In 1756, Fort Augusta was nearing completion, marking a significant milestone in the region’s history. Governor Thomas Morris received a letter that requested a large flag to hang in the fort. The letter requested for a large flag to hang in the fort as a symbol of the colony’s growing presence and authority.
On September 25, Tragedy struck Fort Augusta. Captain Loyd, a soldier from Harris’s Express did not make it to Fort Augusta. Fort Augusta sent out a search party to locate Captain Loyd. The search party discovered Captain Loyd’s body, brutally murdered. About 15 miles from Fort Augusta the search party found Captain Loyd’s lifeless body. The soldiers buried Captain Loyd the following Sunday morning.
The murder was not an isolated incident. A few days later, another soldier, James Pattin, was at the spring unarmed. He went to the spring for a drink while tending the fort’s cow herd. Pattin was drinking water at the spring and fell victim by an attack intended for two other soldiers. The target was Samuel Miles and Samuel Atlee. The attackers, believed to be Delaware Indians, initially planned to ambush Miles and Atlee but encountered Pattin first, shot him, and scalped him before fleeing.
The perpetrators that shot and scalped Pattin then fled up the ravine towards Mile Hill. A rescue party was unable to arrive before the attackers escaped. Despite numerous attempts to find the perpetrators, the authorities were unable to apprehend them. The settlers blamed the Delaware Indians for the heinous acts and brutal behavior.
It is not disputed that several early settlers were murdered at Bloody Spring by the Delaware Indians. They would wash their victims’ scalps in the stream before leaving them for dead. Due to the gruesome nature of this event it became known as Bloody Spring. For over a century, this has become known to locals as Bloody Spring.
Conclusion
The establishment of Fort Augusta was a significant development in the colonial era, marking both progress and peril. The tragic deaths of Captain Loyd and James Pattin, along with the notorious events at Bloody Spring, illustrate the harsh realities of frontier life and the fraught interactions between settlers and native tribes. These events left a lasting legacy, etched into the region’s history as a reminder of the period’s violence and the resilience of its people.
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