African Americans at Fort Boonesborough, 1775-1784

The purpose of this study is to chronicle the lives of African Americans who were at Fort Boonesborough. We limited the scope of our narrative to the years the fort stood, 1775 and 1784. Fort Boonesborough is one of Kentucky's most historic places. It was the wilderness outpost of Richard Henderson's Transylvania Company and, for a few years, was home to Daniel Boone. Due to Boone's involvement, few places in early Kentucky have been so well documented and written about. It will surprise no one to learn that the early records and subsequent historical accounts mainly involve the white males who settled there. There are biographical sketches for Monk Estill, the "black Indian" Pompey, Frederick Hart, John Sidebottom, and others less well known. Our work identifies only a fraction of the pioneer African Americans of Kentucky. Many more deserve to be remembered and commemorated.