Battle of Blue Licks
Blue Licks, Licking River, Kentucky, USA
What happened
Kentucky militia, including Daniel Boone, fought British rangers under Captain William Caldwell and Native warriors with Alexander McKee and Simon Girty. Ten months after Yorktown, fighting was still going on along the western frontier. After a raid on Bryan Station, the Kentucky militia chased the raiders to the Licking River. Boone warned of an ambush, but the militia crossed the river and was attacked on a hill and defeated.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It is regarded as one of the last battles of the American Revolutionary War. It showed that the frontier war was far from over.
What came next
In November 1782, George Rogers Clark led a raid on Shawnee villages on the Great Miami River. The battlefield is now a Kentucky state park.
Did you know?
Before the battle, the area's salt springs drew settlers and later visitors, though the last spring had dried up by 1896.
Timeline
- 19 August 1782The Battle of Blue Licks.
- November 1782George Rogers Clark raids the Shawnee villages.