Pioneer; born in
Wales in 1720; accompanied his parents to
Maryland in 1735; rose to the rank of captain in the
French and Indian War. Early in 1779 about 1,000 Indians assembled at
Chickamauga and
Chattanooga, Ga., to join the
Northern Indians in
Hamilton's conspiracy.
To restrain their ravages, the governments of
North Carolina and
Virginia appointed
Shelby to the command of 1,000 men, called into service chiefly from the region west of the mountains.
These were joined by a regiment of twelvemonth men who had been enlisted to reinforce
Clarke in
Illinois.
In the middle of April they went down the
Tennessee River in canoes and pirogues so rapidly that the savages were surprised, and fled to the hills and woods, pursued by the white troops.
Forty of the Indians were killed.
Their towns were burned, their cultivated fields were laid waste, and their cattle were driven away.
For the rest of the year there was peace among the
Western settlements, and a stream of emigrants flowed through the mountains into
Kentucky, increasing the number of settlements.
Shelby afterwards attained the rank of brigadier-general.
He died at
King's Meadows, Tenn., Dec. 4, 1794.