1
Jan
1776
Fort Fincastle Renamed Fort Henry
Wheeling, WV· year date
The Story
With the outbreak of the Revolution, the fort at Wheeling was renamed from Fort Fincastle — honoring Lord Dunmore's son — to Fort Henry, honoring Patrick Henry, the Patriot governor of Virginia. The renaming was symbolic but significant: it marked Wheeling's formal alignment with the revolutionary cause and the erasure of royal nomenclature from the frontier garrison.
The fort at this point was a standard log palisade with blockhouses at the corners, capable of housing a garrison of forty to sixty soldiers and providing refuge for the surrounding settler families during an attack. Ebenezer Zane's family cabin sat just outside the main palisade — a detail that would become central to the 1782 siege legend.
People Involved
Colonel Ebenezer Zane
Frontier Settler
Virginia-born frontiersman who founded Wheeling in 1769 and built the first permanent settlement on the site of Fort Henry. He organized and commanded the defense of Fort Henry during both the 1777 and 1782 sieges. After the war he negotiated Zane's Trace, a road through Ohio that opened the interior. His three brothers all fought at Fort Henry.
Silas Zane
Frontier Settler
Younger brother of Ebenezer Zane who fought alongside his family at Fort Henry during both sieges. Silas was one of the garrison's experienced riflemen and helped maintain the defense during the extended September 1777 engagement when the outer settlements had already fallen to the attacking force.
Jonathan Zane
Frontier Scout
Brother of Ebenezer Zane and one of the most skilled scouts on the upper Ohio frontier. Jonathan operated as an intelligence gatherer and ranger, repeatedly scouting the approaches to Wheeling and carrying warning of approaching enemy forces. His woodcraft was critical to the garrison's ability to anticipate attacks.
Elizabeth "Betty" Zane
Frontier Heroine
Sister of Ebenezer Zane, celebrated in oral tradition for running from Fort Henry to the nearby Zane cabin during the 1782 siege to retrieve a keg of gunpowder, carrying it back through British rifle fire wrapped in her apron or tablecloth. The story's specific details vary across sources and cannot be independently verified, but early accounts from frontier survivors support the core tradition. Zane Grey made her the heroine of his 1903 novel Betty Zane.