Fort Ashby was built during the French and Indian War in the Patterson Creek Valley of West Virginia.

In the late summer and early fall of 1755, settlers in the Patterson Valley were attacked by marauding bands of hostile Indians. In response, on October 26, 1755, Colonel George Washington ordered three forts to defend the Western Virginia frontier – Forts Ashby, Sellers, and Cocke.

Fort Ashby, named for its first commander, was built by Lieutenant John Bacon and his men from Fort Cumberland, Maryland. The fort was a square stockade, 90 feet on each side, with bastions at each corner. Within the fort were barracks and a powder magazine.

It was completed in about six weeks, and Captain John “O.C.” Ashby took command of the fort, which about 30 men garrisoned. Ashby was ordered to remain quiet as long as he could and hold the fort as long as possible, but if necessary, burn it rather than surrender it.

Although the fort was initially intended to protect the area’s residents, the valley was virtually abandoned by the time it was occupied. The fort protected the supply line between Fort Loudoun in Winchester, Virginia, and Fort Cumberland in Maryland.

From the outset, Captain Ashby was beset with personnel problems that appeared to stem from a failure to enforce discipline. On December 20, ten of his troops informed him they were going home and then summarily left the fort. When this news reached Fort Cumberland, Captain Charles Lewis was sent with 22 men to investigate on December 27. Lewis found the fort in poor condition for defense, and the soldiers were surly and undisciplined. They also found that a man named Joseph Coombs was selling rum to the soldiers, but it appeared the liquor actually belonged to Ashby. However, the troops’ main complaint was Ashby’s wife’s misbehavior. As a result, George Washington wrote a letter to Ashby stating that his wife sowed sedition among the men and led every mutiny. He also firmly instructed Ashby to remove her from the fort immediately, or he would personally drive her out himself.

Meanwhile, Captain Charles Lewis took control of the post, and the Articles of War were read to the troops. After several weeks, Ashby resumed command and had gained control of his wife’s activities, for no record shows Washington enforced his threat to “drive her out.”

However, Ashby was still plagued by troubles caused by unruly soldiers. On March 29, 1756, he had 40 men in his command when ten of them unceremoniously walked off to join Colonel Stephen’s command at Fort Cumberland.

In April 1756, a large band of Indians descended on Patterson’s Creek and surrounded Fort Ashby. They demanded a parley and the fort’s surrender. However, Captain Ashby refused to give them a dram of whiskey, and the Indians soon departed. These Indians may have been the ones who inflicted a disastrous defeat on the Virginia Regiment forces stationed at Fort Edwards just a few days later.

By May 1756, Indian attacks in the area prompted the Virginia House of Burgesses to approve funding to erect a “chain of forts” stretching from the Potomac River to the Mayo River, a span of nearly 500 miles. Fort Ashby was made a part of the defensive chain. At that time, Washington ordered Colonel Adam Stephen at Fort Cumberland, Maryland, to keep Forts Ashby and Sellers well supplied with food and ammunition.

In late July 1756, a courier from Winchester arrived at the fort carrying dispatches for Colonel Washington, who was then at Fort Cumberland. Because the area was so dangerous due to hostile Indians, he requested a soldier escort. Ashby sent Lieutenant Robert Rutherford with about 16 rangers and militiamen, along with the messenger, to Fort Cumberland, about 12 miles distant. Along the way, they were suddenly fired upon by a band of Indians lying in ambush, at which time the militiamen turned and fled back to Fort Ashby without even firing a shot. Vastly outnumbered, Rutherford and the ranger remnants had no choice but to follow the panicked militia.

Upon hearing of the affair, George Washington, who had little respect for militiamen to begin with, was disgusted. At one time, he stated, “they are obstinate, self-willed, perverse, of little or no service to the people, and very burdensome to the country.” But in this case, Washington’s chief criticism was directed at Ashby and his officers for failing to control their men adequately.

On one occasion, when Captain Ashby was outside the fort without his rifle, he unexpectedly came upon three Indians. He quickly fled as shots were fired at him and obtained the fort’s safety.

In April 1757, George Washington ordered the Virginia militia to abandon Fort Ashby and Fort Cocke, as he could no longer provide enough troops. By that time, the area had been abandoned by settlers.

The fort was regarrisoned in 1758, when a force of 6,000 soldiers, led by British General John Forbes and including troops from Virginia’s frontier Forts and other colonies, formed to take Fort Duquesne, Pennsylvania. At that time, the fort was again tasked with protecting supplies and dispatches moving along the road between Winchester and Fort Cumberland.

At the successful conclusion of this campaign, the region was stabilized, and the fort was closed again. Afterward, it was used intermittently until hostilities ended in 1763.

In hindsight, Fort Ashby was poorly located, as the nearest stream was 200 yards to the West and was dominated by a hill to the South, from where the enemy could have fired into the stockade. Its chief value was escorting convoys and messengers along the military road from Fort Loudoun at Winchester to Fort Cumberland, and on roads leading North to Will’s Creek and South to Fort Cocke, 12 miles away. In fact, Washington later said this was the fort’s only value.

Though records suggest that Captain John Ashby was inept in his role, he continued to serve as a military leader until the end of the French and Indian War in 1863. He also remained on friendly terms with George Washington. After the war, he returned to his home in the Shenandoah Valley, where he operated a ferry across the Shenandoah River for many years.

After the fort was officially abandoned, it was periodically manned by local militia.

In October 1794, the old Fort Ashby again saw military activity when Major General Daniel Morgan, with 500 or more troops, encamped around the fort while awaiting orders to proceed during the Whiskey Rebellion, a tax-related protest. Over the next few days, more than 1,200 troops joined the others at Fort Ashby before moving on to western Pennsylvania. This army of more than 1,700 men was by far the largest military force ever to assemble in the area, and the settlers would see no other troops of this size until the outbreak of the Civil War 67 years later.

In the meantime, a settlement was established around the fort, which was first called Frankfort. Later, the town’s name was changed to Alaska, and finally, the community took its name from the old military post and became Fort Ashby.

A portion of the log barracks was converted into a dwelling and was used as such for more than 130 years. In 1927, the building was bought by the

Potomac Valley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and in 1935, it was conveyed to Mineral County for restoration purposes. With assistance from the Works Progress Administration, the Fort was restored in 1938 and opened as a museum to visitors the following year. In 1970, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

More Information:

Fort Ashby
227 Dan’s Run Road
Fort Ashby, West Virginia 26719

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated October 2026.

Also See:

Forts & Presidios Across America

Forts Photo Gallery

The French & Indian War

West Virginia Main Page

Sources:

Ansel, William H., Jr.; Frontier Forts Along the Potomac and its Tributaries; McClain Print. Co., 1984
Fort Ashby
Terry Gruber
West Virginia Public Broadcasting