The third paragraph from the bottom has been thoroughly revised since it was submitted to my instructor to incorporate a thought about sexuality, so if it seems a little out of place, then that's why.
The Heroic Feminism
of Betty Zane
The legend of Betty Zane is a tale of
timeless appeal. The story’s central themes of selflessness and sacrificial
courage are universally evocative and are regarded as some of the brightest and
warmest attributes of humanity: they make us love being human. But beyond its
inspirational value, as a historical narrative, Betty’s story also offers
observational data regarding the real-life effects of particular attitudes and
ideas. In particular, Betty’s sensibilities regarding gender-roles should be of
special interest to us because they play a critical role in the circumstances
and impetus of her heroism, and they are as much a part of the story as the
acts which they frame. In the legend of Elizabeth Zane, nearly as astonishing
as Zane’s bold and dangerous dash to fetch vital gunpowder are the arguments
she is said to have given to persuade Silas Zane—the commander of Fort Henry
and her elder brother, to allow her to run the gauntlet in place of one of the
young men (356 Whithers).
The story is set during the autumn of 1782
at the end of a long Revolutionary war—indeed, Zane Grey, a descendant of
Elizabeth Zane, tells of a commemorative monument in present day Wheeling West
Virginia which describes the siege of Fort Henry as, “…the last battle of the
American Revolution” (vii)—at this time the village of Wheeling
had received word from a spy warning that 250 Indians and 40 loyalist soldiers
were marching for Wheeling (Whithers 356).
Wheeling, like many other frontier
settlements which were illegally settled west of the Proclamation Line of 1763,
was under the constant threat of attack by various Indian tribes from the region.
In these settlements, forts were often built to provide security and a safe place
where villagers could quickly take refuge and defend themselves, often against
superior forces. Fort Henry of Wheeling was built in 1774 and was originally
named Fort Fincastle in honor of Lord Dunmore, the Virginia colony’s last royal
governor. Two years later, however, following the Declaration of Independence,
and in the spirit of the Revolution, the fort was renamed “Fort Henry” in honor
of Virginia governor and American patriot Patrick Henry (Grey xi-xii). In
September of 1782, thirteen years after Fort Henry was built, it was besieged
for the second time (Bellesiles 1264).
Betty was only sixteen years old during
this second siege of Fort Henry, but even at this early age she already possessed
the courage and character of a great pioneer, patriot, and woman (Britannica). In his book, Chronicles of Border Warfare, historian Lyman Copeland Draper
portrays Betty as “…young
active and athletic;––with precipitancy to dare danger, and fortitude to
sustain her in the midst of it.” (359). She had no sisters, but
her five brothers were heroes in their own right, already renown in their time
for their own exploits as soldiers and frontiersmen and in their dealings with
the Indians (Grey15-16). These great men were prominent figures in Betty’s
childhood and they were among the souls who were ultimately saved by Betty’s
swiftness and spirit.
On the day of the attack there were only
twenty men to defend Fort Henry—less than tenth of the force that opposed
them—but the spirits of the men and women of Wheeling were apparently unshaken
by the strength their opposition. When,
prior to the attack, Simon Girty, commander of the Indian-loyalist assailants,
offered protection to the refugees if they would surrender, he was driven away
by gunfire from the fort. During the days of fighting that ensued, all of the
Wheeling community was courageously and actively involved in defending Fort
Henry (Whithers 357).
Every individual had
particular duties to perform; and promptly and faithfully were they discharged.
The more expert of the women, took stations by the side of the men; and
handling their guns with soldier like readiness, aided in the repulse, with
fearless intrepidity. Some were engaged in moulding bullets; others in loading
and supplying the men with guns already charged; while the less
robust were employed in cooking, and in furnishing to the
combatants, provisions and water, during the continuance of the attack.(Whithers
225-226)
Both the men and women within Fort Henry fought tirelessly
together to save themselves and their children’s lives, but after one day and
night of fighting, the supply of gunpowder in the fort was nearly gone. With
only enough powder for a few more shots remaining, the situation grew
desperate. It became clear that the only way to continue to hold the fort was
to retrieve a new supply of gunpowder from the house of Betty’s elder brother,
Col. Ebenezer Zane, located about forty yards from the fort (Whithers 356). At
this time, while some of the soldiers were deliberating about who should be
chosen for the dangerous dash, young Betty Zane spoke up and asked to be permitted
to attempt it.
Accounts
differ on the precise wording of the arguments which Betty offered to her
brother on that day to persuade him to let her go, but among the several varied
quotations of Betty’s statements to Captain Silas Zane, a persisting theme is
Betty’s frank recognition and courageous acceptance of the gender roles that
had been designated by the blank facts of the desperate situation. “When told that a man would encounter less
danger by reason of his greater fleetness, [Betty Zane] replied––‘and should he
fall, his loss will be more severely felt. You have not one man to spare;––a
woman will not be missed in the defense of the fort.’” (Whithers 359)
Betty’s attitude lacks the blistering sensitivity that,
today, has expressed itself by androgynizing the way men and women relate and
interact with one another in society. She isn’t shy about her feminine
qualities—she flaunts them, incapacities and all. Though, by a surprising error
perhaps, she seems to forget to mention her sexuality; it’s a scandalous error
to be sure, but it’s refreshing and it makes her heroism all the more
impressive. Betty is spectacular, even so in our post-Victorian world where no
girl-hero can be adequate without conspicuous breasts and lips; where those
most celebrated heroines capture the imagination of wide eyed masses of teenagers
with armies of make-up artists, diet and exercise guru’s, digital enhancers,
and cosmetic surgeons at their sides. Betty, with her frumpy name and her yards
of underwear fabric, is a model of feminine heroism. And she isn't aware of a “man’s
world”: she isn’t a reactionary against male chauvinism, but she is well aware of the differences between
men and women and without apology she is excellently woman.
Her story ultimately
demonstrates the usefulness of such a disposition when, against all odds, she
survives the return trip from the house of Col. Ebenezer Zane, passing through
the gates of Fort Henry with her precious burden. A commonly attested detail of the story is
that not a single shot was fired at her during her sprint to the house of
Ebenezer Zane; instead of firing their weapons the Indians took notice of her
gender, shouting “a squaw! a squaw!”. The Indian and British loyalists only
began to fire at her when they saw her returning from her brother’s house bound
for the fort with a fresh supply of gunpowder in her possession (Whithers 359).
There is good reason to doubt that a man would have received this same passive
treatment. Her chances of surviving the
dash appear to have been at least twice as good as those that one of the men
might have faced if he were to have attempted the trip.
Elizabeth Zane’s
bold deed remains fixed in American legend, but her heroism extends beyond mere
actions. Fort Henry and the men and women of Wheeling owe their gratitude to
Betty’s feminine self understanding, to her heroic affirmation of womanhood
implicit in her readiness to admit the differences that distinguish women from
men and the roles for which these differences naturally prefer them.
Works Cited
Bellesiles, Michael.
"Wheeling, West Virginia." Encyclopedia of the
American Revolution: Library of Military History. Ed. Harold E. Selesky. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 2006. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Mar. 2011.
"Betty Zane." Encyclopædia Britannica.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011.
Web. 05 Apr. 2011.
Grey,
Zane. “Betty Zane.” Champaign, Ill.: Project
Gutenberg, 2004. Net Library. Web. 16 Mar.
2011.
Whithers,
Alexander Scott, and Lyman Copeland Draper. “Chronicles
of Border Warfare.” A New
Edition. Cincinnati, Oh. : The Robert Clarke Company, 1895. Project Gutenberg.
E-book. 16Mar. 2011
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