Isaac Shelby
Isaac Shelby | |
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1st and 5th Governor of Kentucky | |
In office August 24, 1812 – September 5, 1816 | |
Lieutenant | Richard Hickman |
Preceded by | Charles Scott |
Succeeded by | George Madison |
In office June 4, 1792 – June 1, 1796 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | James Garrard |
Personal details | |
Born | Democratic-Republican | December 11, 1750
Spouse | Susannah Hart |
Relations |
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Residence | Traveler's Rest |
Profession | |
Awards | |
Signature | |
Years of service | 1774–1815 |
Rank | Governor of Kentucky |
Commands |
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Battles/wars |
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Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was the
Issac Shelby's military service began when he served as second-in-command to his father at the
Following the war, Isaac Shelby relocated to Kentucky on lands awarded to him for his military service and became involved in Kentucky's transition from a county of Virginia to a separate state. His heroism made him popular with the state's citizens, and the Kentucky electoral college unanimously elected him governor in 1792. He secured Kentucky from Indian attacks and organized its first government. He used the Citizen Genêt affair to convince the Washington administration to conclude an agreement with the Spanish Empire for free trade on the Mississippi River.
At the end of his gubernatorial term, Isaac Shelby retired from public life, but he was called back into politics by the impending
Early life
Isaac Shelby was born in the
Shelby was educated at the local schools in his native colony.
Lord Dunmore's War
During Lord Dunmore's War, a border conflict between colonists and American Indians, Isaac Shelby was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Virginia militia by Colonel William Preston.[8] As second-in-command of his father's Fincastle County company, he took part in the decisive Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774.[8] The younger Shelby earned commendation for his skill and gallantry in this battle.[2] The victorious militiamen erected Fort Blair on the site of the battle.[3] They remained stationed there, with Shelby as second-in-command, until July 1775 when Lord Dunmore ordered the fort destroyed, fearing it might become useful to colonial rebels in the growing American Revolution.[3]
Revolutionary War
After his unit was disbanded, Shelby surveyed for the
Shelby was elected to represent
Shelby was surveying lands in Kentucky in 1780 when he heard of the colonists' defeat at Charleston.[3] He hurried to North Carolina, where he found a request for aid from General Charles McDowell to defend the borders of North Carolina from the British.[3] Shelby assembled three hundred militiamen and joined McDowell at Cherokee Ford in South Carolina.[3] On the morning of July 31, 1780, he surrounded the British stronghold at Thickety Fort on the Pacolet River with 600 men.[12] He immediately demanded a surrender, but the British refused.[13] Shelby brought his men within musket range and again demanded surrender.[13] Though the fort likely would have withstood the attack, the British commander lost his nerve and capitulated.[13] Without firing a shot, Shelby's men captured 94 prisoners.[13]
Following the surrender of Thickety Fort, Shelby joined a band of partisans under Lieutenant Elijah Clarke. This unit was pursued by British Major Patrick Ferguson. On the morning of August 8, 1780, some of Shelby's men were gathering peaches from an orchard when they were surprised by some of Ferguson's men on a reconnaissance mission. Shelby's men quickly readied their arms and drove back the British patrol. Soon, however, the British were reinforced and the colonists fell back. The pattern continued, with one side being reinforced and gaining an advantage, followed by the other. Shelby's men were winning the battle when Ferguson's main force of 1,000 men arrived. Outmanned, they retreated to a nearby hill where British musket fire could not reach them. Now safe, they taunted the British, and Ferguson's force withdrew from the area. Thus ended the Battle of Cedar Springs.[14]
General McDowell then ordered Shelby and Clarke to take Musgrove's Mill, a British encampment on the Enoree River. They rode all night with two hundred men, reaching their location about dawn on August 18, 1780. The colonists had estimated the enemy force was of comparable size, but an advance scout brought word there were approximately 500 British soldiers in the camp who were preparing for battle. Shelby's men and horses were too tired for a retreat and they had lost the element of surprise. He ordered his men to construct a breastwork from nearby logs and brush. In half an hour the makeshift fortifications were complete, and twenty-five colonial riders charged the British camp to provoke the attack. The British pursued them back to the main colonial force. Despite being outnumbered, the colonists killed several British officers and put their army to flight.[15]
Battle of Kings Mountain
Shelby and Clarke elected not to pursue the British fleeing the Battle of Musgrove Mill.[16] Instead, they set their sights on a British fort at Ninety Six, South Carolina, where they were sure they would find Ferguson.[16] However, while en route, Shelby and his men were met with news of General Horatio Gates' defeat at the Battle of Camden.[16] With the backing of General Cornwallis, Ferguson could ride to meet Shelby with his entire force, so Shelby retreated over the Appalachian Mountains into North Carolina.[17]
Following the colonists' retreat, an emboldened Ferguson dispatched a paroled prisoner across the mountains to warn the colonists to cease their opposition or Ferguson would lay waste to the countryside.[18] Angered by this act, Shelby and John Sevier began to plan another raid on the British.[18] Shelby and Sevier raised 240 men each, and were joined by William Campbell with 400 from Washington County, Virginia and Charles McDowell with 160 men from Burke and Rutherford counties in North Carolina.[19] The forces mustered at Sycamore Shoals on September 25, 1780.[19] The troops crossed the difficult terrain of the Blue Ridge Mountains and arrived at McDowell's estate near Morganton, North Carolina, on September 30, 1780.[20] Here, they were joined by Colonel Benjamin Cleveland and Major Joseph Winston with 350 men from Surry and Wilkes counties.[20]
The combined force pursued Ferguson to Kings Mountain, where he had fortified himself, declaring "God Almighty and all the rebels out of hell" could not move him from it.[21] The Battle of Kings Mountain commenced October 7, 1780. Shelby had ordered his men to advance from tree to tree, firing from behind each one; he called this technique "Indian play" because he had seen the Indians use it in battles with them. Ferguson ordered bayonet charges that forced Shelby's men to fall back on three separate occasions, but the colonists dislodged Ferguson's men from their position. Seeing the battle was lost, Ferguson and his key officers attempted a retreat. The colonists were instructed to kill Ferguson. Simultaneous shots by Sevier's men broke both Ferguson's arms, fatally pierced his skull, and knocked him from his mount. Seeing their commander dead, the remaining British soldiers waved white flags of surrender.[22]
Kings Mountain was the high point of Shelby's military service, and from that point forward his men dubbed him "Old Kings Mountain".[18] The North Carolina legislature passed a vote of thanks to Shelby and Sevier for their service and ordered each be presented a pair of pistols and a ceremonial sword.[23] (Shelby did not receive these items until he requested them from the legislature in 1813.)[24]
As the colonists and their prisoners began the march from Kings Mountain, they learned that nine colonial prisoners had been hanged by the British at Fort Ninety-Six. This was not the first such incident in the region, and the enraged colonists vowed they would now put a stop to the hangings in the Carolinas. Summoning a jury from their number – which was legal because two North Carolina magistrates were present – the colonists selected random prisoners and charged them with crimes ranging from theft to arson to murder. By evening, the jury had convicted thirty-six prisoners and sentenced them to hang. After the first nine hangings, however, Shelby ordered them stopped. He never gave a reason for this action, but his order was obeyed nonetheless, and the remaining "convicts" rejoined their fellow prisoners.[25]
The Kings Mountain victors and their prisoners returned to McDowell's estate, early on, the morning of, October 10, 1780. From there, the various commanders and their men went their separate ways. Shelby and his men joined General
Later wartime service and settlement in Kentucky
Upon his return home, Shelby and his father were named commissioners to negotiate a treaty between colonial settlers and the Chickamauga.[27] This service delayed his return to Greene, but in October 1781 he and Sevier led 600 riflemen to join Greene in South Carolina.[28] Greene had thought to use Shelby's and Sevier's men to prevent Cornwallis from returning to Charleston. However, Cornwallis was defeated at the siege of Yorktown, shortly after Shelby and Sevier arrived, and Greene sent them on to join General Francis Marion on the Pee Dee River.[28] On Marion's orders, Shelby and Colonel Hezekiah Maham captured a British fort at Fair Lawn near Moncks Corner on November 27, 1781.[28]
While still in the field, Shelby was elected to the House of Commons of the North Carolina General Assembly.[28] He requested and was granted a leave of absence from the Army to attend the legislative session of December 1781.[28] He was re-elected in 1782 and attended the April session of the legislature that year.[28] In early 1783, he was chosen as a commissioner to survey preemption claims of soldiers along the Cumberland River.[29]
Shelby returned to Kentucky in April 1783, settling at Boonesborough.[28] He married Susannah Hart on April 19, 1783; the couple had eleven children.[2] Their eldest daughter, Sarah, married Dr. Ephraim McDowell, and the youngest daughter, Letitia, married future Kentucky secretary of state Charles Stewart Todd.[2][30] On November 1, 1783, the family moved to Lincoln County, near Knob Lick, and occupied land awarded to Shelby for his military service.[18] Shelby was named one of the first trustees of Transylvania Seminary (later Transylvania University) in 1783, and on December 1, 1787, founded the Kentucky Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge.[28]
Shelby began working to secure Kentucky's separation from Virginia as early as 1784.
First term as governor
Under the new constitution, the voters chose
One of Shelby's chief concerns was securing federal aid to defend the frontier.[1] Although Kentuckians were engaged in an undeclared war with American Indians north of the Ohio River, Shelby had been ordered by Secretary of War Henry Knox not to conduct offensive military actions against the Indians.[33] Furthermore, he was limited by federal regulations that restricted the service of state militiamen to thirty days, which was too short to be effective.[33] With the meager resources of his fledgling state he was only able to defend the most vulnerable areas from Indian attack.[32] Meanwhile, Kentuckians suspected that the Indians were being stirred up and supplied by the British.[34]
Shelby appealed to President Washington for help; Washington responded by appointing General "Mad"
After a winter filled with Indian attacks, including one which claimed the life of Shelby's younger brother Evan Shelby III, Kentucky militia units won some minor victories over the Indians in early 1794.[36] In spring the response to Wayne's call for troops was more enthusiastic; 1,600 volunteers mustered at Fort Greenville and were hastily trained.[37] By August, 1794, Wayne was on the offensive against the Indians and dealt them a decisive blow at the August 20, 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers.[37] This victory, and the ensuing Treaty of Greenville, secured the territory, and although Shelby did not agree with some of the restrictions placed upon western settlers by this treaty, he abided by its terms and enforced those that were under his jurisdiction.[38]
Another major concern of the Shelby administration was free navigation on the
Citizen Genêt affair
While Kentuckians despised the British and Spanish, they had a strong affinity for the French. They admired the republican government that had arisen from the French Revolution, and they had not forgotten France's aid during the Revolutionary War. When French Ambassador Edmond-Charles Genêt, popularly known as Citizen Genêt, arrived in the United States in April 1793, George Rogers Clark was already considering an expedition to capture Spanish lands in the west. Genêt's agent, André Michaux, was dispatched to Kentucky to assess the support of Kentuckians toward Clark's expedition. When he gained an audience with Governor Shelby, he did so with letters of introduction from Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Kentucky Senator John Brown.[40]
Jefferson had written a separate letter to Shelby warning him against aiding the French schemes and informing him that negotiations were under way with the Spanish regarding trade on the Mississippi. When the letter was sent on August 29, 1793, it was Jefferson's intent that it reach Shelby before Michaux did, but Shelby did not receive it until October 1793. On September 13, 1793, Michaux met with Shelby, but there is no evidence that Shelby agreed to help him. In his response to Jefferson's delayed letter, Shelby assured Jefferson that Kentuckians "possess too just a sense of the obligation they owe the General Government, to embark in any enterprise that would be so injurious to the United States".[41]
In November 1793, Shelby received a letter from another of Genêt's agents, Charles Delpeau. He confided to Shelby that he had been sent to secure supplies for an expedition against Spanish holdings, and inquired whether Shelby had been instructed to arrest individuals associated with such a scheme. Three days later Shelby responded by letter, relating Jefferson's warning against aiding the French. Despite having no evidence that Shelby was party to Genêt's scheme, both Jefferson and Knox felt compelled to warn him a second time. Jefferson provided names and descriptions of the French agents believed to be in Kentucky and encouraged their arrest. Knox went a step further by suggesting Kentucky would be reimbursed for any costs incurred resisting the French by force, should such action become necessary. General Anthony Wayne informed him that his cavalry was at the state's disposal. Arthur St. Clair, governor of the American Northwest Territory, also admonished Shelby against cooperation with Genêt.[42]
In his response to Jefferson, Shelby questioned whether he had the legal authority to intervene with force against his constituency and expressed his personal aversion to doing so.
I shall upon all occasions be averse to the exercise of any power which I do not consider myself as being clearly and explicitly invested with, much less would I assume power to exercise it against men whom I consider as friends and brethren, in favor of a man whom I view as an enemy and a tyrant [the king of Spain]. I shall also feel but little inclination to take an active part in punishing or restraining any of my fellow-citizens for a supposed intention only to gratify or remove the fears of the ministers of a foreign prince, who openly withholds from us an invaluable right [navigation of the Mississippi] and who secretly instigates against us a most savage and cruel enemy.
Shelby tempered this lukewarm commitment by assuring Jefferson that "I shall, at all times, hold it my duty to perform whatever may be constitutionally required of me, as Governor of Kentucky, by the President of the United States."[43]
In March 1794, perhaps in response to Shelby's concerns, Congress passed a measure granting the government additional powers in the event of an invasion or insurrection. Jefferson's successor Edmund Randolph, who actually received Shelby's letter, wrote Shelby to inform him of the new powers at his disposal, and informing him that the new regime in France had recalled Genêt. Two months later Genêt's agents ceased their operations in Kentucky and the potential crisis was averted.[44] In 1795, President Washington negotiated an agreement with the Spanish that secured the right of Americans to trade on the river.[45]
Having successfully dealt with the major challenges and issues involved in forming a new state government, Shelby left the state safe and financially sound.
Second term as governor
Gabriel Slaughter was the favorite choice for governor of Kentucky in 1812. Only one impediment to his potential candidacy existed. Growing tensions between the United States, France, and Great Britain threatened to break into open war. With this prospect looming, Isaac Shelby's name began circulating as a possible candidate for governor. Slaughter, who lived near Shelby, visited him and asked whether he would run. Shelby assured him that he had no desire to do so unless a national emergency that required his leadership emerged. Satisfied with this answer, Slaughter began his campaign.[47]
The situation with the European powers grew worse, and on June 18, 1812 the United States declared war on Great Britain, beginning the War of 1812. Cries grew louder for Shelby to return as Kentucky's chief executive. On July 18, 1812, less than a month before the election, Shelby acquiesced and announced his candidacy.[48]
During the campaign Shelby's political enemies, notably
Slaughter's supporters mocked Shelby's advanced age (he was almost 62), calling him "Old Daddy Shelby". One Kentucky paper even printed an anonymous charge that Shelby had run from the Battle of Kings Mountain. Though few even among Shelby's enemies believed the story, his supporters and Shelby himself responded through missives in the state's newspapers. One supporter typified these responses, writing "It is reported that Colonel Shelby 'run [sic] at Kings Mountain.' True he did. He first run [sic] up to the enemy ... then after an action of about forty-seven minutes, he run [sic] again with 900 prisoners."[50]
As the canvass stretched into August, Shelby grew more confident of victory and began preparations to return to the state house. He predicted a victory of 10,000 votes; the final margin was more than 17,000.[51] When he took the oath of office, Shelby became the first Kentucky governor to serve non-consecutive terms. (James Garrard had been permitted to serve consecutive terms in 1796 and 1800 by special legislative exemption.)
Preparations for the war dominated Shelby's second term. Two days before his inauguration, he and outgoing governor Charles Scott met at the state house to appoint William Henry Harrison commander of the Kentucky militia. This was done in violation of a constitutional mandate that the post be held by a native Kentuckian. Already commander of the militias of
Shelby pressured President James Madison to give Harrison command of all military forces in the Northwest.[45] Madison acceded, rescinding his earlier appointment of James Winchester.[52] On the state level, Shelby revised militia laws to make every male between the ages of 18 and 45 eligible for military service; ministers were excluded from the provision.[45] Seven thousand volunteers enlisted, and many more had to be turned away.[53] Shelby encouraged the state's women to sew and knit items for Kentucky's troops.[45]
Shelby's confidence in the federal government's war planning was shaken by the disastrous Battle of Frenchtown in which a number of Kentucky soldiers died.[45] He vowed to personally act to aid the war effort should the opportunity arise, and was authorized by the legislature to do so.[45] In March 1813, Harrison requested another 1,200 Kentuckians to join him at Fort Meigs.[54] Shelby dispatched the requested number, among whom was his oldest son James, under General Green Clay.[55] The reinforcements arrived to find Fort Meigs under siege by a combined force of British and Indians.[55] Clay's force was able to stop the siege, but a large number of them were captured and massacred by Indians.[56] Initial reports put James Shelby among the dead, but he was later discovered to have been captured and released in a prisoner exchange.[57]
On July 30, 1813, General Harrison again wrote Shelby requesting volunteers, and this time he asked that Shelby lead them personally.
In Harrison's report of the battle to Secretary of War John Armstrong Jr., he said of Shelby, "I am at a loss to how to mention [the service] of Governor Shelby, being convinced that no eulogism of mine can reach his merit."[59] In 1817, Shelby received the thanks of Congress and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the war.[46] Friends of Shelby suggested he run for Vice President, but Shelby quickly and emphatically declined.[60]
Later life
Upon Shelby's leaving office in 1816, President Monroe offered him the post of Secretary of War, but he declined because of his age.[2] Already a founding member of the Kentucky Bible Society, Shelby consented to serve as vice-president of the New American Bible Society in 1816.[61] He was a faithful member of Danville Presbyterian church, but in 1816, built a small nondenominational church on his property.[62] In 1818, he accompanied Andrew Jackson in negotiating the Jackson Purchase with the Chickasaw.[4] He also served as the first president of the Kentucky Agricultural Society in 1818 and was chairman of the first board of trustees of Centre College in 1819.[2]
Death
In 1820, Isaac Shelby was stricken with paralysis in his right arm and leg.[24] He died of a stroke on July 18, 1826, at his home in Lincoln County.[31] Shelby was a slaveowner,[63][64] and left slaves to his children in his will.[65] He was buried on the grounds of his estate, Traveller's Rest.[2] The state erected a monument over his grave in 1827.[28] In 1952, the Shelby family cemetery was given to the state government and became the Isaac Shelby Cemetery State Historic Site.[28]
Legacy
Shelby's patriotism is believed to have inspired the Kentucky state motto: "
Centre College began awarding the Isaac Shelby Medallion in 1972, and since then, it has become the college's most prestigious honor. Those awarded the Medallion exemplify the ideals of service to Centre and dedication to the public good that were embraced by Shelby during his time at Centre and in Kentucky.[68]
Places named for Isaac Shelby
Nine states[69] have a county named after Shelby, as do numerous cities and military installations.
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See also
References
- ^ a b c d Harrison, p. 815
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m R. Powell, p. 14
- ^ a b c d e f g h W. Powell, p. 326
- ^ a b c NGA Bio
- ^ a b c Townsend, p. 16
- ^ Wrobel, p. 10
- ^ Wrobel, p. 11–12
- ^ a b Draper, p. 412
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Johnson, p. 1261
- ^ Draper, p. 413
- ^ Lewis, J.D. "Isaac Shelby". Retrieved March 4, 2019.
- ^ Fredriksen, p. 627
- ^ a b c d Wrobel, p. 37
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 38–39
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 39–40
- ^ a b c Wrobel, p. 41
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 41–42
- ^ a b c d e f Beasley, p. 2
- ^ a b Wrobel, p. 45
- ^ a b Wrobel, p. 46
- ^ Wrobel, p. 50
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 50–56
- ^ a b Townsend, p. 17
- ^ a b Draper, p. 416
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 56–57
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 61–63
- ^ Wrobel, p. 64
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j W. Powell, p. 327
- ^ Draper, pp. 414–415
- ^ Wrobel, p. 131
- ^ a b c d Encyclopedia of Kentucky, p. 71
- ^ a b Beasley, p. 3
- ^ a b Cooke, p. l 162
- ^ Cooke, p. 163
- ^ Wrobel, p. 91
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 91–92
- ^ a b Wrobel, p. 92
- ^ Beasley, p. 4
- ^ Cooke, pp.162–163
- ^ Cooke, pp. 163–164
- ^ Cooke, pp. 164–165
- ^ Cooke, pp. 165–166
- ^ Cooke, pp. 166–167
- ^ Cooke, p. 166
- ^ a b c d e f g h Beasley, p. 5
- ^ a b Townsend, p. 18
- ^ Wrobel, p. 105
- ^ Wrobel, p. 107
- ^ a b c d Cooke, p. 168
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 107–108
- ^ Wrobel, p. 109
- ^ a b Wrobel, p. 110
- ^ Wrobel, p. 111
- ^ Wrobel, p. 113
- ^ a b Wrobel, p. 114
- ^ Wrobel, p. 115
- ^ Wrobel, pp. 115–116
- ^ Wrobel, p. 120
- ^ Johnson, p. 1262
- ^ Wrobel, p. 132
- ^ Wrobel, p. 136
- ^ Wrobel, p. 143
- ^ Strauch, Tara (September 25, 2017). "A Day with Isaac Shelby". Centre Trail. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ Coleman, J. Winston (1939). "Photograph: slave cabin and grave yard on Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby's property". University of Kentucky Library, John Winston Coleman Jr. collection on slavery in Kentucky. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ "Transcription: Will of Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky". Empty Nest Genealogy. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ Kentucky's State Seal
- ^ Wrobel, p. 90
- ^ "Longtime Centre College Board chair completes tenure with record-breaking campaign total". Centre College. 2008-01-31. Archived from the original on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
- ^ a b c d e f Gannett, p. 281.
- ^ Buckley, p. 105
- ^ Bailey, Detroit's street names honor early leaders
- ^ Legler, p. 145
- ^ Shelby, Michigan
- ^ History of Shelby
- ^ City of Shelby History
- ^ "Early Shelby Township". Shelby Township Historical Committee. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
- ^ "Shelbyville, Tennessee" in Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ "Shelbyville, Texas" in The Handbook of Texas Online
Bibliography
- Bailey, Mary (2000-02-17). "Detroit's street names honor early leaders". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- Beasley, Paul W. (2004). ISBN 0-8131-2326-7.
- Buckley, Jay H. (2008). William Clark. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3911-1. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
- "City of Shelby History". City of Shelby, Ohio. Archived from the original on 2009-02-11. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- Cooke, J.W. (April 1963). "Gov. Shelby and Genet's Agents". Filson Club History Quarterly. 37.
- Draper, Lyman Copeland (1881). Kings Mountain and Its Heroes. P.G. Thomson. ISBN 0-8063-0097-3. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- Encyclopedia of Kentucky. ISBN 0-403-09981-1.
- Fredriksen, John C. (2006). Revolutionary War Almanac. NY Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8160-5997-3.
- Gannett, Henry (1973). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (2nd ed.). Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8063-0544-4.
- Harper, Cecil Jr. "Shelbyville, Texas". The Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
- Johnson, E. Polk (1912). A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities. Lewis Publishing Company. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- "Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
- "Kentucky's State Seal". Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives. 2005-05-03. Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- Legler, Henry Eduard (1898). Leading Events of Wisconsin History. Sentinel Company. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- Powell, Robert A. (1976). Kentucky Governors. OCLC 2690774.
- Powell, William Stevens (1994). Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Vol. 5, P–S. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-2100-8.
- "Shelbyville, Tennessee". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
- Townsend, John Wilson (January 1943). "Governor Isaac Shelby and Kentucky's Sesquicentennial". Filson Club History Quarterly. 17 (1). Archived from the original on 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
- Wrobel, Sylvia; George Grider (1974). Isaac Shelby: Kentucky's First Governor and Hero of Three Wars. Cumberland Press.
Further reading
- "Governor Isaac Shelby". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 1 (2): 9–12. May 1903.
- Peters, H. Dean (October 1975). "Isaac Shelby and Gubernatorial Campaign of 1812". The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 73 (4): 340–345.
- Quaife, Milo M. (July 1936). "Governor Shelby's Army in the River Thames Campaign". Filson Club History Quarterly. 10 (2). Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- Riley, Agnes Graham Sanders (April 1992). "The Shelby-Campbell Kings Mountain Controversy and the Gubernatorial Campaign of 1812". Filson Club History Quarterly. 66.
External links
- Resolution conveying the Thanks of Congress to Isaac Shelby and William Henry Harrison
- Guide to the Faulconer, Johnstone, Shelby, and Tevis papers, housed at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center
- Guide to the Isaac Shelby papers, housed at the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center