1 00:00:20,977 --> 00:00:24,937 Across thousands of brutal, untamed miles.. 2 00:00:32,771 --> 00:00:35,821 ...a different breed of founding fathers 3 00:00:35,861 --> 00:00:38,651 fight a revolution... all their own. 4 00:00:39,865 --> 00:00:41,035 Fire! 5 00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:52,049 For more than 70 years.. 6 00:00:52,095 --> 00:00:56,225 ...they push into the unknown. 7 00:00:56,273 --> 00:00:58,843 ...driven by the hope that this vast land 8 00:00:58,884 --> 00:01:03,114 holds a fortune that could be theirs.. 9 00:01:03,150 --> 00:01:05,670 ...if... they survive. 10 00:01:10,940 --> 00:01:13,810 They fight for a dream.. 11 00:01:13,856 --> 00:01:16,856 ...to transform a wilderness into a nation.. 12 00:01:19,688 --> 00:01:24,738 ...the United States of America. 13 00:02:49,821 --> 00:02:52,261 Deep in the vast, uncharted wilderness 14 00:02:52,302 --> 00:02:55,522 known as the Kentucky Territory 15 00:02:55,566 --> 00:02:58,786 Daniel Boone is running for his life. 16 00:03:04,271 --> 00:03:06,271 He's spent the last two years here 17 00:03:06,316 --> 00:03:09,926 hunting and fur trapping 18 00:03:09,972 --> 00:03:12,712 but he's on land claimed by the Shawnee Tribe. 19 00:03:14,759 --> 00:03:18,149 And now, their warriors are hunting him. 20 00:04:34,578 --> 00:04:36,408 By the early 1770s 21 00:04:36,450 --> 00:04:39,190 only a handful of non-natives have dared 22 00:04:39,235 --> 00:04:40,665 to venture this far west. 23 00:04:42,586 --> 00:04:46,896 Those that do find both danger... and opportunity. 24 00:04:49,245 --> 00:04:51,985 The allure of the frontier is it's a place 25 00:04:52,030 --> 00:04:54,250 where people who have nothing 26 00:04:54,294 --> 00:04:56,604 could go and make a lot of money 27 00:04:56,644 --> 00:04:59,264 trapping beaver and river otter 28 00:04:59,299 --> 00:05:02,819 and hunting for deer hides. 29 00:05:02,867 --> 00:05:05,647 Our term today, like, when you say a dollar or a buck 30 00:05:05,696 --> 00:05:08,396 a buck comes from the value of a deer hide. 31 00:05:11,528 --> 00:05:14,178 At the same time, you're in constant danger 32 00:05:14,226 --> 00:05:15,486 of being killed. 33 00:05:17,752 --> 00:05:19,712 And there's always a very good chance 34 00:05:19,754 --> 00:05:21,714 that you could fail catastrophically. 35 00:05:34,290 --> 00:05:36,640 Boone's lucky to be alive 36 00:05:36,684 --> 00:05:38,604 but every pelt he planned to sell 37 00:05:38,642 --> 00:05:41,342 to feed his family is gone 38 00:05:41,384 --> 00:05:45,004 and he returns home to North Carolina in debt. 39 00:05:48,173 --> 00:05:51,313 In 1773, North Carolina 40 00:05:51,351 --> 00:05:53,441 is one of 13 British colonies 41 00:05:53,483 --> 00:05:55,753 ruled by King George III. 42 00:05:57,879 --> 00:06:01,009 Ten years earlier, he made it illegal for colonists 43 00:06:01,056 --> 00:06:03,576 to permanently settle west of the Appalachians 44 00:06:03,624 --> 00:06:06,674 though hunting was permitted. 45 00:06:06,714 --> 00:06:10,414 That area is home to over two million Native Americans 46 00:06:10,457 --> 00:06:13,977 from over 300 competing tribes. 47 00:06:14,025 --> 00:06:16,935 And Britain wants no trouble with them. 48 00:06:18,421 --> 00:06:19,861 The crown's restriction 49 00:06:19,901 --> 00:06:22,771 infuriates colonists eager for land. 50 00:06:31,216 --> 00:06:32,436 And it doesn't stop men 51 00:06:32,479 --> 00:06:34,789 like North Carolina judge 52 00:06:34,829 --> 00:06:36,309 Richard Henderson. 53 00:06:38,789 --> 00:06:41,359 He's just bought 20 million acres 54 00:06:41,401 --> 00:06:45,321 nearly the whole area of modern Kentucky. 55 00:06:45,361 --> 00:06:48,021 He plans to profit by selling it to settlers 56 00:06:48,059 --> 00:06:51,279 and he doesn't care what law he breaks 57 00:06:51,323 --> 00:06:54,503 or if it's claimed by Native American tribes. 58 00:06:59,201 --> 00:07:00,811 I think people were tired 59 00:07:00,855 --> 00:07:04,815 of constant rules and regulations. 60 00:07:04,859 --> 00:07:07,509 Americans wanted to strike it rich. 61 00:07:07,557 --> 00:07:09,857 They wanted, uh, to make a killing 62 00:07:09,907 --> 00:07:11,427 in land and real estate. 63 00:07:14,216 --> 00:07:17,476 The American frontier always meant dollar signs. 64 00:07:17,524 --> 00:07:20,444 Some of the great famous names of the American Revolution 65 00:07:20,483 --> 00:07:22,273 Ben Franklin, George Washington 66 00:07:22,311 --> 00:07:26,321 were engaged in buying up land in the West. 67 00:07:26,358 --> 00:07:29,668 But you still have, of course, the Native American tribes 68 00:07:29,710 --> 00:07:31,710 who were not about to just accept 69 00:07:31,755 --> 00:07:34,495 all these Americans flooding over the Appalachian Mountains. 70 00:07:38,501 --> 00:07:40,761 If Henderson's going to settle his land 71 00:07:40,808 --> 00:07:44,418 he needs to find someone brave enough to lead the way. 72 00:07:56,388 --> 00:07:59,038 And by sheer coincidence 73 00:07:59,087 --> 00:08:00,827 he's about to meet him. 74 00:08:07,399 --> 00:08:10,449 'Mr. Boone promised to settle his debt' 75 00:08:10,490 --> 00:08:14,100 as soon as he returned, and yet here he is 76 00:08:14,145 --> 00:08:17,445 refusing to make good on his promise. 77 00:08:17,497 --> 00:08:19,977 After his recent disastrous hunting trip 78 00:08:20,021 --> 00:08:22,851 Boone is facing debtor's prison. 79 00:08:22,893 --> 00:08:26,773 Your Honor, I have every intention of settling my debts. 80 00:08:26,810 --> 00:08:29,600 When Boone returned from two years in the wilderness 81 00:08:29,639 --> 00:08:32,509 he was poorer than when he set out. 82 00:08:32,555 --> 00:08:34,635 There are tribes all over Kentucky. 83 00:08:34,688 --> 00:08:35,988 'I spent two years there.' 84 00:08:36,037 --> 00:08:37,467 But he lived on hope 85 00:08:37,517 --> 00:08:39,337 he lived on, on the sense 86 00:08:39,388 --> 00:08:41,558 that things were gonna break for him, you know? 87 00:08:41,608 --> 00:08:43,778 Tracked enough pelts to pay him back ten times over 88 00:08:43,827 --> 00:08:45,387 before the Shawnee tracked me. 89 00:08:48,223 --> 00:08:51,313 Henderson sees a way to solve both of their problems. 90 00:08:53,445 --> 00:08:55,485 The meeting of Daniel Boone 91 00:08:55,535 --> 00:08:57,445 and Richard Henderson 92 00:08:57,493 --> 00:08:59,503 uh, is one of these coincidences 93 00:08:59,539 --> 00:09:01,579 that makes history. 94 00:09:01,628 --> 00:09:03,798 Henderson needs a guy like Daniel Boone 95 00:09:03,847 --> 00:09:05,587 the essential frontiersman. 96 00:09:05,632 --> 00:09:08,592 And he thinks Boone, who is down on his luck 97 00:09:08,635 --> 00:09:11,635 he's in serious debts, is so desperate 98 00:09:11,681 --> 00:09:14,951 that he would actually take on this crazy, uh, scheme. 99 00:09:16,512 --> 00:09:18,992 Mr. Boone.. 100 00:09:19,036 --> 00:09:22,866 ...I've recently purchased a rge parcel of land.. 101 00:09:22,910 --> 00:09:24,260 '...right around here.' 102 00:09:27,044 --> 00:09:29,094 The judge offers Boone a choice. 103 00:09:29,133 --> 00:09:32,483 Work off his debt in hard labor camp 104 00:09:32,528 --> 00:09:35,528 or blaze a trail into the Kentucky wilderness. 105 00:09:38,752 --> 00:09:40,322 For Daniel Boone 106 00:09:40,362 --> 00:09:43,502 it'll be the greatest challenge of his life. 107 00:09:43,539 --> 00:09:46,539 He'll defy British law and lead 30 settlers 108 00:09:46,586 --> 00:09:48,366 farther west than he's ever been. 109 00:09:50,154 --> 00:09:52,294 Straight into Shawnee territory. 110 00:09:56,857 --> 00:10:00,427 As Boone prepares to challenge the crown.. 111 00:10:00,469 --> 00:10:03,079 ...in New England, another rebellion is brewing. 112 00:10:10,435 --> 00:10:12,735 After nearly a decade of growing anger 113 00:10:12,786 --> 00:10:15,086 at repressive British taxes 114 00:10:15,136 --> 00:10:18,006 Boston rebels are throwing a tea party. 115 00:10:22,883 --> 00:10:26,023 The idea of freedom and liberty 116 00:10:26,060 --> 00:10:28,150 mattered to the colonists. 117 00:10:28,192 --> 00:10:31,722 And their concern was, they were on a slippery slope 118 00:10:31,761 --> 00:10:34,461 to having their rights and privileges eroded 119 00:10:34,503 --> 00:10:37,513 by a tyrannical government 120 00:10:37,549 --> 00:10:38,639 across the seas. 121 00:10:45,079 --> 00:10:48,389 Tensions between crown and colonies are escalating. 122 00:10:49,997 --> 00:10:52,427 As Boone sets out 123 00:10:52,477 --> 00:10:55,657 on a mission that will shape the future of America. 124 00:10:57,961 --> 00:11:00,571 Daniel Boone's foray into the backcountry 125 00:11:00,616 --> 00:11:02,176 at that time would be the equivalent 126 00:11:02,226 --> 00:11:03,786 of landing on the moon. 127 00:11:03,837 --> 00:11:06,707 It was opening up a whole new frontier. 128 00:11:06,753 --> 00:11:09,973 This is before anyone had any knowledge about how far 129 00:11:10,017 --> 00:11:12,497 and expansive this frontier truly was. 130 00:11:12,541 --> 00:11:14,111 It was an opportunity for Americans 131 00:11:14,151 --> 00:11:16,281 to move into this region and to discover 132 00:11:16,327 --> 00:11:18,547 in that process, great wealth 133 00:11:18,590 --> 00:11:20,550 and also, opportunity. 134 00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:25,730 To reach Henderson's claim 135 00:11:25,772 --> 00:11:28,302 Boone and his men must cut a trail through a notch 136 00:11:28,339 --> 00:11:31,299 in the Appalachian Mountains.. 137 00:11:31,342 --> 00:11:32,952 ...the Cumberland Gap. 138 00:11:46,706 --> 00:11:50,486 There were mountains that had to be gone around 139 00:11:50,535 --> 00:11:53,185 streams that had to be crossed. 140 00:11:53,234 --> 00:11:55,674 The woods were full of Shawnees 141 00:11:55,715 --> 00:11:57,105 and other Indians prowling. 142 00:12:14,211 --> 00:12:16,471 After a grueling 400-mile journey.. 143 00:12:17,911 --> 00:12:19,651 ...Boone arrives at the edge 144 00:12:19,695 --> 00:12:21,515 of an untapped wilderness. 145 00:12:29,096 --> 00:12:33,616 If I had access to a time machine 146 00:12:33,665 --> 00:12:35,965 I would go back and be with Boone 147 00:12:36,016 --> 00:12:38,886 the first time he went through the Cumberland Gap 148 00:12:38,932 --> 00:12:41,852 and dropped down into the Kentucky hunting grounds. 149 00:12:41,891 --> 00:12:44,071 I mean, this was the Promised Land 150 00:12:44,111 --> 00:12:46,201 that he had been striving for 151 00:12:46,243 --> 00:12:48,683 as a frontiersman his entire life. 152 00:12:53,468 --> 00:12:55,038 The trail Boone blazes 153 00:12:55,078 --> 00:12:58,338 will come to be known as the Wilderness Road. 154 00:13:01,693 --> 00:13:03,393 And over the next four decades 155 00:13:03,434 --> 00:13:07,004 some 300,000 pioneers will follow it west. 156 00:13:09,832 --> 00:13:11,972 Daniel Boone really was an iconic figure 157 00:13:12,008 --> 00:13:13,918 even in his own time. 158 00:13:13,967 --> 00:13:16,007 I mean, these were individuals who could 159 00:13:16,056 --> 00:13:18,796 and had to do it all. 160 00:13:18,841 --> 00:13:20,841 There certainly is something about Americans 161 00:13:20,887 --> 00:13:24,107 that they were always striving forward 162 00:13:24,151 --> 00:13:27,461 relentlessly in search of land that they could own 163 00:13:27,502 --> 00:13:30,462 living by their own self-reliance. 164 00:13:30,505 --> 00:13:33,505 It was their idea of the American dream. 165 00:13:44,084 --> 00:13:47,874 It's an American dream that's about to be born in fire. 166 00:13:50,307 --> 00:13:53,397 Just two weeks after Boone's arrival 167 00:13:53,441 --> 00:13:55,571 colonial rage explodes.. 168 00:14:00,622 --> 00:14:03,712 ...in the small town of Lexington, Massachusetts. 169 00:14:08,978 --> 00:14:11,458 It's the shot heard round the world. 170 00:14:16,943 --> 00:14:19,863 [ramatic music] 171 00:14:28,737 --> 00:14:33,437 1775, a new spirit of independence 172 00:14:33,481 --> 00:14:35,271 is sweeping across America. 173 00:14:48,844 --> 00:14:50,594 And on April 19th.. 174 00:14:53,893 --> 00:14:57,073 ...the battles of Lexington and Concord erupt 175 00:14:57,113 --> 00:14:59,253 leaving 49 colonists dead. 176 00:15:03,467 --> 00:15:06,687 The first casualties in what will soon be a revolution. 177 00:15:10,213 --> 00:15:12,353 The rebels that were fighting were ordinary people. 178 00:15:12,389 --> 00:15:14,699 They were farmers, just everyday folks 179 00:15:14,739 --> 00:15:16,479 that wanted freedom and they wanted liberty. 180 00:15:16,524 --> 00:15:18,314 And they were willing to fight for it 181 00:15:18,352 --> 00:15:20,352 against this great superpower 182 00:15:20,397 --> 00:15:21,957 and they were willing to die for this. 183 00:15:27,709 --> 00:15:30,929 Four hundred miles west on the Kentucky frontier 184 00:15:30,973 --> 00:15:34,593 that same patriotic spirit inspires Daniel Boone. 185 00:15:39,634 --> 00:15:42,204 He and his men are building a permanent settlement 186 00:15:42,245 --> 00:15:45,895 in defiance of the British crown. 187 00:15:45,945 --> 00:15:47,465 Keep those nice and tight as they go up, yeah? 188 00:15:47,511 --> 00:15:49,171 - 'Yeah, yeah, yeah.' - 'Alright.' 189 00:15:49,209 --> 00:15:50,509 'Good work, boys.' 190 00:15:53,039 --> 00:15:54,519 At the same time, Lexington 191 00:15:54,562 --> 00:15:56,612 and Concord is raging in the East 192 00:15:56,651 --> 00:16:00,131 here is Daniel Boone and this small ragtag group of men 193 00:16:00,176 --> 00:16:03,696 cutting through and establishing this settlement. 194 00:16:03,745 --> 00:16:05,655 These seemingly disconnected events 195 00:16:05,703 --> 00:16:07,843 in some sense are wedded 196 00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:11,409 as Americans are beginning to fight for independence. 197 00:16:11,448 --> 00:16:13,758 You also have this process of expanding 198 00:16:13,798 --> 00:16:15,628 what will become the American nation. 199 00:16:19,152 --> 00:16:21,762 Boone knows they're on Shawnee soil 200 00:16:21,806 --> 00:16:24,896 and throughout the spring of 1775 201 00:16:24,940 --> 00:16:27,030 he races to complete defenses. 202 00:16:29,466 --> 00:16:33,296 Living on the frontier was extremely dangerous. 203 00:16:33,340 --> 00:16:35,560 Daniel Boone's own son was tortured to death 204 00:16:35,603 --> 00:16:38,353 by Indians a couple years earlier. 205 00:16:38,388 --> 00:16:40,088 And they knew that if they were going to survive 206 00:16:40,129 --> 00:16:42,179 they needed to live in a fortified settlement. 207 00:16:51,619 --> 00:16:53,929 Well, just imagine, you've arrived 208 00:16:53,969 --> 00:16:55,879 in the woods of Kentucky. 209 00:16:55,927 --> 00:17:00,277 You have an axe, and you have a few crosscut saws. 210 00:17:00,323 --> 00:17:02,543 Every log has gotta be chopped. 211 00:17:02,586 --> 00:17:04,066 It's gotta be sawed, it's got to be notched 212 00:17:04,110 --> 00:17:05,810 it's got to be rolled. 213 00:17:05,850 --> 00:17:08,850 So, we're talking about real hard work. 214 00:17:16,426 --> 00:17:19,076 After four weeks of hard labor 215 00:17:19,125 --> 00:17:22,605 the fort is christened Boonesborough. 216 00:17:27,872 --> 00:17:30,352 The settlement is the largest ever established 217 00:17:30,397 --> 00:17:31,697 on the frontier.. 218 00:17:33,139 --> 00:17:34,709 ...and it quickly expands 219 00:17:34,749 --> 00:17:37,669 triggering a new wave of pioneers 220 00:17:37,708 --> 00:17:40,758 drawn west by the promise of owning land. 221 00:17:42,496 --> 00:17:45,796 America is the land of dreams. 222 00:17:45,847 --> 00:17:48,937 And you can just go out, and if you have your axe 223 00:17:48,980 --> 00:17:52,460 and your gun and some guts, alright, you go out there 224 00:17:52,506 --> 00:17:54,596 and maybe you're gonna get killed in the wilderness 225 00:17:54,638 --> 00:17:57,598 but you got a shot at making your claim. 226 00:17:59,165 --> 00:18:02,075 That did not exist in Europe. 227 00:18:02,124 --> 00:18:03,264 All the land was taken. 228 00:18:03,299 --> 00:18:05,209 It was all owned by these nobles 229 00:18:05,258 --> 00:18:08,128 and lords and rich guys. 230 00:18:08,174 --> 00:18:10,264 There was no opportunity. 231 00:18:10,306 --> 00:18:12,396 But in America, there was an opportunity. 232 00:18:21,361 --> 00:18:23,971 Among the new arrivals at Boonesborough 233 00:18:24,015 --> 00:18:26,015 are Boone's wife and eight children 234 00:18:26,061 --> 00:18:30,891 including his 14-year-old daughter, Jemima. 235 00:18:30,935 --> 00:18:34,675 Jemima Boone was Daniel Boone's favorite child. 236 00:18:35,897 --> 00:18:37,377 Boone took a personal hand 237 00:18:37,420 --> 00:18:40,250 in training Jemima as a marksman 238 00:18:40,293 --> 00:18:42,953 as a woodswoman. 239 00:18:47,778 --> 00:18:50,428 You might look at Boone's decision 240 00:18:50,477 --> 00:18:53,307 to move his family into the Kentucky wilderness 241 00:18:53,349 --> 00:18:55,049 now and think of it as 242 00:18:55,090 --> 00:18:57,010 this really reckless, dangerous thing. 243 00:18:58,789 --> 00:19:01,579 But I think he probably looked at it as 244 00:19:01,618 --> 00:19:06,058 this was his chance to have the American dream. 245 00:19:06,101 --> 00:19:10,801 Where here's his promise of acquiring a large chunk of land 246 00:19:10,845 --> 00:19:13,405 that not only that he could farm and settle 247 00:19:13,456 --> 00:19:15,846 but that future generations of Boones 248 00:19:15,893 --> 00:19:17,723 would be able to farm and settle 249 00:19:17,765 --> 00:19:19,155 and live off the fat of the land. 250 00:19:24,163 --> 00:19:26,823 By the end of 1775 251 00:19:26,861 --> 00:19:30,261 the number of settlers in Kentucky has tripled. 252 00:19:30,299 --> 00:19:31,819 And settlements now cover 253 00:19:31,866 --> 00:19:33,906 more than half a million acres of land. 254 00:19:39,482 --> 00:19:42,142 A move that alarms native tribes 255 00:19:42,181 --> 00:19:43,831 including the Shawnee. 256 00:19:48,752 --> 00:19:52,102 For the last century, they've been pushed relentlessly west. 257 00:19:55,498 --> 00:19:59,978 Now, they see each new settlement as an invasion.. 258 00:20:00,024 --> 00:20:02,384 ...one they're determined to stop. 259 00:20:04,899 --> 00:20:07,899 In Kentucky, the Shawnees were already thriving 260 00:20:07,945 --> 00:20:10,075 before the arrival of Europeans. 261 00:20:10,121 --> 00:20:11,651 In fact, they were one of the more 262 00:20:11,688 --> 00:20:13,038 kind of, influential 263 00:20:13,081 --> 00:20:15,871 powerful people in that region. 264 00:20:15,910 --> 00:20:18,260 When strange settlers 265 00:20:18,304 --> 00:20:20,834 begin to build lodges of their own 266 00:20:20,871 --> 00:20:22,701 cabins and such 267 00:20:22,743 --> 00:20:25,143 then native people began to realize 268 00:20:25,180 --> 00:20:28,010 this was more of a permanent situation. 269 00:20:28,052 --> 00:20:31,802 This is Shawnee territory, it had to be defended. 270 00:20:31,839 --> 00:20:33,799 And so, you go to war. 271 00:20:48,595 --> 00:20:51,685 Among the most powerful Shawnee leaders in Kentucky 272 00:20:51,728 --> 00:20:55,038 is a war chief named Blackfish. 273 00:20:55,079 --> 00:20:57,299 In 1776.. 274 00:20:57,343 --> 00:21:00,303 ...he decides to strike back. 275 00:21:00,346 --> 00:21:04,046 Blackfish was a well-known war leader 276 00:21:04,088 --> 00:21:08,308 of the Chillicothe group of the Shawnee nation. 277 00:21:08,354 --> 00:21:10,924 He was a very respected leader 278 00:21:10,965 --> 00:21:13,965 who drew people to him. 279 00:21:14,011 --> 00:21:17,971 From Blackfish's perspective, that land was Shawnee land. 280 00:21:18,015 --> 00:21:20,015 And so, Blackfish believed 281 00:21:20,061 --> 00:21:22,371 as many other Shawnees believed 282 00:21:22,411 --> 00:21:25,851 that a definitive stand had to be made 283 00:21:25,893 --> 00:21:28,333 to stop losing ground to the whites. 284 00:22:06,237 --> 00:22:08,237 Deep in the Kentucky wilderness.. 285 00:22:10,285 --> 00:22:12,285 ...a Shawnee war party abducts 286 00:22:12,331 --> 00:22:15,461 three young women near Boonesborough. 287 00:22:15,508 --> 00:22:18,548 Among them is Daniel Boone's 14-year-old daughter.. 288 00:22:20,208 --> 00:22:22,338 ...Jemima. 289 00:22:24,125 --> 00:22:26,035 You three, with me. 290 00:22:26,083 --> 00:22:28,563 Ready your weapons and stay alert. Man the wall. 291 00:22:52,632 --> 00:22:56,382 As Americans expand beyond the Appalachians 292 00:22:56,418 --> 00:22:59,158 understandably, conflict is gonna erupt 293 00:22:59,203 --> 00:23:01,643 between the Native Americans 294 00:23:01,684 --> 00:23:03,734 and... these frontiersmen 295 00:23:03,773 --> 00:23:05,783 who have intruded upon their lands. 296 00:23:08,169 --> 00:23:10,169 The warning is clear. 297 00:23:10,214 --> 00:23:12,044 No outsider who sets foot 298 00:23:12,086 --> 00:23:15,866 on Shawnee land is safe. 299 00:23:15,916 --> 00:23:19,566 But Jemima Boone is uniquely equipped to survive. 300 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:35,020 Now, Boone's daughter starts 301 00:23:35,065 --> 00:23:37,235 tearing little bits of fabric 302 00:23:37,285 --> 00:23:38,805 from her apron or dress 303 00:23:38,852 --> 00:23:40,682 and leaving along a trail. 304 00:23:47,251 --> 00:23:49,561 So, here's someone, she's getting abducted 305 00:23:49,602 --> 00:23:51,822 and she knows that she's gonna be taken 306 00:23:51,865 --> 00:23:54,425 to these distant Indian villages 307 00:23:54,476 --> 00:23:57,166 and possibly tortured and killed 308 00:23:57,218 --> 00:23:58,828 and she has the presence of mind 309 00:23:58,872 --> 00:24:02,012 to be leaving evidence of their passage along the way. 310 00:24:07,271 --> 00:24:09,191 'We keep our distance till nightfall.' 311 00:24:09,230 --> 00:24:10,230 Come on. 312 00:24:39,042 --> 00:24:40,042 Spread out. 313 00:25:31,791 --> 00:25:33,531 Come on! 314 00:25:46,196 --> 00:25:47,676 'Watch the tree line.' 315 00:25:49,460 --> 00:25:50,940 Are you alright? Are you alright? 316 00:25:52,202 --> 00:25:53,292 Come here. 317 00:25:57,947 --> 00:26:00,687 The story of the abduction of Jemima 318 00:26:00,733 --> 00:26:03,823 went, as we would say, viral. 319 00:26:03,866 --> 00:26:06,866 Almost everything Daniel Boone did burnished his reputation. 320 00:26:06,913 --> 00:26:08,613 He was the kind of figure 321 00:26:08,654 --> 00:26:11,094 around whom stories collect. 322 00:26:11,134 --> 00:26:12,224 Come on, come on. 323 00:26:12,266 --> 00:26:13,476 People felt, how dumb 324 00:26:13,528 --> 00:26:14,958 could you be 325 00:26:15,008 --> 00:26:16,878 to kidnap the daughter of Daniel Boone. 326 00:26:23,451 --> 00:26:25,501 The Jemima story fits in 327 00:26:25,540 --> 00:26:29,150 with many stories of young women getting captured 328 00:26:29,196 --> 00:26:31,016 by Native Americans at the time. 329 00:26:31,067 --> 00:26:34,417 This, this was a, a kind of great fear and anxiety 330 00:26:34,462 --> 00:26:37,202 that just proliferated throughout every single colony. 331 00:26:38,858 --> 00:26:41,208 The idea that "We got her back 332 00:26:41,251 --> 00:26:42,641 thanks to Daniel Boone's heroism" 333 00:26:42,688 --> 00:26:45,468 is the kind of reassurance 334 00:26:45,516 --> 00:26:48,736 for women to go out there who would, of course, be part 335 00:26:48,781 --> 00:26:51,651 of the essential building blocks of any society 336 00:26:51,697 --> 00:26:53,047 and that was really important. 337 00:26:55,352 --> 00:26:56,752 Within weeks of Boone's return 338 00:26:56,789 --> 00:26:58,699 home to Boonesborough 339 00:26:58,747 --> 00:27:01,177 the colonies move past rebellion.. 340 00:27:03,534 --> 00:27:04,974 ...to revolution. 341 00:27:10,106 --> 00:27:12,106 '"When in the course of human events' 342 00:27:12,152 --> 00:27:14,202 "it becomes necessary for one people 343 00:27:14,241 --> 00:27:15,901 "to dissolve the political bands 344 00:27:15,938 --> 00:27:18,938 'which have connected them with another."' 345 00:27:18,985 --> 00:27:21,465 In July 1776 346 00:27:21,509 --> 00:27:24,689 the colonies declare independence. 347 00:27:24,730 --> 00:27:27,820 '"That among these, are life, liberty' 348 00:27:27,863 --> 00:27:30,213 and the pursuit of happiness." 349 00:27:30,257 --> 00:27:34,347 And the United States of America is born. 350 00:27:34,391 --> 00:27:37,741 It's built on the ideals of freedom and self-reliance.. 351 00:27:40,963 --> 00:27:43,713 ...values personified by frontiersmen. 352 00:27:46,403 --> 00:27:47,973 Within a month, copies 353 00:27:48,014 --> 00:27:50,234 of the Declaration of Independence 354 00:27:50,277 --> 00:27:53,107 reach remote outposts, like Boonesborough. 355 00:27:57,153 --> 00:27:59,073 When Daniel Boone gets word 356 00:27:59,112 --> 00:28:00,772 of the Declaration of Independence 357 00:28:00,809 --> 00:28:03,589 he had to be aware that in some sense 358 00:28:03,638 --> 00:28:05,598 he was on the advance guard 359 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,600 the front edge of the movement for independence. 360 00:28:10,601 --> 00:28:12,691 Daniel Boone understood that liberty 361 00:28:12,734 --> 00:28:15,084 was the freedom to do exactly what he had been doing 362 00:28:15,128 --> 00:28:18,478 to traverse the West, to provide for his family 363 00:28:18,522 --> 00:28:21,572 to have a life independent of some dictatorial power. 364 00:28:25,660 --> 00:28:28,920 The colonists know the price of independence is war. 365 00:28:35,278 --> 00:28:36,928 But Britain's generals have no doubt 366 00:28:36,976 --> 00:28:38,626 they will crush the revolution. 367 00:28:41,197 --> 00:28:42,937 Their plan is simple 368 00:28:42,982 --> 00:28:45,552 hit eastern cities by sea 369 00:28:45,593 --> 00:28:47,333 then send troops down from Canada 370 00:28:47,377 --> 00:28:50,507 to attack northern forts. 371 00:28:55,559 --> 00:28:59,609 By November 1776, the British take New York.. 372 00:29:03,829 --> 00:29:06,659 ...then chase the Continental Army into Pennsylvania. 373 00:29:08,790 --> 00:29:10,750 Things were going very badly 374 00:29:10,792 --> 00:29:13,402 for the American cause. 375 00:29:13,447 --> 00:29:15,137 Great Britain entered the war 376 00:29:15,188 --> 00:29:18,278 believing that they could easily suppress us 377 00:29:18,321 --> 00:29:19,711 because at this point 378 00:29:19,758 --> 00:29:21,538 the United States military was small 379 00:29:21,585 --> 00:29:23,975 and generally not very efficient. 380 00:29:26,590 --> 00:29:29,860 And the British are the most powerful empire in the world. 381 00:29:31,987 --> 00:29:34,637 They had the most powerful army. 382 00:29:34,685 --> 00:29:38,335 It was well-trained, well-organized. 383 00:29:50,179 --> 00:29:52,139 With the Continental Army on the run 384 00:29:52,181 --> 00:29:54,621 the British devise a new trap. 385 00:29:54,662 --> 00:29:56,972 They'll open a western front in the war 386 00:29:57,012 --> 00:30:00,192 by attacking settlements, like Boonesborough. 387 00:30:05,934 --> 00:30:08,894 Their strategy relies on unlikely allies. 388 00:30:14,856 --> 00:30:16,506 Consider them a gift. 389 00:30:20,906 --> 00:30:22,336 The British allied with the Native Americans 390 00:30:22,385 --> 00:30:23,905 during the Revolutionary War 391 00:30:23,952 --> 00:30:25,782 because the native allies were useful 392 00:30:25,824 --> 00:30:28,394 in terms of scouting, providing information 393 00:30:28,435 --> 00:30:30,045 simply as a fighting force. 394 00:30:32,004 --> 00:30:35,054 Shawnees had conflict with white settlers 395 00:30:35,094 --> 00:30:36,274 coming into their land 396 00:30:36,312 --> 00:30:37,882 so they were fighting this war 397 00:30:37,923 --> 00:30:40,843 alongside the British. 398 00:30:40,882 --> 00:30:44,412 In 1777, Britain starts arming the Shawnee 399 00:30:44,451 --> 00:30:47,721 and other Native American tribes to fight the settlers. 400 00:30:50,892 --> 00:30:55,332 In exchange, they promised to return native lands. 401 00:30:55,375 --> 00:30:56,935 These native people 402 00:30:56,985 --> 00:30:59,065 they had no doubt what was in store for them 403 00:30:59,118 --> 00:31:01,468 if the Americans won. 404 00:31:01,511 --> 00:31:03,081 They faced removal. 405 00:31:05,515 --> 00:31:06,905 On the other hand 406 00:31:06,952 --> 00:31:10,042 the British promised rewards in land. 407 00:31:14,785 --> 00:31:16,875 Now the Shawnee.. 408 00:31:16,918 --> 00:31:18,828 ...and Daniel Boone 409 00:31:18,877 --> 00:31:20,307 are on a collision course.. 410 00:31:22,968 --> 00:31:25,878 ...that will help decide the new nation's future. 411 00:31:37,330 --> 00:31:39,330 By late 1777.. 412 00:31:41,247 --> 00:31:43,377 ...the Shawnee are British allies.. 413 00:31:46,513 --> 00:31:49,343 ...part of a strategy to open a western front 414 00:31:49,385 --> 00:31:52,035 in the Revolutionary War. 415 00:31:52,084 --> 00:31:55,134 The British, in the time of the revolution 416 00:31:55,174 --> 00:31:58,964 they were arming Indian tribes to attack settlements. 417 00:31:59,004 --> 00:32:01,404 They promised the Indians 418 00:32:01,441 --> 00:32:04,141 that once they drove the settlers out of Kentucky 419 00:32:04,183 --> 00:32:07,103 they could recover their territory. 420 00:32:07,142 --> 00:32:09,452 The British could then attack 421 00:32:09,492 --> 00:32:11,802 the colonies from the west. 422 00:32:11,842 --> 00:32:13,802 That was part of their plan 423 00:32:13,844 --> 00:32:16,064 to put down this rebellion. 424 00:32:25,856 --> 00:32:27,286 In Boonesborough 425 00:32:27,336 --> 00:32:29,466 Daniel Boone has no idea 426 00:32:29,512 --> 00:32:30,772 of the coming danger. 427 00:32:32,733 --> 00:32:36,003 And the settlement has a different problem. 428 00:32:36,041 --> 00:32:38,001 They're running dangerously low on salt. 429 00:32:40,175 --> 00:32:41,865 Salt was so important 430 00:32:41,916 --> 00:32:43,786 to the settlers at Boonesborough. 431 00:32:43,831 --> 00:32:47,101 The diet of the people was almost entirely game. 432 00:32:47,139 --> 00:32:48,919 It was hunted meat. 433 00:32:48,967 --> 00:32:52,837 Because Indians were attacking settlers regularly 434 00:32:52,883 --> 00:32:55,583 they stayed in that fort as much as possible. 435 00:32:55,625 --> 00:32:57,625 And there was very little farming going on. 436 00:32:57,671 --> 00:33:00,071 So, salt was the only way 437 00:33:00,108 --> 00:33:01,978 that settlers had to preserve meat. 438 00:33:12,642 --> 00:33:14,992 To get salt, Boone and two dozen of his men 439 00:33:15,036 --> 00:33:18,996 must head 50 miles from the safety of their fort 440 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,910 to a distant river rich with mineral deposits. 441 00:33:41,019 --> 00:33:42,979 Today, we don't really spend a whole lot of time 442 00:33:43,021 --> 00:33:44,331 thinking about salt. 443 00:33:46,589 --> 00:33:48,679 But it was a big undertaking 'cause they wouldn't go 444 00:33:48,722 --> 00:33:50,642 to the store and buy it, they would go 445 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,900 to, what they called a salt lake, and this was just a spring 446 00:33:53,944 --> 00:33:55,734 where the water coming up out of the spring 447 00:33:55,772 --> 00:33:57,432 has a high salt content. 448 00:34:00,603 --> 00:34:02,523 Keep that energy up, boys. 449 00:34:09,873 --> 00:34:12,923 You get to boil down five or six hundred gallons of water 450 00:34:12,963 --> 00:34:15,623 to end up with a 50-pound bushel of salt. 451 00:34:18,012 --> 00:34:19,412 Boone and his men can extract 452 00:34:19,448 --> 00:34:23,498 about 500 pounds of salt a day 453 00:34:23,539 --> 00:34:26,189 but they need 15,000 pounds before winter. 454 00:34:28,979 --> 00:34:31,329 The work leaves them exposed in the wilderness 455 00:34:31,373 --> 00:34:33,113 for nearly a month. 456 00:35:29,388 --> 00:35:31,128 Boone and all of his men 457 00:35:31,172 --> 00:35:33,742 are taken by the Shawnee. 458 00:35:33,783 --> 00:35:36,403 The British will pay a $100 bounty 459 00:35:36,438 --> 00:35:38,348 for each captured settler. 460 00:35:45,099 --> 00:35:48,489 The Shawnees and the settlers in Kentucky were at war. 461 00:35:48,537 --> 00:35:54,717 And when the Shawnees discovered Boone and his men making salt 462 00:35:54,761 --> 00:35:58,201 this was a sudden crime of opportunity. 463 00:35:58,243 --> 00:36:01,203 They took them as prisoners of war. 464 00:36:01,246 --> 00:36:03,896 These would've been valuable assets. 465 00:36:08,253 --> 00:36:09,953 First, they have to survive 466 00:36:09,993 --> 00:36:12,263 a brutal Native American rite 467 00:36:12,300 --> 00:36:14,170 called the gauntlet. 468 00:36:23,703 --> 00:36:26,273 Running the gauntlet was a test 469 00:36:26,314 --> 00:36:28,104 of one's strength and mettle. 470 00:36:30,536 --> 00:36:32,796 And the gauntlet was also a way 471 00:36:32,842 --> 00:36:35,322 of terrorizing your enemy. 472 00:36:35,367 --> 00:36:37,977 In fact, many people did not survive. 473 00:37:37,255 --> 00:37:38,385 Aah! 474 00:38:24,998 --> 00:38:27,478 Fighting as British allies 475 00:38:27,522 --> 00:38:30,352 the Shawnee have captured Daniel Boone and his men. 476 00:38:32,745 --> 00:38:35,045 To prove his worth 477 00:38:35,095 --> 00:38:37,225 Boone is forced to run the gauntlet. 478 00:39:08,911 --> 00:39:10,441 Boone running the gauntlet 479 00:39:10,478 --> 00:39:13,528 and kind of withstanding all these hits 480 00:39:13,568 --> 00:39:17,788 earns him, uh, the respect of, uh, Blackfish. 481 00:39:17,833 --> 00:39:20,623 And he's then able to convince Blackfish 482 00:39:20,662 --> 00:39:23,882 not to assault anybody else. 483 00:39:23,926 --> 00:39:27,056 And it certainly added to the legend of Daniel Boone. 484 00:39:44,991 --> 00:39:47,691 Boone and his men may be alive.. 485 00:39:47,733 --> 00:39:51,003 ...but they're prisoners of war.. 486 00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,570 ...in a rebellion that's on the brink of failure. 487 00:40:05,968 --> 00:40:08,408 By 1778.. 488 00:40:08,449 --> 00:40:11,969 ...the exhausted Continental Army is in full retreat. 489 00:40:16,675 --> 00:40:20,155 But it can't escape the most brutal winter in a century. 490 00:40:22,985 --> 00:40:26,505 In the winter of 1777-1778 491 00:40:26,554 --> 00:40:30,994 the British had occupied Philadelphia. 492 00:40:31,037 --> 00:40:32,867 Washington's Continental Army 493 00:40:32,908 --> 00:40:34,868 is starving and freezing to death 494 00:40:34,910 --> 00:40:36,910 at Valley Forge. 495 00:40:36,956 --> 00:40:38,776 It's a very dark time 496 00:40:38,827 --> 00:40:41,437 for the American revolutionary cause. 497 00:40:44,833 --> 00:40:48,323 By February, 2,500 continental soldiers 498 00:40:48,358 --> 00:40:50,098 die of exposure 499 00:40:50,143 --> 00:40:53,493 disease and starvation. 500 00:40:53,538 --> 00:40:56,848 More than double the casualties of any single battle. 501 00:41:01,981 --> 00:41:03,591 Back in Boonesborough.. 502 00:41:05,767 --> 00:41:08,067 ...Boone and his men have been missing for months. 503 00:41:10,555 --> 00:41:13,595 Most settlers fear the worst. 504 00:41:13,645 --> 00:41:16,335 Including Boone's wife, Rebecca. 505 00:41:19,564 --> 00:41:21,044 Say bye to your sister. 506 00:41:21,087 --> 00:41:22,437 - Bye. - Goodbye. 507 00:41:22,480 --> 00:41:23,440 Bye. 508 00:41:28,790 --> 00:41:30,530 The people of Boonesborough 509 00:41:30,575 --> 00:41:32,615 assumed the men had been killed. 510 00:41:32,664 --> 00:41:35,014 They had to. 511 00:41:35,057 --> 00:41:38,887 But Jemima stayed after Rebecca took the rest of the family 512 00:41:38,931 --> 00:41:40,761 back to North Carolina. 513 00:41:43,065 --> 00:41:46,765 She believed that her father 514 00:41:46,808 --> 00:41:48,108 would come back.. 515 00:41:49,898 --> 00:41:51,598 ...and she was going to be there to greet him. 516 00:42:08,264 --> 00:42:11,274 Hundreds of miles from home.. 517 00:42:11,311 --> 00:42:13,621 ...Boone has survived months of captivity. 518 00:42:15,924 --> 00:42:19,584 Now, Chief Blackfish is marching Boone's men 519 00:42:19,624 --> 00:42:22,764 to the British stronghold of Fort Detroit. 520 00:42:27,414 --> 00:42:31,594 It's the central staging ground for attacks from the west. 521 00:42:31,636 --> 00:42:34,416 Part of Britain's plan to work with their Native American 522 00:42:34,464 --> 00:42:37,994 allies to crush the colonies from all sides. 523 00:42:59,054 --> 00:43:00,674 The British established 524 00:43:00,708 --> 00:43:04,798 a majorheadquarters at Detroit. 525 00:43:04,843 --> 00:43:07,893 It became the most important fort in that region 526 00:43:07,933 --> 00:43:09,673 and it was out of Detroit 527 00:43:09,717 --> 00:43:12,887 that they sent the militias 528 00:43:12,938 --> 00:43:16,288 and the supplies for the Indians to attack. 529 00:43:16,332 --> 00:43:19,472 That would become a front in the war. 530 00:43:45,797 --> 00:43:49,057 These prisoners were valuable assets for the Shawnee. 531 00:43:49,104 --> 00:43:51,414 They could trade them with the British 532 00:43:51,454 --> 00:43:55,684 as a symbol of their support for the British side. 533 00:43:55,720 --> 00:43:57,810 Unfortunately, some of them actually were forced 534 00:43:57,852 --> 00:43:59,992 into the British military. 535 00:44:17,611 --> 00:44:20,271 What's going to happen to those men? 536 00:44:20,309 --> 00:44:22,359 - Where are you taking them? - To be questioned. 537 00:44:22,398 --> 00:44:23,968 Those men are not rebels. 538 00:44:24,009 --> 00:44:26,969 They're just hunters and farmers settled in Kentucky. 539 00:44:27,012 --> 00:44:30,152 - What's your name? - Daniel Boone. 540 00:44:30,189 --> 00:44:32,929 - Of Boonesborough? - Yes, sir. 541 00:44:32,974 --> 00:44:36,594 You think that's your land? 542 00:44:36,630 --> 00:44:40,370 Boonesborough has not declared loyalty to the crown. 543 00:44:40,416 --> 00:44:44,376 As such, I've been ordered to take it by force. 544 00:44:44,420 --> 00:44:48,030 'Blackfish will lead a war party to take the fort.' 545 00:44:48,076 --> 00:44:51,076 You will go with him to help negotiate the surrender. 546 00:44:51,123 --> 00:44:52,693 Please, let me... 547 00:44:52,733 --> 00:44:54,563 That is what's going to happen. 548 00:44:58,217 --> 00:45:02,087 Boonesborough is the most important frontier settlement. 549 00:45:02,134 --> 00:45:05,314 If it falls, the loss could be catastrophic 550 00:45:05,354 --> 00:45:07,144 to the American cause. 551 00:45:22,807 --> 00:45:24,547 Well, you could only imagine what was going through 552 00:45:24,591 --> 00:45:26,641 Boone's mind. 553 00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:29,680 He realizes that the Shawnee are going to 554 00:45:29,727 --> 00:45:32,247 uh, attack Boonesborough 555 00:45:32,294 --> 00:45:35,914 facing what seemed to be, insurmountable odds. 556 00:45:35,950 --> 00:45:39,300 Vastly outnumbered, his family is there 557 00:45:39,345 --> 00:45:42,125 so he decides that he's going to risk it all 558 00:45:42,174 --> 00:45:44,054 and try to escape. 559 00:46:48,980 --> 00:46:51,370 Daniel Boone is on the move 560 00:46:51,417 --> 00:46:54,507 making a daring escape.. 561 00:46:54,550 --> 00:46:56,380 ...from his Shawnee captors. 562 00:46:59,338 --> 00:47:02,428 He has to warn Boonesborough that an attack is imminent. 563 00:47:06,562 --> 00:47:07,782 'Boone!' 564 00:47:43,686 --> 00:47:45,906 Alone, on foot 565 00:47:45,950 --> 00:47:48,520 Boone must cover a 150 miles 566 00:47:48,561 --> 00:47:53,041 faster than the Shawnee or the fort will fall 567 00:47:53,087 --> 00:47:55,387 allowing the British and their allies 568 00:47:55,437 --> 00:47:58,177 to attack the colonies from the west. 569 00:48:08,798 --> 00:48:10,838 Because he was an expert tracker 570 00:48:10,888 --> 00:48:14,198 Boone knows very well the kind of things you do 571 00:48:14,239 --> 00:48:16,979 if you don't want someone to follow you. 572 00:48:17,024 --> 00:48:20,114 So, Boone would do things like step only on rocks 573 00:48:20,158 --> 00:48:23,028 to not leave a trail and you cut zigzags 574 00:48:23,074 --> 00:48:26,384 and circles and anything you can do to confuse your pursuer. 575 00:48:35,260 --> 00:48:39,220 When Boone escaped from the Shawnees 576 00:48:39,264 --> 00:48:41,664 he was not prepared for a 100-mile journey. 577 00:48:43,746 --> 00:48:45,486 His feet were blistered and bloody. 578 00:49:40,064 --> 00:49:42,814 Guys like Daniel Boone who are on these 579 00:49:42,849 --> 00:49:44,549 endurance journeys. 580 00:49:44,590 --> 00:49:47,940 You'd have to be in extremely good shape. 581 00:49:47,985 --> 00:49:52,725 That's just a testimonial to how tough these guys were. 582 00:49:52,772 --> 00:49:55,302 He managed to do it in four days. 583 00:49:55,340 --> 00:49:58,000 In order to do that, he drew on incredible resources 584 00:49:58,038 --> 00:49:59,298 in his body. 585 00:50:11,747 --> 00:50:13,577 This is an extraordinary story. 586 00:50:13,619 --> 00:50:15,229 I mean, we're talkin' about, uh.. 587 00:50:15,273 --> 00:50:18,023 ...four marathons in four days 588 00:50:18,058 --> 00:50:20,668 without shoes, uh, through the wilderness.. 589 00:50:20,713 --> 00:50:23,063 Not even running on streets. 590 00:50:23,107 --> 00:50:25,497 It builds on this reputation 591 00:50:25,544 --> 00:50:29,114 of Daniel Boone the superhero who can do anything. 592 00:50:38,687 --> 00:50:40,077 'It's Boone!' 593 00:51:09,022 --> 00:51:10,812 Home for the first time in months 594 00:51:10,850 --> 00:51:12,680 there's no time to rest. 595 00:51:20,381 --> 00:51:22,211 The Shawnee are coming. 596 00:51:25,125 --> 00:51:26,995 Gather our weapons. 597 00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:29,260 Muskets, ammunition, gunpowder. 598 00:51:29,303 --> 00:51:31,183 Get everything you can. 599 00:51:36,702 --> 00:51:38,922 Everything they needed, essentially 600 00:51:38,965 --> 00:51:41,005 they had to produce themselves. 601 00:51:41,054 --> 00:51:43,194 Everything they consumed, everything they drank.. 602 00:51:43,230 --> 00:51:45,450 Uh, all the gunpowder that they used 603 00:51:45,493 --> 00:51:48,063 the, the lead bullets that they cast 604 00:51:48,105 --> 00:51:50,185 everything had to be made from materials 605 00:51:50,237 --> 00:51:52,107 that were at hand. 606 00:51:56,765 --> 00:52:00,155 Combining leftover sulfur.. 607 00:52:00,204 --> 00:52:04,734 ...charcoal from the campfire and bat dung 608 00:52:04,773 --> 00:52:08,043 the settlers race to make gunpowder. 609 00:52:17,134 --> 00:52:19,754 It was a desperate time. They were short of men. 610 00:52:19,788 --> 00:52:22,438 They were short of ammunition, short of supplies. 611 00:52:27,100 --> 00:52:29,060 And yet, people of Boonesborough 612 00:52:29,102 --> 00:52:32,242 were really a part of the defense 613 00:52:32,279 --> 00:52:35,759 as it turned out, of the American, uh, Revolution. 614 00:53:08,272 --> 00:53:12,972 Blackfish and his 450 Shawnee warriors 615 00:53:13,015 --> 00:53:15,145 outnumber the people of Boonesborough.. 616 00:53:16,236 --> 00:53:17,496 ...seven to one. 617 00:53:30,555 --> 00:53:33,595 Fearing a massacre.. 618 00:53:33,645 --> 00:53:38,035 ...Boone makes a last ditch effort to get reinforcements 619 00:53:38,084 --> 00:53:40,004 and sends for the local militia. 620 00:53:52,925 --> 00:53:56,485 They're stationed over 300 miles away.. 621 00:53:56,537 --> 00:53:57,497 ...in Virginia. 622 00:54:05,154 --> 00:54:07,854 And there's no telling if they'll arrive in time.. 623 00:54:09,463 --> 00:54:10,773 ...or at all. 624 00:54:26,263 --> 00:54:29,793 Deep in the Kentucky wilderness 625 00:54:29,831 --> 00:54:32,661 Daniel Boone braces for an attack. 626 00:54:38,275 --> 00:54:41,185 Four hundred and fifty Shawnee warriors 627 00:54:41,234 --> 00:54:42,984 are marching toward Boonesborough.. 628 00:54:45,238 --> 00:54:48,888 ...under British orders to capture the fort. 629 00:54:48,937 --> 00:54:52,327 If it falls, the blow to the colonial cause 630 00:54:52,376 --> 00:54:53,546 could be devastating. 631 00:54:56,205 --> 00:54:58,765 To understand what was going on at Boonesborough 632 00:54:58,817 --> 00:55:02,687 you have to consider it in the context of the revolution. 633 00:55:02,734 --> 00:55:05,874 The British were encouraging Indians 634 00:55:05,911 --> 00:55:09,041 to attack the Kentucky settlements. 635 00:55:09,088 --> 00:55:11,828 Boonesborough was the biggest one, so they felt if they could 636 00:55:11,873 --> 00:55:13,883 bring that down 637 00:55:13,919 --> 00:55:17,839 they could probably overrun Kentucky 638 00:55:17,879 --> 00:55:19,709 and drive the settlers out. 639 00:55:22,710 --> 00:55:26,410 And then attack from the west against the colonies. 640 00:55:29,543 --> 00:55:32,683 Boone sent word to the Virginia militia 641 00:55:32,720 --> 00:55:34,070 hoping for help. 642 00:55:36,245 --> 00:55:38,415 But they're more than 300 miles away.. 643 00:55:40,598 --> 00:55:42,078 ...and he has no idea 644 00:55:42,121 --> 00:55:43,951 if they're coming. 645 00:56:06,493 --> 00:56:07,763 'They're here!' 646 00:56:24,816 --> 00:56:25,816 My God! 647 00:56:32,693 --> 00:56:35,443 A force of hundreds of Indians shows up. 648 00:56:35,479 --> 00:56:37,479 They want to wipe Boonesborough off the map. 649 00:56:50,232 --> 00:56:52,062 Daniel Boone! 650 00:56:52,104 --> 00:56:53,634 But Boone doesn't want 651 00:56:53,671 --> 00:56:55,021 to engage them in a fight. 652 00:56:55,063 --> 00:56:57,073 He's aware that the Shawnee 653 00:56:57,109 --> 00:56:59,109 could possibly massacre them all 654 00:56:59,154 --> 00:57:01,684 so he negotiates with the Shawnee. 655 00:57:02,984 --> 00:57:04,604 'I'm coming out!' 656 00:57:50,989 --> 00:57:52,859 Do right by your people. 657 00:57:52,904 --> 00:57:55,994 Surrender and no harm will come to them. 658 00:57:56,037 --> 00:57:59,347 'You have until sundown.' 659 00:57:59,388 --> 00:58:02,348 I need more time to discuss it with the others. 660 00:58:10,878 --> 00:58:12,788 You have until sundown. 661 00:58:50,004 --> 00:58:51,884 Man your post. Fire at will. 662 00:59:16,640 --> 00:59:19,160 Even though they were vastly outnumbered 663 00:59:19,207 --> 00:59:20,907 uh, by the Indians 664 00:59:20,948 --> 00:59:24,388 the frontiersmen who are in Boonesborough 665 00:59:24,430 --> 00:59:26,210 they used good fortifications 666 00:59:26,258 --> 00:59:28,908 they had stockpiles of weaponry. 667 00:59:30,958 --> 00:59:34,308 And remember that they had to hunt just to survive 668 00:59:34,353 --> 00:59:37,143 so they were always exceptional marksmen. 669 01:00:02,337 --> 01:00:03,507 Aah! 670 01:00:12,260 --> 01:00:14,520 We're gonna make this. We're gonna make this. 671 01:00:56,087 --> 01:00:58,737 Boone and a force of just 60 settlers 672 01:00:58,785 --> 01:01:02,615 fight off the first attack. 673 01:01:02,659 --> 01:01:04,839 The Shawnee suffer heavy casualties.. 674 01:01:08,577 --> 01:01:12,577 i0dt:1"X ...but Blackfish refuses to give up. 675 01:01:12,625 --> 01:01:15,625 The frontier story has been told many times 676 01:01:15,672 --> 01:01:18,982 almost always with the settlers 677 01:01:19,023 --> 01:01:20,683 as the heroes of the story. 678 01:01:23,505 --> 01:01:27,065 But American Indians are Americans too. 679 01:01:27,118 --> 01:01:28,948 Shawnee people were defending what they considered to be 680 01:01:28,989 --> 01:01:30,469 their homeland. 681 01:01:36,083 --> 01:01:39,263 The Battle of Boonesborough is just beginning. 682 01:01:49,880 --> 01:01:52,620 In the first major battle on the western front 683 01:01:52,665 --> 01:01:56,965 of the Revolutionary War, Boonesborough is under siege. 684 01:02:10,465 --> 01:02:13,155 After taking heavy casualties 685 01:02:13,207 --> 01:02:16,817 Shawnee leader, Blackfish, changes tactics.. 686 01:02:26,568 --> 01:02:29,048 ...unleashing a barrage of surprise attacks 687 01:02:29,093 --> 01:02:30,833 on the settlement. 688 01:03:04,128 --> 01:03:05,478 Come on! 689 01:03:14,007 --> 01:03:15,227 Just hang on. 690 01:03:27,020 --> 01:03:30,420 The Native Americans we're using hit-and-run tactics 691 01:03:30,458 --> 01:03:33,158 and these are quite devastatingly effective 692 01:03:33,200 --> 01:03:35,420 because those in the frontier 693 01:03:35,463 --> 01:03:37,683 feared that they could be attacked at any time 694 01:03:37,726 --> 01:03:38,946 at any place. 695 01:03:41,165 --> 01:03:44,815 This, as in every combat, is a test of wills. 696 01:03:47,084 --> 01:03:49,654 They were vulnerable and exposed. 697 01:03:49,695 --> 01:03:52,255 Bullets were flying. 698 01:03:52,306 --> 01:03:54,346 There was gun smoke sometimes so thick 699 01:03:54,395 --> 01:03:57,355 you couldn't see anything. 700 01:03:57,398 --> 01:04:00,398 This went on day after day after day. 701 01:04:03,187 --> 01:04:07,887 With the fort surrounded, the settlers are trapped. 702 01:04:16,853 --> 01:04:19,903 There was human waste, animal carcasses 703 01:04:19,943 --> 01:04:22,293 and rotten meat layin' around. 704 01:04:22,336 --> 01:04:24,986 Everyone's clothes are in tatters. 705 01:04:25,035 --> 01:04:29,645 I mean, this place is a miserable cesspool. 706 01:04:29,691 --> 01:04:32,561 The only thing worse than being in here 707 01:04:32,607 --> 01:04:35,737 would be to step out of there and be tortured and killed. 708 01:04:45,185 --> 01:04:48,095 Boone refuses to surrender. 709 01:04:51,583 --> 01:04:53,803 The settlers stand their ground. 710 01:05:38,412 --> 01:05:39,592 Aah! 711 01:05:51,860 --> 01:05:55,340 The attacks continue for nine straight days 712 01:05:55,386 --> 01:05:58,036 but Blackfish still can't take the fort. 713 01:06:01,087 --> 01:06:06,567 Blackfish was in a very complicated situation there. 714 01:06:06,614 --> 01:06:10,404 He knew that unless Boone surrendered the fort 715 01:06:10,444 --> 01:06:14,104 it was unlikely he could take it. 716 01:06:14,144 --> 01:06:17,504 And in a well-built fort, with those big logs, uh 717 01:06:17,538 --> 01:06:20,888 with rifles, he could not take the fort. 718 01:06:50,441 --> 01:06:52,271 Blackfish and the Shawnees just decided 719 01:06:52,312 --> 01:06:55,322 if we can't bring them over, if we can't capture them 720 01:06:55,359 --> 01:06:57,879 we'll simply do whatever we can to destroy them. 721 01:07:12,985 --> 01:07:14,805 [c] 722 01:07:21,428 --> 01:07:23,998 Boonesborough is now a battlefield 723 01:07:24,040 --> 01:07:26,090 in the Revolutionary War. 724 01:07:26,129 --> 01:07:28,519 Armed by the British, the Shawnee mount 725 01:07:28,566 --> 01:07:29,826 a fierce attack. 726 01:07:32,222 --> 01:07:34,882 But after ten days of relentless fighting 727 01:07:34,920 --> 01:07:36,970 the fort still stands. 728 01:07:57,073 --> 01:07:58,513 Everybody out! 729 01:09:02,921 --> 01:09:05,181 The siege of Boonesborough was terrifying 730 01:09:05,228 --> 01:09:06,928 for the people inside the fort. 731 01:09:09,057 --> 01:09:11,797 The gunfire was so loud 732 01:09:11,843 --> 01:09:15,113 women were screaming, children were crying 733 01:09:15,151 --> 01:09:19,071 they knew the Virginia militia was on its way 734 01:09:19,111 --> 01:09:21,071 but they didn't get there in time. 735 01:09:22,810 --> 01:09:24,940 So, the people of Boonesborough 736 01:09:24,986 --> 01:09:27,726 simply assumed the fort was falling. 737 01:10:00,544 --> 01:10:02,684 At a very important moment 738 01:10:02,720 --> 01:10:07,770 a rainstorm came and doused the flames. 739 01:10:07,812 --> 01:10:10,082 Had it not rained at that time 740 01:10:10,118 --> 01:10:13,248 Boonesborough could have, uh, been taken. 741 01:10:16,864 --> 01:10:19,434 The Shawnees' attack fails. 742 01:10:23,784 --> 01:10:25,704 And when a scout returns with word 743 01:10:25,743 --> 01:10:27,923 that the Virginia militia is coming 744 01:10:27,962 --> 01:10:30,442 Blackfish has no choice but to retreat. 745 01:10:33,054 --> 01:10:36,324 They knew there were more men there, more rifles 746 01:10:36,362 --> 01:10:38,452 more powder, more supplies 747 01:10:38,495 --> 01:10:42,755 and psychologically this was so discouraging to the Indians 748 01:10:42,803 --> 01:10:46,763 and Blackfish that the next morning they were gone. 749 01:10:50,898 --> 01:10:55,288 After a eleven days of brutal, round-the-clock fighting 750 01:10:55,338 --> 01:10:58,248 the Battle of Boonesborough is finally over. 751 01:10:59,907 --> 01:11:04,997 Securing a badly needed colonial win. 752 01:11:05,043 --> 01:11:08,573 It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of the victory 753 01:11:08,612 --> 01:11:11,402 at Boonesborough for the colonies at this time. 754 01:11:11,441 --> 01:11:13,531 It was a desperate time. 755 01:11:13,573 --> 01:11:18,233 1778 was a bad year for the Americans. 756 01:11:18,274 --> 01:11:22,504 So, even this little battle in way off in Kentucky 757 01:11:22,539 --> 01:11:25,669 s important. 758 01:11:25,716 --> 01:11:27,936 The British make a major miscalculation in dealing 759 01:11:27,979 --> 01:11:30,499 with Boonesborough and the American frontier. 760 01:11:32,592 --> 01:11:35,072 By supporting Native American attacks 761 01:11:35,116 --> 01:11:37,596 against the colonists in the West 762 01:11:37,641 --> 01:11:40,731 that only infuriates and increases 763 01:11:40,774 --> 01:11:44,004 the hatred of the British in the East. 764 01:11:44,038 --> 01:11:47,298 This was the deepest anxiety 765 01:11:47,346 --> 01:11:50,306 that these English colonists had, and for the British to now 766 01:11:50,349 --> 01:11:52,959 just push that button, it's the height of stupidity. 767 01:11:58,531 --> 01:12:01,271 Just days after the Shawnee retreat.. 768 01:12:04,450 --> 01:12:07,150 ...the Virginia militia finally arrives. 769 01:12:22,642 --> 01:12:24,512 They've come with a new mission 770 01:12:24,557 --> 01:12:27,387 to escalate the war on the frontier 771 01:12:27,430 --> 01:12:31,000 by striking back against Britain and its allies. 772 01:12:33,349 --> 01:12:35,869 Their first target is Chillicothe 773 01:12:35,916 --> 01:12:38,656 the home of Blackfish 774 01:12:38,702 --> 01:12:41,142 and an opportunity for revenge. 775 01:12:44,272 --> 01:12:47,362 Boone was opposed to exterminationist raids. 776 01:12:47,406 --> 01:12:49,756 These raids north of the Ohio 777 01:12:49,800 --> 01:12:52,150 were aimed at destroying 778 01:12:52,193 --> 01:12:53,893 the Indian homeland. 779 01:12:53,934 --> 01:12:57,504 Burning villages, burning cornfields 780 01:12:57,547 --> 01:13:00,847 attacking women and children, killing indiscriminately. 781 01:13:00,898 --> 01:13:03,288 This was just not Boone's style. 782 01:13:05,859 --> 01:13:09,649 I don't know where their village is. 783 01:13:09,689 --> 01:13:12,079 The remarkable thing about Boone is that Boone doesn't 784 01:13:12,126 --> 01:13:14,826 turn into an Indian hater. 785 01:13:14,868 --> 01:13:18,958 He doesn't give his life over to hate and vengeance. 786 01:13:19,003 --> 01:13:20,923 He still has it in him the capability 787 01:13:20,961 --> 01:13:23,011 to seek peace with these people. 788 01:13:23,050 --> 01:13:25,230 It's kind of remarkable, because I think that if most 789 01:13:25,270 --> 01:13:27,230 people imagined that situation 790 01:13:27,272 --> 01:13:30,972 the hate would define you for the rest of your life. 791 01:13:32,712 --> 01:13:34,022 'I do.' 792 01:13:39,110 --> 01:13:41,420 It's right here. 793 01:13:41,460 --> 01:13:43,160 North of the Ohio River. 794 01:13:55,126 --> 01:13:57,516 Boone's refusal to fight at Chillicothe 795 01:13:57,563 --> 01:14:00,873 causes a rift between him and the other settlers. 796 01:14:09,880 --> 01:14:13,880 In the fall of 1778, Daniel and Jemima Boone 797 01:14:13,927 --> 01:14:16,537 leave the settlement he founded. 798 01:14:23,981 --> 01:14:26,331 He goes on to join American forces 799 01:14:26,374 --> 01:14:29,294 fighting the British on the western front. 800 01:14:29,334 --> 01:14:32,424 And though he never again sets foot in Boonesborough 801 01:14:32,468 --> 01:14:34,508 the settlement survives.. 802 01:14:36,297 --> 01:14:38,387 ...and Kentucky will become 803 01:14:38,430 --> 01:14:42,480 America's 15th state. 804 01:14:42,521 --> 01:14:45,441 Boone remains a seductive figure 805 01:14:45,481 --> 01:14:47,871 in the American imagination. 806 01:14:47,918 --> 01:14:50,528 I think we all like to fancy 807 01:14:50,573 --> 01:14:53,453 that in those circumstances we would be that brave 808 01:14:53,489 --> 01:14:56,839 and that resourceful and that capable 809 01:14:56,883 --> 01:14:58,933 to live through and do the things that he did. 810 01:14:58,972 --> 01:15:00,632 But also throughout his life 811 01:15:00,670 --> 01:15:04,150 he seems just have remained a good guy. 812 01:15:04,195 --> 01:15:06,455 Boone still stands out as this likable figure 813 01:15:06,502 --> 01:15:08,332 who treated people fairly 814 01:15:08,373 --> 01:15:11,033 wanted the best for people. 815 01:15:11,071 --> 01:15:13,551 And he had that rugged individualism 816 01:15:13,596 --> 01:15:16,466 that is the embodiment of American frontiersmen. 817 01:15:29,176 --> 01:15:32,656 With Boone gone, in May 1779 818 01:15:32,702 --> 01:15:37,012 Virginia's militia marches on Britain's allies 819 01:15:37,054 --> 01:15:38,624 the Shawnee. 820 01:16:00,991 --> 01:16:06,561 Chillicothe is home to 3000 Shawnee.. 821 01:16:06,605 --> 01:16:10,125 ...when the Virginia militia descends bent on revenge. 822 01:17:19,678 --> 01:17:23,418 For the Shawnee people, the loss of a beloved leader 823 01:17:23,464 --> 01:17:27,384 in Blackfish was a serious event. 824 01:17:27,425 --> 01:17:29,685 Blackfish loomed large 825 01:17:29,732 --> 01:17:33,472 because of his stature and reputation as a war leader. 826 01:17:33,518 --> 01:17:37,648 The loss of Blackfish was the loss of yet another hero. 827 01:17:46,531 --> 01:17:49,231 From those that survive 828 01:17:49,273 --> 01:17:53,543 a new Shawnee hero will emerge. 829 01:17:53,581 --> 01:17:58,331 The adopted son of Blackfish, a 11-year-old Tecumseh 830 01:17:58,369 --> 01:18:01,019 who will soon rise to lead his people 831 01:18:01,067 --> 01:18:03,637 in the fight to reclaim the frontier. 832 01:18:07,770 --> 01:18:10,860 One year after the death of Chief Blackfish 833 01:18:10,903 --> 01:18:14,213 the Continental Army begins to turn the tide of the war. 834 01:18:27,398 --> 01:18:30,438 The success of the settlers in defending Boonesborough 835 01:18:30,488 --> 01:18:34,878 was just one incident in a long series of fights and battles. 836 01:18:39,976 --> 01:18:43,066 Eventually, the French come into the conflict 837 01:18:43,109 --> 01:18:46,679 as the allies of the Americans. 838 01:18:46,722 --> 01:18:48,772 And in many ways, that indeed 839 01:18:48,811 --> 01:18:50,941 was the turning point in the revolution. 840 01:18:58,124 --> 01:19:00,914 In September, 1783 841 01:19:00,953 --> 01:19:03,613 Britain signs the Treaty of Paris. 842 01:19:05,828 --> 01:19:08,218 Formally recognizing the sovereignty 843 01:19:08,265 --> 01:19:10,345 of the United States of America 844 01:19:10,397 --> 01:19:12,227 and ending the war. 845 01:19:23,671 --> 01:19:25,891 People might not realize this, but the Treaty of Paris 846 01:19:25,935 --> 01:19:29,025 was actually signed by this new United States 847 01:19:29,068 --> 01:19:32,028 the British Empire and the French Empire. 848 01:19:34,595 --> 01:19:37,505 France provided troops, provided navies 849 01:19:37,555 --> 01:19:40,815 and funded the American Revolution. 850 01:19:40,863 --> 01:19:43,303 Britain figured France was actually 851 01:19:43,343 --> 01:19:46,563 its bigger enemy in the long run. 852 01:19:46,607 --> 01:19:50,257 So, Britain surrendered pretty much all the lands 853 01:19:50,307 --> 01:19:52,877 West of the Appalachians to the Mississippi River 854 01:19:52,918 --> 01:19:56,568 to make an ally of the new United States. 855 01:20:02,536 --> 01:20:06,446 The new country nearly doubles in size 856 01:20:06,497 --> 01:20:10,197 gaining more than 250,000 square miles of land.. 857 01:20:13,112 --> 01:20:15,812 ...stretching from Florida to Canada 858 01:20:15,854 --> 01:20:18,644 and from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. 859 01:20:25,864 --> 01:20:28,784 The big surprise of the Treaty of Paris 860 01:20:28,824 --> 01:20:31,224 was that the British conceded control 861 01:20:31,261 --> 01:20:33,871 of the entire Trans-Appalachian West. 862 01:20:33,916 --> 01:20:36,876 It was an incredible bounty 863 01:20:36,919 --> 01:20:38,789 for the new nation. 864 01:20:47,016 --> 01:20:49,186 Free from British rule 865 01:20:49,235 --> 01:20:52,015 American settlers race to claim their piece 866 01:20:52,064 --> 01:20:54,114 of the frontier. 867 01:20:54,153 --> 01:20:56,853 Over the next decade 868 01:20:56,895 --> 01:20:59,325 thousands of settlers flood west 869 01:20:59,376 --> 01:21:03,726 along the trails blazed by men like Daniel Boone 870 01:21:03,771 --> 01:21:06,341 but they will soon learn a hard lesson. 871 01:21:25,750 --> 01:21:27,400 While the British Army had surrendered 872 01:21:27,447 --> 01:21:30,797 the native people in the west never surrendered. 873 01:21:30,842 --> 01:21:33,632 Native Americans still claim this land 874 01:21:33,671 --> 01:21:36,111 and Tecumseh, now grown 875 01:21:36,152 --> 01:21:39,292 is about to reignite the fight for the frontier. 876 01:21:56,781 --> 01:22:00,261 Next time on the "Men Who Built America, Frontiersmen.." 877 01:22:02,178 --> 01:22:05,568 As the new nation pushes relentlessly west 878 01:22:05,616 --> 01:22:08,266 the frontier becomes a bloody battleground. 879 01:22:08,314 --> 01:22:12,234 Tecumseh recognizes that if the natives are to survive 880 01:22:12,275 --> 01:22:15,275 they need to band together. 881 01:22:15,321 --> 01:22:17,371 Surrounded by enemies 882 01:22:17,410 --> 01:22:20,330 Thomas Jefferson makes a bold move 883 01:22:20,370 --> 01:22:22,630 that could cost him the presidency. 884 01:22:22,676 --> 01:22:25,026 The Louisiana Purchase was the greatest 885 01:22:25,070 --> 01:22:28,550 real estate deal in the history of the world. 886 01:22:28,595 --> 01:22:30,155 He launches one of the most daring 887 01:22:30,206 --> 01:22:33,296 expeditions in American history. 888 01:22:33,339 --> 01:22:35,909 If you want to get a sense for how mysterious 889 01:22:35,951 --> 01:22:39,561 the western lands were to the Lewis and Clark expedition 890 01:22:39,606 --> 01:22:43,176 it was as strange to them as it would be 891 01:22:43,219 --> 01:22:46,049 for you or me to step foot on Mars. 892 01:22:48,180 --> 01:22:50,620 Then, as a new generation 893 01:22:50,661 --> 01:22:52,971 of frontiersmen emerges 894 01:22:53,011 --> 01:22:56,621 Andrew Jackson stares down an empire. 895 01:22:56,667 --> 01:22:57,837 Fire!