captain Bean were also scouts; observing two savages, upon whom they immediately fired, though without effect. Brenton was wounded at the Battle of Sandusky and Daniel Leet subsequently took command of his division.

The song, "Crawford's Defeat by the Indians

Crawford's Defeat by the Indians

"Crawford’s Defeat by the Indians" is an early American folk ballad principally written by Doctor John Knight, survivor of the 1782 Crawford Expedition. The expedition was intended to destroy American Indian towns along the Sandusky River and was one of the final operations of the American...

" mentions Major Brenton:

There was brave Major Brinton, the first in command

In the front of the battle he boldly did stand

With courage and conduct, his part did maintain

Though, bullets like hail, in great showers they came

And as this brave here was giving command

The rifle balls rattled on every hand

He received a ball, but his life did not yield

He remained with the wounded men, out on the field

Shortly after returning from the Crawford Expedition, Brenton was mortally wounded at the Battle of Blue Licks

Battle of Blue Licks

The Battle of Blue Licks, fought on August 19, 1782, was one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. The battle occurred ten months after Lord Cornwallis's famous surrender at Yorktown, which had effectively ended the war in the east...

 on August 19, 1782. One of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War, Blue Licks took place near the Licking River

Licking River (Kentucky)

The Licking River is a tributary of the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of the region of northeastern Kentucky between the watersheds of the Kentucky River to the west and the Big Sandy River to the east.-Origin of name:The Native...

, in what is now Robertson County, Kentucky (but was then Kentucky County, Virginia). Approximately 50 Loyalists and 300 American Indians ambushed 182 frontier militiamen

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

.

James’ son, also named James, was in the party which buried the dead after the Battle of Blue Licks. According to family legend, James brought his father's body back to Harrodsburg for burial.