Our immediate river front was at peace with the Indian tribes from 1764 to 1774, because the Indians kept their promise to Bouquet. The whites, on the other hand, seldom ever observed the rules of a treaty, so that from 1774 until WAYNE’s battle in 1794, the fight between the two races was one continual test of strength, trickery and the resultant bloodshed on both sides equally.

In order to checkmate the savage warriors, a series of forts and block hoses were built on the Ohio River side from Fort McIntosh at Beaver, Pennsylvania, to Fort Henry, at Wheeling on the Virginia side. Of these the ones along our immediate river front were CARPENTER’s Blockhouse built in 1781, Fort STEUBEN 1786, and Yellow Creek Blockhouse in 1793, with many small stockades and stations in between these larger ones. But these all failed to protect either the settlements east of the river, or those west of the river, then still recognized as Indian territory by the Indians, but otherwise by the white man.

It was among these three fortified places, that lurked the greatest assembly of noted scouts and Indian fighters in all American Indian warfare. Because so many of them engaged in the "Last Indian Battle On Our Soil," and space too short to note each one, is the reason for this narrative at this time.

Captain Lawson VAN BUSKIRK was the commanding officer at Fort Decker near Mingo in 1782. One day he sent his son to a mill, on the east side of the Ohio River, with a sock of corn to have ground into meal. The boy rode horseback, and with him went the Captain’s favorite dog. Two days later the boy returned, but the dog was not with him; as the faithful dog was well liked by the Captain, the latter got very angry and sent the son back in search for his lost animal. After the boy was gone for three days, the father became worried and sent Jacob WALKER, John DECKER and two soldiers to go and see if they could find him. These four men followed the path along the river edge to the mouth of Cross Creek, then followed the trail the boy would take, but only for a short distance, for they soon came onto his body. The savages had ambushed and choked him to death, for the finger marks were still on the boy’s throat, and then finally split his head open with a tomahawk. They had scalped him and took his horse. These men buried the boy nearby. By this the Captain had lost his boy, horse and dog—but this was not the end of his trouble.

It was during the summer of 1792 that large war party of 28 Indians bent on murder, pillage and plunder passed down what is now Market Street in Steubenville to the Ohio River, and crossed over to the Virginia side where they hid their boats and started back into the country to kill and destroy what came into their path.

As fate sometimes permits, it was on that same day that Mrs. Lawson Buskirk had started from her home on horseback to Washington County, Pennsylvania, to have some weaving done. Apparently her mission was concluded and she was on her trail back home, when she met a party of murderous reds near what was then called Painters (Panthers) Creek. She tried to turn her horse so quickly, that the faithful beast stumbled and threw her to the ground, and strained her ankle severely.

As chance would have it this whole episode of Mrs. Buskirk was witnessed by a pioneer scout named White and his two companions, and these three quietly followed the Indians, with hopes that they might ambush these red rascals, and save the Captain’s wife if possible.

The Indians reached the river and were raising their sunken boats working feverishly, but the three whites saw plainly they were outnumbered. To their great joy another party of scouts joined them, but were so overjoyed at their sight, that the Indians became alarmed and frightened.

The Indians soon found that on account of Mrs. Van Buskirk’s injured ankle, that she was retarding their flight, so they tomahawked her to death. This act took place on the hilltop just west of Wellsville in August, 1791. On the following day her body was discovered by a party who had gone out in pursuit.

The whole party of Indians escaped with no loss to themselves, and disappeared into the heavy forest on the Indian side of the river.

It was eleven months later that Captain Buskirk organized a group of thirty of the most noted Indian fighters in the history of Indian warfare, and started out to get revenge. Among these fighters were David COX, George Cox, Jacob ROSS, Abraham CUPPY and his brother, John Cuppy, John AIDY, John PARKER, John CARPENTER and twenty-two others of like character and ability, and proven worth.

These thirty crossed on to the Ohio soil near what the Seneca Indian called Mingominnie Creek, or what is now known as Cross Creek, and followed along its banks for several miles, then turned off on a small tributary, now called "Battle Run." Buskirk noticed a loin of "jerk" hanging on a nearby tree and quickly told his men, "Now boys, look out, there are Indians close!"

Up and until this time the men were marching Indian file as the trail was narrow. As Buskirk hoped to ambuscade the main body of Indians, he immediately deployed John Carpenter with part of the men to the left, while he turned to the right with an equal number of men, both Carpenter and Buskirk in the lead trying to ascertain the number of Indians, and if possible to close in on them and annihilate them before they were aware of trouble or detection.

Carpenter was the first to discover them in a thick cluster of papaw and blackberry bushes and yelled "Indians." As was prearranged when this signal was given each man was "to tree" (that is get behind a tree) but no sooner had Carpenter given his command until five bullets went through his knapsack, but did no injury. In the uproar Buskirk shouted, "Where?"

And as the result the Indians sent eleven bullets through his body, killing him instantly.

The battle lasted for some time, after which these frontiersmen stormed the thicket. The Indians fled carrying off their wounded, but leaving quite a few of their dead laying in the underbrush.

It was in this battle that Jacob Ross shot an Indian in the back and rushed in to "life his scalp" when the red devil jumped to his feet and plunged under some driftwood near the root of a tree and drowned himself.

Captain Lawson Van Buskirk was buried near where he fell and to this day this small brook is called "Battle Run"—where Buskirk’s Battle was fought—the last Indian battle fought in southeastern Ohio.

Some years afterwards an Indian skeleton was found in a cleft of rock nearby this battle ground with a bullet lodged in his hip joint.

Only Buskirk was killed and three others wounded. This completely cleared out every member of the Buskirk family—but left a name long to be remembered.